Building Effects

The building effects system plays Niagara effects or sounds when a building is created, modified, or removed.

The plugin supports project-level default effects and also allows individual buildings to use their own effect configurations.

Supported Events

Event	Description
Build Confirmed	Triggered after a building is created successfully.
Changed	Triggered after a building is moved or modified.
Removed	Triggered after a building is removed.

Effects are used only for visual and audio feedback. They do not affect building creation, movement, or removal logic.

Creating an Effect Set

Create a building effect data asset in the Content Browser:

Right-click → Miscellaneous → Data Asset

Select:

Building Effect Set

Then configure Niagara effects and sounds for the required events.

Events without a configured effect will not play anything.

Project Default Effects

Open:

Edit → Project Settings → Building System

Configure:

Default Effect Set

This Effect Set is used as the default building effect configuration for the project.

Setting	Description
Default Effect Set	The project-default configuration used when a building does not specify its own Effect Set.

Per-Building Configuration

Each Building Data Asset can determine how building effects are resolved.

The available modes generally include:

Mode	Description
Use Project Default	Uses the Default Effect Set configured in the project settings.
Override Project Default	Uses the Effect Set specified by the current building.
Disable Effects	Disables building effects for the current building.

Standard buildings can share the project-default configuration.

Buildings that require unique effects, such as workbenches, portals, or magical structures, can use their own Effect Set.

Playback Location

Effects use the world location and rotation of the building event by default.

For example:

• When a building is created, effects play at the new building location.
• When a building is moved, effects play at the updated building location.
• When a building is removed, effects play at its location before removal.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer games, building creation, modification, and removal are confirmed by the server.

After receiving the corresponding building event, each client plays the effects locally.

This avoids:

• Playing visual effects redundantly on the server
• Spawning multiple copies of the same effect on each client
• Replicating Niagara Components as network objects

Note

Building state is synchronized by the server, while Niagara effects and sounds are usually played locally on each client.

Recommended Configuration

You can first create a general-purpose Effect Set that provides basic effects for standard buildings:

Event	Example Effect
Build Confirmed	Construction particles and placement sound
Changed	Simple movement particles or confirmation sound
Removed	Demolition particles and removal sound

Special buildings can then override the default configuration through their own Building Data Asset.

Troubleshooting

Issue	What to Check
No buildings play effects	Check whether Default Effect Set is configured.
Only one building has no effects	Check the effect resolution mode of that building.
A specific event has no effect	Check whether the corresponding event is configured in the Effect Set.
Effects play at the wrong location	Check the effect offset.
Effects play too late	Check whether the effect itself has a delay time.
Effects do not play on clients	Check whether the client receives the corresponding building network event.
Effects play more than once	Check whether the same effect is being triggered manually on both the server and clients.
Complex custom effects are required	Listen to events such as OnBuildingNetEntityRemoved and handle the effects separately.