We’re excited to share a few of the new features now available on the Master branch on GitHub. To be able to try out these new features, you will need to download the source code for the Master branch and build the Engine yourself. For more information about how to build the Engine from source code, please see this page. The Master branch on GitHub is constantly being updated and is not quality tested so it may be potentially unstable. We do not recommend using the Master branch for project development. If you wish to wait, these features will be made available to all in an upcoming official release.
Engine News
New Features
C++ Classes are now visible in the Content Browser
The Content Browser now has a new folder for your game’s C++ Classes! You can create new classes and Blueprints by right clicking, or double-click to jump straight to the C++ source code.
This shows all C++ classes in your game that are visible to the editor (any “UCLASS”.) These new root folders host the available C++ modules for your project, with each module folder mirroring the source code layout on disk.
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With a C++ folder selected, the “Add New” button can be used to create a new C++ class.
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The right click menu for classes allows you to easily create a new derived class
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Adding a new C++ class will automatically “hot reload” the code and display the new class in the browser. You can start using it in the editor right away!
Should you prefer to handle building and loading your modules manually, you can disable the automatic hot-reload via “Editor Settings” -> “Miscellaneous” -> “Hot Reload” -> “Automatically Hot Reload New Classes”.
Note that you can also display built-in “Engine C++ Classes” by toggling the “Show Engine Content” option in the Content Browser’s View Options drop-down menu.
New Diffuse Shading Model
We just switched our shading model to use a more accurate diffuse model. Previously we were using Lambert diffuse which reflects the same constant color in all directions. It is very simple and has been used in CG for a long time. It is not that physically accurate but is very cheap. For a small cost we can do better. The new model is an energy conserving Burley diffuse model.
This more accurately models:
Diffuse flattening that happens with rougher surfaces. The moon looks like a disk instead of a sphere because it is extremely rough.
Retroreflection which is brightening of diffuse at glancing angles for rough surfaces
Energy conservation between diffuse and Specular, which makes glancing reflections more realistic. Notice the edges of smooth surfaces do not seem to glow anymore.
Overall the balls appear to have a more even brightness over the roughness range and roughness has a more visible impact at higher values than before. Before it only affected specular.
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