I’m making a prototype for a third-person game in UE 5.5.1 where you pilot a mech with physics-based arm movement. The camera is viewing the player from inside the cockpit and you can get up and walk around the mech using the usual W, A, S, D controls. I’ve implemented a system using Blend Space Animations and mouse XY axis to control the arm movement of the player character. You can control 1 arm at a time by holding the corresponding mouse-button (LMB for left-arm) and when you release, the arm goes back to resting position.
The issues that I’m currently struggling with is that the axis for the arm movements inverts on the x-axis when the character is facing the camera. I want it so that the character’s arms move in the direction that the mouse is in regardless of which direction the character is facing.
I’m also having an issue with getting the right arm movement correct. I started working on the left arm first and struggled to translate this to the right arm so I’ve compromised using Mirror with Mirror Data Table but it’s awkward and is also inverted.
Finally, I’m trying to make levers and buttons that the player can grab, push and pull (similar to VR but in third-person) using the physics from these arm movements.
I’ve been using unreal for about 8 months now and have made 2 games before that were a bit simpler so I am challenging myself here but I’m eager to make this a functional prototype.
If anyone has any advice as to what to do?, where I can find good tutorials for this specifically? or anything else, it’d be appreciated.
Blueprint for switching between left and right arm
A part of the Custom Player Controller blueprint that sets the arm movement controls
Another part of the Custom Controller blueprint that gets and sets the mouse boundaries and axis
Animation event graph for arm movement
AnimGraph for arm movement
Here’s the Tutorial that I used to make this:
