How to check what version of Quest Map Pro you are using
Checking the version of Quest Map Pro you are using is incredibly simple. Look for the QuestMapPro-Version widget in the Quest Map Pro root folder (by default this is Content/QuestMap). The version can be seen in the widget thumbnail, as shown below.
Version 1.5.6
Made available November 2nd, 2023.
Update notes
Version 1.5.6 includes several bugfixes:
Reworked north direction alterations to address a number of issues, primarily when working with rectangular maps
Fixed dynamic markers not updating at runtime when attached to moving actors
Fixed map fog not working correctly when enabled on the mini map but disabled on the world map
Fixed an incorrect padding value that made the world map appear outside of the map border in some configurations
Version 1.5.5
Update cancelled.
Update notes
Version 1.5.5 was originally submitted to Epic Games for processing. During the processing time, several major bugs were found and this update was cancelled before it was released to the public.
Version 1.5.4
Made available October 21st, 2023.
Update Notes
Version 1.5.4 includes a fairly substantial improvement to the way that world map zooming is handled, as well as the ability to rotate what direction is considered north.
Added option Zoom to Cursor to toggle on/off world map zoom focusing on cursor location. When disabled, the zoom will instead focus on the center of the current frame. Please note that Zoom to Cursor is enabled by default.
Exposed setting Zoom Refocus Delay, which is used to determine how long between zoom actions before a new focus is set at the cursor location. Only relevant when Zoom to Cursor is enabled.
Added setting Zoom Transition Model which can change the interpolation method when switching to a focus point for zooming. Only relevant when Zoom to Cursor is enabled.
Improved zooming algorithm, especially when Zoom to Cursor is enabled. Zooming is now smoother and less juttery.
Some other tweaks related to zooming and ensuring a smoother result and more satisfying player experience.
Fix for landmark titles flickering on world map when Display Landmark Name on Hover is enabled.
Fix for compass offset not effecting degree readout (note that compass offset is now hidden and is instead set by North Direction - see next note)
Added setting North Direction to manager component, allowing the direction used to represent north to be changed. This should be set with reference to the editor directions in the top down view mode. Setting this will effectively rotate the map to ensure that North is always "Up" on the map in game, as well as adjust the compass, markers, waypoint locations, etc. Please note that this may require further testing.
Version 1.5.3
Made available August 23rd, 2023.
Update Notes
Version 1.5.3 includes several bugfixes:
Map captures now work correctly immediately, without the need to change a setting and force construction script on the map helper to run
Map markers for waypoints, quests and player notes are now correctly removed entirely during Reset State function
Material fix added in 1.5.2 now works correctly
Output log will no longer give warnings about accessing array with no entries during reset state
Post processing filters now work on captures using tiered grid capture when enabled
Character Helper will now be respawned if necessary when updating possession and current referenced actor is no longer valid
Resetting state will no longer give an error under scenario where example UI is used but has already been removed
Version 1.5.2
Made available July 31st, 2023.
Update Notes
Version 1.5.2 includes a new system to expand compatibility of the map capture process. Several systems widely used by the community are known to not be too easy to capture in scenarios such as that used to make maps of a world (systems such as Oceanology and Riverology, for example). This update adds a new set of options to the Map Helper actor that allow the end user to identify actors, and even entire classes of actors, to have a temporary material applied to them (can be set per class, or per actor) just for the capture process, and reverted back to their original material after.
While this system was designed with the aforementioned water systems in mind, it can be utilized to alter the visual appearance of any actor, or class of actors, at the time of capture without having to manually adjust the actors in the scene.
Version 1.5.1
Made available July 27th, 2023.
