4 ms·

No, Disney uses Unreal for their rendered real-time sets. This is about more than just Fortnite.

codexb 3y ago
They use it in their rides as well -- https://web.archive.org/web/20200311075335/https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2018/03/28/walt-disney-imagineering-nvidia-star-wars-galaxys-edge-millennium-falcon/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200311075335/https://blogs.nvi...
jsheard 3y ago
Do they still? They used Unreal for the virtual sets in The Mandalorian S1, but for S2 they switched over to a different solution. https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian/ https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian/ > For season one of the series ILM StageCraft utilized Unreal Engine to perform the real-time render https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian-season-2/ https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian-season-2/ > The real-time render engine called Helios was specifically developed by ILM engineers > Ctrl-F "Unreal" - no results
- reactordev 3y ago
  StageCraft IS Unreal Engine. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft ILM used Unreal Engine to make StageCraft and kept iterating on it until it’s the awesome tech that it is. They have a vested interest in seeing the underlying engine continue to prosper.
  - jsheard 3y ago
    They made a point of highlighting the use of Unreal during the production of Season 1, but then it's completely absent from their discussion of later seasons, instead only referencing an in-house renderer they call Helios. Have they specifically said anywhere that they're still using Unreal Engine? https://www.ilm.com/industrial-light-magic-to-expand-stagecraft-led-virtual-production-offering-with-new-facility-in-vancouver/ https://www.ilm.com/industrial-light-magic-to-expand-stagecr... This 2021 article mentions that external productions using StageCraft services can choose to use either Unreal or Helios for rendering, so the Unreal integration may still be available for those who want it, but obviously ILM didn't write a brand new renderer for the fun of it. Unreal must not have been cutting it for their own productions.
  - katabatic 3y ago
    StageCraft WAS Unreal Engine; it is not anymore.
    - westurner 3y ago
      StageCraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft What is Helios? /? Helios StageCraft https://rebusfarm.net/news/ilm-stagecraft-a-virtual-production-technology https://rebusfarm.net/news/ilm-stagecraft-a-virtual-producti... : > StageCraft leverages Helios ILM’s real-time cinema render engine. It is a set of LED screens that work as a 360 extension digital set, allowing filmmakers to explore new ideas, communicate concepts, and execute shots in a collaborative and flexible production environment. Is there a way to vary the [UE] AutoLOD for longer shots? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38160089 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38160089 That's not even cinematography! Because there aren't lenses, there are presumably Camera matrices. Cinematography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematography Computer graphics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_graphics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_graphics "Ask HN: What's the state of the art for drawing math diagrams online?" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38355444 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38355444 ; generative-manim, manimGPT, BlenderGPT, ipyblender, o3de, how do we teach primary math intuition with the platforms that reach them, how do we Manim in 3 or even 4D? Manim > "Render with [Blender and/or od3e]" https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim/issues/3362 https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim/issues/3362 FWIU Disney Games are often built with Panda3d, which works with pygame-web/pygbag in WASM now Research: "Fabric of the Cosmos", "Cosmos", "How the Universe Works",
