OverlayTracker ‑ Unreal Engine 5 Plugin

Author: Wellsaik
Engine Version: 5.6+ (backward-compatible with 5.0+)
License: MIT (feel free to change)

What it does

OverlayTracker lets you pin 2-D UI widgets to 3-D world locations without touching engine internals.
Perfect for nameplates, health bars, quest markers, enemy tags, etc.

---

Quick Start

1. Install

Via Git submodule (recommended)

cd YourProject
git submodule add https://github.com/Wellsaik/OverlayTracker Plugins/OverlayTracker

Via ZIP download

1. Download the repo as ZIP.
2. Extract to YourProject/Plugins/OverlayTracker.

2. Enable in .uproject

Open YourProject.uproject and add:

"Plugins": [
  {
    "Name": "OverlayTracker",
    "Enabled": true
  }
]

Regenerate project files and compile.

Classes at a Glance

Class	Purpose
UOverlayTrackerSubsystem	Global manager that keeps track of every 3-D → 2-D object.
UOverlayTrackerCanvasWidget	Blueprint-ready widget that actually draws the 2-D overlays.
UOverlayTrackerObject	Data/logic provider for a single overlay (you subclass this).

Typical Setup

1. Create your own Canvas Widget

• Make a new UserWidget derived from UOverlayTrackerCanvasWidget.
• Design the layout in UMG (optional: create BindWidget UCanvasPanel* MainCanvas).

2. Spawn & register the widget Do this once, e.g. in your AHUD subclass or somewhere safe:

   void AMyHUD::BeginPlay()
   {
       Super::BeginPlay();
   
       MyOverlayCanvas = CreateWidget<UOverlayTrackerCanvasWidget>(GetOwningPlayerController(), MyCanvasWidgetClass);
       MyOverlayCanvas->AddToViewport();
   
       // Register with the subsystem
       GetWorld()->GetSubsystem<UOverlayTrackerSubsystem>()->CacheCanvasWidget(MyOverlayCanvas);
   }

3. Create your Tracker Object Create a Blueprint subclass of UOverlayTrackerObject and implement the required overrides:

   Override	Description
   CreateTrackerWidget()	Return the actual UMG widget that appears on screen. Save it into CachedWidget.
   GetObjectWorldLocation()	Return the live 3-D world location to project.
   ShouldBeVisible(float Distance)	Return false to hide (e.g. too far, dead, etc.).
   GetSize(float Distance)	Return desired screen size in pixels (allows distance scaling).
   GetDistanceToCam()	Return distance in cm; override if default trace isn’t enough.

   Example minimal C++ override:

   UUserWidget* UMyTrackerObj::CreateTrackerWidget_Implementation(APlayerController* InOwner)
   {
       CachedWidget = CreateWidget<UUserWidget>(InOwner, MyWidgetClass);
       return CachedWidget;
   }
   
   FVector UMyTrackerObj::GetObjectWorldLocation_Implementation()
   {
       return TrackedActor ? TrackedActor->GetActorLocation() : FVector::ZeroVector;
   }

4. Add / Remove objects at runtime

    auto Subsystem = GetWorld()->GetSubsystem<UOverlayTrackerSubsystem>();
    
    // Show
    Subsystem->AddObject("Enemy_42", NewObject<UMyTrackerObj>(...));
    
    // Hide
    Subsystem->RemoveObject("Enemy_42");

Support

Open an issue on GitHub

License

This project is licensed under MIT