- State Modules -
Welcome! In this section we will be talking about one of the most important features of UF2D which are the State Modules. As the name suggests, they are the blueprint assets that contain the actual state data of the Actor (Character, Projectile or Stage Object) that spawned them. Without State Modules, Actors that are mentioned above would be just empty husks, existing in the scene but doing nothing.
Since all State Modules are actual Blueprint Actors (invisible with no scene component), they are meant to be visually scriptable and UF2D is meant to provide all the functions needed to code the behaviors! So don't be afraid if you don't know how to code (or C++). It is not needed.
Another thing to note is, not only State Modules are separate files but can be shared by many other Actors or even projects. For example, the burning effect you see mostly in my showcase videos is just one state module that every Fighter and Projectile use! Now let's get deeper into them
There are 2 Versions of State Modules;
1. Standard State Module: This is the State Module that actively changes the state of the Actor. A Fighter might be standing or crouching, attacking or doing a taunt. All those states the said Fighter is in considered "Main State". Only one can be active at a time.
2. Attached State Module: This is a State Module that can be attached either as willingly (a Buff, healing overtime) or forcefully by an enemy (Burning, Poison). Basically any code that you want to run free from the main State of the Object is considered an Attachment.
More than one Attachment can be active at any time and also hey can be only visual/sound effects. They can be removed at will (dispelling poison etc).
There are 3 Types of State Module Blueprints which we talked at the beginning; Characters, Projectiles and Stage Objects. Let's check the Character one first!