New VFX and the challenges
Hello everyone! 
Today, I’d like to share some insights about our recent upgrade to our Visual Effects, where we’ve added some exciting new elements.
Reasons
Technical
We made the transition from version 4.27.2 to Unreal Engine 5, which required us to address certain issues with the Niagara modules. Additionally, we converted the old Cascade particles to more efficient Niagara particles.
Quality
The decision to upgrade and improve our particles wasn’t solely driven by technical requirements; there was also a general feeling that our quality and standards needed a boost. Our previous particles just didn’t meet the level of excellence we strive for
How we did it
Given our resource constraints, commissioning custom particles wasn’t feasible. Instead, we scoured assets we already had and explored the free Unreal Monthly packages, as well as the Unreal Engine Marketplace. Surprisingly, we found some amazing assets that fit our needs perfectly. We did, of course, need to tweak them to ensure they worked seamlessly with our game and vision. The main adjustment involved isolating elements that should be colored based on the player’s color and binding them to user variables.
Now, let’s talk about the birds
We had a bird particle that we wanted to include in gameplay level to create a more lively environment with some fauna. However, we’ve temporarily disabled them due to their significant impact on performance. Rest assured, though, that we are absolutely in love with the idea and plan to revisit and completely revamp them in the future.
Our vision for the birds is to have them interact with the smelogs, playground, obstacles, palm trees, bushes, etc. They should fly away from smelogs form flocks and find suitable landing positions after a short period of time.
In our quest to achieve these improvements, we tried to use various assets that fit our requirements. However, we’re still actively exploring other possibilities to ensure the best possible experience for our players.
Endnotes
If you have any questions, feedback, or comments, please don’t hesitate to share them with us. Your input is invaluable in helping us continue to improve and provide the best experience for our players. We value your thoughts and ideas!
Additionally, if anyone in the community has expertise or suggestions regarding the birds, we’d greatly appreciate your assistance. Feel free to join the discussion and contribute your insights. Together, we can make our vision of a lively environment with interactive fauna a reality. 
Thank you for being a part of our journey, and we look forward to hearing from you all! 
