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Unreal Engine 4.8 released with multiplatform VR support

by Mark Tyson on 12 June 2015, 12:11

Tags: Epic Games

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Epic has updated Unreal Engine to version 4.8. This is said to be the "largest update to Unreal Engine to date," and brings nearly 200 changes from the developer community and a raft of updates from Epic.

One of the most important updates in Unreal Engine 4.8 is going to be its multiplatform VR support. HEXUS readers have noted the swell of news surrounding VR hardware and software of late and the popular Unreal Engine wants be the tool of choice for many VR developers.

The support offered by Epic for VR hardware is certainly multi-platform and includes; Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Steam VR and HTC Vive, Leap Motion, and Sony's Project Morpheus for PlayStation 4.

With reference to the Steam VR API and HTC Vive, Epic says that users/developers will be able to instantly preview games on a connected Vive via a VR Preview button. All Vive motion controller features and inputs are supported. Turning to the PlayStation 4 Morpheus VR system, Unreal Engine now supports 120Hz rendering using temporal reprojection and greatly improved 3D audio playback in VR.

Another highlight of the new release is in its grass rendering and procedural foliage systems. Grass rendering for large open worlds has been improved to allow developers to implement "huge amounts of grass and ground cover with temporal LOD (level of detail) cross-fading". New Landscape Grass Tools and a redesigned foliage editor complement this release. Motion blur is now more accurate than ever and both depth of field and tone mapper effects made more 'filmic'.

Further notable improvements in Unreal Engine 4.8 are 'scrubbable' network replays with rewind support and live time scrubbing. Developers might also appreciate the new high resolution Unreal Example Character included with templates, dynamic reflections on translucent surfaces, quick window switching and an asset size mapper which lets you check how much memory assets will use up. The full release notes for Unreal Engine 4.8 are available here.

In related news General Manager at Epic Games, Ray Davis, has been talking about how the Xbox One could benefit from a step up in performance from DirectX 12 plus Unreal Engine 4.



HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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Another amazing unreal engine release with screenshots that make you “oooohh” and “ahhhh”……

We may see games looking like that in 10 years time.
Indeed, its quite amazing how poweful the engine is now, it doesnt mean its anywhere near viable for gameplay currently however, but atleast we can look forward to it.
Its like the mercedes-benz of software. The tech is there and some very few may enjoy it today but in ten years we will all be enjoying it.
Brewster0101
Its like the mercedes-benz of software. The tech is there and some very few may enjoy it today but in ten years we will all be enjoying it.

I get the analogy but Mercedes-Benz are common as muck along with BMW and AUDI. I live in an ‘average’ area in terms of house pricing and wealth, looking out the window reveals at least three newish Mercs sat in the rain. A better choice would perhaps have been Rolls Royce, Bentley or Bugatti. I can only see one of those ;)