using dash with sublevels
Hi there, we use dash in a very specific way to do our scatters and it is giving us a bit of a headache.
We work with architectural visualisation in unreal. We usually structure our levels like this:
Main_Build will be our main level where cameras and sequencers are, and everything else will be in separate levels loaded in (so we can work with various artists on the same project via source control).
So we will have levels like:
-Landscape
-Building A B C D E etc
-Lighting
-Dash
So the Dash scatters use the landscape level as a reference to where to scatter.
When back in the Main_Build, when I need to edit the scatter usually they are no longer editable, like the properties of that scatter no longer shows up. Some of the scatters will still have their properties available, and some don't - this is very time-consuming as we have to constantly recreate the scatters every time this happens. I notice that sometimes the DashData actor is created in both the Dash level and the Main_build level.. is that whats causing the problems?
Something we noticed to is that sometimes when loading the project the scatters will be with a much higher density than it was set to. We discovered that if you unload the dash sublevel and load it again it will go back to normal. Is this behavior normal?
Hope this makes sense.
Pedro
15 Replies
Hey! 🙂
We actually don't support sub-levels yet, so that's the short answer as to why you are experiencing problems 😦
If you create Dash things in the "Dash Level", the DashSceneData which holds everything is created there. And then when you are in the Main_Build, Dash can't see or read the DashSceneData actor from the DashLevel. And most likely if you create new tools in the Main_build you will get a new DashSceneData actor in there.
So until we fix proper support for this, I would recommend using Dash in the Main_Build level only. At least for those things you know you have to edit from within that level.
I really understand the struggle and am sorry about this. Fixing support for this is something we want to do, but it is quite complex sadly 😞
ok hope you guys get around it soon - another question still a bit related to this:
When I'm done with the surface scatter, or any other scatter, is there a way to know how many instances this scatter has? I'm asking this so I can lock this number to the max instances options and hopefully I will never have the max instances bug over and over again
Hmm, I will ask the devs. But it sounds really strange. Have you only experienced this when using sublevels or in "normal" levels/projects as well?
And when you say the density is higher, is the Density value actually higher or is it just clearly more instances in the viewport?
you can see the amount of instances in the Details panel for the underlying InstancesStaticMeshComponent 🙂
And btw limiting the max count, might not help you, as this value limits the raw/default scatter value, before any masking is used in Surface Scatter.
So best to try and see if we can sort it out, without having to solve the full support for sub-levels (as that might take some time). So these questions are a good start:
* Have you only experienced this when using sublevels or in "normal" levels/projects as well?
* And when you say the density is higher, is the Density value actually higher or is it just clearly more instances in the viewport?
Hi Daniel, thanks for taking the time to get back to me. Answering your questions:
-We just use Dash as sublevels so it was using sublevels
-Density value still at the number that was set but the viewport shows lots more than it was showing when creating the scatter
Of course no worries, happy to try to help!
We think sadly it is due to the sublevel workflow, so without solving that we don't have any good ideas right now on this density problem, I am afraid.
But we are trying to continue looking into the sublevel support soon👍
Thanks Daniel - another question:
Lets say we move the dash objects to the Main_build level can I still sample surfaces from a sublevel? lets say from my Landscape level? or will it also break it?
I don't have much experience with sub-levels actually. In your main_build, how do you see these landscapes from the landscape level, i.e. what type are they in the outlier in the main-build?
Yes in the main_build we add all the levels we need as "always streamed" and the meshes we are sampling are in the outline on the main_build
Then I think it should work, but haven't tested it tbh. Will see if I can check a basic tutorials on sub-levels tomorrow and try it out👍
to clarify this is what we have been calling sub-levels
https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/managing-multiple-levels-in-unreal-engine
Epic Games Developer
Managing Multiple Levels in Unreal Engine | Unreal Engine 5.5 Docum...
Use the Levels window to manage your persistent level and sublevels.
Perfect, thank you🙏
I tried create a persistent level and then a sublevel for a landscape. Then I created the Dash object in the persistent level using the landscape from the landscape level and it seems to work👍 @pedropasturczak
nice one - thanks Daniel! very informative
Happy to help! 🙂
Btw, if I may ask, it sounds like on your messages like you are a team/studio who are working together, usually for our studio users we offer to set up a shared Slack channel where both you, your team and our full team can chat together around bugs, questions and any and all suggestions! We tend to prioritize requests from studio users as usually those requests is really good🙌
Would you be interested in something like that?
No idea how many Dash licenses you have or what your team/project size is of course, but thought I would offer it! 🙂