Gameplay Testing Utilities

A kit of placeable sandbox utilities for a testing level — the Crimson equivalent of Epic's Lyra teleporter, gameplay-effect pad, and launch pad. Each is a Crimson-prefixed AActor you drag straight into a level (or subclass as a Blueprint for a mesh + config defaults). They double as live showcases of the CrimsonCamera, CrimsonTeams, CrimsonAbilitySystem, and CrimsonInventory APIs.

Prerequisites

CrimsonCore installed per Integration. The GE / ability-set / team / item utilities act on a pawn that already has the matching system (an ASC, a UCrimsonTeamAgentComponent, or a UCrimsonInventoryManagerComponent) — the standard ACrimsonCharacter + experience setup provides all of them. No C++ is required to place or configure any utility.

What ships

Actor	What it does
`ACrimsonTestingVolumeBase`	Abstract base for all of them: a trigger primitive (box, or a sphere via subobject override), a player-only filter, an occupant counter, and enter/exit hooks. Never placed directly.
`ACrimsonTeleportVolume`	Teleports an entering actor to a `DestinationActor` (+ offset). Point two at each other for a portal.
`ACrimsonGameplayEffectZone`	Applies a GameplayEffect while inside. Instant GEs fire once on entry; Duration/Infinite GEs are removed on exit.
`ACrimsonLaunchPad`	Sphere pad. Launches a character with a configurable velocity (world or pad-local).
`ACrimsonItemSpawnerPad`	Grants an inventory item on contact, then cools down and refills. Hides its mesh during cooldown.
`ACrimsonCameraZone`	Pushes a camera mode on the local pawn while inside; pops it on exit.
`ACrimsonTeamChangerVolume`	Reassigns the entering actor's team tags — flip a pawn hostile for PvP / attitude tests.
`ACrimsonAbilitySetGranterVolume`	Grants a `UCrimsonAbilitySet` on enter; revokes on exit or leaves it as a permanent buff pad.

Net-authority model

Placed actors exist on the server and every client, so overlaps fire locally on each machine. The base does not gate on authority — each utility decides for itself:

Server mutations (HasAuthority()): teleport, launch, GE application, team change, ability grant, item grant. These drive already-replicated state (character movement, ASC, team component, inventory), so nothing extra is replicated.
Client-local (IsLocallyControlled()): ACrimsonCameraZone only — the camera is a per-client concern, so it runs on the machine that controls the pawn.
Self-replicating: ACrimsonItemSpawnerPad alone (bReplicates), so its bIsAvailable cooldown flag reaches clients and hides the mesh.

GEs apply on the server only

ACrimsonGameplayEffectZone applies on the server and never on a client. A UAbilitySystemComponent replicates its active effects to clients automatically — applying on a client too would double-apply. The same rule holds for ability-set grants and team changes.

Place and configure

Every utility is Blueprintable. The fastest path is to drag the C++ class straight into the level from the Place Actors panel and set its properties per instance. For a reusable prop with a mesh and FX, make a Blueprint subclass under Content/GameplayTesting/ instead. Resize each actor's Trigger Volume (box or sphere) to cover the area you want.

Utility	Set on the placed instance
Teleport	`DestinationActor` = the target actor (a second teleporter or a plain marker). Optional `DestinationOffset`, `bReorientToDestination`.
GE Zone	`GameplayEffectClass` = a heal / damage / buff GE, plus `EffectLevel`. A Duration or Infinite GE is removed on exit; an Instant GE fires once per entry.
Launch Pad	`LaunchVelocity` (e.g. `(0,0,1200)`), `bWorldSpace`, `bXYOverride`, `bZOverride`.
Item Spawner	`ItemToGrant` = a `UCrimsonInventoryItemDefinition` subclass, plus `StackCount`, `CooldownSeconds`. Set `DisplayMesh` to the item's mesh.
Camera Zone	`CameraModeClass` = a `UCrimsonCameraMode`. `CameraModeOwnerTag` = a unique tag (see below).
Team Changer	`TeamTagsToAssign` = the team to force. `bRestoreOnExit` reverts on leaving.
Ability Granter	`AbilitySet` = a `UCrimsonAbilitySet`. `bRevokeOnExit` (false = permanent buff pad).

Camera zones need unique owner tags

PushCameraMode/PopCameraMode are keyed by CameraModeOwnerTag. If two camera zones that can overlap the same pawn share a tag, the second push replaces the first, and the first zone's exit-pop yanks the override the second still needs. Give every overlapping camera zone a distinct tag.

Pair two teleporters

Place two ACrimsonTeleportVolume actors. On each, set DestinationActor to the other one and give a DestinationOffset that lands the pawn clear of the destination box (otherwise it re-overlaps and can ping-pong). That is the whole setup — the teleport runs on the server and the client corrects to the new position.

Screenshot pendingImages/CrimsonCore/gameplay-testing-teleporter-pair.png

Two ACrimsonTeleportVolume actors, each with DestinationActor pointing at the other and a DestinationOffset clear of the box.

Damage-test dummy

There is no separate testing-kit dummy — the existing ACrimsonTargetDummy (see Testing Dummy) is the target. It already survives lethal hits and regenerates, so pair it with a damage ACrimsonGameplayEffectZone or your abilities. Floating damage numbers come from UCrimsonNumberPopSubsystem::RequestNumberPop(...), and adding a UCrimsonLockOnTargetComponent to its Blueprint makes it a lock-on test target.

Extend in C++

To add your own utility, subclass ACrimsonTestingVolumeBase and override HandleActorEnterVolume(AActor*) / HandleActorExitVolume(AActor*). Gate the body yourself — if (!HasAuthority()) return; for a server mutation, or an IsLocallyControlled() check for a client-local effect. To use a sphere trigger instead of the default box, chain the subobject override in your constructor:

cpp

AMyVolume::AMyVolume(const FObjectInitializer& OI)
    : Super(OI.SetDefaultSubobjectClass<USphereComponent>(TriggerVolumeName))
{
}