Unreal Engine 4.19 Preview 1 Released

Epic have just released the first preview version of Unreal Engine 4.19, Preview 1.  Of course this is a preview release and is certainly not meant for use in a productionimage environment!  This release adds dynamic resolution support, Vive Pro support, Live Link animation plugin improvements, general animation improvements and a number of fixes and quality of life improvements across the entire release.  As always the latest release can be installed using the Epic Game Launcher.

Full details of the release from the Unreal forums:

  • Rendering Updates:
    • Temporal AA Upsampling. This is a spatial and temporal upscaler that happens in the Temporal AA pass to produce consistent geometry sharpness from varying primary screen percentage from 50% up to 200%.
    • Dynamic resolution. To go with Temporal upsampling, Unreal Engine 4.19 also introduces Dynamic Resolution to automatically adjust screen percentage according to previous frame GPU workload.
    • Landscape Rendering optimizations.
      • The LOD system was changed from distanced based to be specified in screen size, like static mesh.
      • The LOD distribution was also changed to give more coherent triangle size in distance.
  • VR/AR Updates:
    • VR Resolution Settings. Significant change from Screen Percentage to Pixel Density (see blog)
    • Vive Pro Support. All existing UE4 content that supports SteamVR is compatible with HTC’s newly-announced Vive Pro.
    • Motion Controller Component Visualization. Motion Controllers in Unreal Engine 4.19 now have a new Visualization category.
  • Audio Updates:
    • Upgrade to Steam Audio Beta 10
    • Oculus Audio plugin has been updated and includes a reverb plugin, as well as support for Android and playing back Ambisonics files.
    • Added Resonance Audio plugin
    • First-Order Ambisonics File Support. First-order Ambisonics files can now be imported into Unreal projects and played back using Spatialization plugins.
    • Improvements to UE4’s native VOIP implementation. Spatialization, Distance Attenuation, Reverb, and custom effects for a player’s voice can now be controlled using the UVoipTalker scene component.
    • Pre and Post Source Effect Bus Sends Types
    • Added support for Multichannel file import
    • Enabled bAllowAnyoneToDestroyMe on audio components
    • Added ability for submixes to define their own channel format. Currently Stereo, Quad, 5.1, 7.1, and first order ambisonics are supported.
  • Animation/Physics Updates:
    • Live Link Plugin improvements
      • Added UI to Maya, displaying connection status to UE Editor
      • Stream active camera as EditorActiveCamera
      • Display currently streamed subjects
      • Allow add and removal of streamed subjects
      • Refactored entire plugin so that streaming has a manager and streaming objects/interfaces
      • Reworked editor update hook so that streaming is more robust and facial rigs / leaf bones now correctly update
      • Live Link now integrated as a first class feature into Persona
      • Added Virtual Subjects to Live Link
    • Animation improvements
      • Added “Hide Unconnected Pins” for button BreakStruct nodes
      • Added control of Post Process Animation Blueprint
      • Copy Post node now supports copying curves as well as Bone transform
      • Fixed motion blue when changing skeletal mesh properties
    • Animation Tools Updates
      • Added auto-range feature to cloth view ranges
      • Additional Skel Mesh Component Debug info
      • Exposed Sequence Recordings Settings in Animation Editors
      • Improved Clothing Visualizations
      • Clothing Create Menu now defaults to use the Skeletal mesh Physics Assets
      • Improved bounds following in Animation Editor Viewports
      • Added Pinnable Command List to animation editors
      • Added the ability to follow and orbit specified bones
      • Added up to 4 separate viewports to all Animation Editor viewports
    • Editor and Tools Updates
      • Added Contect Menu to HLOD level nodes in HLOD outliner treeview
      • Added a hotkey and command for toggling Post Processing in Preview Scenes
      • Added a new shortcut for switching foreground and background colors in the Mesh Painter
      • New Proxy LOD System (Experimental). An experimental plugin for producing low poly LOD with baked materials for multiple meshes. The new system is used by HLOD and is a replacement for Simplygon.
      • Added support for RGBA Masks in Mesh Painter
    • Physics Updates
      • Saved BodyInstance runtime memory
      • Added “Show Only Selected Constraints” to the physics asset editor
      • Added Ctrl+T keyboard shortcut to toggle between Body and Constraint Selection
      • Added “Set Use CCD” function for changing Continuous Collision Detection option at run-time
    • Sequencer Updates
      • Added Anim BP Weight control
  • Sequencer Updates:
    • Workflow improvements
      • Level sequence dynamic transform origin. You can now offset the actors controlled by sequencer transform tracks with a global offset at runtime
      • Copy/Paste/Duplicate Object tracks. You can now copy/paste/duplicate object tracks and their child tracks;copy a spawnable to the same level sequence or another sequence; copy a possessable from one level sequence to another and the object will be bound to the same object in the other level sequence; copy from one UMG animation to another.
      • Improved Sequencer Editor performance. Sequencer is now able to compile partially or completely out-of-date evaluation templates from the source data as it needs.
  • Gameplay/Scripting Updates:
    • Blueprint Debugging: Call Stack Display. A control that displays the current Blueprint call stack has been added to the Developer Tools menu. Double-clicking entries in the call stack will focus the corresponding node in the Blueprint Editor.
    • Blueprint Debugging: Single stepping improvements. You can now ‘step into’ (F11), ‘step over’ (F10), or ‘step out’ (Alt+Shift+F11) when stopped at a Blueprint breakpoint, making debugging sessions quicker and easier.
    • Improved Tools For Optimizing Disk Size. Several tools have been added or improved to help analyze disk/download size for packaged games.
  • Tools Updates:
    • Folder Favorites for the Content Browser. You can now favorite any folder in your Content Browser to be easily accessible. Can be enabled/disabled using the View Options for Show Favorites.
    • Material Parameters Editing and Saving. New to the Material Editor and the Material Instance Editor is the ability to save parameter values to a new Child Instance or to a Sibling Instance.
  • Core Updates:
    • Encryption/Signing Key Generator. It is now possible to configure .pak file signing and encryption fully from the Editor via a single unified settings panel.

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