Epic Games have announced a real graphics hammer: The new Unreal Eng ine 5 will be released in 2021!
Real-time gameplay that impresses
And Epic demonstrates that with one first tech demo running on PlayStation 5. In the almost 9-minute video entitled "Lumen in the Land of Nanite" we get a first taste of the graphics power of Unreal Engine 5. Because the scenes already show extremely detailed landscape details, particle effects and physics systems .
The demo is running in real time and is not pre-rendered. Epic's Kim Libreri confirmed that the whole thing played exactly like that on a PS5 dev kit can be. But it's best to just take a look at the UE5 in action:
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Unreal Engine 5: Real-time tech demo on PS5 shows fantastic NextGen graphics
The main features
According to the official Unreal Engine website, the new generation of graphics machines should finally be able to display photo-realism in video games (and keep up with CGI cinema). In addition, Epic will present the two most important core technologies of the UE5:
- Nanite: With the so-called "Nanite virtualized micropolygon geometry", developers can import billions of polygons into the engine without conversion and in real time. For example, film scenes can also be simulated one-to-one in the UE5. Photogrammetry data can also be transported directly into the engine.
- Lumens: This lighting technology can react immediately to any change in light. In the millimeter as well as in the kilometer range, all possible light refractions and reflections should be calculated in real time and extremely credibly. This form of global illumination can be seen using the flashlight in the video.
One result of the Nanite technique is one incredibly high number of polygons through direct and uncompressed imports from the design programs of the developers. In the video you can see a statue at 5:57 minutes, which consists of 33 million polygons alone and is equipped with 8K textures:
A first preview version of the new Unreal Engine 5 is expected to be launched in early 2021. At the end of the year, the graphics engine will then be finally released and run on the PC, NextGen consoles as well as on iOS and Android devices.
