Older engine versions
Unreal can’t load assets saved by a newer engine version. Ferryman works around this for the asset types that matter most when sharing: it sends a recipe along, a version-neutral description of the asset, and the older editor rebuilds the asset with its own engine. The result is a real native asset of that version.
What can go back
Section titled “What can go back”| Asset | What the recipe holds |
|---|---|
| Textures | The source pixels and the settings: compression, sRGB, LOD group, filter, address modes. |
| Static meshes | Every LOD’s geometry (positions, normals, tangents, UVs, vertex colors), material slots, build settings, light map settings, the Nanite flag and simple collision. |
| Material instances | The parent and the scalar, vector, texture and static switch parameters. |
When a material instance’s parent material doesn’t exist in the older project, a simple PBR bridge material takes its place, with a Base Color texture and tint, a Normal map, Roughness and Metallic. It is created once in the project at /Game/Ferryman/Bridge/M_FerrymanBridge. The instance’s parameters are matched to it by name: textures named like BaseColor, Albedo or Diffuse and Normal, values named like Roughness, Metallic or Tint.
Rebuilt assets point to each other: a mesh gets its rebuilt material instances, a material instance gets its rebuilt textures.
What can’t go back
Section titled “What can’t go back”Everything else is marked Can’t land in the review, so nothing half-broken is written: Blueprints, master materials, levels, skeletal meshes, animations, Niagara systems and other types. Send those from an editor with the same or an older engine version.
How to send
Section titled “How to send”- To an older editor over the network (Send, paste, live links, connection codes): the recipes are added by themselves when the receiver’s engine is older.
- Parcel files and the dock: tick Also for older engines on the Transfers page before saving the file or putting it on the dock. The parcel gets bigger.
In the review
Section titled “In the review”The older editor’s review marks each asset:
- Rebuild: it is rebuilt from its recipe when you land.
- Can’t land: it is skipped, with the reason.
Assets that already exist in the older project with the same content are used as they are. Press Land: the rebuilt assets are created, saved and selected like any other arrival.