Ranger Character Implementation - Setup and Physics

Since we were implementing a character selection, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to try and implement a second gameplay type.

In a previous project, we had been tasked with designing and creating a character. I am using this as the basis of my second character.





I first uploaded the model to Mixamo to get it quickly rigged, then used the site to download some relevant animations along with the rigged character.



I imported these into Unreal Engine 4 so I could get started on the gameplay mechanics.

As this character is a Ranger, I also imported the gun model I made for the character to use as the weapon model.



Using the UE4 3rd Person example character, I built my character, replacing the model and adding sockets to hold the gun model.



I set up a basic walk/run blend for the non-aimed mode, then I used the directional run animations to create a multi-directional BlendSpace for use when the character aims the gun so that the animations blend smoothly in all directions.



I wanted the tail and hair to have physics simulation, so this involved creating separate rigged skeletal mesh versions of the two parts in Maya.





Then importing them into UE4 as skeletal meshes with physics constraints.





Which I then attached to the character blueprint using sockets.