Unreal Engine 5.4 releases Enhanced Nanite, AI, Machine Learning, and More Innovations

Unreal Engine 5.4 has arrived, bringing a host of new features and improvements that will undoubtedly excite game developers and creators from various industries. This release includes the toolsets used internally to develop and release popular titles like Fortnite Chapter 5, Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival, and LEGO Fortnite. Let’s dive into some of the standout features.

Animation takes center stage in Unreal Engine 5.4, with significant updates to the built-in animation toolset. Now, you can rig characters and author animations directly in the engine, eliminating the need for external applications and streamlining workflows. The Experimental Modular Control Rig feature allows you to build animation rigs using modular parts, simplifying the process. Automatic Retargeting makes reusing bipedal character animations a breeze. Additionally, there are extensions to the Skeletal Editor and new deformer functions to enhance accessibility.

Sequencer, the nonlinear animation editor in Unreal Engine, has received a significant makeover. It now boasts better readability and improved usability in various aspects of the Sequencer Tree. Keyframe Scriptability has also been introduced, opening up possibilities for custom animation tools.

Motion Matching, previously an Experimental feature, is now Production-Ready. This feature has been battle-tested in Fortnite Battle Royale and is available on all platforms. Motion Matching is a next-gen framework for animation that relies on searching a database of captured animations using the character’s current motion information in-game. Unreal Engine 5.4 focuses on making this animator-friendly toolset robust, performant, and memory-scalable, with added debugging tools for developers.

On the rendering front, Nanite—the virtualized micropolygon geometry system—has received enhancements. The Experimental Tessellation feature allows for the addition of fine details at render time without altering the original mesh. Nanite compute materials now support software variable rate shading (VRS), resulting in significant performance gains. Spline mesh workflows have also been introduced, making it easier to create roads on landscapes. Furthermore, the ability to disable UV interpolation enables the use of vertex animated textures for World Position Offset animation.

Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) has received stability and performance enhancements in Unreal Engine 5.4. This feature ensures a predictable output regardless of the target platform, with reduced ghosting and improved handling of pixel animation. New visualization modes and options in the Scalability settings make it easier to fine-tune and debug TSR’s behavior.

Rendering performance has been a major focus in this release, with optimizations aimed at achieving 60 Hz experiences. The systems have been refactored to allow for greater parallelization, and GPU instance culling has been added to hardware Ray Tracing. Shader compilation has also been optimized, resulting in improved project cook times.

For creators working on linear content, Unreal Engine 5.4 introduces the Movie Render Graph (MRG) as an Experimental feature. MRG is a node-based architecture that allows users to set up graphs for rendering single shots or complex multi-shot workflows for large teams of artists. It includes Render Layers, a highly requested feature that simplifies post-compositing by separating foreground and background elements.

Unreal Engine 5.4 also brings advancements in AI and machine learning with the Neural Network Engine (NNE). NNE has transitioned from Experimental to Beta status, offering support for loading and running pre-trained neural network models in-editor and at runtime. This opens up possibilities for various use cases, including tooling, animation, rendering, and physics. NNE provides a common API and extensibility hooks for easy integration and customization.

In terms of developer iteration, Unreal Cloud DDC is a new addition to Unreal Engine 5.4. This self-hosted cloud storage system allows distributed users and teams to efficiently share Unreal Engine cached data over public network connections.

Overall, Unreal Engine 5.4 is a significant update that empowers game developers and creators with enhanced animation tools, rendering capabilities, AI and machine learning features, and improved developer iteration. It’s yet another step forward for the powerful game development engine.

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Technology Explained

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GPU: GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit and is a specialized type of processor designed to handle graphics-intensive tasks. It is used in the computer industry to render images, videos, and 3D graphics. GPUs are used in gaming consoles, PCs, and mobile devices to provide a smooth and immersive gaming experience. They are also used in the medical field to create 3D models of organs and tissues, and in the automotive industry to create virtual prototypes of cars. GPUs are also used in the field of artificial intelligence to process large amounts of data and create complex models. GPUs are becoming increasingly important in the computer industry as they are able to process large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.

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Ray Tracing: Ray tracing is an advanced rendering technique used in computer graphics to simulate the way light interacts with objects in a virtual environment. It traces the path of light rays as they travel through a scene, calculating how they interact with surfaces, materials, and lighting sources. By simulating the complex behaviors of light, ray tracing produces highly realistic and accurate visual effects, including lifelike reflections, shadows, and refractions. This technology enhances the overall visual quality of images and animations by accurately replicating how light behaves in the real world, resulting in a more immersive and visually stunning digital experience.

Ray Tracing Website: https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/technologies/ray-tracing/

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Unreal Engine 5: Unreal Engine 5 is a powerful game engine released in 2022 that allows creators to design incredibly realistic graphics with tools that are accessible to a wider range of developers. It achieves this through features like Nanite, which renders vast amounts of detail, and Lumen, a system that simulates lighting in real-time.