🖲️Unreal

Get Started with CryptoAvatars Unreal SDK

Overview

Overview The CryptoAvatars SDK for Unreal Engine allows you to download open source avatars or access your owned avatars as NFTs.

The process is straightforward:

• Download and Install Unreal Engine

• (Optional) Download CryptoAvatars dependencies for new Updates

• Download the CryptoAvatars SDK C++ plugin for Unreal Engine

• Create your API Key if you don't have one

• Import the CryptoAvatars SDK plugin into your Unreal Engine project

• In the CA-SDK content folder there is a Widget Login containing the basic setup make use of it or create your own

  • If you want to use Open Source Avatars, Enter as Guest

  • If you want to use your Owned Avatars, Login with your CryptoAvatars Account

• The avatar cards will popup and once you click the Avatar you want it will automatically change your current Pawn to the selected Avatar

• The avatar will be downloaded in a new brand folder called cryptoavatars and will be ready to use!

1. Install Unreal Engine 5.1.0 or above

You can download Unreal Engine for free here and choose version within the Epic Launcher.

Versions below Unreal Engine 5.1 may not work.

2. Download CryptoAvatars SDK

You can download the SDK demo project and use the default map to get started or

download the plugin here.

3. Add the other plugin dependencies

• VRM4U - Plugin used for VRM Model Support

• Emergence - Plugin used for Web3 Functionality

• ALS (Optional - Only used in the Demo Map) - Plugin used for its Animations

4. Set up the project

As we use C++ code a Missing Modules popup should show up.

Select Yes and that will compile all the Plugins needed to work.

There will be more or less modules depending on your project

5. Import the plugin

Go to the plugins section in the toolbar of your project and activate CryptoAvatarsSDK. It will tell you to restart Unreal Engine. Once restarted make sure to enable Show Plugin Content.

Activate the plugin

Enable Show Plugin Content View

6. Create your API Key in CryptoAvatars.io

In order to get the API Key you must login in CryptoAvatars, there is a step by step guide here.

7. Creating the SDK function library

Before start using the SDK you must create an instance of the SDK function library and set up the API KEY, then you can start using its functions.

8. Set up your Pawn

In order to load the Skeletal Mesh of your VRM avatar at runtime you need to attach a EmergenceVRMMesh to your character mesh, so it does the animation retargeting while playing.

As well you will need to perform an Animation Retargeting step if you want to use your own animations and asign them inside the EmergenceVRMMesh, this is a tough step and it will require knowledge of how the animation system works in Unreal Engine.

Here is a demonstration of how would be done in Unreal Engine 4, the main change to Unreal Engine 5 is the use of the new Animation Retargeting Tool with IK_Rigs and IK_Retargeters, here is the documentation provided by Epic Games about the process.

Here is the things we need to adjust to replicate the animations and the VRM model loading

9. Use the provided Widget or customize your own

You can use the Widget Login in which we show you how the avatars are displayed using the methods inside the SDK function library as if they were cards, once you click the card the avatar is downloaded and loaded at runtime into your spawned Pawn.

Take in consideration that if the previous step is not done correctly the animations won't be displayed as it should be.

Then you can change the cast to your Pawn blueprint you previouly modified adding the Emergence VRMMesh.