Of course, there are some drawbacks - the underlying GI uses 1/16 rays per pixel, so a denoising algorithm is used to create a coherent result. It also means that artists don't need to fine-tune every scene - once material properties are configured, it just works. Regardless of platform though, Lumen's GI ensures that lighting always delivers realism and looks beautiful. On consoles, software Lumen is the only option, which means that skinned meshes, such as characters, are reflected using screen-space calculation only, light leakage is more common and overall accuracy is slightly reduced. However, imperfections remain even in the top-grade Lumen, with the video embedded above showing new light leaks in some scenes, no high-quality RT on glass, and characters and other complex objects appearing with black voids in reflections. Hardware lumen also means that character models and other moving objects are included in reflections. Lumen is available in two flavours here, with software lumen calculating its global illumination using a simplified scene (using a mix of distance fields and screen-space tracing) while hardware Lumen, available on the PC version only at present, uses proper triangles for a more realistic look, including more accurate reflections and global illumination, and less light leakage. In the new system, sunlight pours in through windows, transferring colour to nearby surfaces, while natural contact shadows form around objects. In Fortnite, the dynamic time of day means that the sun's position is changing as you play, so faking realistic light and shadows is more challenging and the difference between the previous prec-calculated solution and RT can be stunning. Modelling the behavior of light has remained a key challenge in real-time graphics since their inception - for years, developers relied on a variety of pre-calculated solutions for lighting which all come with their own bodges and inaccuracies in order to be workable. That means if you're playing Fortnite on Xbox Series X/S, PS5 or PC, you now have access to these new technologies - albeit only in the 60fps mode on consoles (120fps mode uses the older, established render pipeline).īefore we go further, let's clarify the UE5 basics: the star of the show is Lumen, which introduces ray-traced reflections and fully real-time global illumination (GI). While UE5 itself has been previously integrated into Fortnite, it's only with the arrival of the game's Chapter 4 update that Lumen, Nanite, Virtual Shadow Maps and Temporal Super Resolution have been integrated into the game. Since its reveal more than two years ago, we've been anxiously anticipating the arrival of UE5 games using its key new technologies. Watch on YouTube Here's the video companion to this article, showing the new effects in motion. Helping us with our analysis were discussions earlier in the week with Epic's Nick Penwarden, Epic's VP of engineering. The concept of getting UE5's high-end features running on console at all is impressive, but to hit the 60fps target - even on Series S - is a serious achievement well worth a more in-depth analysis and it's also interesting to see how the tech scales still further on PC. It's a transformative upgrade, and one that deserves a close look - both in terms of its visual accomplishments and its performance impact on all supported platforms, from PC and PS5 to Xbox Series X and S. Now, Fortnite runs at 60fps while harnessing the power of Lumen's fully dynamic global illumination and reflections, in combination with the unprecedented detail made possible by Nanite. With the company's popular Fortnite battle royale title often working as a vehicle for showcasing Unreal's capabilities, the latest chapter finally delivers on these promises by introducing the full suite of UE5 features across current-gen consoles and PC. Countless developers have pledged allegiance to UE5, but its possibilities have yet to be realised in an actual shipping game - until now. Yet, the potential has primarily existed in the form of demos and promises from its creators Epic Games. If you've paid any amount of attention to the tech of video games over the past couple of years, you'll have most likely heard these terms.
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