[Quick Tip] How to Stop Vanishing Material : Material Vanishes When a Prop is Damaged

Development Asset Creation
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How to Stop Vanishing Material : Material Vanishes When a Prop is Damaged

If your material in Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is disappearing when your prop is hit with a pickaxe, or after being struck through a build, even after setting your island to prevent environmental damage, a possible solution is to use a blueprint prop model.

Take a look at the video below to see some examples of the aforementioned issue. The first two stair props featured in the video are labeled as Basic StairW. These are readily accessible by searching for “Basic Stair” in the Content Browser. On these stairs, a custom glossy material was crafted and subsequently applied to the prop. A duplicate of the stairs was then made, with an emissive material instance added - another item you can find through a quick search in the content browser.

Finally, the third stair configuration you see is a custom creation, built in modeling mode and featuring the same custom material as the initial set of stairs. This set showcases the end result of the below instructions, where the material remains intact even when the prop is damaged.

:slight_smile: How to Create a Blueprint Prop

1. Start by creating a model in Modeling Mode.

2. Add your custom material to this model. If you are unfamiliar with how to create custom materials, Unreal Engine provides an excellent tutorial showing you How to Create Basic Materials on YouTube.

3. Proceed with baking the textures and vertex colors (this step might not be necessary, but I did it just in case).

4. Once your model is complete, return back to Landscape Mode.

5. At this point, you’ll need to convert the model asset into a prop. Epic Games has a detailed guide on how to do this: Converting Assets into Props in Unreal Editor Fortnite.

6. After creating the blueprint, remove the original model from your island by deleting it. Replace it with the blueprint model you just created.

7. Then, select your blueprint model and go to its details. Turn off the damage setting. This ensures the model is not damaged when pickaxed. If you do want the prop to be damaged, feel free to skip this step. :slight_smile:

By following these steps, your material should remain intact and not vanish when the prop is damaged. Plus, converting your models into props also gives you additional control, such as how damage is dealt to the prop and what resources are dropped when it’s damaged. For example, you could have a wooden prop drop metal when damaged.

A pretty neat trick! :+1:

If you are experiencing this, I hope this quick tip post helps you!
And if you have discovered other solutions, please share!
Thanks for checking it out!

Happy Creating!

Dragon

Featured Tutorials by BLZE.DRAGON

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is there an easier way to do this with walls? trying to avoid creating a model D:

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Great question!

If you could clarify, do you mean walls from the creative gallery that you add custom or imported material to? If so, its something I have to test out fully to know and will give it a go sometime this weekend to see. :+1:

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Yes, instead of doing what you did on stairs. I added a custom material masking the default materials. I applied it to the static mesh and the same thing happens with the walls where the material vanishes upon damage. I would like to avoid creating my own custom modelled walls if possible XD

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Yeh this issue is definitely challenging. Have you submitted a report on it yet? If not, I recommend it. :+1:

The only way I can accomplish this is by creating a blueprint model prop.

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I am spawning blueprint props and then use SetMaterial on the spawned prop. The material is a material instance of a fortnite supplied material. I have damaged turned OFF for the prop. If you shoot directly at the prop all is okay. However if you build next to prop and the prop takes ricochet damage off steel or brick builds the material gets destroyed, leaving the prop with no material. Any ideas?

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Im currently having this exact issue when creating a BOX PVP MAP lol. Did you gigure this one out?

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Thank you for sharing your issue. This is an experience I have not had, however would require some testing on my behalf to try to troubleshoot it. Have you tried to use a custom made material rather than a material instance of a fortnite supplied material?

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To be honest i dont remember if I tired that. I ended up making props that already had the material baked in the blueprint. So I am no longer using SetMaterial. However, using this method the prop material still cracks, but does not get removed.

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Awesome way to work around it! :+1:

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Yes, thank you, but instead of four props and using set material I had to create 16 and rework all my verse code. Work arounds for bugs are getting tiresome.