LogInThe release features improvements to HDRP and URP, platform graphic enhancements, and new connectivity types for multiplayer solutions.
Unity Technologies has officially launched 2023.1 Tech Stream, a new early access-style update to its renowned game engine. The release features improvements to both High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) and Universal Render Pipeline (URP), platform graphic enhancements, new connectivity types for multiplayer solutions, and more, enabling developers to try out the new features in early access and share feedback.
One of the most notable features added with the update is the ability to generate lens flares from all highlights visible on the screen in just a few clicks with a single post-process volume. According to Unity, the feature is compatible with both HDRP and URP and can be used at the same time and complement SRP Lens Flares.
The engine's HDRP has also got several great new tools for setting up digital water, including Water Excluder, for dynamically removing water from inside a boat or cave, Water Deformer, which deforms water locally for waves, vortex, or deformations around a ship in movement, Foam Generator, which allows you to simulate white water for a boat trail or around rocks in open oceans, and Current maps for creating local currents by both managing surface waves to follow the currents.
The release also brings the ability to add an extra optional pass to compute the thickness of transparent objects. "This takes into account the thickness of non-opaque materials traversed by the light, especially important for non-uniform objects or when rendering multiple objects one behind another," comments the team.
The release also features:
- Characters hair and skin improvements.
- Ray Tracing API and HDRP features are out of preview.
- Adaptive Probe Volumes for URP and HDRP.
- Global Illumination – New Light Baking Architecture.
- Improvements to performance and functionality for key platforms.
- HDR display support for desktop and consoles.
- Multiplayer Play Mode, a new feature for emulating multiple players connected to one game experience simultaneously.
- The Terrain Tools package has been migrated to the new Overlays toolbar framework.
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