Ship Interior Control System Guide

March 7, 2026 · View on GitHub

Overview

The Ship Interior Control System allows players to control their spaceship from inside the interior by interacting with a control console. The system handles possession swapping between the player's walking pawn and the ship pawn seamlessly.

Components

1. AShipControlConsole

An interactable actor placed inside the spaceship interior that serves as the pilot's control interface.

Key Properties:

OwningShip - Reference to the spaceship being controlled
InteractionRange - Distance from console where player can interact (default: 150 units)
bIsControlActive - Whether the console is currently in use

Key Methods:

Interact(PlayerController) - Toggles ship control on/off
CanInteract(PlayerController) - Checks if interaction is possible

2. ASpaceship Control Methods

The spaceship class now supports direct player control with possession swapping.

New Methods:

BeginControl(PC, ExternalPawn) - Start controlling the ship
- Saves the walking pawn reference
- Disables and hides the walking pawn
- Possesses the ship
- Activates ship movement
EndControl(PC) - Stop controlling the ship
- Returns possession to walking pawn
- Restores walking pawn visibility and collision
- Teleports player to exit location
- Clears saved pawn reference
SetupPlayerInputComponent(InputComponent) - Binds ship controls
- MoveForward/Back (W/S)
- MoveRight/Left (A/D)
- MoveUp/Down (Space/Ctrl)
- Turn (Mouse X)
- LookUp (Mouse Y)

New Properties:

TurnRate - Rotation speed in degrees per second (default: 45.0)
SavedExternalPawn - Stored reference to walking pawn

3. ASpaceshipInterior Exit Location

The interior now tracks where the player should be placed when exiting ship control.

New Methods:

GetExitLocation() - Returns the exit spawn point

New Properties:

ExitLocation - World location for player exit

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Configure Input (Already Done)

Input mappings are configured in Config/DefaultInput.ini:

Axis: MoveForward, MoveRight, MoveUp, Turn, LookUp
Action: Interact

Step 2: Place Control Console in Interior Blueprint

Open your spaceship's interior Blueprint
Add a ShipControlConsole actor to the scene
Position it where the pilot seat/console should be
In the Details panel, set:
- OwningShip: Reference to the parent spaceship
- InteractionRange: Adjust as needed (e.g., 150-200 units)

Step 3: Configure Exit Location

In the interior Blueprint or actor instance:
Set the ExitLocation property
This is where the player will spawn when leaving the pilot seat
Typically near the console or at a seat location

Step 4: Implement Player Interact Logic

In your player character/pawn Blueprint or C++ class:

Bind the "Interact" action input
On interact press, perform a sphere/line trace
Check if hit actor is a ShipControlConsole
Call Console->Interact(GetController())

Example Blueprint Logic:

On "Interact" Pressed:
  └─> Line Trace (or Sphere Overlap)
      └─> Hit Actor is ShipControlConsole?
          └─> Cast to ShipControlConsole
              └─> Call Interact (PlayerController)

Example C++ Code:

void APlayerCharacter::OnInteract()
{
    // Trace for interactable objects
    FHitResult HitResult;
    FVector Start = GetActorLocation();
    FVector End = Start + GetActorForwardVector() * 200.0f;

    if (GetWorld()->LineTraceSingleByChannel(HitResult, Start, End, ECC_Visibility))
    {
        AShipControlConsole* Console = Cast<AShipControlConsole>(HitResult.GetActor());
        if (Console && Console->CanInteract(GetController<APlayerController>()))
        {
            Console->Interact(GetController<APlayerController>());
        }
    }
}