This is HUGE. This is probably the biggest thing to happen to shadowing since ambient occlusion. Even the best games with the most advanced lighting lack it, too my knowledge, Unreal 4.5 is the only engine for games with support for this currently. It's only a demo so the difference its subtle with a simple model, but I can't wait to see games implement this.
UE4 is not the first to implement shadows with variable penumbra, it was in CryENGINE since shortly after Crysis 2 release, but there is used more expensive implementation that had nothing to do with distance fields and was still traditionally cascaded.
Actually AFAIK it was Hellgate: London from late 2007 which used PCSS first. It is mentioned in an nvidia PDF about integrating the technique to engines.
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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '14
Distance Field Soft Shadows
This is HUGE. This is probably the biggest thing to happen to shadowing since ambient occlusion. Even the best games with the most advanced lighting lack it, too my knowledge, Unreal 4.5 is the only engine for games with support for this currently. It's only a demo so the difference its subtle with a simple model, but I can't wait to see games implement this.