NASA VR 🚀, UE5 Mass AI 🧟, Larian vs AI 🤖
⚙️ Engine Workflows & Crowd AI
Ultimate Top-Down Camera Controller 2.0 Speeds Up Unity Workflows
Ultimate Top-Down Camera Controller 2.0 gives Unity devs a plug-and-play camera powered by Cinemachine 3. In just a few clicks, add orbit, zoom, vertical offset, lock/unlock, occlusion for trees/interiors, target focus, camera shake events, and auto reset. It even includes a wind-and-transparency leaf shader for instant visual polish. Grab it on the Unity Store and focus on gameplay, not camera setup.
100 FPS Mass AI: NavMesh Crowds, Perception, and Avoidance
A developer showcases a Mass-based setup with NavMesh movement, perception, gravity, and avoidance—hitting about 100 FPS on an i5-11600K and Radeon 7800 XT. It’s still barebones and needs optimization and bug fixes, but it’s a solid foundation. New to Mass? Start with the official sample projects. For comparison, check out Oh Seyoung’s Unity demo: a Dynasty Warriors–style system driving 1,200 zombies.
🛰️ UE5 for Space and UI Scale
NASA + UE5: Nanite-Powered VR for Gateway Station Design
NASA’s CDSA and ER7 teams reveal how Unreal Engine 5 powers a high-fidelity VR simulation of the Gateway Space Station. Using Nanite, they bring massive, high-poly spacecraft models into real time for design reviews. Astronauts run Human-in-the-Loop scenarios—experiments, stowage, meal prep—to refine layout, safety, and comfort ahead of Artemis missions. The result is a physics-informed digital twin for analysis, mission planning, and training.
From 2 Engineers to 150 Screens: Unreal UI by Composition
Joel Gonzales reveals how Midnight Suns shipped ~150 UI screens with minimal defects using a compositional, data-driven UI Component System (UICS) in Unreal. Reusable components (Data, View, Action, Entry, Cycler, Stage) and editor-driven workflows cut boilerplate and enabled rapid iteration—even by non-UI devs. He also introduces composable widget layers to avoid monolithic widgets. Slides, a technical write-up, and a free “UI Power Tools” library implementing UICS are coming soon.
🧠Industry Voices & Regulation
“Tools, Not Replacements”: Larian Challenges AI-First Game Vision
Elon Musk says XAI will ship an AI-generated game next year—but Larian’s Michael Douse isn’t buying the premise. He argues the industry’s real deficit is leadership and vision, not tooling, and warns against “mathematically produced” gameplay loops. AI should support human craft, not replace it, with sustainability and people-first design driving true player resonance.
EU’s Digital Fairness Act: Will It Break F2P Games?
Europe’s proposed Digital Fairness Act is alarming mobile veterans who warn it could cripple F2P design and live-ops. Experts cite risks like forced single-currency economies, bundle bans, extended refunds, and constant purchase friction, alongside a confusing reclassification of in-game currency. They argue the draft misunderstands how live-service games work. The call to action: engage the consultation now and push for age-tiered rules, clear odds/pricing, and self-regulation over blanket bans.