Update Notes
Version 1.5.1 includes several bugfixes:
Compass direction widgets now correctly respect compass bounds when resized
Character Helper actor now moves to new actor when Update Possession is called by default (can be disabled using input boolean in cases where not required). This now correctly allows for the player to continue to make discoveries as per normal even after changing possessed actors
Update Possession no longer gives accessed none errors on start up
Dynamic Markers will now correctly be removed when Reset State is called
Dynamic markers can now be set to force ongoing updates, allowing for dynamic markers attached to non-stationary objects
System added to allow previously possessed player to be ignored for tracking, preventing a double up of markers when not necessary
Magnetic disturbances no longer cast shadows, or attempt to (as they are not visible)
Waypoint and quest beacons no longer cast shadows
Discovery actor effect sphere no longer casts shadows
Additions:
Added start up function Execute On Initialized, which can be used for any QMP related functionality that requires the system to have initialized first (such as adding dynamic markers)
Added IsInitialized state boolean, which can be used to determine if QMP has finished initializing by external systems
Added option to map helper to temporarily add directional lighting to the scene - can be used to avoid blank captures in some scenarios, such as worlds utilizing Ultra Dynamic Sky
Added editor utility widget to display current version of Quest Map Pro for easier tracking within the project
Changes:
Compass width value exposed as setting in compass manager
Compass height value exposed as setting in compass manager
Compass direction widget vertical alignment exposed as setting in compass manager
Compass direction widget vertical offset adjusted to account for bottom/top alignment options
Compass vertical alignment options exposed in compass manager for all standard marker types (Landmarks, POIs, NPCs, Players, Waypoints, Quests and Dynamic Markers)
Please note that due to these settings being exposed to the compass manager, it is possible that your compass appearance may change if you have manually adjusted the values/settings previously.
Version 1.5
Made available July 24th, 2023.
Fast Travel Widget
A simple widget that lists all the available fast travel locations for the player, making it quick and easy to navigate to the location they want to travel to. Clicking on the location will initiate fast travel. This widget can be placed anywhere in the game UI, and as such also adds the ability to fast travel in a project that does not use a world map.
Magnetic Disturbances
Magnetic Disturbances add an interaction between the world and the various elements of Quest Map Pro. Upon approaching a magnetic disturbance, the players compass, world map, or mini map, or any combination of those elements, can be impaired. The compass can be set to simply fade out, or spin wildly, while static interference can block the players view of the world and mini map. Upon leaving the magnetic disturbance, the effect will fade out and the elements will return to normal.
Dynamic Markers
With version 1.5, any actor placed in the world can now be displayed on the maps and compass within Quest Map Pro. This allows for hero actors, such as player vehicles, campfires, etc. to be highlighted on the map without having to fit them into one of the pre-existing marker categories. It also allows markers that can be handled on an individual basis, as each dynamic marker has its own settings for whether it should be displayed on the compass, world map, or mini map, as well as the ability to use animated materials for its icon.
Additional Update Notes
Bug Fixes:
Fix for team mates not showing on mini map
Changes:
Set default state for Destroy Helper Actors in BP_QuestMapPro_Manager to FALSE (was previously TRUE) to avoid issues in games where respawn occurs in persistent worlds
Renamed discovery actor visualizer material instance to correct name
Version 1.4
Made available Jun 12th, 2023.
Map Capture Filters
As of version 1.4, map captures can now be run through post processing filters at the point of capture, allowing for artistic control over captures without requiring export of the image into third party art software. By enabling map filters on the map helper actor, you can add an array of post processing materials to apply to the capture and viola! The results will apply to the capture automatically. Included with this update is three effects - a Laplacian "sketch" filter, a Kawahara blur filter and a simple desaturation filter. Each filter has configurable options allowing for a bunch of different effects, and they can be combined. Additionally, you can grab your own post processing material or one from your favourite marketplace package and apply it to your capture without any barriers!
World Map 3D Widget Support
A feature requested by the community, Quest Map Pro now has support for the world map to be an object in world space. This can give the appearance of the map being a held object by the player and is present in a number of well known games (such as Minecraft, for instance). While there are some limitations (see Considerations when using the 3D world map widget), this can add an extra level of immersion to your players and makes Quest Map Pro useable in a HUD-free game if you so desire!
Compass Degree Counter
A popular feature of many multiplayer games, the compass can now display the orientation that the player is facing as a degree heading. This can be rounded up to the nearest value of your choice (by default it rounds to the nearest 15 degrees) and is incredibly useful for quick callouts and immediate orientation for the player.
Extended Save Game Support
In response to community feedback, the save data used by Quest Map Pro is now much easier to hook up to external/third party save setups. This means you will no longer need a separate save file just for Quest Map Pro data, but can incorporate it into your own save and more easily support multiple save profiles for QMP!
