Metaxis AI Perception Tools plugin by Metaxis Games

- Video Overview & Setup

- Full Documentation

About the Plugin

Metaxis AI Perception Tools is a plugin for Unreal Engine designed to enhance and provide granular control over your NPC and Enemy AI agent’s perception capabilities. This plugin offers a number of Blueprint-callable functions that allow developers to create more realistic, dynamic, and controllable AI behaviors directly in Blueprints, without needing to modify code in C++.

This plugin was originally built as a free companion plugin to the free YouTube tutorial series on recreating the "Alien: Isolation" Enemy AI in Unreal Engine 5, but is now provided as a free resource for all Unreal Engine developers.

Key Features:

• Override the Eyes Viewpoint of any NPC pawn or character that has a Skeletal Mesh.

• Assign an array of custom 'Sight Targets' to a perceived actor so that an NPC's sight perception can perceive the actor from a number of different sockets (such as head, hands, feet, torso, etc.).

• Manage Team Relationships in real time through a World Subsystem (Metaxis Team Subsystem) and direct behaviour based on team relationships.

• Update Sense Configs for all Sense Perception classes in real time through blueprints.

• Granular AI memory management through the use of the 'AI Forget Actor' and 'AI Forget Actors' functions.

C++ Classes Included (No coding required):

Metaxis Blueprint Function Library

This Blueprint Function Library contains the core blueprint functions of the plugin. It contains 28 functions for updating and retrieving AI Perception sense config data, as well as various other AI Perception functionality. For a full list and description of the plugins, see Blueprint Function Library (Functions).

Metaxis AI Controller

A custom AI Controller Class which allows overriding the agent’s ‘GetActorEyesViewpoint,’ meaning that the agent’s sight perception can be assigned to a socket on the pawn’s skeletal mesh. This means that the sight perception will follow the skeletal mesh’s animations, rather than being fixed to the collision capsule. If using the Metaxis AI Controller, then there is no need to use the Metaxis Character or Metaxis Pawn class, as these classes achieve the same outcome and are provided simply for the developer to choose their own approach.

Metaxis Pawn

A custom Pawn class which achieves the same objective of overriding the ‘GetActorEyesViewpoint’ that the Metaxis AI Controller achieves. If using the Metaxis Pawn, there is no need to use the Metaxis AI Controller, a standard AI Controller will suffice.

Metaxis Character

The same as the Metaxis Pawn except with the extra functionality of the Unreal Engine character class (i.e. Character Movement Component, e.t.c.). If using the Metaxis Character, there is no need to use the Metaxis AI Controller, a standard AI Controller will suffice.

Metaxis Eye Source Component

This is an Actor Component that comes with the Metaxis AI Controller, Pawn and Character classes by default. When your AI uses sight (or anything that asks the pawn/controller for an eye position), this component helps aim that viewpoint from a bone/socket on the skeletal mesh instead of the actor’s default eye point.

Metaxis Sight Target Component

An Actor Component you attach to the actor being perceived (for example the player). It implements `IAISightTargetInterface` so Unreal’s built-in `UAISense_Sight` delegates line-of-sight checks to socket points on a skeletal mesh (for example torso or spine) instead of only tracing to the actor origin. You list bone or socket names in Sight Target Sockets; the sense traces to them in order and treats the target as visible when any listed point has a clear line of sight.

Metaxis Team Subsystem

A world subsystem (`UMetaxisTeamSubsystem`) created in supported game worlds. On startup it installs a custom `FGenericTeamId` attitude solver that resolves how any two team IDs relate (Friendly, Neutral, or Hostile) using an in-memory table of explicit pairs, with defaults of same-team Friendly and different-team Hostile when no row exists.

Metaxis Team Component

A spawnable Actor Component that stores a numeric Team ID on any actor without requiring `IGenericTeamAgentInterface`. The plugin’s team-affiliation Blueprint helpers read this component when the interface is not present (including a fallback lookup on the pawn’s controller).

Metaxis Team Relationship (Data Table)

`FMetaxisTeamRelationship` is a Blueprint-type struct inheriting `FTableRowBase`, intended as the row struct for a DataTable of team pairs. Each row names Team A, Team B, and an Attitude (`ETeamAttitude`: Friendly, Neutral, or Hostile).