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Cable

HELIX Cables are composed primarily of two Unreal Engine components: a Cable and a PhysicsConstraint. The first is used for visual purposes only and the second one gives the effective physical effects that are applied to each end of the Cable.

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Cable visuals can be tweaked with :SetForces(), :SetCableSettings() and :SetRenderingSettings() methods. Those methods don’t have effect on the physics being applied and only have effects on the visual representation.

Cable physics can be tweaked with :SetAngularLimits() and :SetLinearLimits().

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Example​

Example
local CableActor = Cable(Vector(0.0, 0.0, 60.0), true)
local Cube1 = StaticMesh(Vector(52.684121, -37.863267, 92.023095), Quat(180, 0, 0, 1), '/Engine/BasicShapes/Cube.Cube', true)
local Cube2 = StaticMesh(Vector(44.109754, -534.058274, 91.712091), Quat(0, 180, 0, 1), '/Engine/BasicShapes/Cube.Cube', true)
CableActor:AttachStartTo(Cube1, Vector(0, 0, 0), '')
CableActor:AttachEndTo(Cube2, Vector(0, 0, 0), '')

Variables​

NameType
CableComponentUCableComponent
PhysicsComponentUPhysicsConstraintComponent

Constructor​

  • returns: table
local CableActor = Cable(Vector(0.0, 0.0, 60.0), true)
print(CableActor.Object) -- AActor
print(CableActor.CableComponent) -- UCableComponent
print(CableActor.PhysicsComponent) -- UPhysicsConstraintComponent
TypeNameDefaultDescription
VectorStartLocationThe start location of the cable, this gets overridden upon attachment.
boolean?bEnableVisualstrueWhether the cable actor is visible

Functions​

AttachStartTo​

Attaches the start of a cable to another actor

  • TargetActor Actor: The actor to attach to.
  • RelativeLocation Vector: Local offset from the attach point.
  • Socket string: Optional socket name.
  • returns: boolean
local success = CableActor:AttachStartTo(TargetActor, RelativeLocation, Socket)

AttachEndTo​

Attaches the end of a cable to another actor

  • TargetActor: Actor — the actor to attach the end to
  • RelativeLocation: Vector — local offset from the attach point
  • Socket: string — optional socket name on the target
CableActor:AttachEndTo(TargetActor, RelativeLocation, Socket)

DetachEnd​

Detaches the end of the cable from the actor

CableActor:DetachEnd()

DetachStart​

Detaches the start of the cable from the actor

CableActor:DetachStart()

SetCableSettings​

Sets the cable settings, like length

  • Length: number — rope length in Unreal units
  • Segments: number — visual segment count (smoothness vs. cost)
  • SolverIterations: number — extra solver passes for stability/quality
CableActor:SetCableSettings(Length, Segments, SolverIterations)

SetForces​

Sets the vector of force to be applied to all particles in the cable

  • Force: Vector — constant world-space force per particle
  • GravityScale: number — multiplier for rope gravity (e.g., 0.5 is lighter)
CableActor:SetForces(Force, GravityScale)

SetAngularLimits​

Sets the angular limits for the cable

  • Swing1Motion: ConstraintMotion — Free, Limited, or Locked
  • Swing2Motion: ConstraintMotion — Free, Limited, or Locked
  • TwistMotion: ConstraintMotion — Free, Limited, or Locked
  • Swing1LimitAngle: number — degrees, only used when motion is Limited
  • Swing2LimitAngle: number — degrees, only used when motion is Limited
  • TwistLimitAngle: number — degrees, only used when motion is Limited
CableActor:SetAngularLimits(Swing1Motion, Swing2Motion, TwistMotion, Swing1LimitAngle, Swing2LimitAngle, TwistLimitAngle)

SetLinearLimits​

Sets the linear limits for the cable

  • XMotion: ConstraintMotion — Free, Limited, or Locked
  • YMotion: ConstraintMotion — Free, Limited, or Locked
  • ZMotion: ConstraintMotion — Free, Limited, or Locked
  • Limit: number — distance limit used when motion is Limited
  • Restitution: number — bounciness when hitting the limit
  • bUseSoftConstraint: boolean — enables spring-like behavior
  • Stiffness: number — spring stiffness when soft constraint is enabled
  • Damping: number — spring damping when soft constraint is enabled
CableActor:SetLinearLimits(XMotion, YMotion, ZMotion, Limit, Restitution, bUseSoftConstraint, Stiffness, Damping)

SetRenderingSettings​

Sets the rendering settings for the cable

  • Width: number — rope thickness in Unreal units
  • NumberOfSides: number — cylinder sides (visual smoothness)
  • TileMaterial: number — material tiling along the rope
CableActor:SetRenderingSettings(Width, NumberOfSides, TileMaterial)

GetAttachedStartTo​

Gets the actor that the start of the cable is attached to

CableActor:GetAttachedStartTo()

GetAttachedEndTo​

Gets the component referenced that the end of the cable is attached to

CableActor:GetAttachedEndTo()
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