Unreal Studio 4.20 beta is now available! This new version, the result of months of feedback from our beta users, is chock-full of great new features to make export, import, and editing in Unreal Engine easier and faster than ever.
Unreal Studio is Epic’s suite of tools for importing 3D models from DCCs to Unreal Engine. Previous versions of Unreal Studio introduced plugins for 3ds Max export/import, and tools to import data directly from 20+ CAD programs to Unreal Engine.
Unreal Studio 4.20 builds on the original suite of tools to bring you these key features:
- Non-destructive re-import
- Metadata exposure
- Datasmith for SketchUp
- Mesh editing in Unreal Engine
Learn more.
Non-Destructive Re-import
Changes to scenes made in Unreal Editor are now retained and reapplied as needed during re-import. In the previous release, Datasmith didn’t keep track of parameters you changed after importing data into Unreal Engine. Now, when you re-import due to a change in your source data, changes you’ve made in Unreal Engine are maintained.
Metadata Exposure
User Defined Object Properties from 3ds Max are brought over to Unreal Engine with Datasmith, whether populated manually in 3ds Max or from data imported from Revit. Datasmith for SketchUp and some CAD importers also bring in per-object metadata.
This exposure of metadata within Unreal Engine makes various workflows possible. A Python script can find all meshes of a specific type, for example all hinges or door knobs, and simplify them all the same way. Another option is to use metadata to display relevant information as part of a run-time experience when a particular mesh is selected.
Datasmith for SketchUp
Datasmith for SketchUp is introduced in Unreal Studio 4.20 with all the features you’d expect: automatic translation of cameras, materials, and geometry into Unreal Engine assets, auto-normal detection, support for layers, groups, components, units, scale, pivot points and instances, and of course, metadata exposure within Unreal Engine.
Mesh Editing in Unreal Engine
In the previous release of Unreal Studio, some of you asked for the ability to edit imported meshes within Unreal Engine itself. This is particularly useful when you can’t re-import because you don’t have access to the source data in its native package.
Unreal Engine now includes a suite of mesh editing tools. Detach/delete faces and flip normals manually.
And More!
- Unreal Engine now allows multiple instances of a Datasmith scene, and Actors can move across sublevels even with re-imported changes.
- Datasmith for 3ds Max improvements include support for custom pivots, improved naming for objects upon import, and drag-and-drop of Datasmith import files.
- Datasmith CAD importer now performs a two-pass import, giving you the ability to perform per-object tessellation adjustment after import and control over which parts of the assembly are processed via Python/Blueprints before the geometry is actually loaded.
- Scripting now provides an extensible Python script for creating automated LODs.
- Datasmith Rhino importer includes major improvements such as import of Rhino layers as UE4 layers, better support for blocks and nesting hierarchy, and materials assigned according to the object/layer/parent rule.
- MDL: Support for importing MDL material files from NVIDIA.
Edit: Unreal Engine now includes all the features of Unreal Studio. You can download it for free today.