I’m trying to move an actor along the surface of a skeletal mesh that is being animated, but I’ve hit the wall trying to access the current (deformed) vertices of the mesh at runtime.
The bigest problem i have is that i cant really acces that data because is something modifyed in the gpu.
My Questions
- Is there a standard way to move an actor/component along the surface of an animated skeletal mesh, when per-frame vertex positions are not available on the CPU?
- Can Niagara’s “Traverse Skeletal Mesh” logic or Skin Cache be leveraged for gameplay (not just visual FX)?
- Are there recommended techniques or workflows in Unreal for this? If not, what do most developers do in these situations?
- Is there any way to adopt a similar approach as the Unreal Engine hair or cloth simulation systems to keep something attached to the mesh surface with animation, but make it available for gameplay logic?
- If the answer involves custom tools, plugins, or “proxy” systems, any tips or resources would be appreciated!