Using Object Interaction Timed

Create Object Interaction Timed

To create an Object Interaction Timed ability, right-click in the Content Browser and select TwistedBytes | Abilities | Object Interaction Timed as shown in the image below.

Setup Interactable Actor

Create new GAS Actor Base, right-click in the Content Browser and select TwistedBytes | Actors | GAS Actor Base as shown in the image below.

Replace Default Scene Root with Skeletal Mesh Component 1. Set your Skeletal Mesh, in our case we are using the Door mesh 2 that is shipped with TBIA_Demo. Then you can easily create Animation Blueprint for the Door mesh by right-clicking in the Content Browser, select Animation | Animation Blueprint and select the Door skeletal mesh, after that assign it to the Door Skeletal mesh in the newly created GAS Actor Base 3.

Select TBIA_InteractionComponent 1, go to the details panel and add Object Interaction Timed 2 to the granted abilities on start.

We then add 4 static meshes 1 so that the door have some kind of buttons to interact with, and place them next to the door 2.

Create new Map Variable 1, it consists of key as 2 Primitive component and value 3 Integer. Open Construction Script and add the button meshes to the Map variable 4, 5 as shown in the image below.

We will use a simple technique to play montages on Interactable Actors

Open the Door AnimBP and drag door_open animation sequence into the AnimGraph 1 then right-click on the animation sequence and select Convert to single frame animation 2. Now the animation sequence will look like what you see in the image below 3. Add montage slot 4 to specify from where the montage will override the door animation.

Setup Door Montage

Open door_open_Montage make sure the Montage Sections 1,2,3 are named the same as in the GA_ObjectInteractionTimed as in the image below. The montage slot should match the defined slot in the Door AnimBP 4. Also make sure that the Interact montage section loops on itself 5 as shown in the image below.

Interactable Actor Logic

Open the new GasActorBase and override Is Available for Interaction, check if the interacted component "The component that the character is looking at" is a button by calling find on the Map variable to make sure the component is a button. Also make sure that the Door is not in the Interacting state. If this is true then the Door is available for interaction, otherwise it's not.

Override Is Blocked for Interaction and return true which means it's blocked so that no one can interact with the Door if it's state is Interacting.

override Get Interaction Context, make a struct based on TBIA_InteractionContext.

Primary Mesh Montage 1 is the interaction animation montage that we want to play on the PlayerCharacter when interacting with the Door.

Wait for Input Trigger 2 is set to True so that if the Player released the Interaction Button the Interaction will cancel.

Interaction Duration 3 is 1 sec which is the whole time needed for the Interaction to finish successfully.

Animation Loop Duration 4 is 0.8 sec which is the time that you want to loop the montage on.

Object Interaction Duration 5 is the lifetime of Object Interaction Timed Ability that will run on the Door.

Object Montage 5 is the montage that the Object Interaction Timed Ability will try to play when it starts.

Go to the Event Graph and navigate to On Post Interact. When this event is triggered on Authority 1, we want to call Send Gameplay Event to Interacting Actor. Pass the Interacted Actor as Self, Interacted Component as the Door Skeletal Mesh Component, set the EventTag to TBIA.Object.Interaction.Timed, Interacting Actor will be Self referenced also.

Place the Door actor in the world and Press Play in the Unreal Editor, look at the door button and press the E key which is the Interaction button that we configured earlier. You will see the PlayerCharacter playing the interaction montage for 1 second then the door will open for 3 seconds then it will be closed.