Technical Requirements
This page lists the required and optional components for using Instant Dialogues effectively in your Unreal Engine project.
Engine Version
- Tested & built against: UE 5.6.0
- Earlier 5.x versions are not officially supported.
Required Unreal Plugins
Enable these in your project (Edit > Plugins) before using Instant Dialogues:
- MetaHumanAnimator
- MetaHumanCoreTech
- ControlRig
- PythonEditorScriptPlugin
External / Online Services
| Service | Usage |
|---|---|
| ElevenLabs (API key) | Voice generation |
If ElevenLabs is not configured, you can still author dialogue flows; voice preview & automated lipsync generation from generated audio will be unavailable until audio is provided.
Python Runtime Notes
Instant Dialogues loads MetaHuman Animator related Python modules directly from the Engine MetaHuman plugin structure.
Content Folder Footprint
- Plugin contains Blueprints (camera presets, demo triggers), UI Widgets, Animation Blueprints, Anim Notifies, and example demo input mappings.
- All shipped content resides under:
Plugins/InstantDialogues/Content/InstantDialogues/
Performance / Hardware Guidance
- CPU: Multi-core recommended (compilation & batch processing leverage parallel tasks)
- Memory: 16 GB minimum recommended when generating multiple performances in sequence
- Storage: SSD strongly recommended for faster audio/animation intermediate file handling
Integration Checklist (Quick)
- Enable required plugins & restart Editor
- Create a Dialogue Graph asset & assign participants
- Configure ElevenLabs API key (optional) for voice generation
- Add
ID_Character+AC_ID_EyeFocuscomponents to your character Blueprint - Retarget / integrate
ABP_ID_MetahumanHeadSync(body) &ABP_ID_EyeFocus(face) - Disable original MetaHuman head movement in Face Post Process ABP (see Integration doc)
- Generate or import audio, then bake lipsync & head motion
- Place camera presets or rely on provided Blueprint camera assets per line
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Voice preview button does nothing | Missing / invalid ElevenLabs API key | Set key in plugin settings (Editor) |
| Baking script fails to import modules | MetaHuman plugin disabled | Enable MetaHuman + restart |
| Head movement jitter | Face PP ABP still applying head motion | Disable HeadMovementIK bool |