Enhance AI Gameplay with Floating Health Display

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Creating the AI Health Display Widget
• Adding the AI Health Widget to the AI Blueprint
• Setting the Visibility of the AI Health Widget
• Linking the AI Health Widget to AI Health
• Conclusion

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will be showing You how to display the health of an AI character in a widget that hovers above or floats above their head. We will be improving upon a previous tutorial to Create a more effective and updated version of the health display. The goal is to have each AI character Show their own individual health in a health bar above their head, which will only appear when the player is close enough to the AI.

Creating the AI Health Display Widget

To start, we need to create a widget blueprint for the health bar. Open the user interface editor and add a progress bar to the widget. Customize the size, color, and other properties of the progress bar to your liking. Set the initial value of the health bar to match the starting health of the AI character. Compile and save the widget blueprint.

Adding the AI Health Widget to the AI Blueprint

Now, go to the AI character blueprint and add a widget component to the viewport. Set the class of the widget component to the AI Health Widget blueprint that we created earlier. Position the widget component above the AI character's head. To ensure the widget always faces the player, change the space setting to "screen."

Setting the Visibility of the AI Health Widget

To make sure the AI's health bar only appears when the player is close enough, add a sphere collision component to the AI character blueprint. Adjust the size of the sphere collision to your desired range. Next, create event nodes for "begin overlap" and "end overlap" with the sphere collision. When the player overlaps the AI character, cast to the player character and enable the visibility of the widget. When the player stops overlapping, disable the visibility of the widget. Additionally, set the default visibility of the widget to be off in the widget component settings.

Linking the AI Health Widget to AI Health

To link the AI character's health to the health bar widget, find the code that decreases the AI's health. Add a reference to the health widget and set the health value in both the AI character and the widget after decreasing the health. This ensures that the health bar is accurately updated. Make sure to convert the health value to a float before setting it in the widget.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you should now have a functional AI health display that shows the health of individual AI characters in a widget above their heads. The health bar will only appear when the player is close enough to the AI. This improved version of the tutorial provides a more efficient and updated way to display AI health in your game.

📍 Highlights:

1. Create a widget blueprint for the AI health display.
2. Add a widget component to the AI character blueprint.
3. Set the visibility of the widget Based on player proximity.
4. Link the AI health value to the health bar widget.
5. Improve the functionality of the health display system.

FAQ

❓ How do I create a widget blueprint for the AI health display?

To create a widget blueprint, right-click in the user interface editor, go to "Create Widget Blueprint," and name it accordingly. Once created, you can customize the widget by adding a progress bar and configuring its properties.

❓ How do I link the AI character's health to the health bar widget?

To link the health value to the health bar widget, first, locate the code that decreases the AI's health. Add a reference to the health widget and set the health value in both the AI character and the widget after reducing the health. Convert the health value to a float before setting it in the widget.

❓ Can the visibility of the health bar be customized?

Yes, the visibility of the health bar widget can be customized based on proximity to the player. By adding a sphere collision component to the AI character blueprint and using event nodes for "begin overlap" and "end overlap," you can control when the health bar is visible to the player.

Resources:

• Unreal Engine Documentation: User Interface UI
• Unreal Engine Documentation: AI
• Unreal Engine Marketplace