Ultimate Action RPG Starter Project

Quick start guide

New to this template? Follow these five steps to get up and running in under ten minutes.

1. 01Open the project in Unreal Engine 5.3, which is the recommended version.
2. 02Go to Edit > Project Settings > Input and verify all Action and Axis Mappings listed in the Input System section are present. If any are missing, add them manually. Missing mappings are the most common cause of controls not working.
3. 03Open the Maps folder and load one of the example levels from AllLevels or TestingMaps.
4. 04Press Play. The player should move, aim, fire and interact out of the box.
5. 05If you see any errors on startup, check the Common Errors table before anything else.

What you can customise immediately

• Change health, shield and pulse energy values in BP_PlayerCharacter variables
• Swap weapon meshes in the Weapons folder
• Add or remove levels in the Maps folder
• Replace UI widget art in the UI/PNG folder
• Adjust AI detection range and damage values in BP_AI

Where to go for common tasks

Multiplayer: important disclaimer

Specifically:

• No variables are replicated
• No RPCs (Remote Procedure Calls) are implemented
• No network prediction or lag compensation is present
• It has never been run in a multiplayer session

Adding multiplayer requires a full replication setup, which is a significant engineering task that is outside the scope of this starter project. The Blueprint architecture is clean enough that multiplayer can be added in the future, since event dispatchers, interface calls and centralised player state all support eventual replication. However, none of that work is done for you here.

What this template is for

Single-player games, prototypes, learning projects and game jams. It is an excellent foundation for solo experiences and can be extended to multiplayer by an experienced developer, but that extension is not included.

Common errors and fixes

Check this table first before posting a support question. Most issues have a fast fix.

If none of the above resolves your issue, visit the Discord server at https://discord.gg/cq464nBPRE.

Folder structure

All content is organised for scalability and clarity. Every system is separated by responsibility.

Content/
  UltimateActionRPG/ ................ main project content
    Arts/
      ALSV/
        PlayerAnimations
        Data
        Environment ................. from ALSV package
      FX/
        WeaponFX
        SwordSwingFX
      Mesh/
        Weapons/
          WeaponMeshes
          AdditionalMeshes
      SFX/
        Cue/
        Wave/
    Maps/
      AllLevels
      TestingMaps
    VisualAssets/
      PhysicalMaterial/ ............. MetalBody_PhysMat
      Materials/
      Textures/
      CameraShake/
    UI/
      Widgets/
      PNG/
    Blueprint/
      AI/ .......................... BP_AI + Weapon/AIProjectiles
      Menu/ ........................ HomeMenu + GameInstance
      Player/
        BP_PlayerCharacter
        Weapons/ ................... Enums, Projectiles, Weapon_BP
        Pickable/ .................. BP_Pickable, HealthPickup, HealthPickupBase
        GameplayFramework .......... Logic / Interfaces / Libraries

Input system

Action mappings

Axis mappings

Requirements and compatibility

Recommended engine version

Recommended: Unreal Engine 5.3. The template was originally built and validated in UE 5.3. Conversion to newer versions such as 5.6 or 5.7 and above is possible but requires the additional steps described below.

Engine content dependency

The legacy ALS locomotion system depends on Engine/EngineMeshes/Humanoid.

UE 5.7 material conversion

When converting from 5.3 to 5.7, a material error may appear in the bottom-right corner. This is caused by internal node changes in the engine, not a broken template. Fix: click the error, open the affected material, reconnect or replace the broken node, then Compile and Save. The error disappears permanently after saving.

General upgrade maintenance

• Fix up Redirectors by right-clicking the Content Browser root
• Delete the Saved, Intermediate and DerivedDataCache folders
• Reopen the project and recompile all Blueprints
• Re-save affected materials

Platform support

Future update plan

• Remove legacy EngineMeshes dependency
• Improve UE 5.6+ and 5.7+ migration stability
• Expand Mac testing and compatibility
• Reduce manual setup steps

Core systems overview

The template ships with four fully Blueprint-based gameplay systems. Each is modular and independently replaceable.

