Hey there, 

The time for our next update has arrived. This week we were mostly catching up with some of the previous tasks, like testing out different render pipelines in Unity and Unreal. Here are the tests we made in Unity:

https://i.imgur.com/mZjGWb7.png

https://i.imgur.com/a9kv0os.png

Although the deferred (1) gives better results than the forward (2) rendering pipeline, it requires more GPU memory, but we do not plan to use a lot of dynamic and moving light sources for the art style. Moreover, Unity URP provides the Forward+ Rendering Path, which has no limitations compared with the Forward Rendering Path. 

The final decision was set on the forward rendering, which provides better anti-aliasing and performance. Built-in vs URP vs HDRP: HDRP is used for realistic looking graphics and precise lighting calculations, which does not fit the game's style. We will be using URP. The main advantage of the URP is that it allows the game to be run on basically any device while still looking good, even on weaker devices.

Since we want our game to be accessible to a broad audience, this is a great benefit. The URP also allows for a variety of post-processing effects and a customizable shader graph, which is needed to achieve the stylized hand-painted look of our game. On top of that the URP allows for Forward+ rendering which allows for better graphics.

As for the Unreal tests, the results with multiple lights were better with deferred lighting, again. But we are not looking for realistic reflections for our stylized game's art style, so there is no necessity to go for that rendering path.

We researched wich engine will work best for our little dreki and all tests point towards unity being the way to go.

In terms of sound, we have dailed in the style we want to pursue. We are going with a soundscape mostly focussed on vocalizations, that is to say that it will sound like the sounds are made by characters pronouncing the sounds. This will give the game a light hearted feel.

See you next week,

The Dreki Dev-team