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Emulated Materials (Step 2: Setup for Beginners)

This guide assumes:

  • You are new to Unreal Engine
  • You are using a community-provided emulated materials pack
  • You want predictable, safe results in-game

This step focuses on correct installation and correct parenting. Skipping either will cause problems later.

Part 1 — Installing the Emulated Materials Pack (Required)

The community emulated materials are provided as a Content folder inside a ZIP.

IMPORTANT: How These Must Be Installed

You should install the materials pack using Windows Explorer, not by dragging assets into Unreal Editor.

Correct Installation Method

  1. Close Unreal Engine (recommended)
  2. Download and extract the emulated materials ZIP
  3. Inside the ZIP, locate the Content folder
  4. Open your Unreal project folder in Windows Explorer
  5. Drag the entire Content folder from the ZIP into your project folder

Your project structure should look like this:

YourProject/ ├─ Content/ │ ├─ (emulated materials folders) │ ├─ (emulated textures folders) │ ├─ (other existing content)

  1. If prompted to merge folders, allow it
  2. If prompted to replace files, follow your community’s guidance
  3. Launch Unreal Engine (or reopen the project)

Why This Method Matters

  • The materials expect textures at specific paths
  • If you import only materials without textures, shaders may break
  • Dragging assets inside Unreal Editor can cause missing references
  • Installing everything together ensures materials and textures link correctly

If shaders appear broken after install:

  • It usually means textures were not installed at the same time
  • Reinstall the pack with the full Content folder

Part 2 — Understanding What You Just Installed

After installation, the pack usually contains:

  • Base emulated master materials (logic only)
  • Material Instance presets (MI presets) built from those materials
  • Textures referenced by those presets

The MI presets are already configured for specific use cases.

This distinction is critical.

Part 3 — VERY IMPORTANT: Which Asset to Use as the Parent

You MUST Use an MI Preset as the Parent

Do NOT parent directly to the base material.

There is usually a folder similar to:

Content/ └─ <EMULATED_MATERIALS_FOLDER>/ └─ Presets/ └─ (Material Instance presets)

⬆️
THIS is where your parent should come from

(Leave a placeholder here if you want to insert the exact folder path later.)

Why You Should NOT Use the Base Material Directly

The base emulated material:

  • Contains all possible logic and switches
  • Has many switches disabled by default
  • Is not configured for a specific use case

The MI presets:

  • Turn on the correct switches
  • Match specific in-game scenarios
  • Act as a “configured starting point”

If you parent directly to the base material:

  • Important features may be disabled
  • The material may look correct in-editor but fail in-game
  • You may miss logic that the game expects to be active

This is a common beginner mistake.

Correct Parenting Workflow (Beginner-Safe)

  1. Locate the MI preset that best matches your use case

    • Skin
    • Cloth
    • Hair
    • Etc.

  2. Right-click the MI preset

  3. Select Create Material Instance

  4. Name your new MI according to your mod’s needs

  5. Place it in the correct folder (per your community rules)

Your new MI:

  • Inherits all correct switches from the preset
  • Exposes only the intended parameters
  • Is safe to customize

Part 4 — What You Are (and Are Not) Packaging

What SHOULD Be Packaged

  • Your new Material Instance
  • Any custom textures you assign

What SHOULD NOT Be Packaged

  • The base emulated material
  • The MI preset you used as a parent

Those parent assets exist to:

  • Enable editor preview
  • Provide correct parameter defaults
  • Act as references

They are not meant to be shipped in your mod.

Part 5 — Making Your First Change (Keep It Simple)

For beginners, start with:

  • Base Color / Albedo only

Steps:

  1. Open your new Material Instance
  2. Find the Base Color (or equivalent) parameter
  3. Enable the override checkbox
  4. Assign your texture
  5. Save the asset

Do not change:

  • Normal maps
  • RMA / TSE / packed textures
  • Switches you don’t understand yet

Common Problems and Their Cause

“My material looks wrong in-game”

  • Likely parented to the base material instead of an MI preset

“Features like dirt/sweat aren’t working”

  • Parent preset not used
  • Required switches not enabled

“Shader errors after install”

  • Materials installed without textures
  • Content folder not copied correctly

Stop Here

If you have:

  • Installed the pack correctly
  • Used an MI preset as your parent
  • Created your own MI from that preset
  • Overridden only what you need

You are set up correctly.

Next Step

Continue to:

  • 05_emulated_materials_beginner_examples.md

This will walk through:

  • Skin recolor / tattoo example
  • Simple cloth texture swap
  • Common “which texture goes where” mistakes