The "Ramming Speed" Tutorial: Building a Vehicle Mod Spawner

Ever seen a Bear pickup truck with a cow catcher and thought, "I need that chaos in my life"? Vehicle mods are the ultimate way to turn a standard drive into a demolition derby. But here’s the catch: if you just spawn a truck, it’s boring. If you want players to actually get the mods, you need to build a system that drops them, lets them equip them, and throws them at vehicles.

In this tutorial, we’re going to build a Vehicle Mod Spawner System. We’ll use Verse to create a device that spawns a box containing an Off-Road Tire or a Cow Catcher. When a player picks it up, they can throw it at a passing truck to permanently upgrade it. It’s loot, it’s combat, and it’s pure chaos.

What You'll Learn

• Spawning Items: How to use Verse to drop specific items (consumables) into the world.
• The Aiming Arc: Understanding how players interact with throwable items.
• Vehicle Compatibility: Knowing which vehicles can actually accept mods (spoiler: not everything).
• One-Way Streets: Why once a mod is attached, it’s stuck there forever.

How It Works

Before we write a single line of code, let’s break down the game mechanics involved. Think of this like understanding the rules of a new game mode before you jump in.

1. The "Loot Box" Concept (Spawning Items)

In Fortnite, you don’t just have items; you find them. In UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite), we use Devices to place things in the world. A Vehicle Mod Box Spawner is a specific device that acts like a vending machine for vehicle upgrades. It doesn’t spawn the vehicle itself; it spawns the mod (the item you throw).

2. The "Throwing" Mechanic (Aiming Arc)

Vehicle mods are Consumables. This is a programming term for an item that gets used up or applied once. When you hold a mod, you have an Aiming Arc (that little reticle or indicator on your screen). You aim at a vehicle and throw.

• If you hit a valid vehicle: The mod attaches.
• If you hit the ground: It’s just a thrown item (useful for hitting other players, but useless for the car).
• If you aim at a Helicopter: Nothing happens. Helicopters don’t have wheels. Mods only work on four-wheeled road vehicles (like the Bear, Sedan, or Sports Car).

3. The "Permanent Upgrade" (No Undo Button)

This is crucial: Vehicle mods cannot be removed. Once you throw that Cow Catcher at a Bear, it’s glued on. There is no "unequip" button. This makes your spawner system important—you don’t want to give everyone a Cow Catcher unless they earn it or find it.

4. The Scene Graph (The "Where" and "What")

In Verse, everything lives in the Scene Graph. Think of the Scene Graph as the hierarchy of your island.

• The Island is the parent.
• The Spawner Device is a child of the island.
• The Player is another child.
• The Vehicle is another child.

When we write Verse, we are telling the Spawner Device: "Hey, when the game starts, look at the Scene Graph, find a spot, and spawn an item there."

Let's Build It

We are going to create a Verse script that sits inside a Vehicle Mod Box Spawner device. This script will automatically spawn an "Off-Road Tire" for players to find.

Step 1: Place the Device

1. Open your Creative Island.
2. Go to Devices > Spawners > Vehicle Mod Box Spawner.
3. Place it somewhere visible (maybe near a garage or a pit stop).

Step 2: Add the Verse Script

1. Click on the device you just placed.
2. In the Properties panel on the right, find the Verse section.
3. Click Create New Script and name it ModSpawner.
4. Paste the following code into the editor.

# ModSpawner.verse
# This script tells the Vehicle Mod Box Spawner to spawn an Off-Road Tire.

# 1. Define the "Event" (The Trigger)
# In programming, an "event" is something that happens that triggers code to run.
# Think of it like a "When this button is pressed" logic.
# Here, the event is "On Begin Play" — when the island starts.

On Begin Play() event:
    # 2. Define the "Item" (The Loot)
    # We need to specify WHICH mod we want to spawn.
    # Verse uses "Enums" (short for enumerations) to pick from a list.
    # Think of an Enum like a menu where you can only pick one option.
    # VehicleModType is the menu, and OffRoadTire is the option.
    
    chosen_mod: VehicleModType = VehicleModType::OffRoadTire
    
    # 3. Spawn the Item
    # The device itself has a built-in function called "SpawnItem".
    # We call it, passing in our chosen_mod.
    # This is like telling the vending machine: "Give me one Off-Road Tire."
    SpawnItem(chosen_mod)
    
    # 4. Feedback (Optional but fun)
    # Let's print a message to the debug console so we know it worked.
    # Think of this as a "System Message" in the corner of the screen.
    Print("Off-Road Tires have been stocked! Go get 'em.")

Step 3: Understanding the Code

• On Begin Play() event:: This is the entry point. Just like a match starts when the Battle Bus door opens, this code runs when your island starts. It’s the "Start Game" button for your script.
• VehicleModType::OffRoadTire: This is an Enum. An Enum is a list of predefined choices. You can’t just type "FastTires" because that’s not a real option. You have to pick from the official list (like OffRoadTire, CowCatcher, etc.). It’s like picking a skin from the shop—you can only pick what’s available.
• SpawnItem(chosen_mod): This is the Function. A function is a block of code that does a specific job. Think of it like a "Healing Potion" function: you call it, and it heals you. Here, we call SpawnItem, and it creates the physical box/item in the world.

Step 4: Test It

1. Click Save and Play.
2. Walk over to the spawner.
3. You should see a box. Open it.
4. Grab the Off-Road Tire.
5. Find a Bear truck.
6. Aim at the truck and throw the tire.
7. Result: The tire attaches. Drive away. You’re now off-roading.

Try It Yourself

You’ve mastered spawning Off-Road Tires. Now, let’s make it more interesting.

Challenge: Modify the script so that it spawns a Cow Catcher instead of an Off-Road Tire.

Hint: Look at the line where we define chosen_mod. You need to change VehicleModType::OffRoadTire to the correct Enum value for a Cow Catcher. Check the official Verse documentation for the list of VehicleModType options, or just guess based on the naming convention!

(Don’t peek at the solution! If you get stuck, remember: it’s just like changing the skin on your character—you pick from the list.)

Recap

• Vehicle Mods are consumable items that attach to four-wheeled vehicles.
• Once attached, they are permanent. There’s no undo.
• Verse’s On Begin Play event is how you trigger actions when the island starts.
• Enums are like menus where you pick one option (like OffRoadTire or CowCatcher).
• SpawnItem() is the function that actually puts the item in the world.

Now go build the most chaotic vehicle combat island Fortnite has ever seen. Just remember: if you spawn a Cow Catcher, you’re basically declaring war on every other player’s bumper.

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-vehicle-mod-items-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-vehicle-mod-items-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/fortnite-creative-glossary
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-vehicle-mod-box-spawner-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-vehicle-mod-consumables-in-fortnite-creative