Blueprint Reference

Reference for Blueprint assets under Content/AutoAimComponent/. Default values were read from class defaults in the product project via the Unreal editor.

For editable property descriptions and gameplay-oriented API notes, see Component reference.

flowchart TB
  FPC["FirstPersonCharacter<br/>Auto Aim Component · First Person Camera · InputActionStartTargeting"]
  AAC["AutoAimComponent<br/>TraceDistance: 3000 · TraceSize: 100 · InterpSpeed: 10<br/>StartTrace() · EndTrace() · GetHitTarget()"]
  NPC["ThirdPersonCharacter_NPC<br/>bCanMove · BPI_AutoAim"]
  BPI["«Interface» BPI_AutoAim<br/>GetSkeletalMeshComponent()"]
  CT["CT_DistanceBasedAngle<br/>DistanceAngle row"]

  FPC -->|owns| AAC
  FPC -->|GetAutoAimInterface| BPI
  NPC -.->|implements| BPI
  AAC -->|CheckDistanceAngle| CT
  AAC -->|box trace HitTarget| NPC

Asset index

Asset	Path	Role
AutoAimComponent	Blueprints/Main/AutoAimComponent	Core aim component (migrate)
BPI_AutoAim	Blueprints/Main/BPI_AutoAim	Target interface (migrate)
CT_DistanceBasedAngle	Blueprints/Main/CT_DistanceBasedAngle	Distance–angle curve (migrate)
FirstPersonCharacter	Blueprints/FirstPersonCharacter	Demo player integration
ThirdPersonCharacter_NPC	Blueprints/ThirdPersonCharacter_NPC	Demo aimable target
FirstPersonGameMode	Blueprints/FirstPersonGameMode	Demo game mode
FirstPersonProjectile	Blueprints/FirstPersonProjectile	Demo weapon projectile
WBP_PlayerHUD	Blueprints/WBP_PlayerHUD	Demo HUD widget
AutoAimComponentExampleMap	Map/AutoAimComponentExampleMap	Demo level

AutoAimComponent

Parent class: ActorComponent

Blueprint component added to a Character or Pawn. Performs box traces, resolves skeletal sockets on BPI_AutoAim targets, and drives controller rotation.

Editable properties (CDO defaults)

Property	Default	Notes
Trace Distance	3000	Box trace length from camera
Trace Size	100	Box half-extent
Types To Trace	Pawns (ObjectTypeQuery3)	Object types for trace
Use Smooth Aiming	true	Interpolate controller rotation
Interp Speed	10	Smooth aim speed
Update Every Frame	true	Re-read target each tick
Check Line Of Sight	false	LOS gate before aiming
Use Distance Angle Check	false	Uses CT_DistanceBasedAngle
Enable Free Looking	false	Look offset while locked
Free Look Distance	10	Max free-look offset
Input Time To Cancel	0.2	Look-away time before cancel
Override Socket Name	None	Force socket; else closest
Draw Trace	false	Debug box trace
Print Debug Messages	true	Screen / log debug

Runtime variables

Variable	Purpose
Hit Target	Actor locked by trace
Hit Location	World hit from trace
Closest Socket	Resolved socket name
Is Tracing Active	Trace session active
Owner Pawn	Owning pawn reference
Current Look At Rotation	Applied aim rotation
Start Location / Target Location	Manual look-at points
Ignore Actors	Trace exclusion list
Camera Component	Internal camera reference
Start Look At Component	Optional trace origin override

Callable custom events

Event	Parameters	Description
Start Trace	—	Begin box trace; fire On Auto Aim Started or Failed
End Trace	—	Stop trace and end aim session
Try Cancel Auto Aim From Input	In Axis Value (float)	Break lock when player looks away
Free Look	Pitch Axis, Yaw Axis (float)	Offset aim while locked

Public functions

Function	Description
Set Actors To Ignore	Replace trace ignore list
Is Aiming Now	Returns whether aim is active
Set Look At Start Location	Set aim origin (Vector by ref)
Set Look At Target Location	Set aim target (Vector by ref)
Get Hit Target	Returns locked actor
Get Socket	Returns socket name for aiming
Get Auto Aim Interface	Returns BPI_AutoAim from Hit Target

