i found a video on a cool concept for a game where the player faces enemies but can only hit weak points, i was wondering how someone could make the axe tracking in unreal
Video for refrence
Hit-only-on-weak-points is usually done with a per-hit trace and a hit component or physical material check, not with the axe tracking anything fancy. A simple setup:
- Give the enemy a few extra collision shapes (Sphere/Box components, or Physics Asset bodies on the skeletal mesh) for the weak points. Name them or give them a Physical Material (e.g. PM_WeakPoint) and on the trace node tick “Return Physical Material” (under the node’s advanced arrow) so the hit result carries it.
- For the axe, add a small Box or Capsule collision at the blade. Enable it only during the swing window using an Anim Notify State (AnimNotifyState_Timed or your own) so it is not hitting while idle.
- Better for fast swings: during that notify state, on Tick do a Sphere Trace By Channel (or Multi) from the blade’s previous socket location to its current one (store last location in a variable). This avoids missing hits when the axe moves quickly between frames.
- On the hit result, use Hit Component / Hit Bone Name (or Phys Mat from the Hit Result) and Branch: if it is the weak point → Apply Damage (full or multiplied), otherwise do nothing or a deflect effect.
- Add a “has already hit this swing” Array of actors/components so one swing damages once.
If you can describe whether the enemy is a skeletal mesh or a set of static parts, it’s easy to say which of those collision options fits better.