---
title: Material Instances
source: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/instanced-materials-in-unreal-engine
version: Unreal Engine 5.8 Documentation
fetched: 2026-10-11
note: 原文摘录（英文要点），供 wiki 引用；非全文
---

# Material Instances

- Change appearance "without incurring an expensive recompilation"; parameterized material editable in an instance; can improve performance.
- Parent-child hierarchy; instance inherits all attributes; naming M_ (parent) / MI_ (instance). Standard material "could take up to a minute to recompile".
- Only attributes designated as parameters in the parent are editable (Scalar, Vector (4 floats), Texture parameters e.g. TextureSampleParameter2D/Cube). Constants not exposed.
- Static parameters (StaticSwitch, Static Component Mask) applied at compile time; editable in instance editor but not at runtime; masked-out branch not executed. "A new Material is compiled for every combination of static parameters in the base Material that are used by instances" → excessive shaders; minimize static params and used permutations.
- Material Instance Constant (MIC): calculated once prior to runtime; created in Content Browser. Material Instance Dynamic (MID): changed at runtime via C++/Blueprint (Create Dynamic Material Instance + Set Material).