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  3. Direct Actor Communication Quick Start Guide

Direct Actor Communication Quick Start Guide

Quick Start for the Direct Actor Communication method.

Blueprints C++

Overview

Direct Actor communication is a common method of sharing information between Actors in your Level. This method requires a reference to the target Actor so you can access it from your working Actor. This communication method uses a one-to-one relationship between your working Actor and your target Actor. In this Quick Start guide, you will learn how to use direct Actor communication to access information from a target Actor in order to use its functions.

1 - Required Setup

  1. In the New Project Categories section of the menu, select Games and click Next.

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  2. Select the Third Person template and click Next.

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  3. Select the Blueprint and With Starter Content options and click Create Project.

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Section Results

You have created a new Third Person project and are now ready to learn about direct Actor communication.

2 - Adding Direct Actor Communication

  1. Go to Starter Content > Blueprints inside the Content Browser and drag the Blueprint_CeilingLight actor into the Level.

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  2. Select your ThirdPersonCharacter Actor in the Level and position it closer to the lamp.

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  3. With your ThirdPersonCharacter Actor selected, go to the World Outliner and click Edit ThirdPersonCharacter to open the Blueprint editor.

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  4. Go to the Variables section and click the + Variable button to create a new variable.

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  5. Name the variable LampReference.

  6. Go to the Details panel and click the Variable Type dropdown. Search for and select the Object Reference for the Blueprint Ceiling Light as shown below.

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  7. Finally, enable the Instance Editable checkbox and Compile and Save the Blueprint.

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  8. In the Event Graph, right-click and search for and select the F key to create the input node.

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  9. Drag from the Pressed pin of the F Key node and search for and select Flip Flop.

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  10. Drag the Lamp Reference variable into the Event Graph and select Get LampReference. Drag from the pin and search for and select Get Point Light 1.

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  11. Drag from the Point Light 1 pin and search for and select Set Visibility. Connect the A pin from the Flip Flop node to the Set Visibility node as shown below.

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  12. Copy the Lamp Reference, Point Lamp 1, and Set Visibility nodes and connect them to the B Pin of the Flip Flop Node. Enable the New Visibility checkbox as shown below.

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  13. Compile and Save the Blueprint.

Section Results

In this section you modified your ThirdPersonCharacter Blueprint Actor to use a reference to the lamp Actor and turn the lamp on and off by pressing the F key.

3 - Interacting with the Lamp Actor

  1. Select the ThirdPersonCharacter Actor in your Level and from the Details panel click the Lamp Reference dropdown. Search for and select the Blueprint_CeilingLight Blueprint.

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  2. Press Play to go into Play Mode and press the F key to turn the lamp on and off.

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Section Results

In this section you added the Ceiling Lamp Actor reference to the ThirdPersonCharacter Blueprint Actor and you turned the light on and off by pressing the F key.

Next Steps

Now that you know how to use direct Actor communication, take a look at the other types of communication referenced in the Actor Communication documentation page.

Overview

Direct Actor communication is a common method of sharing information between Actors in your Level. This method requires a reference to the target Actor so you can access it from your working Actor. This communication method uses a one-to-one relationship between your working Actor and your target Actor. In this Quick Start guide, you will learn how to use direct Actor communication to access information from a target Actor in order to use its functions.

1 - Required Setup

  1. In the New Project Categories section of the menu, select Games and click Next.

    image alt text

  2. Select the Third Person template and click Next.

    image alt text

  3. Select C++ and With Starter Content options and click Create Project.

    image alt text

Section Results

You have created a new Third Person project and are now ready to learn about direct Blueprint communication.