Internal functions

Function	Description
Internal_Trace	Box trace implementation
Internal_TraceFailed	Failed trace handling
Internal_GetLookAtRotation	Compute aim rotation
Internal_GetLookAtStartLocation	Resolve start point
Internal_GetLookAtTargetLocation	Resolve target point
Internal_GetClosestSocketFromLocation	Pick nearest socket
Internal_HasLineOfSight	LOS check to target
Internal_ShowDebugTraceLine	Debug line draw
CheckDistanceAngle	Curve-based break-off test

Event dispatchers

Dispatcher	Parameters
On Auto Aim Started	Trace hit result
On Auto Aim Ended	—
On Auto Aim Failed	Error message (string)

sequenceDiagram
  participant Caller as Player Blueprint
  participant AAC as AutoAimComponent
  participant Target as BPI_AutoAim actor

  Caller->>AAC: Start Trace
  AAC->>AAC: Internal_Trace
  alt Hit pawn
    AAC-->>Caller: On Auto Aim Started
    loop Event Tick
      Caller->>AAC: Set Look At Start / Target
      Caller->>Target: Get Auto Aim Interface
      AAC->>AAC: Internal_GetLookAtRotation
    end
  else Miss
    AAC-->>Caller: On Auto Aim Failed
  end
  Caller->>AAC: End Trace
  AAC-->>Caller: On Auto Aim Ended

BPI_AutoAim

Blueprint interface — implement on any Character with a skeletal mesh you want to lock onto.

Function	Returns	Description
Get Skeletal Mesh Component	Skeletal Mesh Component	Mesh used for socket locations

Implemented by: ThirdPersonCharacter_NPC (returns Mesh).

CT_DistanceBasedAngle

Curve table asset used when Use Distance Angle Check is enabled on AutoAimComponent.

Row	Purpose
DistanceAngle	Maps distance to maximum look-away angle before cancel

Edit keys in the DistanceAngle row to tune break-off feel at different ranges.

FirstPersonCharacter

Parent class: Character

Demo player Blueprint on AutoAimComponentExampleMap. Shows full integration pattern.

Components

Component	Purpose
Auto Aim Component	Lock-on / aim assist
First Person Camera	View + trace origin
FP_Gun	First-person weapon mesh
Mesh2P	Arms mesh
Sphere	Collision / interaction

Variables

Variable	Purpose
Gun Offset	Weapon offset from camera
Base Turn Rate	Mouse turn scale
Base Look Up Rate	Mouse pitch scale
Player HUD	WBP_PlayerHUD reference

Input → component wiring

Input	Calls
InputActionStartTargeting (pressed)	Start Trace
InputActionStartTargeting (released)	End Trace
Turn / Look Up axis	Free Look, Try Cancel Auto Aim From Input

Event graph integration

Event	Behaviour
Event Tick	Get Hit Target → Get Auto Aim Interface → socket location → Set Look At Start/Target Location
On Auto Aim Started	Uses trace hit result (bound on component)
On Auto Aim Ended	Cleanup (bound on component)
On Auto Aim Failed	Error feedback (bound on component)

ThirdPersonCharacter_NPC

Parent class: Character

Demo NPC target placed on AutoAimComponentExampleMap (four instances in the level).

Interfaces

Interface	Implementation
BPI_AutoAim	Get Skeletal Mesh Component → Mesh

Variables

Variable	Purpose
Base Turn Rate	NPC turn rate (demo)
Base Look Up Rate	NPC look rate (demo)
b Can Move	Movement toggle (demo)

Graphs

Graph	Purpose
GetSkeletalMeshComponent	Interface function
EventGraph	Standard character logic
UserConstructionScript	Construction script

Demo-only assets

These ship with the example project and are not required for migration.

Asset	Parent	Notes
FirstPersonGameMode	GameModeBase	Default mode for example map
FirstPersonProjectile	Actor	Spawned on Fire input
FirstPersonHUD	HUD	Legacy HUD class
WBP_PlayerHUD	UserWidget	Crosshair / HUD widget

Related docs

Topic	Page
Property descriptions & presets	Component reference
Hands-on wiring	Add lock-on to your character
Target setup	Make an aimable target