Unreal Engine 5’s Dynamic Lighting Capabilities Revealed in New Tech Demo
No Baking, No Lumen, No RTX: Can It Run?
Unreal Engine 5 has been making waves in the gaming industry with its advanced features and capabilities. One of its notable aspects is Lumen, its global illumination (GI) system. However, this can sometimes come at the cost of performance. To demonstrate the engine’s capabilities without some of its headline features, a cinematic light artist has created a tech demo using only dynamic lighting.
The Tech Demo: Standalone Cyber Streets
Pasquale Scionti, a specialist in architectural visualization and videogames content in Unreal, created the tech demo, titled "Standalone Cyber Streets." The demo uses Nanite with distance field meshes and Ambient Occlusion with screen space reflection to show what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of without Lumen, Pathtrace, RTX, and baked lighting.
How It Was Achieved
To achieve the lighting and proper shadowing without baking, Scionti used local exposure and tonemap and Ambient Occlusion. Everything was placed manually, he says. The result is a demo that runs at 120fps on an RTX 4090 at 4k Native Epic settings.
Download the Demo
The demo is available for download via Google Drive. However, it seems to have maxed out the number of downloads for the moment. If you’re able to download it, be sure to let us know in the comments how it runs for you.
Conclusion
This tech demo showcases the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 without some of its more resource-intensive features. It’s a testament to the engine’s flexibility and the creativity of its users. With the right know-how and techniques, developers can create stunning visuals without relying on Lumen and other advanced features.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the purpose of the tech demo?
A: The tech demo is meant to showcase Unreal Engine 5’s capabilities without Lumen, Pathtrace, RTX, and baked lighting.
Q: How was the lighting and shadowing achieved in the demo?
A: The demo uses local exposure and tonemap and Ambient Occlusion, with everything placed manually.
Q: Can I download the demo?
A: Yes, the demo is available for download via Google Drive. However, it may have reached its download limit at the moment.
