Why this matters
Right now, Niagara in UEFN is node only, while Unreal Engine already supports Custom HLSL. This creates a huge workflow gap.
I recently built the same Niagara logic in both:
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Unreal Engine: ~3 minutes with Custom HLSL
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UEFN: ~5 hours rebuilding the same thing with nodes
This isn’t about skill or optimization some logic is simply faster, cleaner, and clearer in code than in massive node graphs.
The problem
Without Custom HLSL in UEFN:
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Graphs get unnecessarily large and hard to read
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Iteration is much slower
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Debugging becomes painful
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Simple ideas turn into complex setups
Things that are trivial in UE become time-consuming in UEFN for no real reason.
Why Custom HLSL helps
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Faster iteration
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Cleaner Niagara graphs
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Easier debugging
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Makes advanced VFX actually practical
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Brings UEFN closer to Unreal Engine parity
Closing
Custom HLSL already works great in Unreal Engine Niagara. Bringing even a limited version of it to UEFN would massively improve VFX workflows and overall creator productivity.