Geometry Nodes
Geometry Nodes scatter, live in Unreal.
Scatter rocks, grass, trees or props in Blender with Geometry Nodes. In Unreal they arrive as instanced static meshes on the object's actor, one Instanced Static Mesh component per kind of mesh and Nanite when the mesh is, not as one huge merged mesh. Drag a slider and Unreal follows.
How it works
- Build a scatter as usual: Distribute Points on Faces → Instance on Points, with Collection Info or Object Info.
- Put the object in the level's collection. Its instances go to Unreal as Instanced Static Mesh components.
- Change the seed, density, scale range or the node tree: only the sets that changed travel, and Unreal follows within a fraction of a second.
What gets instanced
- A mesh that came from Unreal is instanced as that Unreal asset, never copied, with its Unreal materials.
- A mesh made in Blender is exported once and updated in place when you edit it, so every instance updates.
- Geometry made inside the node tree is exported per scatter and updated in place.
How fast
- About 2,000 instances update in ~10 ms in Blender and ~50 ms in Unreal.
- About 20,000 instances in ~0.25 s and ~0.4 s.
- Up to 100,000 instances per object.
Good to know
- Instances of non-mesh objects (lights, curves, empties) and per-instance attributes aren't carried.
- Edits made to the scatter components in Unreal are replaced by the next update from Blender.
Questions
Can I use Blender Geometry Nodes scatter in Unreal Engine?
Yes. Venom Bridge Link sends the instances a Geometry Nodes scatter makes to Unreal as Instanced Static Mesh components, live, one component per mesh.
Are the instances Nanite?
Yes, when the mesh is Nanite. Meshes made in Blender are imported as Nanite.
More of what it does
Other guides
Try it on your own level.
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