[Feature Request] Logical Object Prefabbing

Hi Guys,

I’d like to request proper prefabbing in Unreal. By proper I mean prefabs which act as logical snapshot containers of actors and their referenced objects.

So, if I prefab an actor in a map, I can:

  • Save that prefab as an asset
  • Drag it out to any other map
  • Modify instances of placed prefabs in maps and then apply those changes back to the originating prefab asset
  • All properties/sub objects/components of placed prefabs would change to reflect the new state of the prefab asset, with the exception of properties and data that had been altered away from default

Because prefabs instances in maps would not store the object unless it was changed, and even then the object in the map would just have a reference directly to the prefab asset.

This would allow us to package up the prefab assets and sell complex assets on MarketPlace that would be drag and drop for the user.

Tommy.

…and that makes for an actor. Took myself a little while to figure it out, but actor is exactly what you used to see in prefabs. Create one by creating “blueprint” of a type of actor, or a code class of a type of actor.

Originally I thought it was too, but no, these are not quite the same. BPs are not correct prefabs, as they only store the top level public properties of an actor and totally ignore data stored in attached UComponent objects. You cannot snapshot editor data in, say, a SplineComponent back to the originating BP asset, even though is is totally possible with a binary copy operation like “Create composite BP”.

okay, I guess you’re right then (I never had time to get really advanced with prefabs, to me they were just a collection of items/scripts)