Demo 401 - V2.1 Update
Hi everyone, Derek here.
Hope you've all been enjoying the Demo so far. It's been really great seeing all the feedback coming in, and seeing all the videos and screenshots being shared. It's been fantastic to see all of our hard work come to fruition.
That being said, while the launch of the demo has generally been a success, there have been a few minor bugs, and a number of people have had issues with certain hardware combinations, as a result, I have decided that this demo deserves a bug fixes patch that will address a few of the issues and add an extra level of optimization.
I have not found a solution for any of the AMD related issues. At this point I believe it is simply an Engine issue and what Epic has stated to be the minimum requirements for Nanite may not exactly be perfectly accurate.
I have found a bug in the engine itself that has contributed to a large increase in system resources usage. Mostly RAM and VRAM. I have found a workaround for it, and am I working on getting that fix implemented for V2.1. The reduction in VRAM/RAM usage is approximately 50%, and should therefore allow many more players to play the 1st class level, even on lower end hardware.
As a result of the VRAM/RAM savings, I have decided to integrate the "baths" level into the main 1st class level. It will still be possible to directly spawn into it from the main menu, but it will load you into 1st instead of the dedicated Baths level.
The "Boilers" level has also been merged with the "Forward Crew" level, allowing seamless movement through the firemen's tunnel.
I have also decided to slightly reduce the light map resolution across the entire ship, to 75% of its original value in most locations. The light map resolutions were set very high in the past as it was required to get clean light bakes. However, with the released of UE5.1, light bakes are clean even with significantly reduced light map resolutions. This should have a very small, mostly imperceptible difference in shadow resolution. However, early tests show a file size reduction of up to 40%, which could translate into as much as a 15 GB reduction in the size of the demo.
I am also planning on doubling the resolution of the reflection captures, which should improve the overall quality of reflections, and will be most noticeable in mirrors.
Additionally, there are many minor bugs being fixed that will make it into V2.1, such as collision and minor lighting issues
Currently I don't have an estimated release date, as it mostly depends on waiting for all the light rebuilds to complete, which I usually run overnight.
This is all from me for now. Expect a P401 update sometime in the next few weeks, as focus has mostly shifted from the Demo over to that.
-Derek Verveer
Comments (14)
Hello! I have been trying the demo for a couple of days and love it a lot! Was big Titanic fan as a kid, and somehow, got back to that topic recently! One question though: I have a 4090 and explore it maxed out. But somehow, I have weird LOD or texture 'glitches'. Like when I turn around quickly, it takes a glimpse until textures are loaded, or a higher LOD. I'm not sure, it happens quickly that I can't exactly tell what it is but is very noticeable. For sure it is not a VRAM issue. Anything one could do about that? And... I guess this has been asked many times... but, where to find it. When will be next VR demo? That hopefully will support controllers. PS: Also reflections in mirrors are extremely blurry... is that a bug or feature?
Hi Derek. Thanks for going the extra mile. These are real quality of life improvements and totally unexpected. I've mentioned elsewhere, if loading screens remain necessary for Project 401 and for the game, I think continuity would be enhanced by showing a black & white still of where you will spawn in, fading into color once loaded, instead of a random image of the next area.
Hi, do I have to become a patron to be able to downlod the 401 V2.1 demo?
I don't think you need to be a Patron. Sometimes there's early access for patrons but I haven't heard any mention of it so I'm guessing it will just be a download for everyone from the THG website when available.
Derek, it would be awesome and extend the crew-update experience if y could open the left and right 3rd class stairways (D to C-Deck) to access the forecastle open space. Or open the door from forward Crew-Deck outside, leading up the stairs to the forward cabin front on B-Deck instead of gettin spawned on A-Deck promenade? I also noticed by looking down from crow nest that the cargo hatch 1 is still covered and not open as we see it under forecastle deck next to the windlass gear area :) And maybe we can climb up inside the mast to crow nest without a loadingscreen? Plus the lightning in the boiler rooms could be a bit darker and more smoke effects around it, plus i still wonder if the "Kilroy Stokin Indicator panels" should be illuminated?
@Steve Y i noticed that too, the B-Deck window and door front viewed from crow nest needs improvement.
Great news, only thing i would request is when in the crows nest, the doors to first class B deck corridors don't render.
Derek, I hope you've seen this - I posted it on your Reddit thread as well. https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/amd-gpu-issues-nanite-in-5-1-1/783769 The demo is still unplayable to me due to this.
Nothing I can do about this unfortunately.
Great update info!
Please also make the default FoV 90 or at least bring back the FoV setting. the current one is way too high
The default fov is 90.
I am grateful that you are adding more to the 2.0 demo at all! Kudos!
Wow, that’s exciting news! As much as I am looking forward to P401, it’s exciting to hear about something we will get to explore in the nearer term! Thank you all!