UE5.6.1 Sequencer Animation – Facial Curve Values Persist Between Plays

Hello,

After upgrading a project from Unreal Engine 5.5 to 5.6.1, I’ve encountered unexpected behavior in Sequencer animations involving facial curves.

Issue:

  • When playing a Level Sequence with a skeletal mesh animation that has facial animation driven by curves (morph targets), the actor briefly shows an incorrect expression at the very beginning of playback.

  • This “flash” of the wrong expression appears to be caused by curve values from the previously played animation persisting into the new sequence.

  • After a single frame, the correct expression from the current animation is applied.

Additional notes:

  • The animation assets already have 0 keys set at frame 0 for the facial curves.

  • It seems that the Sequencer evaluates the previous animation’s curve state before applying the new one, which did not occur in 5.5.

  • The issue happens consistently on multiple characters/assets after updating to 5.6.1.

Question:

  • Is this a known bug or intentional change in UE5.6’s Sequencer evaluation?

  • Are there recommended settings or fixes to prevent previous curve values from bleeding into the next sequence (without having to add function tracks to clear morph targets as a workaround)?

Thank you for any clarification.