Instanced static mesh just did not exist in older versions of the engine. It wasn't properly supported by hardware before DirectX 11. Even after implementation in DirectX some hardware still didn't support it. Many tutorials aren't a realistic representation of a actual game workflow. They show some of the techniques but…
I have observed that the difference between using StaticMesh and InstancedStaticMesh lies in the fact that, in the former, every time a 3D object is drawn on the screen, it generates 1 drawcall (not counting the textures associated with the model). For example, if a wall that is part of a modular kit appears 30 times in a…
I understand that you are referring to the fact that the Instanced Static Mesh feature did not exist in versions prior to Unreal Engine 4, specifically UDK 3 and earlier. In UE4 version 4.10, it was already possible to manually instantiate one or several meshes, although this method might not have been well-known in 2015.…