Stage Zero – Shader Pre-Compile & Loading Screens System
Stage Zero helps you prepare authored assets before gameplay and present coordinated startup and map-travel loading screens.
Build warmup manifests in the editor, choose a supplied theme or Widget Blueprint, and connect your startup or travel flow through Blueprint-accessible controls.
The v4.4.0 samples include 12 coordinated styles, 24 editable Widget Blueprints and seven backgrounds. They are organized in WidgetsSamples/MainLoadingWidgets, LoadingScreenWidgets and Textures, with readable Blueprint setup, progress, completion and cleanup graphs. Theme thumbnails and live appearance controls make customization easier.
Key features
• Editor-authored asset manifests, including sublevel, nested level-instance and saved World Partition references.
• Asynchronous manifest asset loading, progress, cancellation, completion policies and an optional persistent completion cache.
• Startup screens, native Slate presentation during blocking map travel, and editable UMG travel covers while the game thread is available.
• Configurable timing, colors, fonts, backgrounds and supported audio presentation.
• Blueprint and C++ status hooks, including travel failure notification and retry support.
• Optional observation of Unreal Engine recorded PSO-cache lifecycle evidence when your project supplies and configures a suitable cache.
Stage Zero loads authored asset references. It does not render materials offscreen, traverse hidden worlds at runtime, or guarantee that every possible shader or PSO has been compiled. Preloading can reduce avoidable loading work, but does not guarantee hitch-free gameplay. A saved completion record does not mean assets remain resident in a later process.
Additional information
Modules: StageZeroBootstrap (Runtime), StageZero (Runtime), StageZeroEditor (Editor).
Editor-built manifests cover selected maps, supported dependencies, loaded sublevels, nested level instances and saved World Partition actors. Automatic bounded traversal preserves the last good manifest if a scan is incomplete. Runtime loads authored references asynchronously.
12 styles include 24 editable Widget Blueprints and 7 backgrounds in WidgetsSamples/MainLoadingWidgets, LoadingScreenWidgets and Textures. Samples include setup, progress, completion and cleanup graphs. Settings provide theme thumbnails. Slate supports blocking travel; UMG runs while the game thread is available.
Pause-safe timing, qualified map identities and On Travel Failed support reliable completion and retry. Cook destination maps and manifests.
The optional completion cache records accepted runs; it does not keep assets resident across processes. Optional PSO observation requires a project-supplied recorded cache. No hidden-world runtime traversal or offscreen material rendering; no all-shaders guarantee.
