Papergames Builds The Perceiver with Unreal Engine 5 in a Chinese Fantasy World
The studio Papergames is developing the title The Perceiver using the power of Unreal Engine 5. Its goal is to build an extensive fantasy universe that draws directly from the roots of ancient Chinese culture 🏮. This graphics engine gives the team the ability to forge a unique visual identity and a combat system that fuses supernatural abilities.
Nanite and Lumen: the Pillars of Visual Realism
To achieve a believable and extremely detailed world, the project relies on two key technologies from the engine. Nanite handles environmental geometry of overwhelming complexity without hindering performance, allowing landscapes with unprecedented detail. For its part, Lumen calculates global illumination and reflections dynamically and in real time, giving every scene a lively and coherent atmosphere 🌄.
Advantages of this combination:- Stable performance with environments of enormous geometric density.
- Reactive lighting that changes instantly with the player's actions or the time of day.
- Total visual coherence, without abrupt transitions in level of detail or light.
These systems work in harmony to present a visually rich and fully immersive landscape.
Workflow with Specialized Software
The team doesn't rely solely on Unreal Engine. To shape the 3D models of objects and scenes, they use Blender. High-definition details on characters and creatures are sculpted with ZBrush. The creation of realistic materials and textures is delegated to the Adobe Substance 3D Suite. Finally, the spectacular effects of magical abilities and combat are generated with the Niagara particle system, integrated into UE5 ✨.
Key Tools in Production:- Blender for base modeling of assets and environments.
- ZBrush to add microdetails and sculptural quality.
- Substance 3D for texturing and aging surfaces.
- Niagara to simulate spells, explosions, and atmospheric phenomena.
A Technical Process that Requires Patience
Development with such a complex engine involves moments of waiting. A common example is the shader compilation process every time the project editor is opened, a task that can invite the developer to take a prolonged break ☕. Despite these small inconveniences, the use of Unreal Engine 5 and its tool ecosystem allows Papergames to materialize its vision of a unique and technically impressive Chinese fantasy world.