Character Overlap Events

December 01, 2017

UE4 Version: 4.18.3

Github Link: https://github.com/Harrison1/unrealcpp/tree/master/CharacterOverlapEvents

For this tutorial we are using the standard first person C++ template with starter content.

In your Character.h file declare OnOverlapBegin and OnOverlapEnd methods in the public section. My header file in this tutorial is called UnrealCPPCharacter.h, your file might be called something different. You can learn more about OnComponentBeginOverlap here and OnComponentEndOverlap here.

add overlap functions to the header file

public
  ...

  // declare overlap begin function
	UFUNCTION()
	void OnOverlapBegin(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex, bool bFromSweep, const FHitResult& SweepResult);

	// declare overlap end function
	UFUNCTION()
	void OnOverlapEnd(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex);

In this tutorial we are going to add a capsule component to our character that handles trigger events. This will be a separate capsule from the character's root capsule because I was having trouble with the correct events firing when I used the root capsule. So the new capsule with be identical to the root capsule but only manage overlap events. I know it's confusing, my fault, if I can figure out how to refactor it later I will update the code base.

add trigger capsule to header file

class AUnrealCPPCharacter : public ACharacter
{
  GENERATED_BODY()

  ...

	// create trigger capsule
	UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, Category = "Trigger Capsule")
  class UCapsuleComponent* TriggerCapsule;

We are finished with the header file. Moving on the character .cpp file. My .cpp file in this tutorial is called UnrealCPPCharacter.cpp, your file might be called something different.

If you are not already including the Components/CapsuleComponent.h include the file at the top.

include capsule component

#include "Components/CapsuleComponent.h"

In the character init function we will add the capsule component to the character and connect it to the overlap events.

To add a capsule to our character we first CreateDefaultSubobject of a UCapsuleComponent and name it whatever we want. I called it "Trigger Capsule". Next, we havt to initialize th size, I made the size the same as the initial capsule component that was declared earlier in the init function. We can also set the collision type for this component by using SetCollisionProfileName. We add the Trigger profile name to the capsule which gives the component similar overlap events to a trigger capsule. This can also easliy be set in the editor. Finally attach the TriggerCapsule to the RootComponent

add trigger capsule to character

AUnrealCPPCharacter::AUnrealCPPCharacter()
{
  ...
  // declare trigger capsule
	TriggerCapsule = CreateDefaultSubobject<UCapsuleComponent>(TEXT("Trigger Capsule"));
	TriggerCapsule->InitCapsuleSize(55.f, 96.0f);;
	TriggerCapsule->SetCollisionProfileName(TEXT("Trigger"));
  TriggerCapsule->SetupAttachment(RootComponent);
}

We connect our capsule to overlap events by calling OnComponentBeginOverlap and OnComponentEndOverlap. You can learn more about OnComponentBeginOverlap here and OnComponentEndOverlap here.

connect overlap events to capsule

AUnrealCPPCharacter::AUnrealCPPCharacter()
{
  ...

  // declare overlap events
	TriggerCapsule->OnComponentBeginOverlap.AddDynamic(this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapBegin); 
	TriggerCapsule->OnComponentEndOverlap.AddDynamic(this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapEnd); 

}

Finally, we have to create the OnOverlapBegin and OnOverlapEnd functions. This will be a simple function that prints a message to screen when the character overlaps with overlap component.

OnOverlapBegin and OnOverlapEnd functions

...
void AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapBegin(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex, bool bFromSweep, const FHitResult& SweepResult)
{
	if (OtherActor && (OtherActor != this) && OtherComp) 
	{
		GEngine->AddOnScreenDebugMessage(-1, 5.f, FColor::Red, TEXT("Overlap Begin"));
	}
} 

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapEnd(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex)
{
	if (OtherActor && (OtherActor != this) && OtherComp) 
	{
		GEngine->AddOnScreenDebugMessage(-1, 5.f, FColor::Red, TEXT("Overlap End"));
	}
}

Below is the final code for the tutorial.

#include "CoreMinimal.h"
#include "GameFramework/Character.h"
#include "LightSwitchPushButton/LightSwitchPushButton.h"
#include "UnrealCPPCharacter.generated.h"

class UInputComponent;

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

	/** Pawn mesh: 1st person view (arms; seen only by self) */
	UPROPERTY(VisibleDefaultsOnly, Category=Mesh)
	class USkeletalMeshComponent* Mesh1P;

	/** Gun mesh: 1st person view (seen only by self) */
	UPROPERTY(VisibleDefaultsOnly, Category = Mesh)
	class USkeletalMeshComponent* FP_Gun;

	/** Location on gun mesh where projectiles should spawn. */
	UPROPERTY(VisibleDefaultsOnly, Category = Mesh)
	class USceneComponent* FP_MuzzleLocation;