Additional Update Notes
Bug Fixes:
Fix for trouble-shooter widget compile error as a result of collision settings change for landmark actors
Fix for exposed fog appearing as "?" when loading fog data from external save
Fix for world map filter widget elements being focusable with tab key
Changes:
"EnableSaveData" boolean renamed to "LoadSaveDataOnStartup" to reflect more accurate use as it was causing some confusion
Changed default value of "Enable Tiered Zoom Transitions" on Map Helper actor to avoid confusion when single image maps do not work by default
Added variable "Max Reference Attempts" to control how long Quest Map Pro will try to retrieve UI references before giving a debug error and trying to continue anyway
Changed world map backing image to use a material (rather than just a texture) to allow for better image manipulation needed to bring 3D widget appearance closer to plain 2D appearance
Considerations when using the 3D world map widget
While most features will work as expected with this new option, there are some limitations and things to consider due to the way that 3D widgets work in comparison to standard 2D UI. The list below is likely all the considerations required, but may need to be updated in the future.
In the current configuration, there is no way to click on the map when it is a 3D widget. This is unlikely to change as the required setup would vary quite a lot from project to project. As such, players will not be able to click on the map to place notes and waypoints, or to fast travel. Additional fast travel options will be coming in a future update, but for now, the player notes will be disabled when the 3D widget option is enabled.
Similar to the above point, the map filter widget can not be interacted with in a 3D widget, and as such filters will be disabled when this is enabled.
While Tiered Zoom Grids will work fine with a 3D widget world map, the inability for a player to zoom in or pan the map does mean that they are not needed and will only occupy additional hard drive space. Its recommended to use a single map image instead unless you wish to add options for zooming and panning the map based on your project specifics.
3D widgets within Unreal seem to not be able to receive lighting. As such, their appearance can be quite washed out. To attempt to combat this, an additional set of options is present in the Map Manager that allow you to easily tweak the brightness, contrast and desaturation/saturation of the map image to try and get it closer to the expected result. Default values are available that work well with the demo image, but these value may need to be tweaked significantly depending on each project. Currently icons for landmarks, players, POIs, etc. all do suffer from this same washed out effect. This is something that will hopefully be addressed in a future update (likely a minor update before the next feature update) once the most efficient solution has been found.
POI icons are set up, by default, to only appear at a certain zoom level. As the 3D widget is always at a 1.0x zoom, POIs will simply not appear on the map unless the default values are changed.
Version 1.3.1
Made available April 19, 2023.
Update Notes
Version 1.3.1 contains three bug fixes.
Enabling mini map rotation via Align Mini Map With Player View no longer breaks the map image in 5.1.1
Point of Interest map markers will no longer remain on the map if destroyed/removed from the world
Removed potential memory leak that could occur over long play sessions in a persistent world where a player may respawn a lot of times by ensuring that the Reset State function correctly destroys orphaned widgets on player death.
Version 1.3
Made available April 11, 2023.
Discovery Actors
One of the most recognisable features of modern open world games is the radio tower. Radio towers allow players to expose large areas of the map by activated in world structures, and now Quest Map Pro includes this functionality. However, rather than needing to be tied to a tower where the player is, using the newly added Discovery Actors, the same functionality can be localised as a tower, set of remotely, or activated by just about anything in the game.
Location Widget
A highly requested albeit small addition, this widget allows the player the area they have entered on screen. As the player enters a landmark, the widget will fade in with the name of the area, and as they leave the landmark, it will fade out again. This widget can be placed anywhere on screen.
Mini Map Rotation
One of the most highly requested features since Quest Map Pro's launch, the mini map can now rotate at run time based on the player's camera or character, ensuring that they are always moving the same direction but the map rotates. This is a simple checkbox to enable/disable so you can even expose this to your player as a matter of their preference!
Additional Update Notes
Bug Fixes:
Fixed visibility setting on sphere trace for stick waypoints
Fixed issue where orphaned instances of the character helper actor could remain in scene when using ResetState function
Changes:
Changes URL links in tutorial widget from YNAW documentation to new gitbook documentation
Added tower to demo level to demonstrate discovery actor functionality
Changed landmark collision settings from boolean based to enumerator based to allow for capsule shaped collision
Version 1.2.3
Made available February 25th, 2023.
Update Notes
Version 1.2.3 contains two minor bug fixes.
Compass no longer disappears when fast travelling.
Players now appear, correctly, on the mini map according to map settings.
Additionally, several unused variables have been removed and others have been moved into their appropriate category where they were not previously.
