Hey, Unreal Community!
I’m currently working on a project with a fallen ancient civilization theme. We created the assets modular so we can build whatever we want directly in the engine. Since we are aiming for a low poly art style we can even use BSP Brushes and convert them to Static Meshes to save time on the art side.
Now to my question: the assets of the fallen ancient civilization should be broken and destroyed so I can place pieces of e.g. pillars in the environment. To save time on the art side again, how can I achieve this in no time? They should really look fractured at the break point and not just a flat cut but to reach the main goal, the following method would be a good starting point:
The most time saving method (for my knowledge), would be to separate Destructible Mesh chunks to individual Static Meshes, but is that even possible?
Or is there even a faster method with a modeling program to achieve the desired result?
Thanks in advance!
… do you need the unbroken pillar mesh to be destructible by the player or other actors?
I have a clean, unbroken pillar that should look damaged, fractured and broken. I want to have the fractured parts as static meshes so I can place them around the base of let’s say the base of a pillar.
So the destruction part should not be an event or anything triggered by the player, I just want to have a quick way to make a clean, fresh carved out pillar to look damaged, fractured and old in multiple pieces that I can place around in my level to tell an environmental story of a fallen ancient civilization.
I just thought about the destructible mesh because it’s so simple to use and resulting so fast in an acceptable product that this might be use for my project. But if you or someone else finds another method to achieve my desired goal, please let me know.
Hi -
I understand clearly now, I think.
Honestly, I’m not the best UE guy in the world… but I don’t think it is possible inside Unreal to use the inbuilt fracturing procedure to cut up your pillar, and (while still in the editor, not in game mode) leave you with static, nicely-fractured separate chunks that you can just arrange as you build your level.
The way I’d approach this (and it’s a cinch in any of the mainstream modelling applications… 3ds Max, Maya or Blender) is to bring the FBX file of your intact pillar into one of them and slice it any way you like. Imho, you could:
(a) inside any of the above applications, cut it up by hand, and import the broken chunks as FBX into UE as individual meshes
(b) inside any of the above applications, use a fracturing plugin (like RayFire, MassFX or others… I’m not sure which is the latest 'n greatest) to cut up the pillar, and import the broken chunks as FBX into UE as separate meshes
A wild and hacky option, but maybe good for a first cut, would be to put your destructible into the level, then use a force or impact to smash it up as the level starts. This would scatter the chunks around procedurally for you, and (if you give them a long lifetime) they may still be there when the player gets to the appropriate point in your game… I did warn you it was hacky 
Anyway, I hope this is useful and good luck 
David
Hey, I came across this artwork (https://www.artstation.com/artwork/14agEK) by one of the Quixel artists and he mentions that he ended up doing the broken planet using the Fracture tools in Unreal Engine. This implies that its possible inside Unreal but I wonder how. If anyone can post how its done, it’ll be highly appreciated.