      - westurner 3y ago
        Apply [StageCraft (UE5),] computer graphics to STEM education. A HUD-like [spinning ball trajectory] with observations and symbolic model fitting Hopefully they will invest in Games that cause STEM (and SEL) learning; And hopefully they will apply great CGI tools for STEM education
      - westurner 3y ago
        > Is there a way to vary the [UE] AutoLOD for longer shots? UE5 (and other 4d graphics and physics simulators) automatically reduce the LOD Level-of-Detail for objects in the distance. Is that LOD parametric with StageCraft software? (For example, reportedly Cities Skyline 2 is bad slow because they included meshes for characters' teeth and expected AutoLOD to just make it work on the computers kids tend to have. It doesn't work on reasonable machines because the devs all have fast pro GPUs to develop on, so they don't know what the UX is for the average family (that would be happy to turn down the polygon count themselves for what we can learn from the gameplay). Having game devs dogfood with real-world devices that families afford would be good for these firms too.). Hopefully they'll continue to sell games through non-Epic stores that people have already invested in. And hopefully, they'll make sure their products work with Proton and thus popular Linux-based handheld gaming devices.
- highwaylights 3y ago
  I believe the new version is called StageCraft: Brood War. Thank you.
- esskay 3y ago
  I've got a family member that works on production at Lucas, Unreal is still very much a mainstay and not going anywhere. They're actually expanding their use of it with more virtual sets, mainly because they're now leasing them out a fair bit and need the capacity.
reactordev 3y ago
This. Virtual Set Production is almost entirely Unreal engine. Fortnite is just a marketing platform. The real meat is the digital production pipeline that made Mando cool. That enabled Star Trek’s recent series’, and provides a “holodeck” for their just unveiled holo-floor.
- jrockway 3y ago
  I don't think Fortnite is just a marketing platform. They wouldn't have bothered suing Apple and Google over app stores if it were merely a loss leader to remind film execs that Unreal Engine is a thing.
  - callalex 3y ago
    While I agree with you that Fortnite shouldn’t be considered a loss leader, the strategy behind challenging Apple in court is more nuanced. Epic also operates a rather large software/games store and I am sure they would love to see it grow.
  - Hikikomori 3y ago
    I mean they have epic games store that competes with steam on windows. They likely want to be able to the same thing on phones.
- pnw 3y ago
  AFAIK Unreal was only used in the first season of the Mandalorian several years ago. Disney switched to using ILM's Stagecraft software, which is what they use for their films as well.
  - reactordev 3y ago
    which is Unreal Engine + ILM stuff... they call StageCraft.
vineyardmike 3y ago
Epic has purchased VFX companies in the past, and Unity was eying that market before they imploded recently, making a bunch of acquisitions. It’s an obvious and huge opportunity for game engine experts to grow their influence.
mogoh 3y ago
That would be less expensive.

