Overview

BlueLine is a professional productivity suite for Unreal Engine 5.7, designed to solve the two biggest frictions in professional Blueprint development: Messy Graphs and Invisible Data.

Using BlueLine

Welcome to a cleaner workflow. This section covers the essential first steps for new users to get the most out of BlueLine's intelligence features.

1. Setting Up Colored Tags

BlueLine's visual clarity depends on your Theme Data. By mapping Gameplay Tags to colors, you turn generic grey wires into a color-coded map of your logic.

2. Mastering Auto-Tagging (Shift+T)

Don't waste time creating comment boxes. Let BlueLine's semantic analyzer do it for you.

Installation & Build

Because BlueLine modifies the Editor Source (GraphPins and Property Editors), it must be compiled with your project.

1. Copy the BlueLine folder into your project's /Plugins/ directory.
2. Right-click your .uproject file and strictly select Generate Visual Studio Project Files.
3. Open `YourProject.sln`.
4. Build Solution (Ctrl+Shift+B).
5. Launch Unreal Engine. Enable the plugin in Edit > Plugins.

Magnet Formatting (Shift+Q)

Stop manually dragging nodes pixel-by-pixel. BlueLine introduces the "Soft Align" workflow for localized cleanup.

How it works

The formatter analyzes the Execution Flow and Data Links of the selected nodes. It calculates the optimal Y-position for the shortest possible horizontal connection. If Manhattan Routing is enabled, it will also inject reroute nodes to maintain 90-degree orthogonal paths.

Manhattan Routing (Shift+R)

Blueprint spaghetti is often caused by long, diagonal splines that cross over unrelated nodes. Manhattan Routing enforces 90-degree discipline across your selection.

Intelligent Backwards Flow

When routing connections to nodes placed *behind* the source (Backwards Flow), BlueLine automatically calculates a Safe Perimeter to route the wire around the node body, preventing the wire from passing through the node's visual area.

Key Features

• 1. Multi-Point Alignment: Automatically calculates the mid-points for L and Z-style bends.
• 2. Knot Centering: Ensures reroute nodes are perfectly centered between their connected pins.
• 3. Proximity Awareness: Will not trigger if pins are too close together, preventing "knot clusters" in tight spaces.

Clean Graph (Shift+C)

For large, tangled logic webs, the Genetic Algorithm finds the global optimum for node placement and wire routing.

The Evolutionary Process

Unlike standard formatters that use fixed rules, BlueLine's Genetic Algorithm (GA) performs a simulation:

• 1. Population: It spawns 50 randomized "Genomes" of your selected nodes.
• 2. Scoring: Each genome is penalized for wire crossings, backward flow, and excessive whitespace.
• 3. Selection: The fittest layouts are kept; the weakest are discarded.
• 4. Mutation: Winners are "bred" with small positional mutations to find the local maxima of readability.

Semantic Auto-Tag (Shift+T)

BlueLine uses Semantic Heuristics to understand what your code does, automatically grouping it into themed Comment Boxes.

Heuristic Intelligence

The FBlueLineSmartTagAnalyzer looks for patterns across the graph:

• Naming: Matches keywords in function names (e.g., "Projectile" → Combat, "Sound" → Audio).
• Connectivity: Groups nodes that are physically linked, even if they share no common keywords.
• Theme Sync: Uses the colors defined in your BlueLineThemeData asset to style the resulting comment boxes.

Smart Tags (Details Panel)

BlueLine hijacks the Details Panel for GameplayTags to inject visual context. It replaces the standard textual row with a composite widget.

Colored Pins (Graph Editor)

Using the custom FBlueLineGraphPinFactory, the plugin also injects styling into the Blueprint Graph itself.

Pin Context Menu

For fine-grained control, BlueLine extends the standard Blueprint pin context menu with localized actions.

Intelligence (IQ) Check

BlueLine won't blindly insert knots if it would make the graph worse. Before straightening, the engine performs a sector scan:

• Collision Detection: If a new Manhattan path would pass directly through an existing node, the action is cancelled.
• Overlap Prevention: If the horizontal distance is less than 64 units, it keeps the spline to avoid a "knot on top of pin" visual glitch.
• Pathfinding: It searches for the "cleanest" side (top vs bottom) to route around obstacles.

Team Setup

BlueLine uses a DataAsset to sync colors across the team. This ensures that if the Lead Designer marks "Status.Dead" as Black, every other developer sees Black instantly.

Step 1: Create the Asset

1. In the Content Browser, right-click and select Miscellaneous > Data Asset.
2. Search for BlueLineThemeData.
3. Crucial: Name the file DA_BlueLineDefault.
4. Place it anywhere in your Content folder (The plugin uses Asset Registry search to find it).

Step 2: Configure Rules

Open the asset and add entries to the Tag Styles array.

Result: Status, Status.Buff, and Status.Buff.Heal will all turn Green automatically.

Runtime Debugging

BlueLine exposes a static library to draw colored debug text in the game world, using the same colors defined in your editor Data Asset.

C++ Usage

#include "Debug/BlueLineDebugLib.h"

void AMyCharacter::Tick(float DeltaTime)
{
    // Draw "Status.Frozen" in Cyan (if defined in DataAsset) above the character
    UBlueLineDebugLib::DrawBlueLineDebugTag(
        this, 
        CurrentStateTag, 
        GetActorLocation() + FVector(0,0,100)
    );
}

Blueprint Usage

Search for the node "Draw BlueLine Debug Tag".