scene-building

name	scene-building
description	Scene and world building workflow for the Flopperam Unreal Engine MCP. Covers actor management, landscape sculpting, foliage scattering, AI setup, cinematics, and level verification. Use when placing actors, building environments, working with landscapes/foliage, setting up AI characters, or creating Level Sequences.

Scene & World Building Workflow

Core Pattern: Observe → Execute → Verify

1. Observe — scene_brief for level overview, scene_query for specific actors, search_assets for meshes/materials
2. Execute — scene_compose for batch placement, domain tools for specific systems
3. Verify — scene_query with spatial filters to confirm, pie_test_scene for runtime behavior

Scene Queries & Placement

Finding Things

• scene_brief — compact level overview (actor counts, classes, bounds)
• scene_query — find actors by class/label/tag/folder with spatial filters (near, box, frustum)
• search_assets — Content Browser search by name/prefix/class (returns asset paths, NOT actor labels)
• asset_references — dependency graphs (what does X reference, what references X)
• project_context — engine version, plugins, project settings, maps, content stats

Scene tools work on actors (placed instances). search_assets works on assets (reusable files). Never confuse the two.

Placing Things

scene_compose declaratively spawns/modifies/deletes actors with prefabs + patterns. Prefer it over looping scene_query writes.

Actor Management

• actor_inspect — drill into one actor (components, properties, transform)
• Use scene_compose to modify transforms, delete actors, or batch-manage scene objects

Landscape & Terrain

Inspection

landscape_inspect — height/slope/normal queries, statistics, find flat areas, paint-layer listing.

Editing

landscape_edit handles:

• Lifecycle — create/resize/delete landscapes
• Sculpting — raise, lower, smooth, flatten, erosion
• Semantic features — mountains, valleys, craters, plateaus, terraces
• Paint layers — create and apply landscape material layers
• Heightmap — import/export

Always inspect before editing to understand current terrain state.

Foliage

• foliage_inspect — list types + counts
• foliage_edit — create FoliageTypes, scatter (circles/rectangles/by weight layer), place exact transforms, remove by radius or type

Materials & Shading

1. material_inspect — read-only (overview, expressions, connections, parameters, textures, shader stats, parent chain). Run BEFORE material_edit on existing materials.
2. material_edit — create materials/instances/functions/Parameter Collections, author expression graphs. Auto-retries single-input pin name resolution.

VFX (Niagara & Chaos)

• niagara_inspect → niagara_edit for systems/emitters/parameters/renderers
• niagara_script_edit for reusable NiagaraScript module graphs
• chaos_edit for Geometry Collections (fracture, clustering, damage thresholds)
• ramp_authoring for curve assets (UCurveFloat/Vector/LinearColor) — create the curve FIRST, then reference from the consumer

AI & Behavior Trees

Full setup workflow:

1. behavior_tree with create_blackboard → create keys (TargetActor, PatrolLocation, etc.)
2. behavior_tree with create_behavior_tree → create the BT asset
3. behavior_tree with set_blackboard_on_bt → link Blackboard to BT
4. behavior_tree with build_behavior_tree → build tree structure (selectors, sequences, tasks, decorators)
5. behavior_tree with create_ai_controller → create controller referencing the BT
6. behavior_tree with validate_behavior_tree → validate

Also covers: AI perception, NavMesh, EQS queries, StateTrees, Smart Objects, runtime BT + blackboard inspection in PIE.

Gameplay Abilities

• gas_edit — Gameplay Abilities (tags, cost, cooldown, activation), Effects (duration, modifiers, stacking), Attribute Sets
• tag_registry_edit — project-wide Gameplay Tag hierarchy

Cinematics

sequencer_edit creates Level Sequences with:

• Actor bindings
• Transform / animation / audio / camera / event / fade tracks
• Keyframes with interpolation control
• Camera cuts

Audio

• metasound_edit — procedural audio (MetaSound graphs: oscillators, filters, envelopes, mixers, sample players)
• sound_asset_edit — SoundCue graphs, SoundClass hierarchy, SoundAttenuation curves

Procedural Content

pcg_graph_edit — PCG graphs with point generators, samplers, filters, density operators, mesh spawners with typed pin wiring.

Physics

collision_profile_edit — collision profiles, physical materials, object type responses.

Editor Utilities

• editor_actions — save, undo, redo, select, focus, build lighting/navigation, compile, PIE start/stop, viewport mode
• editor_log — Output Log + Message Log with verbosity filter + time window
• performance_audit — triangle counts, actor counts by class, mesh complexity, texture memory, optimization warnings
• window_capture — viewport screenshot as PNG

Runtime Verification

pie_test_scene — free-tier PIE harness with:

• Narrow input whitelist (console, wait, spawn_actor, play_sequence, fire_damage)
• Lifecycle + VFX + audio + visual-regression assertions
• Auto-plan mode from task description

Use after any scene change that affects runtime behavior.

Data Assets

asset_factory — single entry for:

• Enums / Structs
• DataTables (CRUD rows, bulk JSON import)
• DataAssets (any subclass)
• Enhanced Input (IA + IMC + key mappings + modifiers + triggers)
• Safe Blueprint deletion (crash-safe path)