Blueprint workflow

Blueprint authoring workflow.

This chapter covers the standard Blueprint setup path: where the interactor lives, where the interactable lives, how slots are authored, and how UI hooks connect.

Primary runtime roles

Interactor Component lives on the player-side actor and handles tracing, focus selection, and interaction dispatch.
Interactable Component lives on the target actor and exposes slots, display metadata, widget behavior, and runtime state.
Slots define the actionable operation, including interaction type, conditions, cooldown, and feedback.

Authoring sequence

1. Add the interactor to the player actor Configure the component on the pawn or character that owns the camera or trace origin and receives interaction input.

2. Add the interactable to the target actor Configure target-side fields such as slots, title, description, widget behavior, and optional respawn.

3. Define the slot Choose the interaction mode, fill its nested settings, and connect the result to Blueprint gameplay logic.

4. Attach presentation hooks Add widget anchors, notification widgets, feedback assets, or outline settings after the core interaction path works.

Interaction Widget Anchor Component

Add this component to the target actor when prompt widgets or distant indicators should resolve from a specific point instead of the actor origin.
Typical cases include door handles, levers, keypads, machine screens, sockets, and other non-central attachment points.
When present, projected widgets and distant indicators use the anchor automatically.

Implementation note: anchor-based placement reduces the need for large widget offsets by moving the visual origin into the actor hierarchy.

Notification flow

Use NotifyInteractor or NotifyInteractorMessage on the target side when an interaction result should be surfaced through UI.
Bind the player UI to OnInteractionNotificationReceived on the interactor component to receive those payloads.
Assign NotificationWidgetClass on the interactable when a specific widget class should be spawned for that target's notifications.

Responsibility split: the interactable emits the result payload and the UI layer decides how that payload is presented.

Common Blueprint tasks

Concern	Where to look
Set up a basic actor interaction.	Getting Started
Choose the correct slot behavior.	Interaction Modes
Configure prompt widgets, anchors, or notifications.	UI and Feedback
Inspect player-side tracing and selection fields.	Interactor Reference
Inspect target-side fields and slot data.	Interactable Reference and Slot and Settings Reference
Author resource gathering or foliage-based interaction.	Foliage

Recommended chapter usage

Use Interaction Modes when selecting the slot behavior type.
Use Interactor Reference for tracing, target selection, icon display, and notification routing fields.
Use Interactable Reference and Slot and Settings Reference for target-side authoring fields.

When to move to C++

Move into C++ only when the project needs interaction behavior that is not covered by the exposed Blueprint API or when runtime extension points must be implemented directly inside the plugin.