Hard Surface Question

For a hard surface anim how would one implement the movement of the ring over the geo shown here in the bottom portion of the gif? Morph maps?

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/267118610143641601/741679782185402378/ABC123B.gif?width=1094

Similarly how would one go about animating the skirting / rim of an object that moved from the narrow top of a non-primative-pyramidal-shaped mesh, to the larger base, conforming to its shape?

I don’t have a straight answer, but the new Niagara features are ripe for doing this.

Otherwise, skeletal mesh with a lot of bones, and simulate ragdoll physics can do it too…

ty for your response

morph targets?

Vertex animation?

runtime animation?

Which do you suppose would be the cheapest option? [If it were to be a part of a characters vehicle in a game?]

Depends on application.
Does it only need to deform to this specific mesh? Yes = use an animation.

Niagara would use vertex animation. Which is possibly the cheapest for a real-time deform…

For that, vertex animation would be best, maybe Alembic

Can you possibly point me in the direction of any documentation outlining the performance guidelines from best to worst?

https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/…ool/index.html
https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/…ool/index.html