Discord Messenger - Setup Guide

This guide covers setting up Discord Messenger for both webhook-only and full bot integration.

Webhook Setup (Recommended for Beginners)

Webhooks are the easiest way to send messages to Discord. No bot required!

1. Create a Webhook in Discord

   • Open your Discord server
   • Go to Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks
   • Click “New Webhook”
   • Choose the target channel
   • Copy the Webhook URL

2. Install the Plugin

   Extract to YourProject/Plugins/DiscordMessenger/ Activate your license in Project Settings.

3. Configure Default Webhook

   In Project Settings → Plugins → gameDNA Discord Messenger:

   • Paste your webhook URL in “Default Webhook URL”
   • Set default username (optional)
   • Set default avatar URL (optional)

4. Test It!

   Create a simple Blueprint:

   Event BeginPlay
   → Send Discord Message
       Content: "Hello from Unreal Engine!"
   → On Success: Print "Message Sent!"

Caution

Keep webhook URLs secret! Anyone with the URL can post to your channel. Use environment variables or config files not in source control.

Sending Rich Embeds

// Create an embed
Create Discord Embed
→ Set Title: "Player Achievement"
→ Set Description: "A new achievement was unlocked!"
→ Set Color: #FFD700 (Gold)
→ Add Field: Name="Player", Value=PlayerName, Inline=true
→ Add Field: Name="Achievement", Value=AchievementName, Inline=true
→ Set Thumbnail: AchievementIconURL
→ Set Footer: "gameDNA Achievement System"

// Send it
→ Send Embed to Webhook (WebhookURL, Embed)

Sending Files

// Take a screenshot
Take Screenshot → Save to Disk → Get File Path

// Send with message
Send File to Webhook
→ Webhook URL
→ File Path: ScreenshotPath
→ Message: "Check out this screenshot!"

Bot Setup (Advanced Features)

For slash commands, reading messages, and more control, set up a Discord bot.

1. Create Discord Application

   • Go to discord.com/developers/applications
   • Click “New Application”
   • Name it (e.g., “My Game Bot”)

2. Create Bot User

   • Go to “Bot” section
   • Click “Add Bot”
   • Copy the Bot Token (keep this secret!)
   • Enable required Intents:
     • Message Content Intent (if reading messages)
     • Server Members Intent (if accessing member info)

3. Invite Bot to Server

   • Go to “OAuth2” → “URL Generator”
   • Select scopes: bot, applications.commands
   • Select permissions: Send Messages, Embed Links, Attach Files, etc.
   • Copy and open the generated URL
   • Select your server and authorize

4. Configure Plugin

   In Project Settings → Plugins → gameDNA Discord Messenger:

   Bot Token: YOUR_BOT_TOKEN
   Application ID: YOUR_APP_ID
   Default Guild ID: YOUR_SERVER_ID (right-click server → Copy ID)

5. Test Connection

   Event BeginPlay
   → Initialize Discord Bot
   → On Success: Print "Bot Connected!"
   → On Failure: Print Error

Slash Commands (v2.0)

Register slash commands for your game:

1. Define Command

   Register Slash Command
   → Name: "stats"
   → Description: "View player statistics"
   → Options:
       → Add Option: Name="player", Type=String, Required=true

2. Handle Command

   On Slash Command Received (CommandName, Options, Interaction)
   → Branch: CommandName == "stats"?
     → True:
       → Get Option Value "player" → PlayerName
       → Query Stats for PlayerName
       → Create Embed with Stats
       → Respond to Interaction (Embed)

3. Deploy Commands

   // For testing (instant, guild-only)
   Sync Commands to Guild (GuildID)
   
   // For production (can take up to 1 hour to propagate)
   Sync Commands Globally

Interactive Buttons

Add buttons to your messages:

// Create message with buttons
Create Action Row
→ Add Button: Label="Accept", Style=Success, CustomID="accept_invite"
→ Add Button: Label="Decline", Style=Danger, CustomID="decline_invite"

Create Discord Message
→ Content: "You've been invited to a match!"
→ Add Component: ActionRow

Send Bot Message (ChannelID, Message)

// Handle button clicks
On Button Interaction (CustomID, User, Interaction)
→ Switch on CustomID:
  → "accept_invite": Process Accept
  → "decline_invite": Process Decline
→ Acknowledge Interaction

Configuration Reference

Project Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Default Webhook URL	Webhook URL for quick sends	Empty
Default Username	Display name for webhook messages	”Game Bot”
Default Avatar URL	Avatar image URL	Empty
Bot Token	Discord bot token (keep secret!)	Empty
Application ID	Discord application ID	Empty
Default Guild ID	Server ID for guild commands	Empty
Rate Limit Behavior	Queue or Drop when rate limited	Queue
Max Queue Size	Maximum queued messages	100
Enable Debug Logging	Log all Discord API calls	false

Runtime Configuration

// C++ runtime config
UDiscordMessengerSettings* Settings = GetMutableDefault<UDiscordMessengerSettings>();
Settings->DefaultWebhookURL = "https://discord.com/api/webhooks/...";
Settings->SaveConfig();

// Blueprint runtime config
Set Discord Default Webhook (NewURL)
Set Discord Bot Token (NewToken)

Best Practices

Security

1. Never hardcode tokens - Use config files or environment variables
2. Webhook URLs are secrets - Treat them like passwords
3. Validate input - Don’t send user input directly to Discord
4. Use HTTPS only - The plugin enforces this

Rate Limiting

Discord has rate limits. The plugin handles them automatically, but:

1. Batch messages - Combine multiple updates into one message
2. Use embeds - One embed can contain lots of information
3. Cache frequently-used data - Don’t query Discord repeatedly
4. Use webhooks for one-way - They have higher limits than bot endpoints

Performance

1. Async everything - All Discord calls are async, never block
2. Handle failures - Network calls can fail, always have fallbacks
3. Limit file sizes - Discord has 8MB limit for files (25MB with Nitro)

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
”Invalid Webhook URL”	Ensure URL starts with https://discord.com/api/webhooks/
”401 Unauthorized”	Check bot token is correct and not expired
”Missing Permissions”	Re-invite bot with required permissions
”Rate Limited”	Reduce message frequency, plugin will queue automatically
Messages not appearing	Check bot has access to the channel

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging to see all API calls:

1. Project Settings → Discord Messenger → Enable Debug Logging
2. Check Output Log for LogDiscordMessenger entries

Next Steps

• Plugin Overview - Feature list
• FAQ - Common questions
• Discord API Docs - Official Discord documentation