Getting Started

import { Steps } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

This walkthrough takes a plain mesh actor and gets it deforming along a spline.

1. Enable the plugin

Enable Spline Juice in Edit → Plugins, then restart the editor if prompted. The plugin is self-contained; no extra project setup is required.

2. Add the component to your actor

1. Select a mesh actor in your level (any Static Mesh or Skeletal Mesh actor).

2. Right-click it in the viewport → Spline Juice → Add Deform Component. This attaches a Spline Juice Deform Component and opens the settings panel ready to configure it.

Tip

You can also add the component the usual way: Add Component → Spline Juice Deform Component in the Details panel, then click Open Setup… on the component to launch the same panel. The right-click menu is just the fast path.

The component is the editable spline. Once added, you’ll see a spline path on the actor that you can shape by dragging its points in the viewport.

3. Generate a deform material

The effect only renders through a material that implements the Spline Juice WPO contract. The settings panel authors one for you:

1. On the Meshes & Materials tab, every mesh and every populated material slot starts selected. Untick anything you want to leave alone.

2. Click Generate Deform Materials.

This creates a deformation-capable variant of each consented material and writes the runtime bindings onto the component. Your original materials are left untouched; the variant only drives the look while the effect is playing.

Note

Prefer to wire it by hand or use your own material? See the Material Contract reference. For most users, Generate is all you need.

4. Shape the spline

Drag the spline points in the viewport to define the path the mesh travels along. The mesh flows from the start of the spline to its end (the rest pose).

5. Preview without pressing Play

Flip the Live Preview toggle in the panel header. The deformation loops continuously right in the level viewport (no Play / Simulate needed), so you can tune the path and curves and see the result immediately.

Caution

The deformation is only visible once the slot’s deform material exists, so generate first, then preview.

6. Play it at runtime

In an actual game / PIE session, set the playback options on the component:

Property	What it does
Auto Play	Start the animation automatically on BeginPlay.
Loop	Repeat the journey continuously.
Playback Duration	How long one journey takes, in seconds.

Press Play and the mesh deforms along the spline. Or drive it from Blueprint / C++. See Playback & Blueprint.

Edit-time vs. play-time

The dynamic materials that carry the effect are created when the game starts, so scrubbing the Progress slider in the editor at edit time does not animate the mesh. Use Live Preview to see it at edit time, and auto-play / SetProgress() to drive it at runtime.