Photogrammetry Lighting in Unreal Engine 5

Dear Developer Community,

I am currently working on importing a large photogrammetry dataset into Unreal Engine 5, and the results look promising in the “unlit” mode within the editor. However, the issue arises when I hit “Play”—lighting is enabled, and the scene looks significantly worse.

For context:

  • I’ve enabled Nanite for the photogrammetry meshes, as the dataset is substantial (approximately 300 million triangles combined).

Is there a way to launch the game in “unlit” mode directly from the editor? If not, I’d greatly appreciate guidance on the correct approach to lighting such a scene to maintain quality.

Thank you in advance for your insights and recommendations!

Here are some images:


Best regards