2.5.0 Release for UE 5.4

This release updates the plugins to work with Unreal Engine 5.4

2.4.1 Release for UE 5.3

This commit includes all the work for v2.4.1 of Unreal Live Link. The new feature being introduced in this version is the ability to choose between Baked and Unbaked representations of the Blend Shape and Custom Attribute curves on a Character Subject (only).

The default is to leave the curves Unbaked to match the behavior of the previous release. Unbaked curves means that Live Link will attempt to recreate the shape of the curve in Unreal (match tangents, etc.).

However, for more complicated scene setups in Maya, it's not possible to match the curve in Unreal, as there's not always a simple 1:1 mapping of a curve to a blend shape weight (or custom attribute). An arbitrary number of complex nodes can be placed between any animation curve and the final weight values. To support these more complex cases, we are providing the option to Bake the curves prior to sending them to Unreal. In this mode, the curves will be sampled at each keyframe with linear interpolation between the keys. This allows for the support of the aforementioned more complex use cases, and also adds support for Envelopes and Group Weights in the Maya Shape Editor.

Note that Baked curves send more data to Unreal but allow for more complex setups and for "live edits" of blend shapes and custom attributes, rather than only when being keyed.

2.4.0 Release for UE 5.3

Unreal® Live Link for Maya for UE 5.3 has been updated to work with Unreal Engine 5.3. It will NOT work with Unreal Engine 5.2 or earlier. See other tagged versions for support for earlier Unreal versions.

Version 2.4.0 includes the following changes:

• Adds support for Unreal Engine 5.3.2. It will NOT work with Unreal Engine 5.2 or earlier.
• Adds support for Maya 2025. Maya 2022, 2023, and 2024 continue to be supported.
• Adds an option to toggle real-time synchronization of data. With this option enabled, changes in Maya are reflected immediately in Unreal. When the option is disabled, changes are reflected in Unreal when the mouse button is released.
  Real-time synchronization is limited to "unlinked" assets and Linked Joint Hierarchies (Characters).
• Performance Improvements when using linked assets.

2.3.0 Release for UE 5.2

Release v2.3.0 - 2023-09-26

This release updates the plugins to work with Unreal Engine 5.2.

Changes:

• Removed Maya 2020 support
• Added Maya 2024 support

Release v2.2.0 - 2023-03-02

Release with official UE 5.1 support

2.1.0 Release for UE 5.1 only

Release v2.1.0 - 2022-09-26

Version 2.1

Features include:

• Asset Filtering - Easily find Unreal Engine assets and sequences with a new search and filter options.
• Animation Sequence Filtering - Only sequences related to selected skeletons in the Live Link UI are shown to help you make selections faster.
• Link Settings Saved - Links set up in the Live Link UI are saved with your Maya scene and reloaded when you reopen the file saving you time by not having to redo all your links.
• Addtional Camera Attributes supported - Addtional camera attributes for Unreal Cinecamera Actors and Camera Actors are supported such as Aperture, Focal Length and more.
• Bug fixes.

Version 2.0

Features include:

• New UI Layout - The UI has been updated to include features like Sync Time, Pause Character Animation Streaming and the new Asset Linking functionality
• Asset Linking - Assets in Maya can be linked to assets in Unreal allowing animations to be pushed directly to the engine.
• Bi-Directional Playheads - Timelines in Maya and Unreal are synchronized and the playhead can be manipulated in Maya or Unreal
• Creation of Unreal assets directly in the Maya UI - Blueprint Instances, Lights, Cameras and Level or Animation sequences can be created directly through the Maya UI
• Character Streaming can be paused - Streaming character data can now be paused making it easier when working with long sequences or complex skeletons
• Bug Fixes

v1.1.2

Release v1.1.2 - 2022-08-30

• Removed dependency on RapidJSON
• Unit tests are now working on Linux
• Support for VSCode/CMake
• UnrealInitializer sources moved to simplify build process

v1.1.1

Release v1.1.1 - 2022-05-20

• Fixed an issue where the previous frame was sent to Unreal instead of the current frame.

v1.1.0

Release v1.1.0 - 2022-04-08

This is the first released version.

• Support for Custom Attributes. When live linking a skeleton joint from Maya to Unreal, you can choose to stream any keyframed custom attributes.
• Support for Unreal Engine 5.0. The Unreal Engine version is selected through a new drop-down menu in the UI.
• Support for Maya Z-up scenes.
• Network endpoints saving
• Support for Linux CentOS 7
• A simplified installation experience allows you to get up-and-running in a matter of minutes.
• The new streamlined interface lets you easily define and manage which Maya assets will be streamed to Unreal.
• Joint hierarchy transforms can be connected, allowing for character to character animation streaming.
• BlendShapes are supported, enabling you to make changes to characters such as facial expressions and lip syncing, and see them in-context in Unreal.
• Camera attributes including transforms, angle of view, focal length, film gate, camera aperture, film aspect ratio, depth of field, focus distance, and fStop are supported.
• Lighting adjustments including color, intensity, cone angle, and penumbra angle are supported.
• Scene timecode is streamed to Unreal as metadata, allowing play head synchronization between Maya and Unreal.
• Back version support enables the plug-in to be used with Maya 2019 through Maya 2023 on Windows.
• Back version support enables the plug-in to be used with Maya 2020 and Maya 2023 on Linux.