Workflow Pipelines

How each kind of work flows from idea to shipped on Ramayan the Epic. Reference this when starting a new asset, fixing a bug, or planning a sprint.

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Daily & Weekly Cadence

The rhythm of the project. The point isn't rigidity — it's that thinking is offloaded to a calendar so brain cycles stay on craft.

Daily Rhythm (4 hrs)

  • 0:00–0:15Open the Weekly Tasks sheet, pick today's task, mark "In Progress"
  • 0:15–2:15Deep work block 1 (no email, no Twitter, no Discord)
  • 2:15–2:30Stretch / walk / hydrate
  • 2:30–3:45Deep work block 2
  • 3:45–4:00Commit work, log hours, write tomorrow's first task in notes

Weekly Rhythm (Mon–Fri)

  • MonPlan the week: confirm tasks vs budget
  • Tue–ThuHeads-down build days
  • FriProfile (stat unit, stat gpu), clean up, commit. Update devlog draft.
  • SatMarketing / community engagement (1-2 hrs max)
  • SunOFF. No exceptions.

Monthly Rhythm

  • Week 1Publish monthly YouTube devlog (10-15 min cut)
  • Week 2Review hours-vs-budget. Cut tasks if > 10% over.
  • Week 3Run a cooked-build smoke test (catches packaging bugs)
  • Week 4Quarterly: restore from B2 backup. Verify it works.

Milestone Gates

  • Wk 12Vertical slice playable end-to-end
  • Wk 26Halfway gate: 3 levels playable. Cut L4 or L5 if behind.
  • Wk 40All content in. Feature freeze.
  • Wk 48Beta complete. RC candidate.

Feature / Gameplay Pipeline

Every gameplay system goes through this flow. Skipping the prototype step is the #1 cause of wasted work.

01
Design
GDD section + 1-page brief
02
Prototype
Gray-box, Blueprints, ugly
03
Validate
Is it fun? Yes/no/cut
04
Promote to C++
If used by > 1 system
05
Integrate
Wire into GAS / GameMode
06
Polish
Feel, audio, VFX
07
Ship
Commit + tag
The validation step is non-negotiable. If a feature isn't fun in gray-box, no amount of polish will save it. Cut it now while it's cheap.

Asset Pipelines

Character (~12-30 hrs per hero asset)

01
Concept
PureRef board
02
Block-out
Blender low-poly
03
High-poly
ZBrush / Blender
04
Retopo
Blender
05
Texture
Substance Painter
06
Rig
UE Skeleton
07
Animate
UE / Mixamo
08
Integrate
Anim BP + GAS

Solo-dev tip: use MetaHuman for non-hero humans (sages, courtiers). Reserve full-pipeline custom work for Rama, Hanuman, Ravana, and Tataka.

Environment (~20-40 hrs per level)

01
Mood
Reference board
02
Block-out
BSP / proxy
03
Modular kit
Megascans
04
Compose
UE Editor
05
Foliage / VFX
Foliage tool
06
Light
Lumen
07
Post-process
PP Volume
08
Optimize
stat unit / HLOD

Audio

01
Source / record
Library or mic
02
Edit
Reaper / Audacity
03
Sound Cue / MetaSound
UE Editor
04
Attenuation
Per-asset
05
Mix bus
Submix routing
06
Trigger
Anim Notify / BP

VFX (Niagara)

01
Reference
YouTube, ArtStation
02
Niagara prototype
Particle & material
03
Iterate
Color, scale, timing
04
Trigger
GAS Cues / anim notify
05
Optimize
GPU profiler

Cinematic (Sequencer)

01
Storyboard
Beat sheet, sketches
02
Block
Cameras + actors in Sequencer
03
Animate
MetaHuman face / body anim
04
VFX + audio
Layer in cues
05
Color grade
Sequencer post-process
06
Render
Movie Render Queue

Build & Release Pipeline

Every commit on main should produce a playable build. Every Friday, a cooked build. Every milestone, a tagged version.

01
Local PIE test
Play in Editor
02
Commit
Git + LFS
03
Push
GitHub
04
Cook
UnrealBuildTool
05
Smoke test
5-sec per-level load
06
Tag if milestone
v0.x.y
07
Backup
Backblaze B2 weekly

Bug Pipeline

From discovery to closed. Every bug enters via GitHub Issues with a label.

Discovered
→
Triaged (P0/P1/P2/P3)
→
Reproduced
→
Fixed
→
Verified
→
Closed

Priority Definitions

PriorityDefinitionFix SLA
P0 — Crash / BlockerGame crashes, can't progress past itSame day
P1 — MajorSoft-lock, save corrupted, severe visual glitchWithin the week
P2 — MinorCosmetic, audio mix, edge-caseBy next milestone
P3 — PolishNice-to-have, only if time allowsPolish phase only
Solo-dev rule: never close a session with more than 3 P1 bugs open. They compound. They sap morale. Fix as you go.

Marketing Pipeline

Marketing isn't an afterthought; it's a parallel track from Week 4 onward. Every Friday produces capture material.

01
Capture
OBS / High-Res Screenshot
02
Cut
DaVinci Resolve
03
Caption
Hook + tags
04
Publish
Twitter / TikTok / YT
05
Engage
Reply within 24 hrs
06
Track
Wishlists, follows

Cadence by Channel

ChannelFrequencyFormat
Twitter / XDailyWIP GIFs, screenshots, mini-thoughts
TikTok / Reels2-3× per week15-30s clips of combat / set-pieces
YouTubeMonthly10-15 min devlog
RedditWeeklyCross-post to r/Unreal, r/IndieDev, r/IndianGaming
DiscordDaily presenceCasual updates, polls, screenshots
Steam pageBi-weeklyUpdate news posts to wishlisters
Press / streamersWeeks 41+Personalized review-key outreach

Decision Pipeline (Cut or Keep)

When you're behind schedule on a feature, walk this flow. The most important skill in solo dev is knowing when to cut.

Behind schedule
→
Is it on a design pillar?

YES, on a pillar

  • Can you simplify it without losing the pillar?
  • If yes → ship the simpler version.
  • If no → extend by max 1 week. If still behind, cut content downstream.

NO, not on a pillar

  • Cut it. Today.
  • Move the idea to SequelIdeas.md.
  • Update the GDD; mark the cut in the changelog.
  • Move on without guilt.