Hey Andrew,
Okay, this must have been my confusion. I just created a Material Instance variable and made it editable. In the base class, I set it to a default material.
In the Child BP, I altered the Material Instance it was referencing, changed the one in the Parent to another, re-compiled and it did not alter the material set.
Because I was dealing with a Component Property in this case instead of a local variable, that’s why I got confused and what I mentioned above is likely why since the component was created in the parent.
If you don’t mind me asking, is it possible that in the future with Blueprints, we can change the value of a component’s property and maybe underneath the covers when the object is being initialized, it can set the value of those properties on the component if altered by a Child Class/BP? I think it would be helpful if developers can rely on any edits made in any children BPs and them not eventually altered due to a change in the parent if that change was on a Component’s property in this case. If that is possible, it would just make things that much better.
But thanks and let me know your thoughts on my question above when you get a chance. Thanks!