Debug shapes and preview lights

Show temporary debug shapes and preview lights in the running world.

What it’s for

Ask your assistant for quick visual helpers in the level, so you can see where something is, mark up a scene or light a subject for a quick look. It can draw debug shapes such as spheres, boxes, arrows and cones, add lights, and remove everything it added when you are done.

Use it for temporary markers and throwaway lights that are never saved as assets. Point at a spot and your assistant draws a marker there, or adds a point or spot light to check how a mesh looks, then clears it all in one step.

These are temporary previews. For real particle effects, see Niagara VFX. For effects that play as part of a cinematic, see Cinematics (Sequencer).

Things you can ask

Mark a spot in the viewport

A temporary sphere shows you exactly where a location is in the level.

You: Draw a red sphere at 0,0,300 so I can see the spawn point.

Drew a red sphere at the spawn point (0, 0, 300). It stays for 30 seconds.

Light a subject to check how it looks

Your assistant adds a light to the level without saving any asset.

You: Add a bright point light above the drone to check the material.

Added a warm point light named PreviewKey above the drone.

Clear away the preview clutter

Your assistant removes the temporary lights by their name once you are done.

You: Remove the preview lights I added.

Removed both preview lights, PreviewKey and Preview_Fill.