	/** First person camera */
	UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category = Camera, meta = (AllowPrivateAccess = "true"))
	class UCameraComponent* FirstPersonCameraComponent;

	// create trigger capsule
	UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, Category = "Trigger Capsule")
	class UCapsuleComponent* TriggerCapsule;

public:
	AUnrealCPPCharacter();

protected:
	virtual void BeginPlay();

public:
	/** 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 final rate. */
	UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Category=Camera)
	float BaseLookUpRate;

	/** Gun muzzle's offset from the characters location */
	UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadWrite, Category=Gameplay)
	FVector GunOffset;

	/** Projectile class to spawn */
	UPROPERTY(EditDefaultsOnly, Category=Projectile)
	TSubclassOf<class AUnrealCPPProjectile> ProjectileClass;

	/** Sound to play each time we fire */
	UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadWrite, Category=Gameplay)
	class USoundBase* FireSound;

	/** AnimMontage to play each time we fire */
	UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadWrite, Category = Gameplay)
	class UAnimMontage* FireAnimation;

	// declare overlap begin function
	UFUNCTION()
	void OnOverlapBegin(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex, bool bFromSweep, const FHitResult& SweepResult);

	// declare overlap end function
	UFUNCTION()
	void OnOverlapEnd(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex);

protected:
	
	/** Fires a projectile. */
	void OnFire();

	/** Handles moving forward/backward */
	void MoveForward(float Val);

	/** Handles stafing movement, left and right */
	void MoveRight(float Val);

	/**
	 * 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);
	
protected:
	// APawn interface
	virtual void SetupPlayerInputComponent(UInputComponent* InputComponent) override;
	// End of APawn interface
	FORCEINLINE class USkeletalMeshComponent* GetMesh1P() const { return Mesh1P; }
	/** Returns FirstPersonCameraComponent subobject **/
	FORCEINLINE class UCameraComponent* GetFirstPersonCameraComponent() const { return FirstPersonCameraComponent; }

};

#include "UnrealCPPCharacter.h"
#include "UnrealCPPProjectile.h"
#include "Animation/AnimInstance.h"
#include "Camera/CameraComponent.h"
#include "Components/CapsuleComponent.h"
#include "Components/SphereComponent.h"
#include "Components/InputComponent.h"
#include "GameFramework/InputSettings.h"
#include "HeadMountedDisplayFunctionLibrary.h"
#include "Kismet/GameplayStatics.h"
#include "MotionControllerComponent.h"

DEFINE_LOG_CATEGORY_STATIC(LogFPChar, Warning, All);

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// AUnrealCPPCharacter

AUnrealCPPCharacter::AUnrealCPPCharacter()
{
	// Set size for collision capsule
	GetCapsuleComponent()->InitCapsuleSize(55.f, 96.0f);

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

	// Create a CameraComponent	
	FirstPersonCameraComponent = CreateDefaultSubobject<UCameraComponent>(TEXT("FirstPersonCamera"));
	FirstPersonCameraComponent->SetupAttachment(GetCapsuleComponent());
	FirstPersonCameraComponent->RelativeLocation = FVector(-39.56f, 1.75f, 64.f); // Position the camera
	FirstPersonCameraComponent->bUsePawnControlRotation = true;

	// Create a mesh component that will be used when being viewed from a '1st person' view (when controlling this pawn)
	Mesh1P = CreateDefaultSubobject<USkeletalMeshComponent>(TEXT("CharacterMesh1P"));
	Mesh1P->SetOnlyOwnerSee(true);
	Mesh1P->SetupAttachment(FirstPersonCameraComponent);
	Mesh1P->bCastDynamicShadow = false;
	Mesh1P->CastShadow = false;
	Mesh1P->RelativeRotation = FRotator(1.9f, -19.19f, 5.2f);
	Mesh1P->RelativeLocation = FVector(-0.5f, -4.4f, -155.7f);

	// Create a gun mesh component
	FP_Gun = CreateDefaultSubobject<USkeletalMeshComponent>(TEXT("FP_Gun"));
	FP_Gun->SetOnlyOwnerSee(true);			// only the owning player will see this mesh
	FP_Gun->bCastDynamicShadow = false;
	FP_Gun->CastShadow = false;
	// FP_Gun->SetupAttachment(Mesh1P, TEXT("GripPoint"));
	FP_Gun->SetupAttachment(RootComponent);

	FP_MuzzleLocation = CreateDefaultSubobject<USceneComponent>(TEXT("MuzzleLocation"));
	FP_MuzzleLocation->SetupAttachment(FP_Gun);
	FP_MuzzleLocation->SetRelativeLocation(FVector(0.2f, 48.4f, -10.6f));

	// Default offset from the character location for projectiles to spawn
	GunOffset = FVector(100.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f);

	// Note: The ProjectileClass and the skeletal mesh/anim blueprints for Mesh1P, FP_Gun, and VR_Gun 
	// are set in the derived blueprint asset named MyCharacter to avoid direct content references in C++.

