Hello @Menelin
I created this thread for these questions. This is a subject that i devoted my UE4 Learning and Development too. I’ve focused not only on humanoid character customization, but customization of weapons, vehicles/machines, structures, props, and other types of entities. I’m developing a In-game Customization System to customize many types of entities at design-time and in real-time with multiplayer support Whole books could be written about the subject (one in the works) as there are many way to approach it using:
- Modular Skeletal/Static Mesh Parts Swapping
- Skeletal and Static Mesh Attachments
- Mesh Morph Targets (Blendshape) Deformation
- Skeletal Mesh Bone Scaling
- Material Swapping
- Parameterized Materials
One of the Character Customization Solutions in the Marketplace would be a great start for a Single Player game. To date, I haven’t found one that supports Multiplayer. Another challenge with pre-made Customization System is Clothing options. Due to Marketplace restrictions on dependencies, Publishers cannot not produce new supplemental packs for their Character systems. Thus, if you need multiplayer support and a vast number of clothing options you’ll find your self needing to perform massive code modifications and authoring clothing. With the amount of work involved, developing your own Character Customization system from scratch is reasonable.
The first step in pursuing Character Customization System is to determine what kind of Character customization you desire. By doing this you will get an idea of what features the Base Character Model will need and workflow needed to customize it. I referenced many games with character customization: Fortnite (Epics Character), Destiny (Armor), Black Desert(Humanoid), Armor Core (Mechanical), and Spore Creature Creator (Non-humanoid).
For Humanoid Characters in our game, I’ve elected to use DAZ3D Genesis for Humanoid Base because it makes pretty characters and to take advantage of its Morphs. I’m applying Bone Scaling for additional customization. I acquired a Marvelous Designer license to generate Clothing. In my opinion, Clothing is the greatest challenge with Character Customization. I’m hoping MD will make it a little easier to deal with. At minimum, provide patterns for use with UnrealEngines Apex Cloth / Clothing Tool. Character Armor will be static mesh pieces attached to base body.
I know there is a lot to think about, so your take time to research. I’m always available on discord for deeper discussions about this topic. Good Luck to you on your game dev journey.