Getting started

02

Know what the package contains#

Footstep Studio is a production plugin, not a template project or a presentation-asset library.

Version 2.11.2 contains one production Runtime module, configuration, customer documentation, three neutral Starter Data Assets, three Material Functions, three master material templates, and five ready-to-duplicate Material Instances. Host projects, caches, tests, internal tooling, presentation media, and project artwork are outside the customer payload.

• Included Data Assets: DA_FSP_SurfaceData_Starter, DA_FSP_Profile_Starter, and the valid no-op DA_FSP_Footwear_Starter.
• Included material library: MF_FSP_SourceExclusion, MF_FSP_DecalReceiverNormalFilter, MF_FSP_SurfaceImpressionCoverage, three canonical masters, and five neutral starting instances.
• All bundled code, documentation, and product assets are original product work. The package includes no third-party code or presentation asset; Unreal Engine, Niagara, and Data Validation remain Epic technology supplied under the customer's Unreal Engine installation and agreements.
• Not included: demo map, character, animation, sound, Niagara System, customer texture, Physical Material, Blueprint, or authored footwear presentation.
• Project teams supply every presentation asset and retain responsibility for its licensing and redistribution rights.

03

Enable the plugin and create project-owned copies#

Start from the neutral scaffolds, then keep all production tuning inside the consuming project.

1. 1

   Enable Footstep Studio

   Open Edit > Plugins, search for Footstep Studio, enable it, and restart the editor when requested. Niagara and Data Validation are declared plugin dependencies.

2. 2

   Show plugin content

   Enable Show Plugin Content in the Content Browser and open FootstepSystem/Content/Data.

3. 3

   Duplicate all three Starter assets

   Copy DA_FSP_SurfaceData_Starter, DA_FSP_Profile_Starter, and DA_FSP_Footwear_Starter into a project-owned /Game folder and rename them for the production set.

4. 4

   Repair project-owned references

   Assign the copied Surface Data to the copied Footstep Profile. Assign the copied Footwear Profile as Default Footwear Profile only when an explicit neutral fallback is wanted; null preserves surface-only behavior.

5. 5

   Duplicate the required material instances

   For each immediate or transferred decal, choose MI_FSP_Decal_ColorRSM_* when it must not write DBuffer Normal or MI_FSP_Decal_ColorNormalRSM_* when it must. Copy the matching Immediate or SurfaceTransfer instance and MI_FSP_SurfaceImpression_Template as needed, then replace neutral textures and tune project-owned values.

6. 6

   Copy a master only for a custom graph

   The bundled masters already wire receiver-normal filtering, source exclusion, and Surface Impression coverage. Preserve the documented runtime parameter names if a project-owned master replaces them.

04

Connect Unreal collision data to surface definitions#

The plugin reads project-owned Physical Materials and Physical Surfaces; it never invents or overwrites the project taxonomy.

Name the required Physical Surface slots under Edit > Project Settings > Physics > Physical Surface. Create one Physical Material per floor family, set its Surface Type, and assign it through the floor material or material instance.

1. 1

   Name the slots

   Assign project terms such as Stone, Dirt, Wood, or Water to the required Surface Type slots.

2. 2

   Author Physical Materials

   Set the correct Surface Type on each project Physical Material and connect it to collision-relevant floor materials.

3. 3

   Add exact overrides when needed

   When two Physical Materials share a Surface Type but require different feedback, add an Exact Physical Material Override to Surface Data.

05

Author a valid surface payload#

Configure the payload that the test contact actually resolves; explicit surface definitions and event overrides take precedence over broader defaults, even when their channels are disabled.

1. 1

   Choose the test floor's definition

   Read the Physical Material assigned to the test floor and its Physical Surface Type, then edit the matching exact-material or Physical Surface definition. After configuring the component and triggering the first contact below, confirm that Out Context reports this same identity; do not assume the global default was selected.

2. 2

   Make the resolved Step usable

   For the resolved Default or Surface Type definition, enable Default Payload > Audio and add at least one non-null sound with a finite positive weight. The Starter's default payload is the Step payload.

3. 3

   Keep unfinished channels disabled

   Leave Niagara and Decal disabled until each channel has a valid project-owned asset.

4. 4

   Remove unused neutral definitions

   Delete Starter Surface Type entries the project does not use. A matching explicit surface owns resolution ahead of the global Default Definition.

5. 5

   Author deliberate event overrides

   The Starter includes a disabled Land override on every definition. Enable and populate that exact Land override, or remove it when Land should inherit the definition's Default Payload. The same matching-key rule applies to authored Step, Pivot, Slide, Jump, and named Custom overrides.

• An intentionally disabled channel is valid and emits nothing.
• An enabled channel without a usable positive-weight asset is invalid.
• An explicit disabled event payload is not skipped in favor of a louder default; it is an intentional no-op for that event.
• The Starter Surface Type 1 through 9 definitions can shadow the global Default Definition when the ground resolves one of those types; their disabled Default Payload is used for Step and their disabled Land override is used for Land.
• Duplicate Surface Type, exact Physical Material, or event keys fail Data Validation instead of resolving ambiguously.

06

Configure the profile and component#

The Footstep Profile owns designer tuning; the Footstep Component owns event-driven runtime admission and presentation.

1. 1

   Review the copied profile

   Verify Surface Data, left and right sockets, Trace Channel, Trace Up Offset, Trace Down Distance, Min Speed For Step, Max Effect Distance, channel budgets, retained-state capacities, and optional Default Footwear Profile.

2. 2

   Review world budgets

   Under Project Settings > Studio > Footstep Studio, set aggregate audio, Niagara, decal, and Surface Impression ceilings for the target scene and platform.

3. 3

   Add FootstepComponent

   Add the component to the character, pawn, or actor Blueprint and assign the project-owned Footstep Profile.

4. 4

   Keep diagnostics off by default

   Collect Runtime Stats, Broadcast Rejected Events, and Log Rejected Requests are scoped diagnostic controls, not normal production settings.

• The component has no permanent Tick.
• Designer-owned values stay in Data Assets rather than an Animation Blueprint or character Tick.
• A moving non-Character actor is supported because Step movement policy reads horizontal owner velocity.

07

Trigger and validate the first contact#

Use the entry point that matches the source data, then prove both success and intentional rejection paths.

1. 1

   Place skeletal contacts correctly

   Put the Footstep AnimNotify at the first weight-bearing frame, select Left Foot or Right Foot, use Step, and author a normalized Strength 01.

2. 2

   Reuse the landing hit

   From On Landed, derive project-owned normalized impact strength and call Trigger Footstep From Hit. Do not add a duplicate Land notify.

3. 3

   Validate assets

   Run Validate Assets on the copied Surface Data, Footstep Profile, and any Footwear Profile. Resolve every error before saving the production set.

4. 4

   Check observable results

   Confirm left and right contacts resolve the intended surface, an absent socket returns MissingSocket without a trace, and the Output Log remains quiet with diagnostics disabled.

• Blueprint trigger reference →
• C++ examples →
• Troubleshoot the first rejection →