This feature is available as of Unreal Engine 5.5.
The MetaHuman component is where you can turn on and off animation features for each LOD level. In this component, you can control body correctives, facial animation, procedurally running control rigs, and rigid body simulation.
To find the component:
In the Content Browser, go to All > Your_Project_Name > MetaHumans > Your_MetaHuman_Name.
Double-click the MetaHuman Blueprint file to open the MetaHuman. Select the MetaHuman component to view the component settings in the Details panel.
Click image to expand.
Here is a breakdown of the properties:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
Enable Body Correctives | Preserves the volume and realistic skin deformations, and enables body movement for MetaHuman Animator-recorded animations. When disabled, those elements will not be evaluated which will result in higher performance but lower mesh deformation quality. |
Facial Animation LOD Threshold | Max LOD level where Rig Logic is evaluated. For example, if you have the threshold set to 2, it will evaluate until and including LOD 2 (based on 0 index). In case the LOD level gets set to 3, it will stop evaluating Rig Logic. Setting it to -1 will always evaluate it and disable LODing. |
Enable Neck Correctives | Enables the evaluation of neck correctives. Neck correctives preserve the volume of the neck and fix up slight skinning issues by procedurally moving helper bones. This effect is visible then the head is rotated towards the shoulders and in other more extreme poses. The visual difference is minimal while the performance takes a significant hit. When enabled, evaluation for LODs can still be controlled via the LOD threshold. When disabled, neck correctives will not be evaluated which will result in higher performance but decreases mesh deformation quality. |
Neck Corrective LOD Threshold | Only available if you enabled Enable Neck Correctives. Max LOD level where neck correctives (pose drivers) are evaluated. |
Enable Neck Procedural Control Rig | Enable evaluation of neck correctives. When enabled, evaluation for LODs can still be controlled via the LOD threshold. When disabled, neck correctives will not be evaluated, which will result in higher performance but decreases mesh deformation quality. Try to keep this setting in sync with the neck correctives, as they work together. |
Neck Procedural Control Rig LOD Threshold | Only available if you enabled Enable Neck Procedural Control Rig. Max LOD level where the neck procedural control rig is evaluated. For example, if you have the threshold set to 2, it will evaluate until including LOD 2 (based on 0 index). In case the LOD level gets set to 3, it will stop evaluating the neck procedural control rig. Setting it to -1 will always evaluate it and disable LODing. |
The following properties only apply to the torso, legs, and feet.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
Control Rig Class | Control rig to run on the body part. Evaluation happens after the base skeleton gets evaluated as a post-process. |
Control Rig LOD Threshold | Only available when the above control rig class is set. Max LOD level to simulate the rigid bodies of the assigned physics asset. For example, if you have the threshold set to 2, simulation will be enabled for LOD 0, 1, and 2. Setting it to -1 will make it simulate always and disable LODing. |
Physics Asset | Physics asset used for rigid body simulation on the body part. Evaluation happens after the base skeleton gets evaluated as a post-process. |
Rigid Body LOD Threshold | Only available when the above control rig class is set. Max LOD level to simulate the rigid bodies of the assigned physics asset. For example if you have the threshold set to 2, simulation will be enabled for LOD 0, 1, and 2. Setting it to -1 will make it simulate always and disable LODing. |
MetaHuman Component Settings
The MetaHuman Component has settings for body and neck correctives, as well as LOD Threshold settings to control the overall quality and performance of animations.
Enabling body and neck correctives preserve the volume and realistic skin deformations during animations, creating more believable movement at a performance cost.
The LOD Threshold settings determine the maximum LOD where a setting is applied during animation. For example, a Facial Animation LOD Threshold of 2 means that facial animations will be applied to the MetaHuman when displayed at LODs 0,1, and 2. Switching to higher LODs disables the facial animations.
To configure the MetaHuman component, open your MetaHuman Blueprint and select the MetaHuman component in the Components window.
Set the Correctives and LOD Thresholds in the Details window. You can set separate base levels for the body and face.
Settings for the Body
By default, body correctives are only applied at LOD 0. This means that to further improve performance you can disable body correctives by unchecking the Enable Body Correctives checkbox.
Alternatively, if you want to improve quality (at a higher performance cost), you can increase the LOD Threshold value, or set it to -1, which applies body correctives to all available LODs.
Settings for the Face
The face contains settings to adjust the facial and neck animations of your MetaHuman.
By default, the Facial Animation LOD Threshold is set to LOD 2. To improve performance you can lower this number to LOD 0 or 1. If you set it to LOD 0, then facial animations will be enabled for LOD 0 only, thus improving performance for all higher LODs.
For the Neck Correctives and Neck Procedural Control Rig, the default values are LOD 0. To further improve performance you can disable these settings by unchecking their respective checkboxes. On average, disabling these settings will have the biggest impact on performance.
Conversely, if you want to improve animation quality, you can increase the LOD Threshold per setting at a performance cost.