Reference

Troubleshooting

What to check when footsteps are wrong or missing.

Start here every time:

code

FootstepSystem.Debug 1

You get a line at every footstep and text saying what was resolved. Green means a surface was hit, red means the trace found nothing. The text reads state | surface | matched, followed by the foot when the notify has a Foot Tag, and turns orange on NO MATCH.

For more detail:

code

log LogFootstepSystem Verbose

Common problems

What you see	What it usually is
Nothing at all, no debug drawing	No notify in the animation, or no Footstep Component on the actor
Footsteps only on some animations	The other animations have no notifies yet. Run the modifier on the rest.
Debug says NO MATCH	The database has no entry for that state and surface. Check the tag spelling.
Debug says `<no state>`	Nothing is calling Set Footstep State. See States.
Surface is always Default	The floor material has no Physical Material on it. See Surfaces.
Wrong surface on a landscape	Trace Complex is off. Landscape layer materials need it.
Red trace line	The trace missed. Raise Trace Distance, or check the floor is on the trace channel.
First footstep on a surface plays late	Turn on Preload Assets On Begin Play, and check Preload State Filter covers that state
Double footstep sound	Raise the debounce, or check the animation does not have two notifies on one frame
Warning about a bone not found	The notify's Foot Bone Name does not exist on that mesh. The warning names it, and the footstep still plays from the bottom of the character.
Fine alone, silent for other players	The state is not replicating. Use Set Footstep State rather than writing Current State directly.
Nothing on a dedicated server	Expected, servers never play audio. If clients get nothing in Server Authoritative mode, set the mesh's Visibility Based Anim Tick Option to Always Tick Pose.
Validation says a state is not a registered Gameplay Tag	The tag was renamed or deleted. Pick the current tag for that entry.
Warning that a Footstep Action uses a latent node	Take Delay and other latent nodes out of its Entry event. See Footstep Actions.
Niagara never appears	Expected. Use a Footstep Action.

The modifier found no notifies

Check the Output Log. A bone name that does not exist on the skeleton is reported by name.

If the bones are right, raise Ground Threshold. The default of 4 units is tight for animations with vertical drift.

One step is detected as two

Lower Ground Threshold. The foot is leaving and re-entering the contact band.