Another piece of news from Unreal Fest 2024 — Epic Games announced the release of the early version of Unreal Engine 5.5. It's available to try out now.
Below is a bit about what has changed in the updated version of the engine.
- An experimental feature called MegaLights for realistic dynamic lighting has been introduced. It allows for the use of significantly more light sources than before.
- Rendering has been improved. Specifically, the Nanite dynamic detail system now renders skeletal meshes "incredibly fast." Epic Games has also updated the Path Tracer tool to production-ready status.
- Working with animation has become easier. The engine is now equipped with tools for managing animation layers and animation curves. The Motion Matching framework has been enhanced to create smooth transitions between character movements. A new plugin makes it easier to adjust the appearance of characters — for instance, it automatically conceals hair when a helmet is worn and procedurally tucks pants into boots.
- The Chaos Physics engine has been significantly optimized.
- The Mobile Preview mode, which shows how a compiled scene will look on mobile devices, has been improved.
The full release of Unreal Engine 5.5 is scheduled for November.
MegaLights Demonstration