- Native support for Apple Silicon Macs, which should allow for significantly improved performance on M1 and M2 Macs.
- A new iPad app for virtual productions that works with the Unreal Engine’s ICVFX (In-Camera VFX) editor.
- A “Procedural Content Generation framework” that lets you populate large scenes with the Unreal Engine assets of your choice, making it faster to build large worlds.
- A new feature called Substrate that allows material creation with more control over the look and feel of objects used in in real-time applications like games or for linear content creation.
The update is interesting in the context of Apple’s antitrust dispute with Epic Games over Fortnite commissions on the App Store. Apple largely won that fight, as an appeal panel found that the company wasn’t a monopolist in the distribution of iOS apps. Back in 2020, Apple tried to suspend Epic Games’ developer account, but that move was later blocked by a judge.
The release of Unreal Engine 5.2 is a significant development for Epic Games and the wider game development community. The new version of the engine offers a number of powerful new features that will make it easier and faster to create high-quality games and other real-time experiences.
Here is a more detailed look at some of the new features in Unreal Engine 5.2:
Native Apple Silicon Support
Unreal Engine 5.2 now includes native support for Apple Silicon Macs. This means that users of these Macs can now run the engine without the need for Rosetta 2 translation, which can lead to significant performance improvements.
New iPad App for Virtual Productions
Epic Games has also released a new iPad app for virtual productions. This app works with the Unreal Engine’s ICVFX (In-Camera VFX) editor and allows users to control stage operations such as color grading, light card placement, and nDisplay management tasks from anywhere within the LED volume.
Procedural Content Generation Framework
Unreal Engine 5.2 also includes a new “Procedural Content Generation framework” that lets you populate large scenes with the Unreal Engine assets of your choice. This can make it much faster to build large worlds, as you can simply define the rules and parameters for how the world should be generated, and the engine will do the rest.
Substrate
Another new feature in Unreal Engine 5.2 is called Substrate. This feature allows you to create materials with more control over the look and feel of objects used in in real-time applications like games or for linear content creation.
Overall, Unreal Engine 5.2 is a major update that offers a number of powerful new features for game developers and other creators. The new native Apple Silicon support, the new iPad app, and the new procedural content generation and material creation features are all significant additions to the engine, and they will make it easier and faster to create high-quality games and other real-time experiences.
