Unreal Engine 5 Explained

Unreal Engine
Logo Size:150px
Author:Tim Sweeney
Developer:Epic Games
Released:5.0
Latest Release Version:5.4
Programming Language:C++
Operating System:Windows, Linux, macOS
License:Source-available commercial software with royalty model for commercial use[1]

Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) is the latest version of Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games. It was revealed in May 2020 and officially released in April 2022. Major features of Unreal Engine 5 include Nanite, a virtualized geometry system that allows game developers to use arbitrarily high quality meshes with automatically generated Level of detail, and Lumen, a dynamic global illumination and reflections system that uses software and hardware ray tracing.

History

Unreal Engine 5 was revealed on May 13, 2020, supporting all existing systems supported by Unreal Engine 4, including the next-generation consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.[2] Work on the engine started about two years prior to its announcement. It was released in early access on May 26, 2021,[3] and formally launched for developers on April 5, 2022.[4]

Epic had worked closely with Sony in optimizing Unreal Engine 5 for the PlayStation 5, with Epic collaborating with Sony on the console's storage architecture.[5] To demonstrate the ease of creating a detailed world with minimal effort, the May 2020 reveal of the engine showcased a demo called "Lumen in the Land of Nanite" running on a PlayStation 5 that was built mostly by pulling assets from the Quixel library and using the Nanite, Lumen, and other Unreal Engine 5 components to create a photorealistic cave setting that could be explored.[6] Epic affirmed that Unreal Engine 5 would be fully supported on the Xbox Series X as well, but had been focused on the PlayStation 5 during the announcement as a result of their work with Sony in the years prior.[7]

Epic has used its game Fortnite as a testbed for Unreal Engine 5 to showcase what the engine can do to the industry,[8] [9] with the game brought to use Unreal Engine 5 in December 2021.[10] Fortnites Battle Royale mode received visual improvements via Unreal Engine 5.1 with the launch of Chapter 4 on December 4, 2022.[11] The Matrix Awakens, a tie-in experience ahead of the release of The Matrix Resurrections, was developed by Epic to be a further demonstration of Unreal Engine 5 along with other technology that they had acquired over 2020 and 2021, including their MetaHuman Creator developed and integrated into Unreal Engine 5 with technology from 3Lateral, Cubic Motion, and Quixel.[12]

In March 2024, Epic Games launched Project Titan, a collaborative art jam to create a free open world sample project for Unreal Engine.[13]

Features

Nanite

One of UE5's major features is Nanite, an engine that allows for high-detailed photographic source material to be imported into games. The goal of Unreal Engine 5 was to make it as easy as possible for developers to create detailed game worlds without having to spend excessive time on creating new detailed assets.[14] Nanite can import nearly any other pre-existing three-dimension representation of objects and environments, including ZBrush and CAD models, enabling the use of film-quality assets.[15] Nanite automatically handles the levels of detail (LODs) of these imported objects appropriate to the target platform and draw distance, a task that an artist would have had to perform manually otherwise by creating a new model for each LoD and creating normal maps for details.[16] [17] Unlike traditional LoD, Nanite can use different levels of detail within a single asset. According to a talk by Epic Games' Brian Karis at SIGGRAPH 2021, Part of the research done to create Nanite was to find a method that could stitch the edges of different levels of detail together such that there are no "cracks" between them at the boundaries when they are of the same asset.[18] In its initial release, Nanite could only be used for static meshes.

With potentially tens of billions of polygons present on a single screen at 4K resolution, Epic also developed the Unreal Engine 5 to take advantage of the upcoming high-speed storage solutions with the next-generation console hardware that will use a mix of RAM and custom solid-state drives.[16] According to Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney, With UE5's new loading system "you can bring in [a game's] geometry and display it despite it not all fitting in memory". UE5 scales the amount of detail in the geometry used to the speed of the device's storage if the device's storage is too slow to load the ideal amount.

Lumen

Lumen is another component described as a "fully dynamic global illumination solution that immediately reacts to scene and light changes".[19] [16] [20] Lumen eliminates the need for artists and developers to craft a lightmap for a given scene, but instead calculates light reflections and shadows on the fly, thus allowing for real-time behavior of light sources.[16] It also allows for faster development cycles for game designers as they do not need to wait for the lightmaps to be computed.[16] Lumen can use either software or hardware ray tracing, with the software version being more widely supported by devices at the expense of lower fidelity such as in reflections or water. It can be turned off with a fallback to Signed Distance Field Ambient Occlusion.[21]

Other features

Virtual Shadow Maps is another component added in Unreal Engine 5 described as "a new shadow mapping method used to deliver consistent, high-resolution shadowing that works with film-quality assets and large, dynamically lit open worlds".[22] Virtual Shadow Maps differs from the common shadow map implementation in its extremely high resolution, more detailed shadows, and the lack of shadows popping in and out which can be found in the more common shadow maps technique due to shadow cascades.[23]

