Virtual Actor References is a feature that makes it possible to work with virtual references of actors that exist only for the duration of the cutscene by instantiating the original actor reference and optionally placing it at specified local cutscene coordinates while disabling the original. When the cutscene is finished, the original actor is re-enabled and the created temporary instance is destroyed. All this of course is done automatically and is a very convenient way of working with prefab actors!

The relevant options to all this can be found in the inspector of all Actor Groups.

In this example, the target actor is Chan, which is a prefab. A virtual reference gizmo is shown in the scene view as a representation of where Chan (our actor) will be instantiated when the cutscene is active. This position and orientation are also represented in what is called Cutscene Space, which means that they are relevant to the cutscene position/rotation. As such if you move the cutscene gameobject, Chan will instantiate at the same relevant position/rotation to the cutscene. The line shown represents the offset from the cutscene position.

These options work for both prefab and non-prefab actors. For your convenience here are all the combinations between Reference Mode and Initial Transformation options and what will happen in each case.

Reference Mode: Use Original
Transformation: Use Original

The original actor will be used at its original coordinates. Nothing special going on.

Reference Mode: Use Original
Transformation: Use Local

The original actor will be used, but it will be teleported to the specified coordinates in Cutscene Space when the cutscene begins playing.

Reference Mode: Use Instance
Transformation: Use Original

An instance will be created and used, but that instance coordinates will stay the same as the original reference.

Reference Mode: Use Instance
Transformation: Use Local

An instance will be created and used, which will be instantiated at the specified coordinates in Cutscene Space when the cutscene begins playing. This is THE combination to work with when working with prefab actors.