Version 1.2.2
Made available February 2nd, 2023
Update Notes
This update focuses primarily on additional compatibility with projects that make use of Unreal Engine’s World Partition system. With this update, Quest Map Pro should be entirely compatible with the World Partition system and most of its features should work as intended. Note that depending on specifics of your project settings and the way you have configured things, there are still a handful of features that may not work and cannot be easily addressed.
Changes made for increased World Partition support:
Spatially Loaded setting on landmark actors (BP_QuestMapPro_Landmark) is now set to false to ensure landmarks are always loaded. Note that in worlds with a truly large number of landmarks, this may not be ideal and a custom system handling the landmarks may be necessary. Should not be an issue in almost all projects.
Spatially Loaded setting on both quest and waypoint actors (BP_QuestMapPro_Quest and BP_QuestMapPro_Waypoint) is set to false to ensure quest and waypoint actors are always loaded. These actors are used sparingly and there should be no performance impact from this change.
New logic added to Begin Play event for waypoint actor to ensure that the waypoint actor does not spawn under the world. Simply put, this logic checks for the ground. If there is no ground (such as in the case where the waypoint is being placed in an area of the map that has not been loaded), a World Partition Streaming Source is activated to load in the tile at that location, the ground is detected, and then the streaming source is disabled allowing that tile to be unloaded once again. There will likely be a very minor performance cost from this, but given how well the world partition system works, it should be negligible.
Note that the line trace used to detect the ground is deliberately made to be very large to ensure that this logic can accommodate all projects out of the box. If you are confident with working with line traces and know your project well, you can jump into the waypoint actor and alter the “World Streaming Height Variance” variable to lower this to minimize the impact of this line trace (as it is a single trace the impact should be negligible anyway) or raise it if you believe you need an even larger trace.
By default, the ground check will be repeated every 0.2 seconds until the ground is found. This should be a nice balance between responsiveness and performance, but if you want to change this you can alter the “World Streaming Height Trace Delay” variable in the waypoint actor.
New logic added to the Travel function in the systems manager component (BP_QuestMapPro_Manager). This function is used for fast travel. New logic has been added to ensure that the ground at the destination location has been loaded in before moving the player to the destination. Similarly to how the new logic on the waypoint actor (outlined above) works, if the ground at the destination is not detected, a World Partition Streaming Source is activated to load the ground in before checking again. The ground will be checked on loop until it loads in at which point the check will stop happening.
A small potential issue with this setup is that if you have landmarks or travel points hovering in the air quite a ways off the ground, then it is possible for an endless loop to occur here. This should not happen if you are setting up your landmarks and travel points correctly, but in the unlikely scenario it does, or if you want these points to be hovering in the air for whatever reason, you can open the function Check Travel Destination and alter the float inputs on the select node to allow the trace to check significantly longer distances (as shown below).
These changes have been tested on an active development project using large worlds that makes use of World Partition. As such I am comfortable stating that Quest Map Pro is now entirely compatible with the World Partition system. As always, if you run into any issues with the system under these, or any other scenarios, please reach out and I’ll do my best to assist.
Version 1.2.1
Made available January 30th, 2023
Update Notes
Version 1.2.1 includes several bug fixes.
Added missing descriptions for several variables
Updated some variables to instance editable that were not, but should have been
Fixed POI markers on world map being visible on startup when default zoom is above MinimumZoomToShowPOIs
Fixed troubleshooter utility widget only deleting one instance of additional MapHelper and LocationManager actors when multiple were found
Fixed world map panning action getting stuck “on” when mouse left the map widget during panning
Fixed landmarks not being correctly highlighted as waypoints when sticky waypoints were disabled
Additions:
Exposed texture for compass frame for easier customisation of compass
Added option to make map full screen (was already possible but required specific widget configuration).
Added padding options for new fullscreen option to allow the map to be fullscreen, except for a border around the widget.
Note: When using the fullscreen option, an additional interface function (from the ParentUI interface) must be implemented in your HUD to tell QMP what size box is currently containing the map widget.
Version 1.2
Made available January 20th, 2023
Player Ping System
Players can now easily place waypoints in the world without even needing to access the map by looking at the location in the world and “pinging” it. This is bound to the middle mouse wheel in the demonstration content, but could be configured to any binding.