UE5 uses Niagara for fluid and particle dynamics and its own Chaos physics engine in place of PhysX.[14] [24]

Added in UE5.2, the engine introduced a new material creation system named Substrate, offering more versatile and modular authoring of materials.[25] [26]

Additional features planned for Unreal Engine 5 come from Epic's acquisitions and partnerships. The Nanite virtualized geometry technology allows Epic to take advantage of its past acquisition of Quixel, the world's largest photogrammetry library as of 2019.[14] The MetaHuman Creator is a project based on technology from three companies acquired by Epic—3Lateral, Cubic Motion, and Quixel—to allow developers to quickly create realistic human characters that can then be exported for use within Unreal.[27] Through partnership with Cesium, Epic plans to offer a free plugin to provide 3D geospatial data for Unreal users, allowing them to recreate any part of the mapped surface of Earth.[28] Epic will include RealityCapture, a product it acquired with its acquisition of Capturing Reality that can generate 3D models of any object from a collection of photographs taken of it from multiple angles,[29] and the various middleware tools offered by Epic Games Tools.[30]

Licensing

Unreal Engine 5 retains the royalty model started with Unreal Engine 4, with developers returning 5% of gross revenues to Epic Games, although this fee is waived for sales made through the Epic Games Store.[31] Further, Epic announced alongside Unreal Engine 5 that they will not take any fee from games using any version of Unreal Engine for the first in gross revenue, retroactive to January 1, 2020.[32] Epic unveiled per-seat licensing of the Unreal Engine, starting in April 2024, for its runtime use with non-gaming applications such as in film and television production if their revenues exceed $1 million, with each seat costing $1850/year.[33] [34]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018-08-26. Unreal Engine End User License Agreement. Unreal Engine. https://web.archive.org/web/20180826113400/https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/eula. August 26, 2018. live.
  2. Web site: Statt . Nick . May 13, 2020 . Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with stunning PlayStation 5 demo . December 11, 2020 . . March 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220321172743/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/13/21256079/epic-unreal-engine-5-playstation-5-demo-next-gen-graphics-release-date . live .
  3. Web site: Unreal Engine 5 Gets Stunning Demo With Incredible Graphics, Enters Early Access . Eddie . Makuch . May 26, 2021 . May 26, 2021 . . December 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211228141729/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/unreal-engine-5-gets-stunning-demo-with-incredible-graphics-enters-early-access/1100-6491998/ . live .
  4. Web site: Sinclair . Brendan . April 6, 2022 . Epic launches Unreal Engine 5 . . April 5, 2022 . April 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220407222433/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-04-05-epic-launches-unreal-engine-5 . live .
  5. Web site: Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says the PS5 is so impressive it's 'going to help drive future PCs' . Statt . Nick . May 13, 2020 . . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513152805/https://www.theverge.com/21256299/epic-ceo-tim-sweeney-sony-ps5-ssd-impressive-pc-gaming-future-next-gen . live .
  6. Web site: Epic Games shows off a stunning Unreal Engine 5 demo on PlayStation 5 . Dean . Takahashi . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . . May 18, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200518175421/https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/13/epic-games-shows-off-a-stunning-unreal-engine-5-demo-on-playstation-5/ . live .
  7. Web site: Unreal Engine 5 will be "fully supported on both PS5 and Xbox Series X" . Cian . Maher . May 16, 2020 . May 16, 2020 . . May 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200516221048/https://www.vg247.com/2020/05/16/unreal-engine-5-ps5-xbox-series-x/ . live .
  8. Web site: Fortnite moves to Unreal Engine 5 next year . Bailey . Dustin . May 13, 2020 . . May 13, 2020 . September 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200925173212/https://www.pcgamesn.com/fortnite/unreal-engine-5 . live .
  9. Web site: Battle-testing Unreal Engine 5.1’s new features on Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 . unrealengine.com.
  10. Web site: Fortnite has finally moved to Unreal Engine 5 with Chapter 3 . Chris . Capel . December 5, 2021 . December 5, 2021 . . December 5, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211205182425/https://www.pcgamesn.com/fortnite/unreal-engine-5-chapter-3 . live .
  11. Web site: Welcome to Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 1. Fortnite. February 13, 2023. February 13, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230213234200/https://www.fortnite.com/news/welcome-to-fortnite-battle-royale-chapter-4-season-1. live.
  12. Web site: The Matrix Awakens imagines the future of storytelling in Unreal Engine 5 . Toussaint . Egan . December 9, 2021 . December 9, 2021 . . December 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211210040231/https://www.polygon.com/interviews/22827126/the-matrix-awakens-unreal-engine-5-ps5-xbox-series-x . live .
  13. Web site: Games . Epic . Project Titan Announcement - Epic Games . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240307203748/https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/introducing-the-project-titan-collaborative-art-jam-register-today . March 7, 2024.
