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Getting Started

Install the plugin and play your first music in 5 minutes.

Installation​

From FAB Marketplace​

  1. Open Epic Games Launcher → Library → Vault
  2. Find "Elys Music Engine"
  3. Click Add to Project → Select your project
  4. Restart Unreal Editor

Manual Install​

  1. Download the plugin ZIP
  2. Extract to YourProject/Plugins/ElysMusicEngine
  3. Enable via Edit → Plugins → Search "Elys Music Engine" → Enable
  4. Restart editor

Your First Music (2 minutes)​

The music system is a GameInstanceSubsystem — it's always available, no setup needed.

In any Blueprint (Level Blueprint, Game Mode, Player Controller):

Event BeginPlay
  ↓
Push Music Layer
  ├─ Layer Name: "Background"
  ├─ Music: [Your Sound Asset]
  ├─ Priority: 0
  ├─ Layer Mode: Replace
  ├─ Volume: 1.0
  ├─ Fade In Time: 2.0
  └─ Persist Across Levels: false

Done. Music is playing.

Core Concepts​

Before going further, here are the 3 things you need to know:

1. Layers​

A layer is a named music track with settings. You push layers to start music and pop them to stop.

Push "Exploration" → music starts
Pop "Exploration"  → music stops

2. Priority​

Each layer has a priority (0-100). Higher number wins.

Boss     [15] ← Plays (highest)
Combat   [10] ← Waiting
Explore  [ 0] ← Waiting

Pop "Boss" → Combat plays. Pop "Combat" → Explore plays.

3. Replace vs Additive​

  • Replace — Main music. Only one plays at a time. Use for exploration, combat, boss.
  • Additive — Layers on top. Multiple can play together. Use for tension, rain, wind.
Exploration (Replace, Priority 0)   ← PLAYING
+ Rain Ambience (Additive, Pri 2)   ← PLAYING (on top)
+ Tension (Additive, Pri 5)         ← PLAYING (on top)

Push Combat (Replace, Priority 10)  ← Takes over
  Rain (Pri 2)                      ← STOPS (below combat)
  Tension (Pri 5)                   ← STOPS (below combat)

Combat Music Example​

A complete combat system in 3 nodes:

// 1. Base music on game start
Event BeginPlay
  → Push Music Layer
      Layer Name: "Exploration"
      Music: Exploration_Music
      Priority: 0
      Mode: Replace
      Persist: true

// 2. Combat starts
Event OnCombatStart
  → Push Music Layer
      Layer Name: "Combat"
      Music: Combat_Music
      Priority: 10
      Mode: Replace
      Fade In: 1.5

// 3. Combat ends
Event OnCombatEnd
  → Pop Music Layer ("Combat")
  // Exploration returns automatically!

Debug Commands​

Open console (~ key):

CommandWhat it does
music.debugShow all active layers
music.clearStop all music

Next Steps​

  • User Guide — Music volumes, stingers, ducking, configs, persistence
  • Advanced — MetaSound, Quartz beat sync, GameplayTags
  • API Reference — Every Blueprint function