Making Rocks Sleep

I have fractured rocks in my Level Design level. they slide down a hill with the player and land at the bottom. 90% of the time they settle in a perfectly position, but there are times when the chunks of rock block off the path, preventing the player from advancing. Usually, the player can awkwardly climb over them, but more than once that hasn't been an option. 

I learned how to make the fractured objects "sleep" upon resting. So, when the rocks come to rest, there is a brief pause, then they shrink down and eventually disappear.  You can adjust the timing so the rocks disappear after a longer pause and adjust how long they take to shrink once they start to disappear.

 

Falling Floor Blueprint

In my current level, I set up a blueprint-driven trapdoor sequence designed to create an unexpected moment of tension. When the player steps onto a seemingly stable platform, it suddenly collapses beneath them, sending them plummeting into an underground mine shaft. This scripted fall isn’t just a dramatic moment, it also introduces a key narrative question: How will the player escape the mine? 

Right now, the platform collapse relies purely on simulated physics, rather than a fully scripted sequence. So far, it has worked every time in testing, but I can’t shake the feeling that this approach will come back to haunt me later. Relying on physics alone means there’s always a chance for unexpected behavior. Maybe the player falls slightly off-course, or the platform doesn’t break in exactly the way I intended. A more controlled approach, like a cinematic sequence, would allow me to ensure consistent results every time, guiding the player exactly where they need to go. While the current system is effective, I may need to revisit it down the line to guarantee a smooth and predictable experience.

 

Breakaway Cliff

At the beginning of my level, I have a long cliff that Nathan Drake will slide down. To activate the drop, Nathan stands on a part of the cliff, the rocks crumble beneath him and he slides down a long hillside.  To accomplish this, I used a variation of Ben's blueprint to trigger a destructible boulder. We had to turn off the damage for the rock pieces because it kept killing Nate part way down the hill. I also wanted him to ragdoll part way down the hill for a moment, but I wasn't able to accomplish that yet.