Create a Canyon Echo with Patchwork

Do you love yelling into a big empty cave? The sound bounces back, right? Now you can make that happen in your own Fortnite island! We will build a simple "Canyon Simulator." You will place a speaker, add an echo effect, and watch the sound repeat. It is like magic, but it is just audio coding. Let's make some noise!

What You'll Learn

• How to use the Echo Effect device.
• What Delay and Feedback mean in sound.
• How to connect devices in Patchwork.
• How to test your sound island.

How It Works

Imagine you are standing in a real canyon. You yell "Hello!" Your voice travels to the wall. Then it bounces back to you. That bounce is an echo.

In Fortnite Creative, we use a device called Patchwork. Think of Patchwork like a string of musical toys. You plug one toy into another. The sound flows from one to the next.

The Echo Effect device is one of those toys. It takes a sound. It waits a tiny bit. Then it plays the sound again. If you set it right, it plays the sound many times. It gets quieter each time. This is called feedback.

Here is the plan:

1. We need a sound source. We will use a Music Manager or Instrument Player.
2. We send that sound into the Echo Effect.
3. We send the echoed sound to an Output.
4. Players hear the echo!

Let's build this step-by-step.

Let's Build It

We will build a "Canyon Chamber." When a player enters, they hear a tone. Then they hear it bounce around the walls.

Step 1: Place the Devices

Open UEFN. Go to the Devices panel. Search for these devices:

1. Music Manager: This plays the music.
2. Echo Effect: This makes the echo.
3. Output: This sends sound to players' ears.

Place them close together on the ground. It is okay if they are messy now. We will connect them.

Step 2: Connect the Wires

Click on the Music Manager. You will see a small circle (a socket). Drag a wire from there to the Echo Effect.

Now, click the Echo Effect. Drag a wire from its output to the Output device.

Your chain looks like this: Music Manager → Echo Effect → Output

Step 3: Tune the Echo

Click the Echo Effect device. Look at the options panel.

• Mix: This controls how much echo you hear. Set it to 0.5. This means you hear the original sound and the echo equally.
• Feedback: This controls how many times the echo repeats. Turn it up to 0.7. Now the echo will bounce several times!
• Delay: This is the time between echoes. Set it to 0.3 seconds. This feels like a medium-sized canyon.

Step 4: Add a Trigger (Optional)

If you want the echo to start only when a player enters, add a Trigger Volume. Place it around your devices. Connect the Trigger to the Music Manager. Now the echo only plays when someone steps in!

The Code Behind It

You might think we need code for this. Actually, Patchwork is visual! But here is how the logic works in Verse terms.

using { /Fortnite.com/Devices }
using { /Verse.org/Simulation }
using { /UnrealEngine.com/Temporary/Diagnostics }

# Canyon echo coordinator — wires up devices that are
# already placed in the UEFN level via their @editable bindings.
# Patchwork audio routing is configured in the editor;
# this script handles the gameplay trigger that starts playback.

canyon_echo_manager := class(creative_device):

    # Drag the placed Audio Player device here in the Details panel.
    @editable
    MusicSource : audio_player_device = audio_player_device{}

    # Drag the placed Trigger Volume device here in the Details panel.
    # The Echo Effect and Output devices are wired to MusicSource
    # inside Patchwork — no Verse API is needed for that routing.
    @editable
    EntranceTrigger : trigger_device = trigger_device{}

    OnBegin<override>()<suspends> : void =
        # Subscribe to the trigger so playback starts when a
        # player walks into the Canyon Chamber.
        EntranceTrigger.TriggeredEvent.Subscribe(OnPlayerEntered)

    # Called automatically each time the trigger fires.
    # 'Agent' is the player who stepped inside.
    OnPlayerEntered(Agent : ?agent) : void =
        # Start the music source.
        # The Patchwork chain (MusicSource → Echo Effect → Output)
        # is already configured in the editor, so the echo plays
        # automatically once the source begins.
        MusicSource.Play()
        # note: Echo Effect Delay (0.3 s), Feedback (0.7), and
        # Mix (0.5) are set on the Echo Effect device in the
        # UEFN Details panel — there is no runtime Verse API
        # for adjusting Patchwork parameters at play-time.```

**What is happening here?**
*   `@editable` lets you drag real placed devices from the UEFN level into the script without hard-coding anything.
*   `EntranceTrigger.TriggeredEvent.Subscribe(OnPlayerEntered)` watches for a player to step into the trigger zone, then calls our function.
*   `MusicSource.Play()` starts the Music Player device. Because the Patchwork chain is already wired in the editor (`Music Manager` → `Echo Effect` → `Output`), the echo plays automatically.
*   The **Delay**, **Feedback**, and **Mix** values you tuned in Step 3 live on the Echo Effect device in the UEFN Details panel — Patchwork does not expose those as Verse function calls, so that is where you change them.

## Try It Yourself

You did it! You built a canyon echo. Now, let's make it your own.

**Challenge:** Make the canyon feel HUGE.

**Hint:** Try changing the **Delay** to **0.8 seconds**. What happens to the sound? Does it feel like a giant space? Now try turning the **Feedback** all the way up to **0.9**. Does it start to squeak or loop forever? Be careful! Too much feedback can make a loud noise.

## Recap

*   **Patchwork** is like a string of audio toys.
*   The **Echo Effect** repeats sound after a **Delay**.
*   **Feedback** controls how many times the echo repeats.
*   You can build cool sound effects without writing complex code!

Great job, coder! Your island now has a voice. 🎤

## References

*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/getting-started-with-patchwork-in-fortnite-creative
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-patchwork-echo-effect-devices-in-fortnite-creative
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/getting-started-with-patchwork-in-fortnite-creative
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-patchwork-echo-effect-devices-in-fortnite-creative
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-patchwork-devices-in-fortnite-creative