Make Players Fly or Freeze with Movement Modulators

Have you ever wanted to create a zone that shoots players into the sky? Or maybe a trap that makes them move like they are stuck in jelly? You can do both with one special device.

We will build a "Speed Switch" island. You will place a device that changes how fast players run. It is like a magic floor tile. Let's get started!

What You'll Learn

• What a Movement Modulator is.
• How to make players go super fast or super slow.
• How to use Channels to connect devices.
• How to read the device's color lights.

How It Works

Imagine your island is a kitchen. The Movement Modulator is like a spice jar.

When you shake it, it adds flavor. In Fortnite, it adds speed.

There are three main settings you can change:

1. Speed: This is the flavor. You can pick "Boost" (fast), "Slow" (slow), or "Reverse" (backwards).
2. Duration: This is how long the flavor lasts. You can set it for 1 second or 10 seconds.
3. Activation: This is who gets the spice. You can make it work for everyone, or only for a specific team.

The device has a light on it. This light tells you its mood.

• Green Light: It is happy. It gives a speed boost.
• Red Light: It is angry. It slows players down.
• Gray Light: It is asleep. It is turned off.

You can also connect this device to other things. We call these connections Channels. Think of a channel like a walkie-talkie. If you talk on Channel 1, only the device listening on Channel 1 hears you.

Let's Build It

We will build a simple race track. There is a blue zone that makes you slow. There is a green zone that makes you fast.

Here is the plan:

1. Place a Movement Modulator.
2. Set it to slow players down.
3. Set it to last for 5 seconds.

The Verse Code

In UEFN, we can use Verse to make this happen automatically. This code finds a device and tells it what to do.

# This script makes a movement modulator slow players down.

using { /Fortnite.com/Devices }
using { /Verse.org/Simulation }

# We create a new script called SlowZone
SlowZoneActor := class(creative_device):
    # This is the device we will control.
    # We give it a name "Modulator" so we can find it.
    # Drag the Movement Modulator device onto this property in the editor.
    @editable
    Modulator : movement_modulator_device = movement_modulator_device{}

    # This runs when the game starts.
    OnBegin<override>()<suspends>:void=
        # First, we tell the device to slow players down.
        # We set the walk speed multiplier to 0.2, which is a very strong slow effect.
        # note: movement_modulator_device exposes Enable/Disable but not a
        # SetSpeedModifier runtime call; speed mode is configured in editor properties.
        # We call Enable() so the device is active when the game begins.
        Modulator.Enable()

        # We then wait 5 seconds to match the intended duration from the lesson.
        # After this wait we disable the device, mimicking a 5-second slow effect.
        Sleep(5.0)

        # Turn the device off after 5 seconds.
        Modulator.Disable()

Walking Through the Code

Let's look at each part.

1. Modulator : movement_modulator_device This line creates a slot for our device. Think of it like an empty box. We label the box "Modulator". Later, we put the actual device inside this box.

2. Modulator.Enable() This turns the device on. Without this, the device is just a statue. It does nothing. The speed mode itself (slow, boost, etc.) is chosen in the editor's device properties panel before you press Play.

3. Sleep(5.0) This pauses the script for five seconds. The .0 means it is a decimal number. After five seconds, the code continues to the next line.

4. Modulator.Disable() This turns the device off after the five seconds are up. The effect wears off and players return to normal speed.

Try It Yourself

Now it is your turn to be creative!

Challenge: Change the code above to make a Speed Boost instead of a slow zone.

Hint: In the UEFN editor, select your Movement Modulator device and find the Speed Modifier property in its details panel. Change it from "Slow" to "Boost". Also, try changing the Sleep duration to 2.0 for a quick burst of speed.

Bonus Challenge: Can you make the device only work for Team 1? Look in the device settings in the editor for "Activating Team". You can set it to "Team 1" there. This helps you make team-based games!

Recap

You just learned how to control player movement.

• Movement Modulators change how fast players run.
• Green means fast. Red means slow.
• Channels help devices talk to each other.
• Verse lets you set these rules with code.

Go build a fun race track or a tricky maze. Have fun coding!

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-movement-modulator-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-movement-modulator-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/design-a-prop-hunt-game-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-devices-in-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/movement-modifier