Changing a sunny scene to a snowy one with a parameter collection asset

One common issue faced by artists is making multiple materials change at the same time. We’ve already learned about parameters and how we can change them at runtime using Blueprints, in the recipe called Orienting ourselves with a compass back in Chapter 5. Having said so, we had to change each material parameter individually, which isn’t ideal when dealing with a large number of materials.

Material Parameter Collection actors allow us to create special variables that can be referenced across multiple materials and then modified either inside the editor or at runtime, through both Blueprints and/or C++. To see just how easily those can be used, we’ll see how we can make multiple materials change at the same time in this recipe, giving the impression that it has snowed in the level with which we’ll be working.

Getting ready

Material Parameter Collections are a type of asset that...