Ever wonder how to set a custom actor billboard from C++? Here’s a step by step guide.

First off, if you are planning on adding this to a plugin class, make sure you have CanContainContent set to true in your .uplugin file:

{
  "FileVersion": 3,
  "Version": 1,
  "VersionName": "1.0",
  "EngineVersion": "5.4.0",
  "FriendlyName": "Blog Examples",
  "Description": "Example stuff for the ExportGeometry blog.",
  "Category": "ExGeo",
  "CreatedBy": "mason stevenson",
  "CreatedByURL": "http://exportgeometry.com",
  "DocsURL": "",
  "MarketplaceURL": "",
  "SupportURL": "",
  "EnabledByDefault": true,
  "CanContainContent": true,
  "IsBetaVersion": true,
  "Modules": [
    {
      "Name": "BlogExamplesRuntime",
      "Type": "Runtime",
      "LoadingPhase": "Default"
    }
  ],
  "Plugins": []
}

Next, add the image you want to use as a texture to either your project or your plugin. Note that your plugin content folder will only show up if you have set CanContainContent in your uplugin file as outlined above.

Now, back in C++, you can set up your actor with a BillboardComponent. If you intend for your actor to be a utility/manager class, you can just have your actor extend AInfo:

#pragma once

#include "TestActor.generated.h"

UCLASS(Blueprintable)
class BLOGEXAMPLESRUNTIME_API ATestActor : public AInfo
{
	GENERATED_BODY()

public:
	ATestActor(const FObjectInitializer& Initializer);
};

In your actor’s constructor, get the billboard component (with GetSpriteComponent() if you are using AInfo) and pass it a Texture2D object that references your custom image:

#include "Actor/TestActor.h"

#include "Components/BillboardComponent.h"

ATestActor::ATestActor(const FObjectInitializer& Initializer): Super(Initializer)
{
#if WITH_EDITORONLY_DATA
	if (!IsRunningCommandlet() && (GetSpriteComponent() != NULL))
	{
		GetSpriteComponent()->SetSprite(LoadObject<UTexture2D>(
            nullptr, TEXT("/BlogExamples/Textures/custom_billboard_128.custom_billboard_128")));
	}
#endif
}

Updated: