I am importing meshes as LODs using the LOD import within the Static Mesh viewer and everything is working superbly. I am just wondering though, if the LOD mesh has already been imported into the Content folder, is it possible to use this as a reference instead of having to find the .fbx file?
I’m mainly thinking about this as I am creating an Asset pack for the Marketplace and am wondering if I need to supply the LOD assets as part of the pack or if I go through the process of importing .fbx etc?
Any asset that’s already been imported and is in the Content Browser cannot be assigned to another Static Mesh as a LOD. You have to use the Import as LOD X option in the Static Mesh Editor, already have them imported with the Static Mesh, set them up after you import the initial mesh, or you can now (as of 4.14) use the Mesh Reduction options that are available for Static Meshes to generate LODs in UE4 without external content creation.
So, depending on what you’re setting up I would just go ahead and include the LODs with the static mesh so that there is no confusion. If anyone wants to remove them, they can always do so via the Static Mesh editor now by changing the setting for “Number of LODs” so that it removes any unneeded ones.