2 - Creating the Ceiling Light Actor

  1. From the C++ Class Wizzard, create a new Actor class named CeilingLight.

    image alt text

  2. In the class defaults of CeilingLight.h implement the following code.

                 protected:
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 USceneComponent* SceneComp;
		
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 class UPointLightComponent* PointLightComp;
		
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 UStaticMeshComponent* StaticMeshComp;
		
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 float Brightness;
		
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 float SourceRadius;
		
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 FLinearColor Color;
		
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 bool IsLightOn;

  3. Next navigate to CeilingLight.Cpp and declare the following Include library.

                 #include "Components/PointLightComponent.h"

  4. From the constructor ACeilingLight::CeilingLight declare the following.

                 ACeilingLight::ACeilingLight()
             {
                 // Set this actor to call Tick() every frame. You can turn this off to improve performance if you don't need it.
                 PrimaryActorTick.bCanEverTick = true;
                 SceneComp = CreateDefaultSubobject<USceneComponent>(TEXT("SceneComp"));
                 PointLightComp = CreateDefaultSubobject<UPointLightComponent>(TEXT("PointLightComp"));
                 StaticMeshComp = CreateDefaultSubobject<UStaticMeshComponent>(TEXT("StaticMeshComp"));
                 SceneComp = RootComponent;
                 PointLightComp->AttachToComponent(SceneComp,FAttachmentTransformRules::KeepRelativeTransform);
                 StaticMeshComp->AttachToComponent(SceneComp, FAttachmentTransformRules::KeepRelativeTransform);
                 PointLightComp->SetWorldLocation(FVector(0, 0, -130));
                 Brightness = 1700.f;
                 Color = FLinearColor(1.f, 0.77f, 0.46f);
                 SourceRadius = 3.5f;
                 PointLightComp->SetIntensity(Brightness);
                 PointLightComp->SetLightColor(Color);
                 PointLightComp->SetSourceRadius(SourceRadius);
		
             }

  5. Compile your code.

Finished Code

CeilingLight.h

	// Fill out your copyright notice in the Description page of Project Settings.
	#pragma once

	#include "CoreMinimal.h"
	#include "GameFramework/Actor.h"
	#include "CeilingLight.generated.h"

	UCLASS()
	class BPCOMMUNICATION_API ACeilingLight : public AActor
	{
		GENERATED_BODY()

	public:	
		// Sets default values for this actor's properties
		ACeilingLight();
	protected:
		// Called when the game starts or when spawned
		virtual void BeginPlay() override;

		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		USceneComponent* SceneComp;

		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		class UPointLightComponent* PointLightComp;

		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		UStaticMeshComponent* StaticMeshComp;

		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		float Brightness;

		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		float SourceRadius;

		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		FLinearColor Color;

		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		bool IsLightOn;

	public:	
		// Called every frame
		virtual void Tick(float DeltaTime) override;

		UFUNCTION()
		void TurnOffLight();
	};

CeilingLight.cpp

	//Copyright Epic Games, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
	#include "CeilingLight.h"
	#include "Components/PointLightComponent.h"

	// Sets default values
	ACeilingLight::ACeilingLight()
	{
		// Set this actor to call Tick() every frame. You can turn this off to improve performance if you don't need it.
		PrimaryActorTick.bCanEverTick = true;
		SceneComp = CreateDefaultSubobject<USceneComponent>(TEXT("SceneComp"));
		PointLightComp = CreateDefaultSubobject<UPointLightComponent>(TEXT("PointLightComp"));
		StaticMeshComp = CreateDefaultSubobject<UStaticMeshComponent>(TEXT("StaticMeshComp"));
		SceneComp = RootComponent;
		PointLightComp->AttachToComponent(SceneComp,FAttachmentTransformRules::KeepRelativeTransform);
		StaticMeshComp->AttachToComponent(SceneComp, FAttachmentTransformRules::KeepRelativeTransform);
		PointLightComp->SetWorldLocation(FVector(0, 0, -130));
		Brightness = 1700.f;
		Color = FLinearColor(1.f, 0.77f, 0.46f);
		SourceRadius = 3.5f;
		PointLightComp->SetIntensity(Brightness);
		PointLightComp->SetLightColor(Color);
		PointLightComp->SetSourceRadius(SourceRadius);

