Materials Glow Query, UE 4.26

Is there a manner so as to add a fabric glow to meshes with out altering each single materials that’s on a mesh?

I’m eager to do some glows on characters and presumably another meshes, and I’m making an attempt to do it simply with supplies. I do know I might change each single materials that would presumably be modified, however that additionally would entail a variety of work for a easy impact.

So, is there a option to do one thing like this with out altering each single materials individually?

There’s a technique you may arrange by way of Blueprint, the place it principally duplicates a skeletal mesh and mirrors all the animations on it, which you need to use as a form of “shell mesh” and apply a easy emissive materials with some world place offset to the verts (to push them out a little bit to keep away from overlap and z combating).

Manufacturing-wise, it’s cheaper from a efficiency standpoint so as to add the glow in your grasp character/prop materials and alter it by way of blueprint or anim curve, however if you wish to keep away from that it’s potential to make use of the above technique.

I do know duplicating meshes is one thing that’s been averted purposefully, so I’ll look into doing that as a substitute. I got here right here to examine to see if anyone knew one other manner apart from these two, but when that’s my choices, then I’ll take care of them.

Thanks to your response

It actually simply relies on the challenge. When you have one thing like Diablo or Darktide the place you might have dozens and even lots of of characters stay all utilizing that function, the price will stack up fast. However when you have a recreation the place solely a small variety of cases can ever use it, like simply the principle participant, you ought to be protected

You are able to do it as a post-process impact materials utilizing stencils

Calculate dot product from digital camera to world regular and also you get the fresnel gow, set it with an influence node for finer tuning then mix it with the ultimate body.
I used overlay mix, you need to use add or different mixing strategies, additionally you may challenge noises from digital camera house for extra variations.

Thanks for that as properly and the instance. I don’t know an excessive amount of about publish processing stuff with UE, nevertheless it’s one thing I do know I’ve to study. Is publish course of materials efficiency heavy?

I’m guessing you simply specify what receives the publish course of based mostly on its stencil worth, in order that it doesn’t get utilized to every thing that’s utilizing that materials as a mum or dad? Or would this want an unique materials mum or dad per object you need to have an effect on?

I don’t have a lot expertise with publish course of both, so I’m making an attempt to wrap my head round the way you go about limiting or specifying particular person issues that the publish course of impact is utilized to

From the unreal documetation.

Hey are heavier than normal materials, however you may simply stack as much as 5 lighter supplies like this and get no efficiency points. After all it relies on the platforme.

Apply the stencil worth per object. The restrict is 255 distinctive stencils.
In principle, you cod have 255 distinctive post-process materials results in-game for varied actors.

I figured it was one thing like that. Thanks for the information and sharing the screenshot examples

You can even append a fabric operate that handles the glow performance, you may arrange a map/DT preset of parameters you can dynamically occasion via the blueprint.

Would that be cheaper than making use of a brand new materials in runtime or utilizing CopyMaterialInstanceParameters in BP?

Fairly inexperienced with supplies, so I’m making an attempt to determine this all out even the fundamentals.

Right here is an efficient comparability of fabric vs shell use. Begin watching from 2:30.