bergice - AutoBlend

AutoBlend blends meshes seamlessly into their surroundings using a post process pass and a small material graph change.
It will automatically compute blend IDs for meshes, but you can override them per material or per object if needed.

Documentation / Wiki

Unlike Runtime Virtual Texturing (RVT), Pixel Depth Offset (PDO), and other meshblend techniques, this effect works on any number of meshes at any position - not just where two surfaces meet.

  • Flexible placement: Works anywhere in the scene, not only at terrain or surface-level intersections.

  • No extra prep: No mesh vertex painting, RVT setup, or additional UVs/vertex data needed.

  • Scales well: Adds very little overhead, so it works efficiently even with thousands of meshes.

  • No compile-time changes: Drop it into existing materials without rebuilding shaders or the project.

Setup
  1. Installation

    • Click the AutoBlend button in the Unreal Editor toolbar to open the plugin window.

    • Install the plugin by clicking the Install button.

  2. Add the post process effect

    • Add a Post Process Volume to your level.

    • Add the M_PostProcess_AutoBlend material under Rendering Features → Post Process Materials.

    • (Optional) Enable Infinite Extent (Unbound) to apply the effect everywhere.

  3. Hook up the Blend ID function

    • Open your mesh base material.

    • Add the MF_BlendID material function node.

    • Connect its output appropriately for blending.

    • Repeat for all materials you want to blend.

Usage

AutoBlend automatically computes a blend ID for every mesh with the material function applied.
You can override this behavior:

  • Per Material Override: Set the Blend ID scalar parameter in the material instance (affects all meshes using that material).

  • Per Object Override: Set Custom Primitive Data [0] in the mesh instance settings for per-instance control.