As you likely know, the Lumberyard game engine is, at the time of this book's publication, in beta. What does that mean? It means a couple of things that are worth exploring.
First, developers (that's you!) get early access to amazing software. Other than the cool fact of being able to experiment with a new game engine, it can accelerate game projects. There are several downsides to this as well. Here are the primary drawbacks of using beta software:
Not all functions and features will be implemented. Depending on the engine's specific limitations, this can be a showstopper for your game project.
Some functions and features might be partially implemented, not function correctly, or be unreliable. If the features that have these characteristics are not ones you plan to use, then this is not an issue for you. This, of course, can be a tremendous problem. For example, let's say that the engine's gravity system is buggy. That would make testing your game very difficult, as you would...
