First revealed back in 2020, Unreal Engine 5 promised next generation detail and lighting quality - and since then, the technology has only got better and be...
This is the first generation of UE that drastically overshoots console spec by a wide margin. UE2 and 3 were basically built around OG xbox and 360 hardware, which is why nearly every UE3 game ran at comfortable fps on the 360 at native 720p. UE4 was fairly easy to run on PS4 (though some games had horrible shader compilation stutter).
But suddenly we need 720p and upscaling to get variable fps between 40 and 60 fps on modern consoles. Using Lumen and nanite just because they’re available is probably over doing it. UE always seemed like a console engine first, but now it feels experimental and unoptimized, which isn’t what I think of when I think of games like Arkham Knight and Bioshock.
You’re right it doesn’t run well on current consoles, and you pretty much need the upper end of PC gaming hardware to take advantage of it.
To me it seems like they are getting the tools out there so that when the next gen consoles release in about 4 years or so, there will be day one titles running on UE5, and they should look and perform well.
The problem with UE5 for me is that it seems like all UE5 games have the worst formal of temporal solutions available. Even DLSS/DLAA doesn’t fix the blurriness.
God, I hate post-processing AA with a passion. I made the switch from 24" 1080p to 28" 4k for the sole reason of not needing AA anymore due to the much higher pixel density. Hardware AA, so to speak. But then there’s games like Battlefield 2042 that don’t even let you turn that stupid TAA off, just switch between “low” and “high”. Fucking hell.
For a series that used to pride itself in being a technological showpiece, DICE has really dropped the ball since V in maintaining and improving its tech. V never got more than RT reflections, 2042 only has RTAO, and the DLSS version is still severely outdated compared to its potential. OG DICE would’ve had 2042 at the level of Cyberpunk a decade ago, but ever since the leadership left it’s been a mess.
Unlike UE2/3/4 none of the changes are forced. Lumen and nanite are optional features, of course you will have to change some of the code but you can migrate your UE4 project to UE5 and have it run at basically at the same framerate using all the older methods. I think Satisfactory upgraded to UE5 with minimal issues. Which is a good thing, UE devs shouldn’t stop the development of the engine (Lumen in particular) just because current consoles can’t handle all its bells and whistles. UE is nowadays being used for lot more than just gaming.
This is the first generation of UE that drastically overshoots console spec by a wide margin. UE2 and 3 were basically built around OG xbox and 360 hardware, which is why nearly every UE3 game ran at comfortable fps on the 360 at native 720p. UE4 was fairly easy to run on PS4 (though some games had horrible shader compilation stutter).
But suddenly we need 720p and upscaling to get variable fps between 40 and 60 fps on modern consoles. Using Lumen and nanite just because they’re available is probably over doing it. UE always seemed like a console engine first, but now it feels experimental and unoptimized, which isn’t what I think of when I think of games like Arkham Knight and Bioshock.
UE3 barely ran on the ps3 and every game that gen had to be a hallway
UE5 feels very next gen.
You’re right it doesn’t run well on current consoles, and you pretty much need the upper end of PC gaming hardware to take advantage of it.
To me it seems like they are getting the tools out there so that when the next gen consoles release in about 4 years or so, there will be day one titles running on UE5, and they should look and perform well.
The problem with UE5 for me is that it seems like all UE5 games have the worst formal of temporal solutions available. Even DLSS/DLAA doesn’t fix the blurriness.
God, I hate post-processing AA with a passion. I made the switch from 24" 1080p to 28" 4k for the sole reason of not needing AA anymore due to the much higher pixel density. Hardware AA, so to speak. But then there’s games like Battlefield 2042 that don’t even let you turn that stupid TAA off, just switch between “low” and “high”. Fucking hell.
For a series that used to pride itself in being a technological showpiece, DICE has really dropped the ball since V in maintaining and improving its tech. V never got more than RT reflections, 2042 only has RTAO, and the DLSS version is still severely outdated compared to its potential. OG DICE would’ve had 2042 at the level of Cyberpunk a decade ago, but ever since the leadership left it’s been a mess.
Unlike UE2/3/4 none of the changes are forced. Lumen and nanite are optional features, of course you will have to change some of the code but you can migrate your UE4 project to UE5 and have it run at basically at the same framerate using all the older methods. I think Satisfactory upgraded to UE5 with minimal issues. Which is a good thing, UE devs shouldn’t stop the development of the engine (Lumen in particular) just because current consoles can’t handle all its bells and whistles. UE is nowadays being used for lot more than just gaming.