I’m always baffled when I see these threads pop up. It’s typically an echo chamber, and nobody actually wants to find a solution - rather they choose to complain and ignore any proven or theoretical solutions. It’s common with hobbyists and/or gamers that aren’t engineers, technical artists, etc.
Here is a point to factor in for anyone else that stumbles into this catfight: the OTS (off-the-shelf) version of the engine may not meet your specific needs. Very unlikely, at least. It can do a great number of things, ‘well enough’. You can use this version to become familiar with the basics, but if you want to get serious, go the source route. Version lock, and compile your own version. That being said, at least a ‘few’ successful games have used the OTS version.
If you’re just starting out with game development and are a generalist, the OTS version should be just fine for you to learn the ropes, and grasp the fundamentals of project management, general development, systems/mechanics design and implementation, etc. Just know that many studios choose to compile their own tailored version of the engine.
There exist a multitude of forks of the engine. You want a different AA solution? Go for it. As an aside, many people confuse the term “temporal” with “temporal anti aliasing”. Learn what it means, and stop whining about TAA. We’re past that, and if it’s holding you back from completing your huge MMO, get back on the porch. But please stop barking. Waving the TAA, DLSS, etc. flag and using it as a platform for being emotional is silly, and exposes the limits of your understanding of UE, and very likely other engines.
Also, it is important to read. There are a lot of articles, official documentation bits, and conversations with experienced and impartial engineers. Too many people don’t speak from experience, extensive testing and radical understanding, but merely spew what they heard the other parrot spew that heard what the other parrot spew… with great conviction and self-imposed authority to boot. It’s a cliche character from a cliche script.
Nanite, Lumen, MegaLights, etc all have use-cases. Your project might not be a fit. So use what does. Everything you need to make a stable, performant game is there for you. If you know how to use it. If you know what you’re doing from the foundation. Optimizations starts, and ends, with you. Leaning on some magic button is the weakest trend I’ve seen in years. People used to enjoy problem solving and creative solutions. Now it feels like the majority is just waiting for someone else to do the hard part.
Serious developers starting out need to step up and take responsibility for their inability and inexperience. We all started somewhere, after all. If you don’t like how Epic did something, grab the source code and do something about it. If you can’t, then at least contribute to the conversation (I mean this rhetorically, not this specific thread) in a meaningful and objective manner.
In my experience, people who are capable and experienced, have a positive tone and approach issues with their thinking cap on - not their fists up and angry expressions on. Don’t let all the grifters, frauds, and trolls be the ground truth for you. Unreal Engine isn’t perfect, none of the engines are. That’s just reality. Spin your tires complaining, but it is more fun to get on with it and go make your game, contribute to engine or provide efficient feedback.
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