[INFO DUMP: BP_Interactables]
Now that I got the Mesh being Dynamic and things related to it are working well enough for the time being, I have continued my journey in understanding the insides of the BP_Interactable Blueprint (and slowly diving deeper into the Resource Nodes), since I already figured out most of the Construction Script and the way it handles the Collision Boxes (see previous posts).
Still, it needed one tweak to make it more useful for me.
1. Construction Script: Overlap Check Threshold
As you will see later in the Event Graph each Interactable has a logic that checks whether no overlap occurs between the Actors. To make a small distinction I have decided to store separately the longest dimension of the base of the Collision Box (even though that will always be the square). Mainly in order to use it to iterate through the optimal distance for each Actor combination so that when they have to touch, they will do so in a pleasantly looking way. 
2. Event Graph
As per the original project set up the main functions of the Interactable Blueprint are: a). check for overlaps, b). perform ground blend, and c). wobble
Things of note for the part above:
- Not sure why we have to use Delay Until Next Tick node but my suspicion is that we need to wait to give the Island Generation extra time, most likely am wrong about that, it just makes understanding it easier, even if it comes from a misunderstanding.
- Similarly, I understand almost nothing in relation to the TransformToTexture Macro I have created variables which I am storing in the BP_Spawner as it is responsible for the spawning of all Interactables and game them long and somewhat meaningful name to tweak the Ground Blend with more confidence and to make the learning proces less tedious.
Why PlacementMode tag is used, I do not know yet as I still need to check other Blueprints, which will eventually happen. All I added here was an extra tag check for the Town Hall (Collection Point) as I have noticed that despite the overlap check with Destroy Autor the Interactables spawned on top of it regardless, which is not happening now (ground blend still being triggered even when the Autor got destroyed is another story to solve, though).
3. Ground Blend
As you can see above, ground blend is just (wow, I sound as if I know something ) the material draw on top of the already generated island. Unfortunately, it is hard for me to understand this part even though I have tried (especially the macro below), as that requires Materials and Shaders knowledge which I do not have yet. All will be learned in due time, as always. I didn’t tweak it much as ideally would like to rewrite it to draw an otuline around the mesh’s base (way out of my league at the moment), so make it more visually clear before moving on to different Blueprints.
Things to note:
- Render Target is used as a brush base and is set to 1024x1024
- To make the whole thing more understandable I have expanded the macro to use variables stored in the BP_Spawner so I can iterate faster (didn’t help much, still black magic)
4. Wobble Effect
This one is honestly the coolest part in the Interactable as it taught me how to animate using values on the Material, and I will definitely experiment with it in the future. If I understand it enough, you compare the locations of the Villager and the Resources Node to be mined, create a normalised Victor to be easily digested by the Material Parameters and tweak them thanks to the Animation Graph. And then you have a resource node wobbling in the direction the Villager is facing.
Ending notes
And that’s about it in relation to the Interactable Blueprint. As I improve I want to upgrade it with the following:
- Ability to tell the BP_Spawner to keep on reallocating the Interactables, until it is not overlapping with anything - and to spawn the Resource Nodes at a more optimal distance
- Make the Ground Blend nicer as current effect is a bit jarring and doesn’t work well with the grass and available Assets (ideally outline of the base mesh) - also, prevent it from spawning if the Autor gets destroyed or spawns at the edges
