UE Editor Configurator Plugin

The plugin acts as an authoring layer between the content team and the configurator framework, turning complex technical configuration into a more accessible, structured editor workflow.

Key Features

Designer-Focused Workflow

The plugin provides a purpose-built editor interface for configuring vehicle components, options, and relationships directly within Unreal Engine. Designers can work with configuration data through editor tools rather than manually managing complex Unreal assets and references.

Data-Driven Configuration

The system is built around metadata and configuration data, allowing designers to define how different options affect the final vehicle. This separates configuration from implementation and allows the same underlying systems to support different vehicle configurations.

Modular Configuration

Vehicle components are treated as modular configuration units, allowing different options and combinations to be authored independently. This makes it possible to introduce new variants without requiring changes to the core framework.

Editor Automation

The plugin automates repetitive setup and validation tasks that would otherwise require manual Unreal Editor work. This improves authoring speed while reducing configuration errors and inconsistencies.

C++ / Unreal Reflection

The plugin makes extensive use of Unreal Engine's C++ reflection system, editor APIs, UObject, USTRUCT, and UPROPERTY metadata to dynamically inspect and manipulate configuration data.

This allowed the tooling to remain generic rather than being tightly coupled to a fixed set of vehicle components.

class U_Int32 : public UObject
{
	GENERATED_BODY()

public:
	static const int32			xInvalidPtr = 0xDeadBeef;

protected:
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			Value = 0;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			MinValue = xInvalidPtr;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			MaxValue = xInvalidPtr;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			DefaultValue = 0;	
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			StepSize = 1;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		bool			Clamp = false;
}

class U_Int32 : public UObject
{
	GENERATED_BODY()

public:
	static const int32			xInvalidPtr = 0xDeadBeef;

protected:
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			Value = 0;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			MinValue = xInvalidPtr;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			MaxValue = xInvalidPtr;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			DefaultValue = 0;	
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			StepSize = 1;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		bool			Clamp = false;
}

class U_Int32 : public UObject
{
	GENERATED_BODY()

public:
	static const int32			xInvalidPtr = 0xDeadBeef;

protected:
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			Value = 0;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			MinValue = xInvalidPtr;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			MaxValue = xInvalidPtr;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			DefaultValue = 0;	
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		int32			StepSize = 1;
	UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, Category = "Int")
		bool			Clamp = false;
}

Separation Between Tooling & Runtime

The editor plugin is separated from the runtime configurator architecture.

The plugin is responsible for authoring and preparing configuration data, while the runtime systems are responsible for interpreting that data and applying the appropriate configuration.

This separation keeps the runtime lightweight and allows the editor tooling to evolve independently.

Scalable Architecture

The plugin was designed as a reusable framework rather than a collection of one-off editor scripts.

New configuration types, properties, and workflows can be introduced through the existing architecture without rebuilding the entire tool.

(Video Demo without the actual asset/information)

Slate-Based Editor Interface

The plugin's user interface was built using Unreal Engine's Slate UI framework, providing a custom editor experience tightly integrated with the engine.

Slate was used to create interactive panels, controls, configuration views, and editor workflows that communicate directly with the underlying configurator systems. This allowed the plugin to provide immediate feedback and interaction with Unreal's scene and configuration data while keeping the designer workflow within the editor.

The UI layer was deliberately separated from the underlying configuration and engine logic, allowing the Slate interface to act as an interaction layer over the core systems rather than embedding application logic directly into the UI.

TSharedRef<SWidget> GetContent(int32 TabIndex)
{
  switch ((Category)TabIndex)
  {
      case OPTION:
      return SNew(OptionCategory);
  
      case NAVIGATION:
          return SNew(NavigationCategory);
  
      case DATA:
          return SNew(DataCategory);
  
      case COMMAND:
          return SNew(CommandCategory);
  
      case INFORMATION:
          return SNew(InfoCategory);
  
      default:
          return SNew(STextBlock);
  }
}

TSharedRef<SWidget> GetContent(int32 TabIndex)
{
  switch ((Category)TabIndex)
  {
      case OPTION:
      return SNew(OptionCategory);
  
      case NAVIGATION:
          return SNew(NavigationCategory);
  
      case DATA:
          return SNew(DataCategory);
  
      case COMMAND:
          return SNew(CommandCategory);
  
      case INFORMATION:
          return SNew(InfoCategory);
  
      default:
          return SNew(STextBlock);
  }
}

TSharedRef<SWidget> GetContent(int32 TabIndex)
{
  switch ((Category)TabIndex)
  {
      case OPTION:
      return SNew(OptionCategory);
  
      case NAVIGATION:
          return SNew(NavigationCategory);
  
      case DATA:
          return SNew(DataCategory);
  
      case COMMAND:
          return SNew(CommandCategory);
  
      case INFORMATION:
          return SNew(InfoCategory);
  
      default:
          return SNew(STextBlock);
  }
}