Unreal Engine 5 Tutorial: Hold Interaction with a Key

Introduction

• Welcome to a new Unreal Engine 5 tutorial.
• Focus: Creating a hold interaction using the enhanced input system in UE 5.1.
• Check the description for links to Unreal Engine courses.

Step 1: Create Input Key

• Navigate to the third-person folder.
• Locate the Input folder and find Actions.
• Right-click -> Input -> Create New Input Action.
  • Suggested prefix: EA_ (e.g., EA_Interact).
• Double-click to edit, but don't assign a key yet.

Step 2: Configure Input Action

• Ensure Consume Input is enabled to allow input to be registered.
• Set Value Type to Boolean (on/off).
• Add a trigger:
  • Use the Hold trigger type.
  • Adjust the hold time to determine how long the key must be held.
• Save changes.

Step 3: Assign Key

• Go to the collection and add a new mapping for the interact key.
• Press the desired key to assign it (e.g., T).
• Optionally, override and add more triggers/modifiers.

Step 4: Blueprint Setup

• Open the character blueprint (e.g., third person).
• Add input mapping for EA_Interact.
  • Use the trigger event for actions based on key presses.
  • Print a string after a one-second hold to test functionality.
• Address constant spamming issue:
  • Use the One Shot option to only trigger once upon holding.

Step 5: Create User Interface

• Create a UI widget called WB_Interacting.
• Add a canvas and center a text element on the screen.
  • Set text to "Interacting..."
  • Adjust position and size as needed.
• In the third-person blueprint:
  • On startup, create and add the widget to the viewport.
  • Promote to variable for future reference.
  • Use validity check to prevent errors when deleting the widget.

Step 6: Test Interaction

• On holding the interaction key:
  • The UI appears.
  • Upon release, perform an action (e.g., print "Hello" or make the character jump).

Conclusion

• The tutorial covers how to create a hold interaction using Unreal Engine 5.
• Encouragement to like, subscribe, and check out more tutorials.
• Invitation to join Discord and follow on social media.