Accurate Human Rendering in Game [2019-2021]
- Thread starter DieH@rd
- Start date
Frenetic Pony
Veteran
Well, I think Marmoset Toolbag 4, a realtime art asset renderer that's also meant to work in browsers, has UE's metahumans, and everyone else, thoroughly cleaned out.
Like... wow. Source: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/v23Nmd
Like... wow. Source: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/v23Nmd
cheapchips
Veteran
uuuhhh... even i will install UE again to check this out.
Nice cheeks. I wonder if there's also work on better skinning of the limb joints.
The downlo
Well, I think Marmoset Toolbag 4, a realtime art asset renderer that's also meant to work in browsers, has UE's metahumans, and everyone else, thoroughly cleaned out.
Like... wow. Source: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/v23Nmd
Nice. It doesn't automatically rig characters though does it? That's going to be one of the things that really sets MHC apart and it is 3Lateral's forte.
Yes, the metahuman stuff doesnt look that much better than the last of us 2 stuff on the previous page, this OTOH is at a whole new level (admittedly without hair)
The guy works for a 3D scan company. It's probably static geometry with a topology that's not suitable for rigging and animating, never mind not being the product of a procedural generation toolset.
https://www.3dscanstore.com/new-3d-scans/male-3d-model-retopologised-head-scan-027
So yeah, it's completely irrelevant to this topic.
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Oh sorry, I assumed this was research for films ( well I suppose you could use it for a head on a pedestal )
Frenetic Pony
Veteran
Scans are perfectly suitable for rigging, once you re-topologize, they've already been used in games. The main thing here is the renderer, which can do animation but I doubt it's a got a FACS setup. But the material model is clearly superior to Unreal's. But then the base of Unreal's material hasn't changed (other than subsurface scattering) since it was launched, while Toolbag 4 got to use all the latest research. Maybe UE5 will be Epic's chance to update to modern energy preserving stuff.
So aside from the ray-traced renderer, mat model, and asset resolution, it's completely possible to develop a facial rig and create animations for it and export it into a game where it'll look nothing like the images you posted.
cheapchips
Veteran
Here's Epic's video explaining the Metahuman rigging controls. The thought of animating a face using them breaks my brain, but the deformations when various sliders are pulled is pretty cool. Amazing that this is available to anyone who would like a play.
And yet, that was main tactics of many studios for years. TLOU1 faces were all animated by hand.
They even used handmade facial animation in U4 [not always, they started implementing facial cams]
But now, all have moved to facial cam tracking. It saves so much time.
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My big question is how flexible are the assets for exporting into Maya and Substance/Mixer and manually altering them beyond the scope of what's provided by their app, because I'm not sure just how much control you have if all you're doing is blending between an assortment of facial scans they have.
cheapchips
Veteran
Tinkered with the creator app a bit. Character creator system is similar to what I remember from Star Citizen (are both 3Lateral-based?) -- choose 3+ preset faces and then you can selectively blend features from those presets. There's a "move" and "sculpt" function that gives you more sliders to control, but it still feels like the limits are either conservative or constrained by the presets, so getting a nose shape exactly how you want it might be impossible unless they add a head with a nose that happens to already match pretty closely to what you want. Also managed to get one of the ready-made preset characters downloaded and exported into Maya and UE4, but haven't attempted re-sculpting just yet. The assets do look nice though, the wrinkle maps and facial rig are really well done. One of those rare cases where seeing the animated face in motion actually looks more impressive than the static model.
I'm wondering if tools with built-in asset libraries like this and Quixel Megascans are going to result in a lot of games this generation looking same-y in places. I already feel like every time I see a super detailed photogrammetry rockface in a game I squint my eyes suspiciously wondering if it's the same Megascan rock I've seen elsewhere. I guess there may always be a need for technical artists in that respect, as you'll still have to put effort into making sure everything looks aesthetically integrated and authored rather than stamped. Perhaps it's not all that different than the early days of seeing Speedtree in a ton of games.
I'm wondering if tools with built-in asset libraries like this and Quixel Megascans are going to result in a lot of games this generation looking same-y in places. I already feel like every time I see a super detailed photogrammetry rockface in a game I squint my eyes suspiciously wondering if it's the same Megascan rock I've seen elsewhere. I guess there may always be a need for technical artists in that respect, as you'll still have to put effort into making sure everything looks aesthetically integrated and authored rather than stamped. Perhaps it's not all that different than the early days of seeing Speedtree in a ton of games.
cheapchips
Veteran
Yes. Star Citizen was essentially using a proto version of this, prior to 3lateral being bought by Epic and delivering this.
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