Requirements & Key Concepts (Runtime UE)

Requirements

• SGX Production Tools version 4.6 or higher is required to generate animations. These tools require Windows, but the data created by the Runtime compiler is usable on any platform.

• The Runtime compiler is required to process content prior to being imported into Unreal Engine 5.

• Unreal Engine 5

• The Runtime Unreal Engine 5 Plugin, which is available in a pre-compiled binary distribution or in source code form.

Key Concepts

Software Components

SGX Production Tools

SGX Studio, SGX Director, and SGX Producer are used to define your character's facial setup and generate animations from audio files. SGX Production Tools work with .k and .event files that define your character's facial setup and animations, respectively.

SGX Runtime

The Runtime is the component that runs inside the game engine and plays back and manages the data you create in SGX Production Tools. The Runtime contains a data compiler that transforms the source files into data that can be loaded and used by the Runtime. The Runtime is used by the Runtime Unreal Engine 5 Plugin.

If you are a programmer and wish to know more about the Runtime itself, be sure to read about the SGX Runtime API and check out the API Reference Guide.

The .ffxc folder

When you compile your actor with the Runtime compiler (and specify --stage-import), an .ffxc folder and a .facefx file are created in the same folder as your .k file. When you drag the .facefx file onto the Unreal Engine 5 Content Browser, the Runtime assets in the .ffxc folder will be imported into Unreal. The .ffxc folder contains all of the assets that have changed and need to be re-imported since the last compile.

The .ffxc folder is required for the Runtime UE5 Plugin to properly import Runtime data, so always be sure to specify the --stage-import option when running the compiler.

Do not touch the .ffxc folder or its contents yourself.

Minimal Rebuild

When you have a lot of animations, compiling all of them can take a long time. The minimal rebuild feature only compiles the animations that have changed since the last compile operation. When you are first setting up your character to be used with the Runtime, use a folder without many .event files to decrease iteration times. The minimal rebuild feature is used by default, but you can force a full rebuild with the --rebuild option.

Runtime Unreal Engine 5 Plugin

The Runtime Unreal Engine 5 Plugin wraps and integrates the Runtime into Unreal Engine 5. It consumes the data in the .ffxc folder created by the Runtime compiler.

Animations Must Match Their Actors

Animation assets can only be used with the same character they were compiled for. Making changes to your character’s rig may require the compiler to rebuild all of your animations.

Batch Import

Save time by batch importing and re-importing your animations. Drag the generated .facefx file onto the Unreal Editor's Content Browser to bring in all animations and audio files. Then right-click the FaceFXActor asset in the Unreal Editor's Content Browser and select "Reimport FaceFX Assets" to import any changes that were made to the actor and/or animations. It is also possible to simply drag the same .facefx file onto the Content Browser again to trigger a re-import.

Basic Workflow

• The character's facial setup is defined in SGX Studio.

• The character's animations are generated from audio files in SGX Production Tools.

• The character and all animations are compiled with the Runtime compiler, which creates a .ffxc folder and a .facefx file in the same folder that contains the .k file.

• The .fbx file is dragged onto the Unreal Editor's Content Browser.

• The .facefx file is dragged onto the Unreal Editor's Content Browser, which imports the contents of the .ffxc folder and generates plugin assets. The .ffxc folder is deleted upon successful import.

• The assets are ready to be played by a properly set up character in Unreal Engine 5.