Add an object the player can inspect¶

You end up with an object sitting in the level that the player can hold up, turn around, read and act on. It costs one Data Asset and one actor dragged into the level. You do not open a graph.

If you want the mental model first, read How 3D inspection works.

The Data Assets: Content/TheLastTemplate/Blueprints/DataAssets/Inspect/Childs/
The actor you place: Content/TheLastTemplate/Blueprints/Environments/Interactable/Pickup/Inspect/BP_Interactable_Pickup_InspectableBase

Before you start¶

You need one static mesh imported in the project. Two things about that mesh matter:

Its pivot should sit near the middle of the object. The inspect view turns the mesh around its own origin, so a pivot stuck in a corner makes the object swing around instead of spinning in place. Fix that in your modelling tool before you import.
Its real size does not matter. The inspect view fits the object to the frame for you, and you tune that fit with one number, Frame Fill.

Make the Data Asset¶

Go to Content/TheLastTemplate/Blueprints/DataAssets/Inspect/Childs/.
Right click DA_Inspect_Note_Sorry and pick Duplicate. It is the simplest of the eight, one action and nothing else. Name the copy after your object, for example DA_Inspect_Radio.
Open it and set Mesh to your static mesh.
Set Display Name. This is the short name the inspect view shows for the object, not a unique title. All three shipped cards use Trading Card.
Set Inspect Rotation. This is the angle the object is handed to you at, before the player turns it. Every shipped object uses 0 / 90 / 90. Turn the numbers until the front of your object faces the camera.
Set Frame Fill. Raise it if the object reads too small on screen, lower it if it runs off the edges. The three books use 0.75, the notes and the cards use 0.82.
Fill in Actions, one row per button. See below.
Save.

You can also make one from scratch: right click in the Content Browser, Miscellaneous, Data Asset, and pick BP_InspectableDataAsset as the class. Duplicating just saves you from picking the wrong class.

The fields¶

Field	What it does
`Display Name`	The name shown for the object while it is being inspected
`Mesh`	The static mesh shown in the inspect view
`Inspect Rotation`	Starting angle of the object, before the player turns it
`Frame Fill`	How much of the frame the object fills. Shipped values run from `0.75` to `0.82`
`Actions`	Zero, one or two rows. Each row is one button

The action rows¶

Each row of Actions is one button on screen. The row carries Action Class (what the button does), Slot (Primary or Secondary), Label (the word on the button), Closes Inspect (whether running it leaves the inspect view), and a small bag of parameters, Text Param, Text Lines, Float Param, Int Param and Class Param, that the chosen action class reads or ignores.

The template ships action classes for reading a document, taking an item, taking a collectible, learning a crafting recipe and unlocking a player upgrade. Which one to pick, what to put in the parameter bag, and how to write your own are covered on the next page.

If you leave Actions empty, the object still works. The player can open it and turn it, and no button appears.

Put it in the level¶

Drag BP_Interactable_Pickup_InspectableBase into the level.
In the Details panel, set Static Mesh to your mesh. This is the mesh the player sees lying in the world, and it is a different field from the Mesh on the Data Asset.
Set Inspect Data to the Data Asset you just made.
Play. Walk up to it and press the interact key.

Two mesh fields, both needed

Static Mesh on the actor is the object in the world. Mesh on the Data Asset is the object in the inspect view. Setting one does not set the other, and a missing Mesh gives you an empty inspect view with no error. A grey cube in the level is the other half of the same mistake: the pickup base ships with the engine's EditorCube, so a forgotten Static Mesh at least shows.

The actor fields worth knowing¶

Field	Default here	What it does
`Inspect Data`	`None`	The Data Asset this object opens
`Static Mesh`	`EditorCube`	The mesh shown in the level
`Use Physics`	on	Turn it off for anything you placed by hand on a shelf or a table
`Use Overlay Material`	on	The highlight material drawn on the object when you look at it
`Use Icon`	on	The base class turns this on, so the prompt is an icon, not a word
`Interact Icon`	`T_Journal`	The icon used while `Use Icon` is on
`Interact Text`	`Examine`	Shown instead of the icon when you turn `Use Icon` off. The two are alternatives, never both
`Show Interact Zone Range`	`200`	Distance at which the prompt appears
`Interact Zone Range`	`100`	Distance at which the key actually works

A child class, or an instance¶

Both are used in the shipped content, and the difference is only how often you place the thing.

Make a child Blueprint of BP_Interactable_Pickup_InspectableBase when you will place the same object many times or want it findable in the Content Browser. Set Static Mesh and Inspect Data in the class defaults, and every copy you drag in is already correct. The three books are done this way: BP_Interactable_Pickup_Book_Field, BP_Interactable_Pickup_Book_Gunsmith and BP_Interactable_Pickup_Book_Medical add nothing but those two values.

Place the base class directly for a one off. The two notes and the three cards have no class of their own: they are instances of BP_Interactable_Pickup_InspectableBase with their Data Asset set on the instance. For a note that exists once in one room, a whole Blueprint is not worth it.

What ships, and what each one shows¶

Eight inspectable Data Assets come with the template.

Data Asset	`Display Name`	Buttons
`DA_Inspect_Book_Field`	Field Guide	`Learn` on `Primary`, unlocks an upgrade and closes
`DA_Inspect_Book_Gunsmith`	Gunsmithing	`Learn` on `Primary`, unlocks an upgrade and closes
`DA_Inspect_Book_Medical`	Field Medicine	`Learn` on `Primary`, unlocks an upgrade and closes
`DA_Inspect_Note_Sorry`	Note	`Read` on `Primary`, one button and no reward
`DA_Inspect_Note_Recipe_Molotov`	Recipe	`Learn` on `Primary`, `Read` on `Secondary`
`DA_Inspect_Card_Comet`	Trading Card	`Read` on `Primary`, `Take` on `Secondary`
`DA_Inspect_Card_Hollow`	Trading Card	`Read` on `Primary`, `Take` on `Secondary`
`DA_Inspect_Card_Howler`	Trading Card	`Read` on `Primary`, `Take` on `Secondary`

All eight open at 0 / 90 / 90. The five documents take their Mesh from Content/TheLastTemplate/Meshes/Documents/, the three cards from Content/TheLastTemplate/Meshes/Collectibles/.

Copy the one closest to what you want. A pure story object copies DA_Inspect_Note_Sorry. An object that teaches something copies a book.

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