Critical Analysis of Game Engines

A detailed comparison of Unity and Unreal 5 game engine in terms of their benefits to Digital Humanities

Introduction

Both Unity and Unreal Engine are primarily game development engines with massive potential in other digital fields, such as urban planning and geospatial visualization; the first of which I will be focusing on. As time goes on, developers have experimented with such ideas whilst using these engines and have begun to discover the software’s potential as well as its capability to compete against others in this field, for example SketchUp. As a video-game developer, I wanted to expand my knowledge of the industry's leading competitors, in a new and exciting way.

Gathering Information

Both softwares are openly available on their websites, with free packages that provide more than enough tools to begin with.

Unreal Engine is the market’s leading competitor in urban planning/modelling. The application’s website(1) opens to a visually stunning demo of the engine’s capabilities and allows for easy installation, as well as a detailed breakdown of system requirements and costing plans, leaving little questions unanswered. From the point of view of a new user, this would ease my mind from worrying about any hidden installation problems.

The tool itself is backed by a wide range of documentation(2), posted by both the company itself and experienced developers. The documentation ranges from scripting to UI (User Interface) Implementation. The comprehensive information is well organized and easily navigated with both a search bar and headers on the left. The software has also been the primary tool of many academic articles regarding urban planning and geospatial visualization.

Examples of work done with the engine include that of analyzing outdoor daylight conditions(3), which is crucial to improve a building’s natural light. Natural light has been linked to an improvement in mental health and productivity(4) when compared to the use of artificial light in office spaces. Improving such conditions would also see an increase in the proficiency of solar panels, creating an increase in green energy.

As mentioned previously, the engine has also been used for data visualization in urban planning and design. One such instance was that of the Pittsburgh department of city planning(5) The aim of the project was “research, development and deployment of new technologies using Pittsburgh as an urban laboratory.” 6.

When compared to similar software, Unreal engine shares many of its strengths with them. For example, it implements a drag & drop system when creating environments which increases ease of use. In a similar vein, Unreal also allows for precise measurements in both metric and imperial systems. Lastly, it offers a free subscription plan, similar to Unity and sketchfab. Beyond this point, Unreal Engine begins to exude its strengths.

One of the engine’s primary advantages is its state-of-the-art lighting system, which can replicate real time weather, complex shadows, and artificial lighting. This is made possible due to the implementation of raytracing. This is the method used to stimulate life like lighting and gives Unreal one of its unique selling points.

Maturity & Stability of the Tool

Unreal engine has a public roadmap(7) that spans the software's history between version 5.0 to version 4.25, which was first released on the 5th of May 20208 The tool itself has grown exponentially in capabilities, far exceeding its initial launch as a game development engine. Concepts such as shadow mapping, path tracing and lumen illumination would have been a far stretch for the software that initially relied solely on a computer’s CPU to render.

Unreal’s ever-growing functionality makes way for endless possibilities, giving it strong stability against competition and withstanding the passage of time. Despite various competitors as mentioned previously, Unreal’s innovation raises little doubt that it will die off.

Regarding modelling, Unreal allows the importation of many file types such as OBJ & FBX, which allows for popular softwares such as Blender or Houdini to work in tandem via Datasmith, a third-party tool which allows the user to “bring entire pre-constructed scenes and complex assets created in design applications such as into Unreal Engine”9. During implementation, both C++ and Unreal’s unique blueprint system can be used to script. The blueprint system can be appealing to those without programming knowledge as it is much more visual based, using nodes.

The software’s licensing policy is flexible, attempting to suit the diverse needs of its users; standard licensing, enterprise licensing and custom licensing.

Sustainability of the Tool(s)

The tool has been available to the public since 199810. Though in the case of this critical review, the softwares 3D modelling capabilities were not implemented until 2006 with the release of version 3.0, which introduced the softwares iconic lighting/shadows11.

Unreal’s userbase continues to grow day by day, with 7 million active users(12). Its reliable documentation and heavy investment from its parent company (Epic Games), Unreal engine has unwavering support from its community.

When exporting projects, there are several ways to do it, especially regarding 3D modelling. For standalone captures, Unreal has a movie capture feature which allows for smooth camera mobility and transitions throughout a scene. A VR export is also an option depending on your project. Unreal also has a source control scheme for transferring scene data across computers; especially useful for large scale projects.

Sustainability My Research

Unreal Engine 5 is a complex programme used by teams of over 200 hundred people in unison when creating different projects, which is a large drawback for those working in smaller groups. The intricacy and in-depth knowledge required to use the programme often limits its capabilities if the user is only beginning; forcing many to seek a different tool instead.

Though all hope is not lost. There is ample information publicly available on their website, YouTube, and social media to begin with. Initial use of the application can be daunting but rewarding. As part of this review, I wanted to prove that. It would be impractical to attempt any urban planning as mentioned previously, however I have decided to highlight the impressive scene construction made possible by the softwares lighting capabilities.

In the scene provided, I used a premade asset pack to get started, placing trees, buildings, and paths to create a small-town environment. For the lighting, I used ‘directional lighting’ to replicate the setting sun and its relative shadows. Each mesh uses a property called ‘Cast Shadow’ to create the initial shadow and is stored inside of a lightmap.

A lightmap stores pre-made textures determined by unreal and displays them when called upon, which decreases processing time. It is important to note that pre-baked lighting only works on stationary objects as Unreal stores the calculation required before the light rendered and any moving object would need multiple calculations; therefore, if I were to create an animated scene with a moving object, I would need to approach my lighting differently.

Having now used the tool, I can see the vast knowledge and experience needed to use it effectively, however with planning and careful consideration, even small teams or solo developers can create interesting results.

References

References:

1: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/download

2: https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.3/en-US/

3: https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid:8fefa31e-636d-48b6-9647-1181859c8300?collection=education

4: Francine Harb, Maria Paz Hidalgo & Betina Martau (2015) Lack of exposure to natural light in the workspace is associated with physiological, sleep and depressive symptoms, Chronobiology International, 32:3, 368-375, DOI: 10.3109/07420528.2014.982757 (p 5)

5,6: Quick, Stephen; Kurland, Kristen; Carter, Donald; Trybus, Jessica; Corbett, Thomas; Twigg, Andrew (2019). 3D/Data Visualization for Urban Design and Planning. Carnegie Mellon University. Journal contribution. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/8021123.v1 (p 58, p59)

7: https://portal.productboard.com/epicgames/1-unreal-engine-public-roadmap/tabs/94-forward-looking

8: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/unreal-engine-4-25-released

9 https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.26/en-US/WorkingWithContent/Importing/Datasmith/#:~:text=Datasmith%20is%20a%20collection%20of,design%20applications%20into%20Unreal%20Engine.

10: https://www.zippia.com/unreal-engine-careers-2149448/history/

11 https://docs.unrealengine.com/udk/Three/GettingStartedLevels.html

12 https://externlabs.com/blogs/unity-vs-

unreal/#:~:text=More%20than%202%20million%20games,Marketplace%20accounts%20for%2065K%20assets.