	}

	// Called when the game starts or when spawned
	void ACeilingLight::BeginPlay()
	{
		Super::BeginPlay();

	}

	void ACeilingLight::TurnOffLight()
	{
		if (IsLightOn)
		{
			PointLightComp->SetVisibility(false);
			IsLightOn = false;
		}
		else
		{
			PointLightComp->SetVisibility(true);
			IsLightOn = true;
		}
	}

	// Called every frame
	void ACeilingLight::Tick(float DeltaTime)
	{
		Super::Tick(DeltaTime);
	}

  1. From the C++ Classes folder, right-click your CeilingLight Actor, then from the C++ Class Actions dropdown menu, select Create Blueprint class based on CeilingLight. Name your Blueprint BP_CeilingLight.

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  2. From the BP_CeilingLight class defaults, navigate to the Components panel, then select the StaticMeshComp.

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  3. From the Details panel, navigate to the Static Mesh category, select the dropdown arrow next to the Static Mesh variable, then search and select for SM_Lamp_Ceiling.

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  4. Compile and save your Blueprint

  5. From the Content Browser, drag an instance of your BP_CeilingLight Actor into your Level.

    image alt text

Modifying the ThirdPersonCharacter Class

  1. Navigate to your C++ Classes folder, and double-click the BPCommunicationCharacter class to open its BPCommunicationCharacter.h, then declare the following code in the class defaults.

                 protected:
                 UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
                 class ACeilingLight* CeilingLightToToggle;
                 void ToggleCeilingLight();

  2. Navigate to your BPCommunicationCharacter.cpp, and declare the following include.

                 #include "CeilingLight.h"

  3. Implement your ABPCommunicationCharacter::ToggleCeilingLight method.

                 void ABPCommunicationCharacter::ToggleCeilingLight()
             {
                 if (CeilingLightToToggle)
                     {
                       CeilingLightToToggle->TurnOffLight();
                     }
             }

  4. Navigate to the ABPCommunicationCharacter::SetupPlayerInputComponent method and declare the following.

                 PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Use", IE_Pressed, this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::ToggleCeilingLight);

  5. In the Editor, navigate to Edit > Project Settings > Input. From the Bindings category, navigate to the Action Mappings then click the Add (+) button to create a new Action mapping named Use, and select the E key for the key value.

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  6. Compile your code.

Finished Code

BPCommunicationCharacter.h

	// Copyright Epic Games, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
	#pragma once

	#include "CoreMinimal.h"
	#include "GameFramework/Character.h"
	#include "BPCommunicationCharacter.generated.h"

	UCLASS(config=Game)
	class ABPCommunicationCharacter : public ACharacter
	{
		GENERATED_BODY()

		/** Camera boom positioning the camera behind the character */
		UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = Camera, meta = (AllowPrivateAccess = "true"))
		class USpringArmComponent* CameraBoom;

		/** Follow camera */
		UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = Camera, meta = (AllowPrivateAccess = "true"))
		class UCameraComponent* FollowCamera;

	public:
		ABPCommunicationCharacter();

		/** Base turn rate, in deg/sec. Other scaling may affect final turn rate. */
		UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category=Camera)
		float BaseTurnRate;

		/** Base look up/down rate, in deg/sec. Other scaling may affect the final rate. */
		UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category=Camera)
		float BaseLookUpRate;

	protected:
		UPROPERTY(EditInstanceOnly, BlueprintReadWrite)
		class ACeilingLight* CeilingLightToToggle;
		void ToggleCeilingLight();

		/** Resets HMD orientation in VR. */
		void OnResetVR();

		/** Called for forwards/backward input */
		void MoveForward(float Value);

		/** Called for side to side input */
		void MoveRight(float Value);

