Vehicles

HELIX uses the HVehicle class to handle all drivable vehicles -- cars, trucks, boats, you name it. The system handles physics, engine simulation, fuel, and lighting so you can focus on building great driving experiences.

Spawning a Vehicle

Drop a vehicle into your world by creating a new HVehicle instance with a position, rotation, and Blueprint asset reference.

Blueprint

Blueprint— Spawn a vehicle at a locationScroll to zoom · Drag to pan · Drag nodes to move

Lua

-- Spawn a vehicle at a specific location
local my_car = HVehicle(
    Vector(1000, 0, 50),
    Rotator(0, 90, 0),
    "/Game/Vehicles/BP_Sedan.BP_Sedan_C"
)

JavaScript

// Spawn a vehicle at a specific location
const myCar = new HVehicle(
    new Vector(1000, 0, 50),
    new Rotator(0, 90, 0),
    "/Game/Vehicles/BP_Sedan.BP_Sedan_C"
);

Driving Controls

HVehicle exposes direct input controls for throttle, steering, braking, and the handbrake. You can also manage the engine lifecycle and fuel system.

Blueprint

Blueprint— Vehicle throttle, steering, brakes, and handbrakeScroll to zoom · Drag to pan · Drag nodes to move

Lua

-- Apply full throttle and steer left
my_car:SetThrottleInput(1.0)
my_car:SetSteeringInput(-0.5)

-- Apply brakes
my_car:SetBrakeInput(1.0)

-- Engage handbrake
my_car:SetHandBrakeInput(true)

JavaScript

// Apply full throttle and steer left
myCar.SetThrottleInput(1.0);
myCar.SetSteeringInput(-0.5);

// Apply brakes
myCar.SetBrakeInput(1.0);

// Engage handbrake
myCar.SetHandBrakeInput(true);

Steering input ranges from -1.0 (full left) to 1.0 (full right). Throttle and brake range from 0.0 to 1.0.

Fuel & Engine

HVehicle includes a fuel system and engine lifecycle controls. You can set fuel levels, start and stop the engine, and monitor engine health.

Blueprint

Blueprint— Fuel, engine starter, and health checkScroll to zoom · Drag to pan · Drag nodes to move

Lua

-- Set fuel to full
my_car:SetFuel(1.0)

-- Start the engine
my_car:HoldStarter(0.5)
my_car:ReleaseStarter()

-- Check engine health
local health = my_car:GetEngineHealth()

JavaScript

// Set fuel to full
myCar.SetFuel(1.0);

// Start the engine
myCar.HoldStarter(0.5);
myCar.ReleaseStarter();

// Check engine health
const health = myCar.GetEngineHealth();

Lights & Sirens

HVehicle provides fine-grained control over vehicle lighting, including indicators, brake lights, hazard lights, and sirens for emergency vehicles.

Blueprint

Blueprint— Hazard lights, siren, and indicatorsScroll to zoom · Drag to pan · Drag nodes to move

Lua

-- Turn on hazard lights
my_car:SetHazardLight(true)

-- Enable siren for emergency vehicles
my_car:SetSirenState(true)

-- Turn on left indicator
my_car:SetLeftIndicator(true)

JavaScript

// Turn on hazard lights
myCar.SetHazardLight(true);

// Enable siren for emergency vehicles
myCar.SetSirenState(true);

// Turn on left indicator
myCar.SetLeftIndicator(true);

tip

You can find a variety of ready-to-use vehicle assets in Vault, or import your own custom meshes with custom seat and door configurations.