When playing a cinematic through Sequencer, there may be instances when you want to trigger an Event that initiates some scripted functionality. Perhaps at a certain point in your cinematic you want a door to open, or have a particle effect to spawn and effect the Player in some way. With the Event Track you can key the exact frame in the cinematic where you want to call the Event.
You can add Events through a Sequencer track without needing to access the Blueprint. You can add multiple Events to an object, or add multiple object bindings to a single Event. If you open the Blueprint, you can also add multiple Parameters to one Event. For more detailed information, refer to Event Track Overview.
In this tutorial, use several Event Tracks to print text to the screen indicating our character is dead. At the same time, disable player movement and simulate physics on the character.
This tutorial uses a new Blueprint Third Person template project.
Setting up the Character
First, let's set up the Third Person Character.
In the Content Browser under Content > ThirdPerson > Blueprints, duplicate BP_ThirdPersonCharacter and save it in another folder.
![Duplicate BP_ThirdPerson]( "Duplicate BP372029427ThirdPerson")
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Drag the BP_ThirdPersonCharacter1 into the level.
![Drag the BP_ThirdPersonCharacter1 into the level]( "Drag the BP372029427ThirdPersonCharacter1 into the level")
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In the Details panel, set the Auto Possess Player to Player 0.
![Set the Auto Possess Player]( "Set the Auto Possess Player")
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From the Main Toolbar, click the Cinematics button and select Add Level Sequence.
![Add Level Sequence]( "Add Level Sequence")
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Select your Level Sequence in the Level, then in the Details panel, enable Auto Play option.
![Enable Auto Play]( "Enable Auto Play")
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Select the BP_ThirdPersonCharacter1 in the Level, then add it to Sequencer from the + Track button.
![Add BP_ThirdPersonCharacter1 to Sequencer]( "Add BP372029427ThirdPersonCharacter1 to Sequencer")
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Right-click on the BP_ThirdPersonCharacter1 in the Level, then select Edit.
Right-click in the Event Graph and search for then add a Custom Event.
![Add a Custom Event]( "Add a Custom Event")
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Call the Custom Event KillPlayerText and connect a Print String node with custom text as the String.
![Connect a Print String node]( "Connect a Print String node")
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Select the KillPlayerText node, and on the Details panel, go to Inputs. Select +Add Parameter to add a new parameter to the node.
![Add a new parameter to the node]( "Add a new parameter to the node")
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Choose the String parameter from the dropdown and update the parameter name to In String. Then, connect the In String input from the Custom Event to the Print String.
![Connect the Custom Event to the Print String]( "Connect the Custom Event to the Print String")
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Adding Event Tracks
With the character set up, let's add Events so the character becomes disabled and prints the text from the Character Blueprint.
In Sequencer, click the + Track button on the ThirdPersonCharacter track and select Event.
![Select Event]( "Select Event")
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Move the Timeline to frame 149, then add a key to the Events track.
![Add a key to the Events track]( "Add a key to the Events track")
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Right-click on the new keyframe, and under Properties, select the Unbound dropdown to add Create a Quick Binding.
In the Quick Bind, search for Set All Bodies to Simulate Physics. Make sure to check New Simulate under Payload.
![Add Set All Bodies to Simulate Physics]( "Add Set All Bodies to Simulate Physics")
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![New Simulate under Payload]( "New Simulate under Payload")
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Add a second Event Track and add a Quick Bind for Disable Movement.
![Add Disable Movement]( "Add Disable Movement")
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Add a third Event Track and add a Quick Bind to call the Kill Player Text we set up earlier. Under Payload, enter GAME OVER! in the In String textbox.
![Add Kill Player Text]( "Add Kill Player Text")
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![Enter GAME OVER]( "Enter GAME OVER")
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ALT+Drag the string key to three other locations on the timeline. Update the first key's string text with 3, the second key with 2, and the third key with 1.
![Update the key's string text]( "Update the key's string text")
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Essentially, it's a counting down to the GAME OVER! string text.
From any key's Event Properties, double-click the magnifying glass icon to open the Sequence Director Blueprint.
![Open the Sequence Director Blueprint]( "Open the Sequence Director Blueprint")
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You can also open the Blueprint by double-clicking the event key or by navigating to General Options > Open Director Blueprint.
In Bone Name does not require a link to the event disconnect it and set Pass-by-Reference to False. Set the Default Value manually 'root'.
![Change Default Value]( "Change Default Value")
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Add a SetCollisionEnabled node to Set All Bodies Simulate Physics, and set the type to Collision Enabled. Connect the Target pin to the Mesh pin.
![Add a SetCollisionEnabled node]( "Add a SetCollisionEnabled node")
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This setting causes the character to collide into objects rather than fall through them. Even though you don't need to access the Blueprint to create Events, you do need the Blueprint to add onto Events, such as in this case.
When you press Play you can run around in the viewport until the 150 second mark where the character dies and the text prints to the upper left corner of the viewport.
If the Mouse Control label appears in the upper left corner, you will not be able to see the text easily. To toggle this off, go to Editor Preferences > Level Editor > Play, and uncheck Show Mouse Control Label.
End Result
When you play in the Editor, after a few moments, text will appear in the upper-left corner of the window and the character will fall to the ground with your ability to move disabled.
Adding an Event Track to an Object within Sequencer creates an Object Binding where you can call Events, Functions or access properties of the Object that you are bound to. Event Tracks can also be used to execute script within the Level Blueprint, UI Widget Blueprints, or communicate with multiple Blueprints through a Blueprint Interface.