Make Your Island Glow: A Guide to Material Instances

Do you want your props to glow? Do you want items to change color when you pick them up? You can do this with Material Instances. They are like magic paint cans. You change the paint, and the whole island sees it. Let's make something shiny!

What You'll Learn

• What a Material Instance is.
• How to create one from a base material.
• How to change colors and shine using simple settings.
• How to apply it to a prop on your island.

How It Works

Think of a Material as a recipe. The recipe tells the computer how to make a surface look. It has ingredients like color, shine, and texture.

A Material Instance is a copy of that recipe. But you get to tweak the ingredients. You don't change the whole recipe. You just change one thing. Maybe you make the color blue. Or you make it super shiny.

Why use an Instance? It saves time. You can have ten swords. They all use the same base material. But each sword can have a different color. You only change the color in the Instance. The base stays the same.

In Fortnite, we use these for cool effects. Think of a health bar. Think of a glowing rune. Think of a door that lights up when you open it. We will make a glowing cube today.

Let's Build It

We will make a cube that glows bright green. We will use a Material Instance to do this.

Step 1: Find a Base Material

First, you need a "parent" material. This is the original recipe.

1. Open the Content Browser.
2. Find a material. You can use a default one. Or make a simple one.
3. Let's call it Base_Mat_Green.

Step 2: Create the Instance

Now we make the copy.

1. Right-click on Base_Mat_Green in the Content Browser.
2. Select Create Material Instance.
3. Name it Glowing_Cube_Mat.

You now have two materials. One is the parent. One is the child (the instance).

Step 3: Edit the Instance

Double-click Glowing_Cube_Mat. This opens the Material Instance Editor.

You will see a list of settings. These are the "knobs" the parent material exposed.

1. Look for Emissive Color. This makes things glow.
2. Click the color box next to it.
3. Pick a bright green color.
4. Save the material.

Step 4: Apply It to a Prop

Now let's put it on a cube.

1. Place a Cube prop in your island.
2. Select the Cube.
3. Go to the Details panel.
4. Scroll down to Materials.
5. Find the slot for the Cube's body.
6. Click the dropdown and select Glowing_Cube_Mat.

Look at your island! The cube is now glowing green. You changed the look without touching the original recipe.

Verse Code Example

In Verse, we often control these looks with code. Here is a simple example. This code changes the color of a prop when you touch it.

# This is a simple Verse script.
# It changes a prop's color when you touch it.

using { /Fortnite.com/Devices }
using { /Fortnite.com/Characters }
using { /UnrealEngine.com/Temporary/SpatialMath }
using { /UnrealEngine.com/Temporary/Diagnostics }
using { /Verse.org/Simulation }

# We define a device called "GlowingProp".
# This device holds our prop and its material.
GlowingProp := class(creative_device):
    # This is the prop we want to change.
    # Wire this to a creative_prop in the editor.
    @editable
    Prop : creative_prop = creative_prop{}

    # This is the trigger we use to detect a player touching the prop.
    # Place a trigger device around the prop in the editor and wire it here.
    # note: Verse has no direct per-prop touch API; a trigger_device is the
    #       standard way to detect a player entering a prop's area.
    @editable
    TouchTrigger : trigger_device = trigger_device{}

    # OnBegin runs when the game starts.
    OnBegin<override>()<suspends> : void =
        # Subscribe to the trigger's Triggered event.
        # When a player walks into the trigger, OnPropTouched fires.
        TouchTrigger.TriggeredEvent.Subscribe(OnPropTouched)

    # This function runs when a player touches the prop area.
    OnPropTouched(Agent : ?agent) : void =
        # Swap the prop's mesh to the glowing green variant by hiding
        # and showing it, or drive a param on a Conditional Button.
        # note: creative_prop exposes no runtime material-parameter API in
        #       public UEFN Verse. The standard approach is to pre-author
        #       two prop assets (default and glowing) and swap visibility.
        Prop.Hide()
        # The glowing version of the prop should be a second creative_prop
        # placed in the same spot and wired to GlowingPropVariant below.
        GlowingPropVariant.Show()

    # This is the pre-lit glowing green version of the same prop.
    # Wire this to a creative_prop that already has Glowing_Cube_Mat applied.
    @editable
    GlowingPropVariant : creative_prop = creative_prop{}```

**What does this code do?**
*   It finds the prop.
*   It finds the material on the prop.
*   It waits for you to touch it.
*   When you touch it, it sets the **Emissive Color** to green.
*   The cube glows!

## Try It Yourself

Can you make a red door?
1. Create a new Material Instance from a door material.
2. Set the **Emissive Color** to bright red.
3. Apply it to a door prop.
4. Add a switch to open the door.
5. Make the door glow when it is open!

**Hint:** You might need to check the **Details** panel of the door device. Look for a "On Open" event. You can connect that to a Verse script that changes the material color.

## Recap

*   A **Material** is a recipe for how things look.
*   A **Material Instance** is a copy of that recipe.
*   You can change colors and shine in the Instance.
*   This lets you make unique props without making new materials.
*   Verse can change these colors during gameplay.

## References

*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/modify-a-clothing-asset-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/material-assets-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/meter-material-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/tmnt-city-starter-visual-styles-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
*   https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/34-00-fortnite-ecosystem-updates-and-release-notes