UNIGINE 2.19.1 boosts photorealism, VR upscaling, and more

UNIGINE 2.19.1 introduces several notable features that should appeal to developers and professionals across a range of industries.

From upgrades to photorealistic rendering to enhanced tools for virtual reality and animation, UNIGINE has delivered enhancements designed to elevate the creative and technical potential of its platform.

Photorealism with SSRTGI

UNIGINE takes another leap towards photorealistic rendering with improvements to its Screen-Space Ray-Traced Global Illumination (SSRTGI) technology.

The overhaul in ray distribution across hemispheres seeks to deliver more natural and lifelike visuals. Gamma correction issues for Screen-Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) have also been resolved, ensuring more accurate renderings whether viewed in the standard buffer or in debug visualisation mode. 

Additionally, the unwanted overlap of SSAO onto reflections has been addressed, resulting in cleaner and more realistic reflective effects.

VR gets a DLSS and FSR performance boost

VR developers will be pleased to hear that version 2.19.1 extends support for NVIDIA DLSS 3 and AMD FSR 2.2 upscaling technologies to such projects.

These tools, originally introduced in version 2.18.1, are pivotal in reducing the pixel rendering load while maintaining visual fidelity. Their implementation in VR ensures smoother and more fluid experiences, particularly when working with resource-intensive applications or higher resolutions.

SpiderVision and WebStream plugin improvements

The SpiderVision plugin, a staple for advanced visualisation projects, has received upgrades aimed at improving usability.

New undo and redo functionality, multi-selection capabilities in Projection Setup widgets, and intuitive UI tooltips are just a few of the enhancements implemented to SpiderVision. The introduction of a “Borderless” window type in the API adds further flexibility for applications demanding seamless visual integration.

UNIGINE’s WebStream plugin was a major addition in version 2.19, enabling the streaming of audio and video frames rendered by a UNIGINE application via WebRTC. In this release, the platform extends those capabilities by allowing streams from any camera in a scene to be broadcast to separate web browsers. 

This latest WebStream feature makes it possible to provide diverse perspectives to various clients, whether on mobile devices or desktops. The ability to open multiple browser instances showcasing different camera views further underlines this update as a potential game-changer in collaborative and remote work settings.

Animation previews and USD support

Animations have long been a focal point for UNIGINE, and version 2.19.1 introduces a built-in animation preview tool in the Asset Browser. This new feature simplifies workflows by allowing developers to preview animations before applying them to Skinned Mesh objects, removing unnecessary steps while expediting the creative process.

For users working with Universal Scene Description (USD) files, this update builds on the export features introduced in version 2.19 by now including USD import functionality. Developers can handle usda, usdc, and usdz file formats directly within the UNIGINE ecosystem, facilitating smoother workflows between content creation tools.

Furthermore, the USD Export plugin has been rebranded as the USD Exchanger and is now accessible across all SDK editions, including the free Community Edition.

Streamlined plugin creation with ImGui integration

Those who wish to extend UNIGINE’s editor capabilities will find much to appreciate with the Dear ImGui graphical interface library. The release includes an “ImGuiSamplesPlugin” available through the Add-On Store, designed to help developers create custom plugins with ease.

Three samples demonstrate the plugin’s capabilities:

• Spline Editor: A showcase for using the Undo/Redo API, customised visualisation, and hotkey remapping in spline editing.  
• Editor (Immediate Mode): Demonstrates the creation of simple plugins in real-time using ImGui-like principles, with an interactive polygon manipulation example.  
• Components: Highlights how users can generate and assign C++ components to nodes within the editor, making real-time adjustments to parameters.

Other noteworthy additions in UNIGINE 2.19.1

The update also includes several smaller tweaks and improvements that further improve the SDK’s performance and usability:

• OpenXR hand tracking and support for Linux systems.  
• Faster GUI rendering, claimed to be up to two times more efficient.  
• Performance boosts, such as optimised hashmaps and improved Editor quality-of-life features.  
• Force-feedback support for steering wheel controllers, catering to simulation projects.  
• New developer tools, including a sample physics-based robot arm with a kinematic chain and a free learning course for C++ developers.  

Additionally, user account registration has been simplified by allowing new accounts to be created directly from the SDK browser.

UNIGINE 2.19.1 brings meaningful new features such as VR upscaling, greater USD file support, and tools for plugin development. With these latest enhancements, the platform aims to advance its position as a robust choice for demanding, professional-grade projects in gaming, simulation, training, and beyond.

(Image Credit: UNIGINE)

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Tags: 3d, animation, coding, dlss, fsr, game development, gaming, programming, sdk, spidervision, spidervisionm, ssrtgi, tools, unigine, Universal Scene Description, virtual reality, vr, webstream