Unreal Blueprint Work I am starting to dig into blueprint. I do software development in Ruby and have done c++ and Java among other languages so programming doesn't worry me. I am trying to wrap my head around 3D specific concerns such as vectors, rotators, transforms, lerps, etc. I created this cheat sheet I will tape to the side of my monitor for reference until I have the variable colors and types down cold: I watched a few quickie blueprint videos from Unreal on creating a hovering object and slowing time until a character moved. Those were amazingly easy. I'm building a text file with a list of important functions as I run across them in tutorials. I will post the contents of it here. I will update a number in parens when I encounter the function multiple times. This will help me gauge the usefulness of the function. ======================================================================== UNREAL BLUEPRINT NOTES ======================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Variable Types --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Blueprints/UserGuide/Variables/ Boolean (RED) Integer (CYAN) Float (GREEN) String (MAGENTA) Text (PINK) localization? Vector (GOLD) 3 floats (traditionally for XYZ or RGB) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHGkLLIlz78 Rotator (PURPLE) group of numbers defining rotation in 3D space Ususally just interested in Pitch and Yaw Transform (ORANGE) Cobines 3 attributes of an object: translatioon (3D location) rotation scale Object (BLUE) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terms --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Primitive Component > any component we can apply physics to (ex: static mesh) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To make an object be able to move, must sure you change "Mobility" to Movable You can drag blueprints onto objects in the component list to associate them > example was a hover blueprint. Dragged onto a movable object, it made it hover > scene component blueprints have this ability. Maybe others. Unsure --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Functions --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEBUGGING ......................................................................................... Draw Debug Line draws a line between 2 points. Line Trace By Channel Draws and erases a line every frame Print String (USEFUL FOR DEBUGGING) Prints a string on the screen (great for debugging) Get Display Name Lets you get the name of an actor Can be used to show the name of an actor you have hit with a vector This does not appear to work on static meshes CONSOLE ........................................................................................... Execute Console Command Example: slomo EVENTS ............................................................................................ Event Begin Play When game play starts Event Tick (3) Fired at every frame ACTOR EVENTS ...................................................................................... Event Actor Begin Overlap When another actor overlaps this actor You can cast this to ThirdPersonCharacter Event Initialize Component VECTOR MANIPULATION ............................................................................... Break Vector Allows you to manipulate each component (X,Y,Z) Convert Vector into Linear Color Covert RGB into single value for "set light color" Get Vector Length Get the magnitude/length of a vector (returns a float) Can be used to convert a vector into a useful float Vector + Vector Adds 2 vectors UNCATEGORIZED ..................................................................................... Break Hit Result Breaks out the result of a vector hitting an object Can be used to break out the result of "Line Trace By Channel" Build String (Float) convert float to string with a prefix. Can be fed into "execute console command" Get Actor Location Get the location of the actor Get Control Rotation Rotation of the object Get Forward Vector Can be used to convert a rotation into a vector > The length of the vector is 1 (XYZ values are decimals less than 1) > This produces a normalized/direction/unit vector (it always has a length/magnitude of 1) Get Owner Actor a blueprint has been attached to > useful for doing work against the owner and inspecting it Get Velocity Get velocity of object (vector) Launch Character You can add a velocity to an actor Map Range Convert 1 range of numbers proportionally into a different range Useful for coverting a large range to 0 thru 1 or vice-versa Random Unit Vector creates a random vector (3 variable array) Set Light Color Change the color of a target light Set Timer by Event Allows you to create a looping timer that can trigger an event
