Volinga has returned with a new update to their Unreal Engine plugin for Gaussian Splatting.

They have announced the release of version 0.4.0 of their Unreal Engine plugin, introducing significant advancements and features that promise to revolutionize 3D graphics and simulation (3DGS) integration within the Unreal Engine (UE) environment.

This update brings a novel method of integrating 3DGS into UE via GBuffer injection, resulting in several core and interactive enhancements. Despite the name, GBuffer does not stand for Gaussian Buffer, but Geometry Buffer.

Key features introduced in this version include:

1. Depth-of-Field:

• Experience enhanced visual realism with the new Depth-of-Field feature, adding a professional touch to your 3D projects.

2. Additive Lighting and Mesh->3DGS Shadow Casting (Experimental):

• This experimental feature allows for more dynamic lighting and shadow effects.

3. New Crop Volume Sub-Component:

• The Crop Volume Sub-Component offers greater flexibility in managing and manipulating 3D volumes, enhancing the efficiency of your workflow.

4. UE5.4/5.3 Compatibility:

• Ensuring seamless integration and compatibility with the latest versions of Unreal Engine, this update supports both UE5.4 and UE5.3.

There are also some quality of life improvements coming with the update too:

• ↺ Orbit camera support holding Alt key

• 🐛 Compatibility with some debug views, like Unlit or Buffer Visualization subset

• 👁 Use the hidden-eye icon in the Outliner to hide the Gaussians in Editor

• 🕶 Actor Hidden In-game support

Volinga had previously released a video tutorial on how to get up and running with their plugin in Unreal Engine 5. The new plugin can be downloaded here.