I can imagine what you’re talking about only because I’ve seen that kind of rendering in blender…
And about the rays more or less too… I imagine it as the method that blender uses to curve the mesh of the characters using the bones…
But seriously, my knowledge on this topic is evidently nil.
I also learned C back in the year 2000 or so.
Basic, fortran, or pascal is already before my time.
So I think you have much more experience in all this than me.
I’m pretty sure you won’t be any problem learn Unreal.
Cheers!!