		/**
		* Called via input to turn at a given rate.
		* @param Rate	This is a normalized rate, i.e. 1.0 means 100% of desired turn rate
		 */

		void TurnAtRate(float Rate);
		/**
		* Called via input to turn look up/down at a given rate.
		* @param Rate	This is a normalized rate, i.e. 1.0 means 100% of desired turn rate
		 */

		void LookUpAtRate(float Rate);

		/** Handler for when a touch input begins. */
		void TouchStarted(ETouchIndex::Type FingerIndex, FVector Location);

		/** Handler for when a touch input stops. */
		void TouchStopped(ETouchIndex::Type FingerIndex, FVector Location);

	protected:

		// APawn interface
		virtual void SetupPlayerInputComponent(class UInputComponent* PlayerInputComponent) override;
		// End of APawn interface

	public:
		/** Returns CameraBoom subobject **/
		FORCEINLINE class USpringArmComponent* GetCameraBoom() const { return CameraBoom; }

		/** Returns FollowCamera subobject **/
		FORCEINLINE class UCameraComponent* GetFollowCamera() const { return FollowCamera; }
	};

BPCommunicationCharacter.cpp

	// Copyright Epic Games, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
	#include "BPCommunicationCharacter.h"
	#include "HeadMountedDisplayFunctionLibrary.h"
	#include "Camera/CameraComponent.h"
	#include "Components/CapsuleComponent.h"
	#include "Components/InputComponent.h"
	#include "GameFramework/CharacterMovementComponent.h"
	#include "GameFramework/Controller.h"
	#include "GameFramework/SpringArmComponent.h"
	#include "CeilingLight.h"

	ABPCommunicationCharacter::ABPCommunicationCharacter()
	{
		// Set size for collision capsule
		GetCapsuleComponent()->InitCapsuleSize(42.f, 96.0f);

		// set our turn rates for input
		BaseTurnRate = 45.f;
		BaseLookUpRate = 45.f;

		// Don't rotate when the controller rotates. Let that just affect the camera.
		bUseControllerRotationPitch = false;
		bUseControllerRotationYaw = false;
		bUseControllerRotationRoll = false;

		// Configure character movement
		GetCharacterMovement()->bOrientRotationToMovement = true; // Character moves in the direction of input...	
		GetCharacterMovement()->RotationRate = FRotator(0.0f, 540.0f, 0.0f); // ...at this rotation rate
		GetCharacterMovement()->JumpZVelocity = 600.f;
		GetCharacterMovement()->AirControl = 0.2f;

		// Create a camera boom (pulls in towards the player if there is a collision)
		CameraBoom = CreateDefaultSubobject<USpringArmComponent>(TEXT("CameraBoom"));
		CameraBoom->SetupAttachment(RootComponent);
		CameraBoom->TargetArmLength = 300.0f; // The camera follows at this distance behind the character	
		CameraBoom->bUsePawnControlRotation = true; // Rotate the arm based on the controller

		// Create a follow camera
		FollowCamera = CreateDefaultSubobject<UCameraComponent>(TEXT("FollowCamera"));
		FollowCamera->SetupAttachment(CameraBoom, USpringArmComponent::SocketName); // Attach the camera to the end of the boom and let the boom adjust to match the controller orientation
		FollowCamera->bUsePawnControlRotation = false; // Camera does not rotate relative to arm

		// Note: The skeletal mesh and anim blueprint references on the Mesh component (inherited from Character)
		// are set in the derived blueprint asset named MyCharacter (to avoid direct content references in C++)
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::SetupPlayerInputComponent(class UInputComponent* PlayerInputComponent)
	{
		// Set up gameplay key bindings
		check(PlayerInputComponent);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Jump", IE_Pressed, this, &ACharacter::Jump);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Jump", IE_Released, this, &ACharacter::StopJumping);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Use", IE_Pressed, this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::ToggleCeilingLight);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("MoveForward", this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::MoveForward);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("MoveRight", this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::MoveRight);

		// We have 2 versions of the rotation bindings to handle different kinds of devices differently
		// "turn" handles devices that provide an absolute delta, such as a mouse.
		// "turn rate" is for devices that we choose to treat as a rate of change, such as an analog joystick
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("Turn", this, &APawn::AddControllerYawInput);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("TurnRate", this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::TurnAtRate);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("LookUp", this, &APawn::AddControllerPitchInput);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("LookUpRate", this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::LookUpAtRate);

		// handle touch devices
		PlayerInputComponent->BindTouch(IE_Pressed, this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::TouchStarted);
		PlayerInputComponent->BindTouch(IE_Released, this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::TouchStopped);

		// VR headset functionality
		PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("ResetVR", IE_Pressed, this, &ABPCommunicationCharacter::OnResetVR);
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::ToggleCeilingLight()
	{
		if (CeilingLightToToggle)
		{
			CeilingLightToToggle->TurnOffLight();
		}
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::OnResetVR()
	{
		// If BPCommunication is added to a project via 'Add Feature' in the Unreal Editor the dependency on HeadMountedDisplay in BPCommunication.Build.cs is not automatically propagated
		// and a linker error will result.
		// You will need to either:
		//		Add "HeadMountedDisplay" to [YourProject].Build.cs PublicDependencyModuleNames in order to build successfully (appropriate if supporting VR).
		// or:
		//		Comment or delete the call to ResetOrientationAndPosition below (appropriate if not supporting VR)
		UHeadMountedDisplayFunctionLibrary::ResetOrientationAndPosition();
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::TouchStarted(ETouchIndex::Type FingerIndex, FVector Location)
	{
			Jump();
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::TouchStopped(ETouchIndex::Type FingerIndex, FVector Location)
	{
			StopJumping();
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::TurnAtRate(float Rate)
	{
		// calculate delta for this frame from the rate information
		AddControllerYawInput(Rate * BaseTurnRate * GetWorld()->GetDeltaSeconds());
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::LookUpAtRate(float Rate)
	{
		// calculate delta for this frame from the rate information
		AddControllerPitchInput(Rate * BaseLookUpRate * GetWorld()->GetDeltaSeconds());
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::MoveForward(float Value)
	{
		if ((Controller != nullptr) && (Value != 0.0f))
		{
			// find out which way is forward
			const FRotator Rotation = Controller->GetControlRotation();
			const FRotator YawRotation(0, Rotation.Yaw, 0);

			// get forward vector
			const FVector Direction = FRotationMatrix(YawRotation).GetUnitAxis(EAxis::X);
			AddMovementInput(Direction, Value);
		}
	}

	void ABPCommunicationCharacter::MoveRight(float Value)
	{
		if ( (Controller != nullptr) && (Value != 0.0f) )
		{
			// find out which way is right
			const FRotator Rotation = Controller->GetControlRotation();
			const FRotator YawRotation(0, Rotation.Yaw, 0);

			// get right vector
			const FVector Direction = FRotationMatrix(YawRotation).GetUnitAxis(EAxis::Y);

			// add movement in that direction
			AddMovementInput(Direction, Value);
		}
	}

3 - Interacting with the Lamp Blueprint

  1. Select your ThirdPersonCharacter Blueprint in the Level and position it closer to the lamp.

    image alt text

  2. With your ThirdPersonCharacter selected, navigate to the Details panel, then from the BPCommunication Character category, find the Ceiling Light To Toggle variable, and select the arrow adjacent to it. From the dropdown menu, search for and select the BP_CeilingLight Actor.

    image alt text

  3. Press Play to go into PlE (Play-in Editor) mode and press the E key to turn the lamp on and off.

    image alt text

Section Results

In this section you added the Ceiling Light Actor reference to the ThirdPersonCharacter Blueprint and you turned the light on and off by pressing the E key.

Next Steps

Now that you know how to use direct Blueprint communication type, take a look at the other communication types referenced in the Actor Communication documentation page.

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