Prop Mods

Beginning with LCv4.2, Automation supports player-addable and player-customizable props to be placed and edited in the photoscene.

A Prop can be placed by the player into the photoscene, and moved/scaled/rotated freely, and optionally may have its' own set of player-customizable UI options.

A Prop can be anything, from a traffic cone, to a mannequin, to a post-process effect that changes the way the camera sees the scene.

Overview

A prop consists of a collection of files:

• A Prop blueprint
• A Prop Preview file
• A Prop Group file
• A Prop Preview thumbnail
• A Prop Group thumbnail
• (Optionally) A Prop Widget blueprint

The Prop Blueprint is the actor which will be placed in the photoscene, and can be moved around and edited by the player.

The Prop Blueprint is spawned into the scene when the player selects a Prop Preview file.

The Prop Preview file contains a link to the Prop Blueprint, which it will spawn when the player selects it. The Prop Preview file also contains a link to a thumbnail image to display in the UI, as well as a link to the Prop Group under which this prop should be displayed.

The Prop Preview file may also optionally contain a reference to a prop widget blueprint, which will be added to the photoscene UI under the Selected Prop Settings menu.

The Prop Group also contains a thumbnail, which will be displayed when the player enters the prop group selection menu. when the player selects a Prop Group, all Prop Preview files that reference that group will be displayed to the player.

Workflow

1. Create your prop, with all its optional functionality, inside a Blueprint whose parent class is Photoscene Prop Parent Class.
2. (Optionally) Create a prop widget, with all its optional functionality, whose parent class is Photoscene Prop Parent Widget.
3. Create a thumbnail texture for your prop.
4. Create a PhotoScenePropPreview file, and fill it out with your prop blueprint, thumbnail, and optional widget.
5. Fill out the remaining settings inside the prop preview file, including a Prop Group (if this prop is part of an existing group).
6. If this prop is not part of an existing prop group, also create a prop group preview file, prop group thumbnail, and assign the newly created prop group to your prop preview file.

Creating a Prop Blueprint

A Prop Blueprint contains all of the visuals and functionality of your prop. It can be as simple or as complex as you like.

The Prop Blueprint is a child of Photoscene_Prop_Parent_Class.

To Create your Prop Blueprint:

1. right-click in the Content Browser, and create a Blueprint.
2. From the window that pops up, drop down the 'all classes' menu, search for, and select, Photoscene_Prop_Parent_Class as the parent class.

A prop blueprint can contain whatever you like, whether it be just a simple static mesh, or something more complex like an animated object, or something with physics simulation.

Prop Blueprint Functionality

There are a few helper functions in the Prop Blueprint that you can override and use:

Note that most of the ones with 'Actor' listed on the right are irrelevant. we only need to focus on the ones with 'Photoscene Prop Parent Class' as the parent.

• Init:
  • This function is called when the prop is first spawned in the scene.
  • If you want to initialize or set up anything when the prop is created, do so here.
• On Spawned:
  • This function calls Init.
  • This function is for internal use only.
  • Do not call this function yourself.
• Post-Screenshot:
  • This event is called just after a photo is taken in the photoscene.
  • If you have anything set to turn on or off during a photo, this event happens right after the photo is taken.
• Pre-Destruct:
  • This event is called just before the prop is deleted.
  • If your prop affects things outside of the prop actor, such as putting a post process effect onto the camera, or changing some part of the scene, please use this event to disable/undo all those effects before the prop is destroyed.
• Pre-Screenshot:
  • This event is called just before a photo is taken in the photoscene.
  • If you have any effect that you do not wish to be included in photos, use this event to turn them off, or vice versa.
• Snap To Ground:
  • This is an internal function and should not be overridden.
• Trace For Ground:
  • This is an internal function and should not be overridden.