[Actor] Geiger Counter (Demo)

Overview

A_GeigerCounterTool is an Actor Blueprint designed to simulate a Geiger counter tool within Unreal Engine. It visually and audibly represents the intensity of radioactivity detected by an associated radioactivity component. The Blueprint updates an indicator needle rotation and audio parameter in real-time based on the current radiation levels, providing immersive feedback to the player.

Variables

Variable Name	Type	Purpose
OwnerRadComp	Object Reference	Holds a reference to the radioactivity component associated with the owning actor. Used to retrieve radiation intensity data.
MinRadVal	Float	Stores the minimum radiation value detected or expected from the radioactivity component. Used for scaling the indicator.
MaxRadVal	Float	Stores the maximum radiation value detected or expected from the radioactivity component. Used for scaling the indicator.
CurrentIndicatorRot	Float	Tracks the current rotation angle of the Geiger counter's indicator needle. This value is interpolated smoothly to update the needle's rotation.

Components

Component Name	Type	Description
GeigerCounter_Indicator	StaticMeshComponent	The visual needle or indicator mesh that rotates to show radiation intensity.
Audio	AudioComponent	Audio source component used to play and modulate Geiger counter clicking sounds based on radiation intensity.
Tool	StaticMeshComponent	The static mesh representing the Geiger counter tool itself.

Event Graph Breakdown

Event: Event BeginPlay

Purpose: Initializes the Geiger counter tool when the game starts or the actor is spawned.
Behavior: Calls the custom event InitializeGeigerCounter to set up references and enable ticking.

Event: InitializeGeigerCounter (Custom Event)

Purpose: Sets up the necessary references and enables the actor's tick function for continuous updates.
Behavior:
- Retrieves the radioactivity component from the owning actor using Get Component by Class.
- Validates the retrieved component.
- Stores the reference in OwnerRadComp.
- Enables ticking on this actor to allow continuous updates every frame.

Event: Event Tick

Purpose: Updates the Geiger counter's visual and audio feedback every frame based on current radiation data.
Behavior:
1. Retrieves current radiation intensity from OwnerRadComp.
2. Uses MinRadVal and MaxRadVal to map the radiation intensity to a normalized range suitable for UI and audio feedback.
3. Updates the audio component's parameter named "RadIntensity" with the mapped radiation value to modulate sound intensity or frequency.
4. Smoothly interpolates the CurrentIndicatorRot value towards the target rotation based on the radiation intensity.
5. Clamps the interpolated rotation to a valid range.
6. Applies the clamped rotation to the GeigerCounter_Indicator component's relative rotation, rotating the needle to visually represent radiation intensity.