UE5 Combat Multiplayer Prototype

I’ve sketched out a fast-paced multiplayer concept and now need a solid Unreal Engine 5 foundation my team can safely expand. The core of this first milestone is a small but fully networked prototype centred on combat mechanics.

What I will hand over
• A short design brief spelling out movement, weapon feel, and reference videos for pacing and camera.
• Greybox sketches for the initial arena-style map.

What I need back
1. A replicated character controller (third-person or first-person is fine as long as it mirrors authority rules you set).
2. Basic matchmaking: a lightweight listen-server or similar approach that lets 2–8 players find or host a game in one click.
3. One playable map built from my greybox, optimised for quick rounds and clear sight-lines.
4. Clean, well-labelled Blueprints or C++ (your choice, but keep the graph or code readable and modular).
5. A brief implementation document showing where authority resides, how replication is handled, and exactly where to plug in new abilities, weapons, or movement features.

Acceptance criteria
• Clients stay in sync under normal latency (tested at 120 ms round-trip).
• No “owning client” exploits—server validates combat hit events.
• Joining mid-match reliably spawns the player with correct state.
• All Blueprint nodes / classes or C++ files are commented enough that a mid-level Unreal dev can extend them without reverse-engineering.

Key tools & tech: Unreal Engine 5, Online Subsystem (native or Steam sockets), Blueprints and/or C++.

If this pilot build feels stable and readable, I’m ready to commission additional mechanics and maps straight away. Let’s get this prototype running!