3. Character Class Components and Blueprint Setup

Overview

This chapter will focus on the Character class in C++. You will be shown how to extend the Character class in C++ and then extend this newly created Character class further in Blueprints via inheritance. You will also work with player input and some movement logic.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to understand how class inheritance works in UE4 and how to utilize it to your advantage. You will also be able to work with Axis and Action Input Mappings, which are key in driving player-related input logic.

Introduction

In the previous chapter, we learned how to create empty projects and import files, which folder structure to use, and how to work with animations. In this chapter, we'll explore some other key tools and functionality that you will work with when using Unreal Engine.

Game developers often need to use certain tools that save them time and energy when building game functionality. Unreal Engine's powerful object inheritance capabilities give developers the edge they need to be more efficient. Developers can also work with both C++ and Blueprints interchangeably and use them to their benefit when developing games.

Another value-added benefit developers gain is the ability to extend code for use later in a project. Let's say your client has new requirements that build upon the old ones (as is the case in most game studios). Now, to extend functionality, developers can just inherit a class and add more functionality to it to get results quickly. This is very...

The Unreal Character Class

Before we talk about the Unreal Character class, let's briefly touch on the concept of inheritance. If you're used to working with C++ or another similar language, you should already be familiar with this concept. Inheritance is the process whereby a class derives characteristics and behavior from another class. A C++ class can be extended to create a new class – the derived class – that retains properties of the base class and allows for these properties to be modified, or for new characteristics to be added. An example of this is the Character class.

A Character class is a special type of pawn and is a descendant of the Unreal Pawn class. Extending upon the Pawn class, the Character class has some movement capabilities by default, along with some inputs that add movement to the character. As standard, the Character class gives users the ability to get a character to walk, run, jump, fly, and swim within the created world.

Since...

Extending the C++ Class with Blueprints

As mentioned earlier, most developers extend the C++ code logic to blueprints in order to link this with the assets they will use. This is done to achieve easy asset assignment compared to finding and setting up the asset in code. Furthermore, it gives developers the ability to use powerful blueprint features such as Timelines, Events, and ready-to-use macros, in combination with their C++ code, to achieve the maximum benefit of developing with both C++ and Blueprints.

So far, we have made a C++ Character class. In it, we have set up components and movement capabilities. Now, we want to specify the assets that are going to be used in our class, as well as add input and movement ability. For this, it is easier to extend with Blueprint and set up the options there. This is what we will be doing in the next exercise.

Exercise 3.02: Extending C++ with Blueprints

In this exercise, you will learn how to extend the C++ class you created...

Summary

In this chapter, you learned how to create a C++ Character class, add initializer code to it, and then use Blueprints to extend it to set up assets and add additional code.

The result obeys the C++ code, as well as the Blueprint code, and can be used in any purposeful scenario.

You also learned how to set up Axis Mappings mapped to the W, A, S, and D keys to move players (which is the default movement mapping in many games). You also learned how to make the character jump within the game.

In the next chapter, you will explore Input Mapping in-depth and how to use the Mobile Previewer within Unreal Editor. This will help you create games with solid inputs mapped to game and player logic. It will also allow you to quickly test what your game will look and feel like on a mobile, all within Unreal Editor.