Simulating Large Crowds In Niagara | Unreal Engine

Displaying thousands of characters on-screen in real-time has always been a challenge - until now. Unreal Engine's Niagara visual effects system opens up doors to go far beyond what was previously thought possible and this presentation by Epic's Joseph Azzam showcases how you can utilize the power and versatility of Niagara to create massive crowds in real-time, and simulate a million units! Plus, learn how to make the most out of Niagara's new features to create "smart mesh particles" that can replace basic AIs, allowing you to display an enormous amount of characters on-screen all at once. Learn more about Niagara VFX and Unreal Engine at http://www.unrealengine.com *TIMESTAMPS* 00:00 Intro 00:59 Credits 1:16 Traditional techniques 4:58 Understanding Bottlenecks 07:13 AI Classification 08:28 Particle Effects 08:50 Vertex Animation 12:29 Animation Player Module 13:25 Finish Current Animation First Module 18:17 Examples 23:34 Large Scenes 31:04 Multiplayer 31:54 Note About Performance 32:25 Future Work