Greetings,
I’ve been looking online, and the tutorials I’ve found are very unfocused and/or sloppy. Can anyone either point me to a good video or explain how to make a laser not go through solid surfaces?
Man, I’m having little luck in the forums lately.
(bump)
Hey @Leomerya12!
Can you explain what you mean by a “laser”?
Typically what one will do (Provided you’re talking about some sort of Laser gun etc) is use a Line Trace by Channel to get a surface, and set that to the endpoint of a texture or even a cylinder of some kind, with the end of the barrel as the start point. 
To get it to not go through static surfaces, you’ll set the trace to “Visible”, break the Hit Out, and use “Get Hit location” and have your laser stop at that spot
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Thank you! A response.
I mean, the type of laser you would see from an an enemy. A damaging laser that hits you and plays a collision/overlap particle effect.
Like what these guys do:
So yeah, what I said above would be perfect for this, with the line trace, you set “Point B” with “PointA” as your muzzle (Use SceneComponents for this) and draw your laser material from point A to point B. Not really “From” since lasers are instant, it’s more like an “Appear stretched from here to here”.
Then using that “Point B” you can spawn a decal of burns or something on location, splatting it on the wall!
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Got it. The issue I’m facing is that I’m using an asset from the marketplace that has a fixed length (the maker said so themselves). I’m going to try to use the Niagara System like a static mesh with your help, math, and prayer.
A lot of the items from the Marketplace seem to be made for the creators not the actual people who buy them.
Actually yeah, just use a Niagara system, I don’t know why I said texture. I mean Niagara is a bunch of textures with more activity, I guess. But here’s a tutorial I recommend pretty often that’ll have you ending up with a good laser, and possibly enough knowledge to customize it a bit!
Disclaimer: This link is not affiliated with Epic Games, Unreal Engine, or their partners.
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Just wanted to show you (with some math) that I got it working.
Thanks, again!
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Hallo \o_
I know the last answer is from 2 years but I was reading the thread because I’m trying to achieve the same effect with a laser beam.
I followed the tutorial video above and it’s great but it’s achieved with a “Spawn beam” and “Ribbon Renderer” modules.
I recognized the Niagara Emitters you are using in this video and I know it’s using “Mesh Renderer” module instead, I would be so thankful if you still have access to the result you are showing here and show me how you achieved to have this render with this specific Niagara Emitters ^-^
Thank you and have a great day! \o/
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Wow, you caught me at the right time, because I haven’t touched this in years, and I was about to explore it again in a day or so. If I recall correctly, using this asset was a PAIN IN THE BUTT.
The creator updated it, so I’m not sure which version you’re using. If you could send me a link to the FAB listing of your version, I can verify and maybe save you the time of trying to use the older version.
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First of all, thank you for your answer! \o/
The assets I’m using is from this mega VFX pack : Niagara Mega VFX Pack vol. 1 | Fab
Here is the the link for only the ray pack : Niagara Ray VFX Pack (Energy, Ray, Hit Effects) | Fab
I’m slowly starting to find solutions, but it’s taking me a huge amount of time and a lot of workarounds. I doubt the system’s robustness afterward. In a way I’m relieved to learn that I was not the only one struggling so much with these assets haha
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Absolutely.
So, here is the updated asset (this creator changed their User Name):
I haven’t tested it out yet, but I could see from the demo video that it is actually scalable. I don’t understand how this creator did not make the first version of their laser scalable. Like, WTF?
I wish I had that old project so I could save you the time and share the blueprint, but I remember my mathematical equations being an absolute nightmare to create, and even then, after a certain distance, the effect, itself, started to warp, so no math would save it.
Here’s the updated asset (the one from above):
I usually do not believe in sharing the creation of others, but the original work of the author is so egregious and time-wasting, I have no problem sharing this. (Yes, I bought it, so I’m not a criminal…I think.)
If you have any issues using this, let me know, and I’ll post my own usage of it (once I’ve used it).
Good luck, in the meantime!
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Oh yes, I saw this asset after then but didn’t notice it was the new version as the creator’s name had changed ^-^’
Yes, I almost managed to get a scalable version for all emitters with math equations but the one standing is the beam emitter whose size is calculated by start point coord, end point coord + width and it’s a nightmare to find a way to make it work with all size! So close but yet so far lol
Anyway thanks a lot again for your answer and responsiveness, I’m gonna take a look at this updated version and won’t hesitate to come back to you if I encounter an issue or even just share the result! 
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