    // declare trigger capsule
	TriggerCapsule = CreateDefaultSubobject<UCapsuleComponent>(TEXT("Trigger Capsule"));
	TriggerCapsule->InitCapsuleSize(55.f, 96.0f);;
	TriggerCapsule->SetCollisionProfileName(TEXT("Trigger"));
	TriggerCapsule->SetupAttachment(RootComponent);

    // declare overlap events
	TriggerCapsule->OnComponentBeginOverlap.AddDynamic(this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapBegin); 
	TriggerCapsule->OnComponentEndOverlap.AddDynamic(this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapEnd); 

}

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::BeginPlay()
{
	// Call the base class  
	Super::BeginPlay();

	//Attach gun mesh component to Skeleton, doing it here because the skeleton is not yet created in the constructor
	FP_Gun->AttachToComponent(Mesh1P, FAttachmentTransformRules(EAttachmentRule::SnapToTarget, true), TEXT("GripPoint"));

	Mesh1P->SetHiddenInGame(false, true);

}

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Input

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::SetupPlayerInputComponent(class UInputComponent* PlayerInputComponent)
{
	// set up gameplay key bindings
	check(PlayerInputComponent);

	// Bind jump events
	PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Jump", IE_Pressed, this, &ACharacter::Jump);
	PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Jump", IE_Released, this, &ACharacter::StopJumping);

	// Bind fire event
	PlayerInputComponent->BindAction("Fire", IE_Pressed, this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnFire);

	// Bind movement events
	PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("MoveForward", this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::MoveForward);
	PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("MoveRight", this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::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.
	// "turnrate" 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, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::TurnAtRate);
	PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("LookUp", this, &APawn::AddControllerPitchInput);
	PlayerInputComponent->BindAxis("LookUpRate", this, &AUnrealCPPCharacter::LookUpAtRate);
}

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnFire()
{
	// try and fire a projectile
	if (ProjectileClass != NULL)
	{
		UWorld* const World = GetWorld();
		if (World != NULL)
		{
			const FRotator SpawnRotation = GetControlRotation();
			// MuzzleOffset is in camera space, so transform it to world space before offsetting from the character location to find the final muzzle position
			const FVector SpawnLocation = ((FP_MuzzleLocation != nullptr) ? FP_MuzzleLocation->GetComponentLocation() : GetActorLocation()) + SpawnRotation.RotateVector(GunOffset);

			//Set Spawn Collision Handling Override
			FActorSpawnParameters ActorSpawnParams;
			ActorSpawnParams.SpawnCollisionHandlingOverride = ESpawnActorCollisionHandlingMethod::AdjustIfPossibleButDontSpawnIfColliding;

			// spawn the projectile at the muzzle
			World->SpawnActor<AUnrealCPPProjectile>(ProjectileClass, SpawnLocation, SpawnRotation, ActorSpawnParams);
		}
	}

	// try and play the sound if specified
	if (FireSound != NULL)
	{
		UGameplayStatics::PlaySoundAtLocation(this, FireSound, GetActorLocation());
	}

	// try and play a firing animation if specified
	if (FireAnimation != NULL)
	{
		// Get the animation object for the arms mesh
		UAnimInstance* AnimInstance = Mesh1P->GetAnimInstance();
		if (AnimInstance != NULL)
		{
			AnimInstance->Montage_Play(FireAnimation, 1.f);
		}
	}
}

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::MoveForward(float Value)
{
	if (Value != 0.0f)
	{
		// add movement in that direction
		AddMovementInput(GetActorForwardVector(), Value);
	}
}

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::MoveRight(float Value)
{
	if (Value != 0.0f)
	{
		// add movement in that direction
		AddMovementInput(GetActorRightVector(), Value);
	}
}

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

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

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapBegin(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex, bool bFromSweep, const FHitResult& SweepResult)
{
	if (OtherActor && (OtherActor != this) && OtherComp) 
	{
		GEngine->AddOnScreenDebugMessage(-1, 5.f, FColor::Red, TEXT("Overlap Begin"));
	}
} 

void AUnrealCPPCharacter::OnOverlapEnd(class UPrimitiveComponent* OverlappedComp, class AActor* OtherActor, class UPrimitiveComponent* OtherComp, int32 OtherBodyIndex)
{
	if (OtherActor && (OtherActor != this) && OtherComp) 
	{
		GEngine->AddOnScreenDebugMessage(-1, 5.f, FColor::Red, TEXT("Overlap End"));
	}
}

Author

Harrison McGuire

Harrison McGuire