material editor

Hello, I have issue with using the unreal engine 4 material system where my material seem cluttered to a point it getting confusing to read with all the wire traces from the nodes.

is it possible to either create these in c++ as I do have experience in creating blueprints in c++ but the material system seems to differ so much.

or should I be using material functions from the editor as I trying create grass materials with the ability to edit or change them or override as needed.

below is screenshot of my materials

Your material seems very complicated but it’s not the first time I see this kind of complexity and sometimes it’s needed.

is it possible to either create these in c++ as I do have experience in creating blueprints in c++ but the material system seems to differ so much.

Shaders are not written in C++. You can use a Custom Expression node and write your code in HLSL.

Keep in mind that “Using the custom node prevents constant folding and may use significantly more instructions than an equivalent version done with built in nodes!”

So I would suggest you stick with the default nodes but try to simplify the logic of your shaders if that is even possible.

Happy coding :slight_smile:

What about material functions? Do those wrap shader subgraphs into single nodes?