Player system

• Smooth locomotion (ALSV-based)
• Sprint with stamina regeneration
• Health and Shield (Defence) system, where shield absorbs damage first
• Multi-directional Dodge and Roll (Forward, Back, Left, Right)
• First-person and third-person camera switching
• Energy-based weapon system (Pulse Charge, which replaces traditional ammo)
• Sword combat with animation-driven combos
• Weapon cycling via mouse scroll
• Physical material hit detection (metal, wood, concrete, glass, body)
• Partial Save Game implementation

Combat system

• Single-shot and auto-fire weapon modes
• Pulse energy recharge, which stops while shooting and resumes on release
• Wall trace fire blocking, which prevents shooting through geometry
• Melee fallback when pulse energy is depleted
• Centralised projectile spawning with per-weapon parameters
• Shield-first damage calculation
• Per-weapon spread and recoil

AI system

• Blueprint-only, with no Behavior Trees required
• Player detection and sensing
• Smooth rotation to face the player
• Direct attack logic with cooldown
• Missile firing system
• Overheat system, which creates attack windows for the player
• Dynamic damage scaling on overheat and recovery
• Clean death handling, with no logic running after death

UI system

All widgets are created once at Begin Play, stored as references, and added or removed from the viewport as needed.

• Full menu framework: Home, Main, Options, Controls, About, Store, Credits
• Pause Menu
• Dynamic Crosshair that expands with movement speed
• Sniper Scope overlay
• Weapon Pickup prompt
• ALS HUD
• Damage Indicator with randomised timing, auto-removed

BP_PlayerCharacter: core event systems

This section covers how the player is initialised, how systems update each frame, and how all major gameplay inputs are handled.

Event Begin Play

A Sequence node runs each initialisation step independently, keeping startup logic readable and debuggable.

1. 01Parent Begin Play and On Begin Play. Calls the parent character class first, which handles core movement, rotation and animation initialisation. This is inherited from the Base ALSV Character. The On Begin Play function inside BP_Base_CharacterBP manages movement, anim instance, rotation and stance.
2. 02Create Widget References. Spawns all UI widgets once and stores them as variables. Widgets are added or removed from the viewport via these references, never recreated. This prevents duplicate UI elements and makes dynamic updates reliable.
3. 03Weapon References, Scope Zoom and FPS Limit. The remaining Begin Play steps cache the weapon pickup actor reference, cache the base weapon actor and set the minimum scope FOV, and apply a 60 FPS frame rate cap via Game User Settings.

Event Tick

Five systems are isolated by a Sequence node: pulse energy, shield, crosshair, attack reset and wall trace.

• Restore Pulse Energy. Recharges weapon energy over time. Pauses while IsShooting? is true. Uses a small initial delay to prevent instant recharge after firing. Loops until MaxPulseCharge is reached.
• Restore Shield. Slowly restores the Defence (shield) value. Pauses while GettingDamage is true. Loops until MaxDefence is reached.
• Wall Trace. Detects geometry blocking fire.
• Dynamic Crosshair Spread. Maps velocity to spread range.
• CanAttack Reset. A delay-based cooldown to prevent attack spamming.

Combat, interaction and weapon systems

Fire Event: safety checks

Fire Event: weapon output

After all checks pass, a Gate node controls continuous fire via Retriggerable Delay. SpawnBullets handles projectile spawning, muzzle flash, sound, recoil, spread and material hit effects. Each weapon feeds only its own values into this shared function.

Interact system

The Interact input calls the Interact Event Dispatcher only. No checks, no logic, no hard references. Pickups, NPCs and any interactable actor bind to this dispatcher and react independently.

Weapon pickup variables

One boolean flag per weapon type controls equip logic and prevents duplicate pickups.

• PistolPickup
• RiflePickup
• ShotGunPickup
• SniperPickup
• FlameThrowerPickup

Adding a new weapon

1. 01Add a boolean to BP_PlayerCharacter, for example RocketLauncherPickup.
2. 02Add a branch in the Weapon Decision Layer.
3. 03Create a pickup actor.

No interaction logic needs to be rewritten.

Aiming, ADS and camera systems

Aiming system

Before aiming activates, four conditions must all be true: not near a wall, weapon equipped, not in sword-only mode, and CanAttack is true. When all pass, Aiming is set to true, rotation mode updates via BPI Set Rotation Mode, and sniper-specific scope logic applies.

ADS zoom

Reads the current camera FOV, adjusts it incrementally by the Forward input value of plus or minus 10.0, then clamps the result between MinScope and MaxScope. This gives smooth gradual zoom instead of an instant snap.

Mouse scroll: dual behaviour

FPS / TPS camera switch

A FlipFlop node toggles between First Person and Third Person by calling the BPI Set View Mode interface function. Using an interface keeps camera logic decoupled from the character, allowing reuse across multiple character types.

