March 28, 2019

Unreal Engine GDC 2019 tech talks now available online

By Daniel Kayser

Missed the livestream of our tech talks from the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater or didn’t make it into our Learning Theater in Moscone South during GDC 2019? No worries - you can now watch several hours worth of Unreal Engine presentations from the 2019 Game Developers Conference below.
 

New Animation Features in Unreal Engine

In this talk from GDC 2019, Epic’s James Golding, Laurent Delayen providet a roundup of all the latest animation features built for Unreal Engine over the past year, including those created for Fortnite that have made their way back into the tools.

Learn how new features and upgrades have been battle-tested to improve animation quality, optimize runtime performance and reduce memory usage in order to support a hundred players on mobile and large crowds of enemies.
 

Causing Chaos: The Future of Physics and Destruction in Unreal Engine

In this talk by Matthias Worch, Jim Van Allen, and Michael Lentine during GDC 2019, you’ll get a first look at the future of physics and destruction in Unreal Engine, starting with 4.23. Check out the features that give creators the tools they need to build highly interactive worlds that can be dynamically fractured, shattered, and demolished.

 
Refactoring the Mesh Drawing Pipeline for Unreal Engine 4.22

In this GDC 2019 talk, Epic’s Marcus Wassmer provides a better understanding of how the renderer has been refactored to pave the way for future improvements in ray tracing efficiency and GPU-driven rendering in Unreal Engine 4.22. Learn how these changes will impact project-specific engine modifications, the new auto-instancing functionality, and what it will mean for future development.
Ray Tracing in Unreal Engine 4.22

During GDC 2019, Epic’s Juan Canada and Patrick Kelly delivered an up-close look at ray tracing functionality in Unreal Engine 4.22. Learn about the processes and techniques employed to bring cinematic-quality lighting to “Troll,” a real-time cinematic technology demonstration from Goodbye Kansas and Deep Forest Films.
Unreal Engine’s Audio Rendering: Retrospectives and Case Study Analysis

During GDC 2019, Epic’s Aaron McLeran walks through the Unreal Engine team’s development process for the new audio renderer, which includes balancing live Fortnite support and feature development, and maintaining backward compatibility, all while pushing forward on innovation and long-term vision. Hear the latest on feature prioritization and process, AB testing methodologies and techniques, and retrospectives on specific case studies. Preview new features coming in 4.22 and 4.23, along with a glimpse of the UE4 audio roadmap.
A Hands-on Look at Using Ray Tracing in Games with UE 4.22

As of Unreal Engine 4.22, Unreal’s renderer will support the new DXR API for real-time ray tracing. During this Unreal Engine Learning Theater session at GDC 2019, Epic’s Sjoerd De Jong demonstrates how to build a visually appealing environment using the new ray tracing features in UE4. Through practical examples we will show how to control ray tracing in your scenes, discuss benefits and drawbacks to real-time ray tracing, and cover tips on performance, all focused on helping you make a smooth start with this amazing new tech.
Learning to Make Games with UE4 and Action RPG

In this GDC 2019 Unreal Engine Learning Theater session, Epic’s Sam Dieter walks through the feature-packed example game project, Action RPG - a complete third-person hack-and-slash sample game that targets high-end mobile devices and showcases a massive variety of tools and systems. The project has been designed from the ground up as a teaching tool aimed at both new and seasoned Unreal developers alike. The session will cover its features, and how to use the project and documentation to implement a variety of sophisticated systems and techniques in your own game projects.
Enhancing Animation with Control Rig

Control Rig is a highly flexible tool based on Blueprint that can be used to drive animation inside UE4. In this Unreal Engine Learning Theater session by Epic’s Wes Bunn during GDC 2019, you will get a look at the Control Rig system and learn how to set up a Control Rig Blueprint to drive and animate a Skeletal Mesh, illustrate how Control Rigs can be driven through the Sequencer cinematic tool, and how you can blend to and from other animation states within an Animation Blueprint. 
Building Effects with Niagara and Blueprint

Niagara is Unreal Engine’s powerful new VFX tool for authoring sophisticated real-time particle effects. In this Unreal Engine Learning Theater session by Epic’s Chris Murphy during GDC 2019, you will see how to use this new tool in a practical example that combines Niagara with Unreal Engine's visual scripting language, Blueprint, to create a dynamically-generated, in-game high-end effect.
Order from Chaos - Destruction in UE4

Whether making a high-end AAA game or a small-team indie title, physics simulation and destruction can play a huge part in bringing your games to life. In this Unreal Engine Learning Theater session by Epic’s Alan Noon during GDC 2019, you will see new tools and techniques for creating high-end, sophisticated physics and destruction effects in Unreal Engine. Learn how to use these tools to develop interactive worlds that can be fractured, scattered and destroyed.

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