Crytek has launched the preview build for the latest edition of CryEngine V, known as ‘CryEngine 5.4.0’. Available to all developers now, this new build includes more than 620 fixes and tweaks, as well as a support for Vulkan API and a new feature derived from the virtual reality (VR) title Robinson: The Journey.
In CryEngine 5.4.0, the new “Extended Detail Bending” toggle, found in the vegetation shader, provides artists with much more control over detail bending on their branches. For example, new bending allows not only small micro movement on leaves, but also whole branches of trees or chunks of grass. Through this expansion, artists can have one big chunk of grass with phased animations so that movement looks natural. Aiding in the variations, there is also the option to apply a world-space mapped noise texture to simulate random breeze for variations to the movement.
According to Crytek, “The history behind this feature comes out of our Robinson: The Journey development and how we needed a more accurate and physically dependent bending solution for our vegetation.”
Robinson: The Journey is available now for PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift, while CryEngine 5.4.0 can be downloaded direct from the official website. It should be noted that CryEngine 5.4.0 is a preview build, and so backing up any existing projects before updating to this version is highly recommended. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Crytek’s work in the VR space.