Improving Support and Participation in the Ryan Laley Games Discord

Over the past year, the Ryan Laley Games Discord has grown into a fantastic space for Unreal Engine developers – from beginners taking their first steps to experienced indies shipping real projects. As the community has grown, so has the variety (and complexity) of questions, discussions, and support needs.

To make sure everyone gets better answers, clearer guidance, and a more valuable experience, we’re rolling out a set of improvements to how the Discord is structured and how support is delivered.

Why We’re Making These Changes

As the Discord grew, we noticed a few common challenges:

  • Important Unreal questions getting buried in general chat

  • Repeated questions that were hard to find later

  • Support becoming harder to scale without reducing quality

  • Limited space for focused learning and deeper feedback

Our goal is simple:
👉 Better support, clearer learning paths, and stronger participation across the community.

What’s Changing

🧭 Clearer Channel Structure

We’ve reorganised the server so it’s easier to find the right place for your question or discussion. Unreal Engine help is now split into focused areas such as:

  • Blueprints

  • C++

  • Multiplayer & replication

  • Performance & optimisation

  • UI & UX

This helps questions get answered faster — and makes solutions easier to search later.

🧠 Higher-Quality Unreal Support

Each support channel now includes guidance on how to ask good questions, including:

  • Unreal Engine version

  • Screenshots or code snippets

  • What you’re trying to achieve vs what’s happening

This keeps discussions productive and respectful of everyone’s time.

🎓 New Learning & Participation Features

We’re also introducing more structured ways to learn and participate, including:

  • Curated learning resources

  • Challenge of the Week — small Unreal tasks to build practical skills

  • Improved livestream and webinar integration

  • Better follow-ups for private sessions and mentoring

These changes are designed to encourage learning by doing, not just asking questions.

Patreon & Course Member Access

To keep support sustainable and fair, some channels are now reserved for Patreon members and course participants. This allows us to provide:

  • Direct access to Ask Ryan Q&A

  • Deeper technical discussions

  • Project feedback and guidance

  • Exclusive learning resources and challenges

Free members still have access to the core community channels, discussions, and showcases – while supporters help fund the time and effort required to provide high-quality Unreal Engine support.

If you’re actively working on a project and want more hands-on help, Patreon or course access is the best way to unlock that next level of support.

What This Means for You

Whether you’re new to Unreal Engine or deep into development, these changes are designed to help you:

  • Get clearer, more reliable answers

  • Learn Unreal Engine in a more structured way

  • Participate in a focused, professional dev community

  • See real progress in your projects

Most importantly, they help ensure the Discord remains a place where quality beats noise.

Join Us

If you’re already in the Discord, take a look around – check out the new channels, pinned guides, and challenges.

If you’re not yet a member, you can join the Ryan Laley Games Discord and explore the community for free. And if you’re ready for deeper support, Patreon and course memberships are now more closely aligned with how the server works.

Thanks to everyone who’s been part of the journey so far – and here’s to building better Unreal projects together 🚀