Unreal Engine has been a central part of game design since it was first released for public use back in 2009. Since then Epic Games has been releasing more and more innovative tools to help users make their workflows even easier. It’s not just game designers that have come to rely on Unreal either, everyone from architects, VFX artists, and animators use Unreal to add life to their projects.
With Unreal Engine 5.4, many of their existing features have been upgraded to make working in the engine much easier. It has also made it possible for players with lower-end devices to play games at the same quality as higher-end machines! So, what exactly is so great about this new update?
Unreal Engine 5.4 Improves Animation Tools
One of the biggest aspects of this update is the new and improved animation tools. Whether you’re a game developer or animator, Unreal Engine 5.4 has added some powerful new tools to make your workflow quicker and easier, like modular rigging, layered control rigs, and new gizmos.
Modular rigging uses the entire control rig framework to create animations. Eliminating the need to create complicated state machines. This feature is currently labeled as experimental but is already being used by developers for major game titles. We can only assume this feature will be expanded on in future updates.
Another feature that has been heavily applauded is the new Motion Matching. This suite of tools includes a library of live motion-captured animations for developers to use in game development. It has already been implemented in Fortnite Chapter 5 on all 100 characters.
Powerful New Rendering Tools
While already pretty powerful, unreal Engine’s new rendering tools are already making waves in the gaming community with the upcoming 2025 game Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. This game uses Unreal 5.4’s new Nanite and Lumen features to create a beautifully immersive and realistic game environment that’s not as taxing on players’ devices. Games like Ark 2 and Tekken 8 already use Unreal Engine 5 to great effect.
One of the biggest Nanite updates is the experimental tesselation, allowing users to create more detailed landscapes by allowing users to utilize a lighter source mesh. They’ve even added in Variable Rate Shading for Nanite to help further reduce GPU calculations.
Unreal Engines VFX Improvements
Another big part of the Unreal Engine update is the improvements to Niagra and Choas. These updates help designers create more intricate particle systems and beautifully unique materials to bring their scenes to life. They’ve even added a new asset browser to Niagra and a single-page UI rather than a multi-step process to help eliminate unnecessary steps from the workflow.
This is just a small taste of everything the new Unreal Engine update has to offer. Be sure to check us out on the links below for more great content on all things tech and gaming.
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