Wet surface reflections with dynamic actors

It is possible to generate efficient planar reflections on planar surfaces using Image Based Reflections, and these have their own actor type and process. This can include variable reflectivity, but is best for static lighting. For dynamic actors, a shadow plane must be included where the reflection will occur. In this recipe we will make a wet floor which reflects in some places more than others.

Getting ready

Enabling DirectX11 will be necessary for some users (depending on future updates to UDK). To do this, open in ConTEXT C:\UDK\~\Engine\Config\BaseEngine.INI, search for AllowD3D11, and if you find that it's set to False, change it to True. A couple of lines below that you'll also see AllowImageReflections=True, hopefully. If it isn't set to true, try setting it, but actually if it's not there could be a larger issue to solve.

In the properties for the icon which starts your UDK, for instance, in the Windows Start menu, in the Unreal Development...