> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.msquared.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.msquared.io/creation/unreal-development/features-and-tutorials/the-animated-crowd/crowd-materials.md).

# Crowd Materials (MML)

MML avatars use the GLB format for their meshes. GLB materials use a physically based rendering setup, and are translated into one of three Unreal materials that are used in Crowd Rendering based on how they are configured:

* **Opaque** - for basic opaque materials
* **Masked** - for alpha-masked materials that are rendering in the opaque pass, but mask out pixels
* **Translucent** - for any non-opaque material

These three materials are the only ones used by Crowd Rendering, but with different parameters (textures, base colour, roughness etc).

The materials are exposed in the settings in **Project Settings** → **M2 Carnival**, so you can replace them with your own materials if required:

<figure><img src="/files/OfIobdWVA5s68zPJahnm" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Changes to these settings are stored in `DefaultGame.ini`. At the moment it's not possible to pass in any custom per-character data to the material - all material parameters come from the GLB model file.

{% hint style="info" %}
Known issue: If you specify your own materials they may not be automatically cooked, so may not work in a packaged deployment. As a workaround you can add a reference to your materials on any object anywhere in your map to ensure they are referenced and cooked.
{% endhint %}