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.

Create animation triggers in the Editor

1. Open the Pixotope Editor

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

   

3. Let’s call it "AnimTrigger"

   

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

   

7. Let's call this "MyAnim"

   

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

14. Add a function called "beginPlay"

    

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

    

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

20. Click "Save and Compile!"

Link actions to a control panel

1. Create a new control panel

2. Select the AnimTrigger object in the Engine tab

3. Drag the BeginPlay function onto the canvas and select a Trigger widget

   

    

   

    

4. Repeat this step with other control functions you have created

Learn more about Creating a control panel - PRODUCTION