MODEL OF AN ADAPTIVE SYSTEM OF MATERIAL DESTRUCTION EFFECTS WHEN CREATING A GAME ENVIRONMENT BASED ON UNREAL ENGINE

Abstract

The work explores a topical topic driven by increasing demands for visual quality and performance in interactive environments. In modern game development, it is important to ensure the plausibility of physical processes – in particular, destruction effects – without exceeding the computational budget of the frame. Excessive load on the system leads to a decrease in FPS, which is critical for the gaming experience. The object of the study is an interactive 3D environment with dynamic effects. The subject of the study is methods for modeling, simulating, and optimizing destruction effects in the Unreal Engine 5 engine [1]. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the creation of a mathematical model for assessing the computational complexity of visual effects and its integration into the Unreal Engine engine to ensure performance with high visual quality.

The practical significance of the study is determined by the issues of realism and physical plausibility of game worlds, which is gaining particular importance. Players expect not only beautiful graphics, but also the believable behavior of the environment in which they interact. One of the key elements of this interaction is the destruction of objects: whether it is a broken glass display case, a cracked wooden board, or fragments after an explosion. Displaying the physical properties of materials in real time is a difficult technical task, especially when it comes to interactivity, that is, the ability of the player to directly influence the destruction of objects. This includes both visual and physical consequences: animation of a fracture, the appearance of fragments, particles, changing the geometry of the object and its state in the game. In the real world, destruction is the result of exceeding the strength limits of the material. In the virtual world, it is the need to simulate this excess quickly, convincingly, and without loss of performance. Given the high computational costs associated with physics simulation, in most cases a compromise is required between modeling accuracy and speed. This is especially critical for complex scenes with a large number of dynamic objects, such as in fighting or action games. The result of the research was the implementation of a system for adaptive control of destruction effects taking into account real-time constraints, as well as the creation of a full-fledged virtual environment with a 3D character, scenes and visual effects made in Blender [2] and Unreal Engine [3].

Keywords: Unreal Engine 5, destruction effects, game design, three-dimensional modeling, mathematical model, Niagara.