Material Layer Studio

Material Layer Studio

Module: Art · Category: MaterialAuthoring · Tool ID: MaterialLayerStudio

A two-tab material authoring helper. Debugger walks a material instance’s parent chain and surfaces which parameters are overridden where. Library browses every Material Function in the project with usage counts so you can see which functions are widely shared infrastructure and which are one-offs.

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When to use it

• Debugging “why doesn’t this parameter take effect?” — usually a parent override conflict, easy to see in the chain view
• Refactoring a material library — finding which functions are widely used vs. orphaned
• Onboarding to a project — understanding the material parent hierarchy
• Pre-merge review on a teammate’s new master material

When not to use it

• Don’t use this for material editing — it’s read-only inspection; edits happen in the Material editor
• Don’t expect this to auto-fix override conflicts — surfaces them; you fix them

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Opening the tool

1. Open the EQLabs Hub and search for Material Layer (or browse to Art → MaterialAuthoring)
2. Click the tool card
3. Use the tab bar to switch between Debugger and Library

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Tab 1 — Material Layer Debugger

Walks a material instance’s parent chain and shows override status per level.

Interface

Section	What it does
Material Instance picker	Drop a UMaterialInstance
Analyze	Walks the parent chain
Parent chain	Each level: parent material/instance name, override count, parameter list
Override details	Per-parameter row: name, value, which level overrides it

Workflow

1. Drop a material instance
2. Click Analyze
3. Walk the chain — overrides “shadow” each other (a parameter overridden at level 2 wins over level 3)

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Tab 2 — Material Function Library

Browses every Material Function in the project.

Interface

Section	What it does
Scan Path	Folder to scan recursively
Scan	Walks every UMaterialFunction
Search box	Filter by function name
Functions list	Per-function row: name, input count, output count, usage count (how many materials reference it)

Workflow

1. Pick a scan path, click Scan
2. Sort by usage count — high-use functions are shared infrastructure
3. Single-click pings the function; double-click opens it in the Material Function editor

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Settings reference

Field	What it does	Default
Scan Path	Folder for Library tab	/Game
Search	Substring filter	empty

Settings are persisted to [Project]/Saved/EQLabs/Settings/MaterialLayerStudio.json.

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Output

• In-panel results — read-only inspection
• No edits — auditing only

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Tips & gotchas

• Override counts in the parent chain include inherited overrides — a child instance “overrides” everything overridden by its parents
• Functions with zero usage count are candidates for cleanup — but check carefully; some may be referenced via Material Function calls inside other functions
• Single-click pings; double-click opens the relevant Material / Material Function editor

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Related tools

• OpenPBR Pipeline Bridge — for OpenPBR/Substance compatibility analysis
• Smart Mask & Texture Processor — Material Instance Factory tab creates instances from a parent + texture set

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