So I want to have a Minecraft style generation, but I’m wondering whether or not I should use instanced static meshes or normal static meshes. On top of that, I already have an issue with FPS in my game (trying to get 60 FPS minimum but I’m hitting 25-45), so will only a couple of chunks of cubes destroy my performance?
Note: I’m trying to make a game that could run on something weak like a 2015 MacBook Air. I’m emphasize with people on lower power computers, since that was my entire setup a year ago.
I’ve been working on something similar. Static meshes would never work; ISM/HISMs are great, but they may not be performant enough for you. Minecraft actually generates a mesh for each chunk (and only the visible faces), regenerating it whenever it is modified. However, this makes it difficult to add and remove blocks, and requires some advanced C++ code.
Well considering I’ve been doing this for 5 months that’s out of my league. Any way to render only the faces showing?
No. Not unless you use the procedural mesh component.
I suggest perusing this article. It should get you started on the world generation (you will still need C++ code though 
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