  14. Web site: Epic Games: Unreal Engine 5 will bring a generational change to graphics . Dean . Takahashi . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . . February 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220216035252/https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/13/how-epic-games-is-tailoring-unreal-engine-5-to-make-next-gen-graphics-shine/ . live .
  15. Web site: Epic Games teases its new, nearly-photorealistic Unreal Engine 5 . Andrew . Tarantola . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . . May 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513170508/https://www.engadget.com/epic-games-unreal-engine-5-demo-150044561.html . live .
  16. Web site: How Epic got such amazing Unreal Engine 5 results on next-gen consoles . Kyle . Orland . May 14, 2020 . May 14, 2020 . . May 14, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200514194514/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/05/behind-the-scenes-of-that-incredible-unreal-engine-5-tech-demo/ . live .
  17. Web site: Tyler . Wilde . Fast SSD storage is key to the Unreal Engine 5 demo's super detailed scenes . PC Gamer . en . 13 May 2020.
  18. Web site: Karis . Brian . Nanite; A Deep Dive SIGGRAPH 2021 Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Course . realtimerendering.com.
  19. Web site: Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with first PS5 footage . Rebekah . Valentine . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . . May 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200520112019/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-05-13-epic-games-announces-unreal-engine-5-with-first-ps5-footage . live .
  20. Web site: Here's Unreal Engine 5 running on the PlayStation 5 . McWhertor . Michael . May 13, 2020 . . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513170511/https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/13/21256621/unreal-engine-5-ps5-demo-playstation-5-graphics-epic-games . live .
  21. Web site: Battaglia . Alex . Brilliant visuals and growing pains: examining the first generation of Unreal Engine 5 games . Eurogamer.net . en . 28 October 2023.
  22. Web site: Virtual Shadow Maps . 2022-02-07 . Unreal Engine Docs . en-US . February 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220207063206/https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.0/en-US/RenderingFeatures/VirtualShadowMaps/ . live .
  23. Web site: Dimitrov. Rouslan. Cascaded Shadow Maps. February 7, 2022. January 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220115200429/https://developer.download.nvidia.com/SDK/10.5/opengl/src/cascaded_shadow_maps/doc/cascaded_shadow_maps.pdf. live.
  24. Web site: Sergeev . Arti . Working with Niagara Fluids to Create Water Simulations . 80.lv . en . 26 July 2022.
  25. Web site: May 11, 2023 . Unreal Engine 5.2 is now available! . Unreal Engine.
  26. Web site: McKenzie . Theodore . Unreal Engine 5.2 Goes Live . 80.lv . en . 12 May 2023.
  27. Web site: Epic Games' new MetaHuman Creator will let devs everywhere build high fidelity humans . Chris . Kerr . February 10, 2021 . February 22, 2022 . Game Developer . February 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220222235117/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/epic-games-new-metahuman-creator-will-let-devs-build-hi-fi-humans . live .
  28. Web site: Epic Games teams up with Cesium to bring 3D geospatial data to Unreal . Dean . Takahashi . March 30, 2021 . March 30, 2021 . . March 30, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330150043/https://venturebeat.com/2021/03/30/epic-games-teams-up-with-cesium-to-bring-3d-geospatial-data-to-unreal/ . live .
  29. Web site: Epic Games acquires photogrammetry software developer Capturing Reality . Chris . Kerr . March 9, 2021 . February 22, 2022 . Game Developer . February 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220222235123/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/epic-games-acquires-photogrammetry-software-developer-capturing-reality . live .
  30. Web site: Epic acquires RAD Game Tools . Bryant . Francis . January 7, 2021 . February 22, 2022 . Game Developer . January 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107203724/https://gamasutra.com/view/news/375979/Epic_acquires_RAD_Game_Tools.php . live .
  31. Web site: Unreal Engine EULA . 2024-01-05 . Unreal Engine . en-US . January 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240105072417/https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/eula/unreal . live .
  32. Web site: Unreal Engine is now royalty-free until a game makes a whopping $1 million . Machkovech . Sam . May 13, 2020 . . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513191357/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/05/unreal-engine-is-now-royalty-free-until-a-game-makes-a-whopping-1-mill/ . live .
  33. Web site: Epic Games to update Unreal Engine pricing for devs outside game industry . Bryant . Francis . October 6, 2023 . October 6, 2023 . . October 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231005215147/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/epic-games-to-update-unreal-engine-pricing-for-devs-outside-game-industry . live .
  34. Web site: Epic confirms its new Unreal Engine pricing, keeps its promise not to change it for game developers . Chris . Scullion . March 12, 2024 . March 12, 2024 . . March 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240313023959/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/epic-confirms-its-new-unreal-engine-pricing-keeps-its-promise-not-to-change-it-for-game-developers/ . live .

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