Sword attack camera (optional)

When enabled, each sword hit triggers a camera angle switch via FlipFlop and a slow-motion effect via timeline-driven time dilation. The camera blends smoothly using Set View Target with Blend over 0.5 seconds, and TimeTrigger drives the slow motion via Set Global Time Dilation.

Damage system

Damage and feedback

The AnyDamage event only applies damage if Dodging? is false and the damage value is valid. When damage lands, Defence is reduced first. If Defence reaches zero, Health takes the remainder. The GettingDamage flag is set briefly to pause shield regeneration.

For feedback, a Damage Indicator widget is created and auto-removed via delay, using a Do Once node. Camera shake plays with its epicentre at the player's world location.

Character stats reference

Three variable groups define the entire player state. These are what every system reads from and writes to.

Foundational systems

Weapon socket names

Weapons are attached to the character skeleton via named sockets, not hard-wired mesh references. The variables are SwordSocketName, PrimaryWeaponSocketName and SecondaryWeaponSocketName. To move a weapon to a different position such as back, hip or shoulder, change only the socket name variable. No Blueprint rewiring is required.

Weapon switch and roll

The Roll Weapon function cycles through available weapons by checking pickup boolean flags and skipping any that are false. It updates equipped state, weapon meshes and weapon type variables, then syncs with the firing and aiming systems. Mouse scroll, UI buttons and keyboard input all call the same function.

Character components

The character component hierarchy is intentionally structured. Weapon holding components (MeleeWeaponSocket, PrimaryWeaponSocket, SecondaryWeaponSocket) each match a skeleton socket. Multiple AttackArm components under the Attacks hierarchy each carry a scene component, child actor and camera attachment, used by the optional sword CamSwitch system. The full hierarchy is CapsuleComponent, Mesh, weapon socket components, VisualMeshes, HeldObjectRoot and AttackArms with child cameras.

Core functions

Sword attack system

Melee combat is isolated from gunplay so the two systems never conflict. All sword logic is driven by Animation Notifies, so the Blueprint does not guess at timing.

SwordAttack custom event

1. 01Player input is temporarily disabled.
2. 02A random animation is selected from the SwordAttackAnim array.
3. 03The animation montage plays.
4. 04The system waits for the montage to finish.
5. 05Input is re-enabled.

Animation notify events

Dodge variables

The dodge variable group is DodgeF?, DodgeB?, DodgeR? and DodgeL? as Booleans, plus DodgeAnim as an Anim Montage.

Player action systems

Dodge system

Input is Shift plus the movement keys. The system checks velocity is greater than zero, then directional key state sets the correct dodge boolean: W, S, A and D set DodgeF?, DodgeB?, DodgeL? and DodgeR?. The Dodge montage plays the corresponding directional animation. Works in both FPS and TPS.

Heal system

Requirements: at least 1 Heal Crystal and Health below maximum. When used, the crystal count decrements, Health increases by MaxHealth divided by 4.0, the result is clamped, and a heal sound plays.

Pause system

The PauseGame input calls Set Game Paused, then adds the Pause Menu widget reference to the viewport. The logic is centralised, so duplicate pause menus are not possible.

Pickup systems

Base weapon pickup

On Component Begin Overlap validates the overlapping actor is BP_PlayerCharacter, binds to the Interact dispatcher, and shows the pickup UI. On End Overlap unbinds and hides the UI. It does not decide which weapon is given, since that lives in the Weapon Decision Layer.

Health, crystal and pulse pickups

This blueprint is generic and self-contained. It validates before consuming, clamps all values, plays feedback, and destroys itself.

AI combat system

The AI is designed to fight, not just exist. It senses the player, rotates to face them, attacks with weapons and missiles, overheats, recovers, and dies cleanly. Every behaviour is a custom event, so replacing or rebalancing any one of them does not affect the others.

Architecture philosophy

Every system in this template follows the same core set of rules.

Safe customisation

• Replace guns with magic spells
• Replace pulse energy with stamina
• Remove the sword system entirely
• Add new weapon types
• Replace the entire UI
• Remove FPS or TPS mode
• Disable cinematic sword camera
• Add new pickup types
• Adjust all stat values (health, shield, energy, fire rate)

Nothing is hard-locked. Nothing fights you.

Support

For bug reports, questions and update announcements, join the Discord community at https://discord.gg/cq464nBPRE. Before posting, please check the Common Errors and Fixes section, since most issues have a documented solution.