Wouter Weynants - Viewport Realtime Idle Pause

Distribution Product Discussion
1

Cut fan noise, heat, and power draw by auto-pausing Realtime in inactive editor viewports. Then, instantly resume on interaction.
Save money on energy over long sessions and be a little kinder to the planet.

[Showcase Video] | [Documentation] | [Join the Discord]

Features

✅ Idle-aware Realtime — Pauses when a viewport is idle; resumes on viewport interaction.
✅ Per-viewport or Active-only — Track each viewport independently, or pause unused viewports while you focus.
✅ Focus-aware — Optional instant pause when the editor loses OS focus.
✅ Toolbar control — Level Viewport → Performance & Scalability → Enable Auto Pause + Idle After (seconds).
✅ No runtime impact — Doesn’t affect packaged builds or your render settings.
✅ Lightweight — Simple, predictable behavior that fits any workflow.

Use Cases

  • Hot days — Keep your room cooler by not turning your PC into a space heater (seriously).

  • Laptops — Keep temps and noise down; reduce power usage during long work days.

  • Working in a separate editor window — Tweak a Material , Static Mesh, etc while other viewports rest.

  • Context switching — Jump to IDE/email/browser; viewports pause until you’re back.

Quickstart

  1. Enable: Edit → Plugins → Viewport Realtime Idle Pause → Restart.

  2. Configure: Edit → Editor Preferences → Plugins → Viewport Realtime Idle Pause

    • IdleTimeSeconds (recommended: 2–3s)

    • bPauseOnEditorUnfocused (optional)

    • bPauseInactiveViewports (optional)

  3. Toggle fast: Level Viewport → Performance & Scalability → Enable Auto Pause and adjust Idle After (seconds).

  4. Test: Stop interacting to see Realtime pause; move the mouse/camera to resume; switch apps to test focus-pause.

Notes: Applies to editor viewports. Does not alter your quality settings—only the Realtime flag.