Agenda

A visual and technical showcase describing how Borderlands 4 (BL4) leverages built-in UE5 features, along with custom extensions, to create a flexible, extendable and performant weather system for its open world environment.
Gearbox provides a behind-the-scenes look into the components that establish BL4's fully dynamic and localized weather. For example, how weather forecasts can be directed by artists using a suite of custom tools to emulate different climate conditions, how a custom render pass to apply weather effects to surfaces was used, and more. The speaker is an Associate Technical Art Director with 18+ years of game industry experience.

Takeaway

An understanding of one AAA game's approach to creating dynamic weather for a large open world environment. Through practical examples in UE5, attendees will learn about a new method for approaching and optimizing global dynamic material effects, the tools and systems used to manage localized weather forecasts, and how this approach can benefit games that do not need dynamic weather.

Intended Audience

This presentation is targeted at artists, technical artists, rendering engineers, tools engineers, and anyone with an interest in weather systems and dynamic content. Knowledge of Unreal Engine is beneficial but not necessary.