Help Needed: Instanced Static Mesh for Map Creation?

Development Asset Creation
1

Hello Everyone!

As you might know I write books on Unreal Engine 4. When I’m not, I’m learning. When I’m not learning, I’m doing my own project; Super Distro.

For ages, I’ve heard about using Instanced Static Meshes to increase what you can do with the power you’re given.

Learning about this, I’d love to use this idea to create my own city with a number of different buildings using this method.

However, (I’m going to be perfectly honest here!), I don’t actually know how to go about this:

I know you can create a BP and then Create Static Mesh > Save it to a Variable > Add Instance.

But is this the only way to do it? Is there no way that I could do this without having a master Blueprint of my whole map? Where I can place an actor / BP in my level which would spawn an Instance of another building?

If anyone can give me a hand, or just explain it all a bit better to me, It’d be greatly appreciated!

This is one thing I’m come across and haven’t the foggiest on where to start! :frowning:

Thanks in advance everyone! :slight_smile:

2

Have a look at this thread

https://forums.unrealengine.com/showthread.php?56788-InstancedStaticMesh-Tutorial

3

Instanced static mesh is no different to any other component, what exactly is confusing you?

4

I pretty much learnt everything about these gems from this thread: [Twitch] Training Stream - Procedural Room Generation - Jan. 6th, 2015](Training Stream - Procedural Room Generation - Jan. 6th, 2015 - Events - Unreal Engine Forums)

I then applied similar logic to create my arena for my current project using Blueprints instead of instance static meshes.

HTH. Good Luck.

5

Thanks! I think it helps :stuck_out_tongue: Will give it a go in a few minutes!

The fact that every tutorial I’ve read makes it sound like you can only do it within a Blueprint and can’t instance static meshes in the world (I.E it HAS to be set-up in a Blueprint and can’t be done outside of a Blueprint)

Even though I’m sure that’s not the case.

I’ll give it a read now! Thanks!