Functional FPS Equipment

First-person survival and shooter games can pose a specific recurring problem: without usable interactive props, a character's hands are empty. A player needs to check the time, record video, or read a message, but most generic animated prop rigs are primarily visual without any functionality. Functional FPS Equipment addresses this by offering rigged meshes paired with animation sequences and operational displays for camcorders, watches, and mobile devices. It provides the actual interactive items necessary to populate a First-Person character's inventory with working electronics.

Functional First-Person Electronics

The core of the package is a set of 5 distinct items: a camcorder, a wristwatch, a PDA (tablet), a smartphone, and a cellphone. They are distributed across 4 Skeletal Meshes and 1 Static Mesh. Each item is rigged, allowing them to be animated in First-Person view rather than appearing as static props attached to the camera. The distinction between the items is functional. A generic prop might only display a static screen texture. These items include specific operational features. The camcorder performs a scene capture on its display and tracks a changeable battery status. The wristwatch shows the real current computer time (or any other desired time set by the developer). The tablet and smartphone feature customizable UI Screen Widgets. This separates them from purely cosmetic assets and provides functional widgets and script logic out of the box.

Skeletal Meshes and Triangle Counts

The geometry is provided across the items with specific triangle counts. The camcorder is the most detailed mesh at 5,825 triangles, reflecting its complex lens and screen housing. The wristwatch follows at 4,669 triangles, capturing the band, casing, and face. The smartphone sits at 2,167 triangles, while the traditional cellphone is at 1,892. The PDA tablet is the lightest at 1,787 triangles. All meshes support Level of Detail (LOD) tiers.

Providing specific triangle counts and LOD support means the props can be held by the character in close-up First-Person shots without the geometry appearing faceted, while the engine can efficiently render the assets at a lower resolution when they are holstered or dropped in the environment. The rigging allows the Skeletal Meshes to deform naturally during hold and interaction animations.

First-Person Animation Sequences

Each piece of equipment comes with tailored animation sequences. The animation set focuses on the primary interactions a player would have with each device while holding it in a First-Person perspective.

• Camcorder: Hold Idle, Hold Start, LookAtDisplay, LookAtDisplay_Idle
• Cellphone: Idle, Talk
• PDA: Hold Idle
• Smartphone: Idle, Talk
• Wristwatch: Equip, Equiped_Idle, ModifyFace

The animation logic follows the physical reality of using these tools. The camcorder has a specific sequence for starting to hold the device and distinct states for looking at the display versus idling while holding it. The watch includes an Equip sequence, an Equiped_Idle state, and a ModifyFace animation, covering the motion of interacting with the watch face. The phone animations are split between an Idle hold and a Talk position, accommodating both checking a message and holding the device to an ear.

Texture Maps and Display Resolution

The visual fidelity of the equipment is defined by 26 individual textures. The texture types included are Base Color, Mask, Emissive, Normal, and Occlusion Roughness Metallic (ORM). This standard Physically-Based Rendering (PBR) setup allows the metallic edges of a smartphone or the glass of a camcorder screen to react to lighting correctly. The Emissive maps are necessary for the functional screens, allowing the displays to glow appropriately in dark environments.

Texture dimensions are provided at 2048×2048 and 4096×4096 resolution. The larger 4096×4096 resolutions are applied to the items frequently held closest to the camera, ensuring the screen interfaces and material details remain crisp during interaction. The camcorder display texture can also be modified, allowing developers to replace the screen content with custom art or feeds.

Integration in Unreal Engine Workflows

The package is built for Unreal Engine, indicated by the reliance on Blueprint components, UI Screen Widgets, and the Dynamic Voice Chat System (VoIP) compatibility noted for the asset. The equipment functions as a drop-in solution for First-Person character mechanics.

The inclusion of UI Screen Widgets for the tablet and smartphone means a developer can wire the screens into existing game systems, such as an inventory menu or a map interface, without building the front-end from scratch. The VoIP compatibility suggests the phone assets (specifically the cellphone and smartphone with their Talk animations) can be linked to an in-game voice communication system, allowing players to physically hold the device to their character's head while transmitting audio.

In a practical scene setup, a developer can parent these Skeletal Meshes to a First-Person camera or socket. The provided animation sequences handle the transition from a default state to the specific hold pose for the electronic, triggering the UI Widget or camcorder scene capture at the appropriate frame.

For a survival game where checking the time or recording video is a mechanic, or a shooter where the player receives objectives via a PDA, this package provides the necessary meshes, animations, and functional script hooks to implement that interaction loop without custom rigging the electronics from scratch.

Related Resources Worth Checking

• Universal Shooting Game Template and Framework
• GASP: Basic Template for FPS with Spatial Inventory
• Cine Designer
• Advanced Jigsaw Inventory system
• Driveable Vehicle Pack ( REDUX ) 2.0