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Create animation trigger using Blueprint functions

To control an event in Pixotope using the Control Panel in Director, you need to create a trigger in the Editor.

With the power of the Unreal Blueprint visual scripting system, there are almost no limits to what type of interactions, integrations and control you can make, but in this example, we will trigger a small animation.

  1. Open the Pixotope Editor

  2. In the Content browser, right-click and create a Blueprint class actor

    image2019-8-28_16-41-42.png


  3. Let’s call it "AnimTrigger"

    image2019-8-28_16-42-1.png


  4. Choose "Save All" from the "File" menu to save the Actor

  5. Drag and drop it into the Viewport. It is now available in the World Outliner.

  6. In the Content browser, right-click and create a Level sequence from the "Animation" menu

    image2019-8-28_16-42-18.png


  7. Let's call this "MyAnim"

    image2019-8-28_16-42-31.png


  8. Drag it into the Viewport as well

  9. In the Content browser, double-click the "MyAnim" Level sequence. This opens the Sequencer. The Sequencer is one of the many ways you can animate content in Unreal. Here you can, for example, add keyframes to the transforms and make an animation

  10. Drag a movable static mesh actor from the World Outliner into the Sequencer

    image2019-8-28_16-42-55.png


  11. Add keyframes by pressing "S" on the keyboard when the object is at the desired position in the viewport

    image2019-8-28_16-43-15.png


  12. To trigger this animation from a Control panel in the Director, find our "AnimTrigger" in the World Outliner and click "Edit AnimTrigger". This brings up the Blueprint editor

    image2019-8-28_16-43-37.png


  13. Click the "+Function" button to create a function that we can trigger

    image2019-8-28_16-43-54.png


  14. Add a function called "beginPlay"

    image2019-8-28_16-44-15.png


  15. By dragging from the white "event" arrow we can add more nodes to complete our little function

  16. Add a "Create Level Sequence Player" node

  17. Select "MyAnim" on the "Create Level Sequence Player" node

  18. Add a "Play" node

    image2019-8-28_16-44-31.png


  19. Connect the Return Value of the "Create Level Sequence Player" node to the Target on the "Play" node

  20. Click "Save and Compile!"

  21. Go to Director

  22. Create a new control panel with a Trigger widget that points to this function
    See how to Create a Control Panel

  23. Add a trigger from the Toolbox

  24. Click "Edit action" of the newly created trigger

  25. Click "Add target"

  26. Select the "AnimTrigger" function
    The unique name (ID Name) might have a suffix added, for example: "AnimTrigger_2"

  27. Select the "beginPlay" function

    d7e5c151-7068-45c6-beed-d58e8d2140aa


  28. Click "Select"

  29. Click "Apply"

  30. Click "Save" to save your Control panel

  31. In the Editor, go to Play mode
    NOTE: This particular function requires you to be in Live or Play mode to trigger. It will not trigger in WYSIWYG Editor mode.

  32. Try out your animation

    image2019-8-28_16-45-2.png