They use it in their rides as well -- https://web.archive.org/web/20200311075335/https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2018/03/28/walt-disney-imagineering-nvidia-star-wars-galaxys-edge-millennium-falcon/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200311075335/https://blogs.nvi...

jsheard 3y ago

Do they still? They used Unreal for the virtual sets in The Mandalorian S1, but for S2 they switched over to a different solution. https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian/ https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian/ > For season one of the series ILM StageCraft utilized Unreal Engine to perform the real-time render https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian-season-2/ https://www.ilm.com/vfx/the-mandalorian-season-2/ > The real-time render engine called Helios was specifically developed by ILM engineers > Ctrl-F "Unreal" - no results

reactordev 3y ago
StageCraft IS Unreal Engine. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft ILM used Unreal Engine to make StageCraft and kept iterating on it until it’s the awesome tech that it is. They have a vested interest in seeing the underlying engine continue to prosper.
- jsheard 3y ago
  They made a point of highlighting the use of Unreal during the production of Season 1, but then it's completely absent from their discussion of later seasons, instead only referencing an in-house renderer they call Helios. Have they specifically said anywhere that they're still using Unreal Engine? https://www.ilm.com/industrial-light-magic-to-expand-stagecraft-led-virtual-production-offering-with-new-facility-in-vancouver/ https://www.ilm.com/industrial-light-magic-to-expand-stagecr... This 2021 article mentions that external productions using StageCraft services can choose to use either Unreal or Helios for rendering, so the Unreal integration may still be available for those who want it, but obviously ILM didn't write a brand new renderer for the fun of it. Unreal must not have been cutting it for their own productions.
- katabatic 3y ago
  StageCraft WAS Unreal Engine; it is not anymore.
  - westurner 3y ago
    StageCraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StageCraft What is Helios? /? Helios StageCraft https://rebusfarm.net/news/ilm-stagecraft-a-virtual-production-technology https://rebusfarm.net/news/ilm-stagecraft-a-virtual-producti... : > StageCraft leverages Helios ILM’s real-time cinema render engine. It is a set of LED screens that work as a 360 extension digital set, allowing filmmakers to explore new ideas, communicate concepts, and execute shots in a collaborative and flexible production environment. Is there a way to vary the [UE] AutoLOD for longer shots? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38160089 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38160089 That's not even cinematography! Because there aren't lenses, there are presumably Camera matrices. Cinematography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematography Computer graphics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_graphics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_graphics "Ask HN: What's the state of the art for drawing math diagrams online?" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38355444 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38355444 ; generative-manim, manimGPT, BlenderGPT, ipyblender, o3de, how do we teach primary math intuition with the platforms that reach them, how do we Manim in 3 or even 4D? Manim > "Render with [Blender and/or od3e]" https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim/issues/3362 https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim/issues/3362 FWIU Disney Games are often built with Panda3d, which works with pygame-web/pygbag in WASM now Research: "Fabric of the Cosmos", "Cosmos", "How the Universe Works",
    - westurner 3y ago
      Apply [StageCraft (UE5),] computer graphics to STEM education. A HUD-like [spinning ball trajectory] with observations and symbolic model fitting Hopefully they will invest in Games that cause STEM (and SEL) learning; And hopefully they will apply great CGI tools for STEM education
    - westurner 3y ago
      > Is there a way to vary the [UE] AutoLOD for longer shots? UE5 (and other 4d graphics and physics simulators) automatically reduce the LOD Level-of-Detail for objects in the distance. Is that LOD parametric with StageCraft software? (For example, reportedly Cities Skyline 2 is bad slow because they included meshes for characters' teeth and expected AutoLOD to just make it work on the computers kids tend to have. It doesn't work on reasonable machines because the devs all have fast pro GPUs to develop on, so they don't know what the UX is for the average family (that would be happy to turn down the polygon count themselves for what we can learn from the gameplay). Having game devs dogfood with real-world devices that families afford would be good for these firms too.). Hopefully they'll continue to sell games through non-Epic stores that people have already invested in. And hopefully, they'll make sure their products work with Proton and thus popular Linux-based handheld gaming devices.
highwaylights 3y ago
I believe the new version is called StageCraft: Brood War. Thank you.
esskay 3y ago
I've got a family member that works on production at Lucas, Unreal is still very much a mainstay and not going anywhere. They're actually expanding their use of it with more virtual sets, mainly because they're now leasing them out a fair bit and need the capacity.

reactordev 3y ago

This. Virtual Set Production is almost entirely Unreal engine. Fortnite is just a marketing platform. The real meat is the digital production pipeline that made Mando cool. That enabled Star Trek’s recent series’, and provides a “holodeck” for their just unveiled holo-floor.

jrockway 3y ago
I don't think Fortnite is just a marketing platform. They wouldn't have bothered suing Apple and Google over app stores if it were merely a loss leader to remind film execs that Unreal Engine is a thing.
- callalex 3y ago
  While I agree with you that Fortnite shouldn’t be considered a loss leader, the strategy behind challenging Apple in court is more nuanced. Epic also operates a rather large software/games store and I am sure they would love to see it grow.
- Hikikomori 3y ago
  I mean they have epic games store that competes with steam on windows. They likely want to be able to the same thing on phones.
pnw 3y ago
AFAIK Unreal was only used in the first season of the Mandalorian several years ago. Disney switched to using ILM's Stagecraft software, which is what they use for their films as well.
- reactordev 3y ago
  which is Unreal Engine + ILM stuff... they call StageCraft.

vineyardmike 3y ago

Epic has purchased VFX companies in the past, and Unity was eying that market before they imploded recently, making a bunch of acquisitions. It’s an obvious and huge opportunity for game engine experts to grow their influence.

mogoh 3y ago

That would be less expensive.