Hyper’s locomotion system is based on techniques from Epic’s Lyra Starter Game, with an implementation intended to work in Blueprint-only projects.

For shared setup guidance, see the Migration Guide and Integration Guide. Use the System Atlas to look up functions, variables, events, components, and ownership references. Use this page for Animation Framework-specific setup, runtime behavior, extension points, and integration notes.

Lyra also uses Epic’s Gameplay Ability System. This framework does not use GAS because it can be heavier than many projects need for locomotion-specific behavior.

Related Videos

Version note: Some videos may have been recorded before V4. The same principles still apply, but asset names, component names, and folder locations may differ. Use this written documentation and the current V4 names as the source of truth.

Learning note: basics course videos are not specific to this system. Use them to understand the underlying Unreal Engine or Blueprint principle, then follow the current documentation for project-specific names and setup.

Some developers prefer systems like GASP. There is community discussion about integrating it and sharing how to use it in MST Pro.

Movement vs Animation

In Unreal Engine, your character is technically represented by a capsule component. Creating inputs that cause your capsule to move through your game world is only a small part of a locomotion system.

A complete locomotion system also needs a skeletal mesh and animation logic that makes the character appear to interact with the world correctly. The complexity comes from animation blending, state transitions, animation start and end conditions, and IK used to adjust poses against world placement.

The Extended Movement Component, together with Hyper’s Animation Framework, does most of this work for you.

Because this system is based on Lyra-style locomotion, Lyra documentation and tutorials are useful background material when extending the Hyper implementation.

Architecture

This system follows the standard Hyper architecture. Foundational data such as enums, structs, libraries, and abstract Blueprints are in the Core directory:

Content/Hyper/Core/Locomotion

Runtime logic and general functionality are under:

Content/Locomotion

Extended Movement Component

The Extended Movement Component is part of the locomotion framework. It provides:

• Advanced locomotion support
  • Uses the Lyra framework as a base.
  • Includes dodging.
  • Can switch global orientation from forward-facing movement to strafe movement.
• Animation and sound replication
  • Call the Initialize function on any actor with the Extended Movement Component attached. It handles the replication needs for supported animation and sound events.
  • Example events: Initialize Latent Montage, Initialize Montage, Initialize Sound at Location, and Initialize Sound Attached.
• Latent montage handling
  • The component can handle replicated latent montage logic for cases where animations can be interrupted or where gameplay should execute on a specific notify. This is useful for actions such as reloading, where the reload should only execute if the montage reaches the expected point.
• Utility functions for switching between walk, run, and sprint.
• Camera management.
• Enhanced Input support.

Planned or non-guaranteed features:

• Vaulting
• Climbing
• Proning
• Door opening
• First-person view, which is included but not optimized
• Cover system

Architecture Interactions

Due to the modular nature of the Hyper framework, animations are not completely centralized under a single animation blueprint. Instead, they are divided by feature for modularity. This approach allows you to extend functionality by simply adding or removing components, which would not be possible if everything exists in a single place.

For example:

• Basic movement animations, such as walk, run, jump, and crouch, are handled by the Hyper Locomotion System.
• Ragdolls are handled by the Hyper Ragdoll System.
• Primary and secondary actions, including unarmed attacks, are handled by the Hyper Equipment Manager.
• Advanced combat and weapon animations are handled by the Hyper Combat Framework.
• Footstep sounds and effects are facilitated by the Hyper Footstep System.
• Multiplayer replication of all non-movement animations and montages is facilitated by the Hyper Replication Subsystem.

Not all systems and features are included in every MST framework level. The shared architecture is still what allows the Hyper framework to stay modular across different product tiers.

Movement Animations

Movement animations are driven via the usual animation blueprint method, based on Lyra. Depending on which version of the framework you are using (Starter, Plus, or Pro) different animation blueprints may be used with the default character.

If in doubt, a good place to start is by taking a look at the ABP_Manny blueprint. Traditional state machine architecture is used in alignment with the Lyra standards, so any Lyra knowledge will be very helpful in understanding how this works.

Replicated Animations

The vast majority of non-movement animations and montages (like combat, interactions etc) are supported by the Hyper Replication Subsystem (AC_Replication_SubSystem).