Map Marker Filter Widget
The world map now includes a simple filtering widget, allowing the player to hide categories of markers at a click. This widget can be disabled if desired in the map system settings, and includes simple fade in/out animations and color customisation options.
Editor Utility Widgets
Two editor utility widgets have been created to assist developers. One is a simple list of Quest Map Pro tutorials, providing a one-click library of links to both the written and video versions of tutorials in the engine. Clicking on the buttons opens the tutorial in your default browser. The second widget providers a number of troubleshooting and integration check-up options to assist with making sure parts of Quest Map Pro are working correctly, as well as aiding in integrating the system into large worlds with a lot of locations.
Increased Compatibility
Thanks to your feedback, several changes and additions have been made to ensure that Quest Map Pro is even more compatible with other systems, whether that be your own custom codebases or other marketplace products. Additional functions and events have been added to make it so you can more easily use Quest Map Pro without having to reload a world (such as in persistent world multiplayer games) and changes have been made to the example widget to make sure it is less likely to clash with other widgets you might be using in your HUD. Documentation on how to utilise these changes will come soon.
Additional Update Notes
Added options for configuring player ping system
Added options for configuring filters widget
Added additional blueprint interface hooks to allow easier integration of Quest Map Pro events into HUD feedback systems. Added hooks on the player controller (via interface events) for discovering landmarks, reaching a waypoint, entering a quest area and entering the area of a hidden object
Exposed quest widget index on Add Quest function output to increase out-of-the-box compatibility with more quest systems
Move character helper actor self-destruct from construction script to begin play logic instead to avoid confusing behaviour when adding it to a scene (should not be done but presented with unexpected behaviour nonetheless)
Added an option to the Systems Manager component to stop the deletion of helper actors (Map Helper and Location Manager) to increase compatibility with certain persistent-world setups
Added a set of functions to clear all in-memory variables in Quest Map Pro systems to increase compatibility with certain persistent-world setups
Changed example HUD widget visibility state to ensure greater compatibility with other marketplace packages (such as templates)
Added a small animation effect to the beam on both waypoint and quest actors. Beams now start small and grow over a brief period of time (0.25 seconds)
Made some small cosmetic changes to the demo material to make the demo experience slightly more visually cohesive
Version 1.1.2
Made available January 7th, 2023
Update Notes
Version 1.1.2 includes a single bugfix.
Overlay elements are now set to the correct visibility setting allowing fast travel and text hover to once again work
Version 1.1.1
Made available January 4th, 2023
Update Notes
Version 1.1.1 includes two bug fixes for minor bugs.
The player marker will now correctly be hidden on the relevant widget(s) when set to not be used on the world map or mini map
Landmark materials will no longer break if the user deletes the demo folder without replacing references to textures in the materials
Version 1.1
Made available January 2nd, 2023
Player note system
Players can now add a note to the world map by holding shift and right clicking. This will open an interface widget where the player can give the note a name as well as pick an icon and color. See video below for demonstration.
Native mini map zoom cycling
The mini map can now be configured to have multiple zoom levels that can be cycled through at the press of a button. This was previously handled as part of the integration process, but has now been natively integrated into the map component for easier/quicker integration and more versatile functionality.
Settings related to this can be found on the BP_QuestMapPro_Component-Map component attached to your player controller.
Once settings are configured, you can set up an input mapping tied directly to the Cycle Mini Map Zoom function in the same component.
Character rotation driven player marker as an option
Option to use character rotation instead of camera rotation for player marker to accommodate more use case scenarios, such as top-down fixed angle cameras.
Settings related to this can be found on the BP_QuestMapPro_Component-Map component attached to your player controller.
Save/load system
Quest Map Pro data for landmarks, waypoints, player notes, discovered points of interest, and uncovered world fog can now be saved and loaded natively
Settings related to this can be found on the BP_QuestMapPro_Manager component attached to your player controller.
Additional Update Notes
A few spelling errors fixed
Some materials cleaned up to remove unused nodes
Several new widgets and materials created to facilitate additions outlined above
Additional input events (hard coded) added to the example controller to demonstrate the save system. Backspace button saves to file. Equals button purges current save file
Note: Variable MiniMapBaseZoom has been removed from the map manager component as part of this update and has been replaced with the mini map zoom cycling. If only one zoom level is desired, simply set only one zoom level in the MiniMapZoomLevels array.
