Deviant Legal Guide ⚖️, Unreal CAT 🎬, Polaris 3 🧩, Relic Self-Publishing 🕹️
Real-Time Tech & Optimization ⚙️
Polaris 3 Supercharges Low‑Poly Worlds with Smarter LODs and Culling
Polaris 3 delivers a big performance leap for low‑poly terrain, overhauling tree and grass rendering with faster, more accurate culling and smarter LODs. Both vegetation types gain an extra LOD1 using simplified models and materials, disabling costly effects like wind and translucency. A standout trick swaps grass from quad meshes to a single flipped triangle at distance—just three vertices—unlocking huge savings for scenes with hundreds of thousands of instances. Benchmarks in the latest devlog back up the gains.
Stylized, Fast, Beautiful: Shader and GPU Tricks from Mongil: Star Dive
At Unreal Fest Orlando 2025, Netmarble Monster’s Hyunggoo Kim reveals how Mongil: Star Dive delivers culturally rich, stylized visuals at real-time speeds in UE5. The session covers shader optimization, GPU-driven performance techniques, and the architecture of the team’s visual system. It showcases math-informed solutions that balance fidelity with frame budgets—pushing visual quality benchmarks. Essential viewing for rendering engineers and technical artists.
Cinematics & Digital Humans 🎬
Scale Your Shots: Unreal’s New Cinematic Assembly Toolset (CAT)
Unreal Engine introduces the Cinematic Assembly Toolset (CAT), a new suite built to remove the tedium from cinematics pipelines. With upgraded Shot Management, CAT scales from indie games to feature-length productions. Join Thomas Kilkenny and Geoffrey Douglas to see how CAT streamlines assembly, reduces overhead, and gets you back to the creative work that matters.
AI-Powered MetaHumans: Cory Strassburger’s Next-Gen Unreal Workflow
MetaHuman veteran Cory Strassburger (Xanadu) presents a next-gen Unreal Engine workflow that fuses AI-driven concepting, MeshMorpher sculpting, and AI‑enhanced performance capture. Recorded at Unreal Fest Orlando 2025, the session shows practical steps to craft distinctive, expressive MetaHumans quickly. Learn how to take characters from idea to “larger than life” in-engine—and where the MetaHuman framework fits in.
Studio Strategy & Publishing 🧭
Inside Relic’s Reinvention: From Sega Split to Self-Publishing
After splitting from Sega and securing backing from Emona Capital, Relic is rebuilding around smaller teams, shorter cycles, and self-publishing. CEO Justin Dowdeswell outlines faster prototyping, tighter scope, and reusing engine tech to cut time-to-market without sacrificing spectacle. The studio is cautious on AI—using it to boost workflows, not replace people—and stays focused on PC RTS rather than chasing mobile. In a tougher, less predictable market, Relic aims to lean into its strengths and stay closer to players.
Beat the Fine Print: Deviant Legal’s Free Publishing Agreement Guide
Deviant Legal has launched a free, developer-focused guide to video game publishing agreements, covering audits, royalties, marketing, future games, and IP rights. Each section breaks down what clauses mean, why they matter, and how to negotiate them—no paywall or data wall required. Founder René Otto says the goal is to democratize legal knowledge too often locked behind events or expensive counsel. The guide will be updated regularly, making it a living resource for smarter deal-making.