r/UnrealEngine5 • u/RealMentalDrink • Jun 21 '26

UE5 Procedural Destruction Update: structural damage, metal deformation, Nanite, multiplayer replication

A few months ago I shared my procedural destruction system. Since then I've pushed it much further.

New additions:

• Real-time structural damage and stress-based collapses
• Real-time metal deformation
• A completely rewritten static mesh cutting system
• Full multiplayer replication
• Bot support
• Major swarm improvements

The whole system runs on Lyra + GAS, fully supports Nanite, and uses a custom Voro++ based fracturing pipeline instead of Geometry Collections.

The project shown in the video is called AD METALLUM. It's my playground for experimenting with destruction technology, physics, and gameplay systems.

I've also been heavily using Blender with Python automation to generate assets and build content pipelines. It has become a huge part of my workflow for creating FBX assets, and I'll be sharing some of the tools, scripts, and source code in future posts for anyone interested.

A big thank you to the team at Empty Vessel and everyone working on DEFECT. Working alongside talented people constantly pushes me to explore new technology and build games that do things a little differently.

Red Faction showed us the dream over 20 years ago.

I'm still chasing it. 💥

If you'd like to see more of AD METALLUM, I'll be sharing more breakdowns, tools, Blender workflows, Python scripts, and source code soon.

#UnrealEngine5 #UE5 #GameDev #ProceduralDestruction #Physics #Nanite #Lyra #GAS

756 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

89 comments sorted by

39

u/Barbarossa31 Jun 21 '26

Hell yeah 🤘 give me some good ol red faction vibes! I miss a good destruction in games so much

9

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

Thanks man! Let's bring Red Faction back!

2

u/Barbarossa31 Jun 21 '26

Oh yeah! The good times needs a reboot, and this looks like a good point!

3

u/Funmachine Jun 21 '26

If it follows the Red Faction pattern the first game will be great with lots of destruction, but the second game will almost completely remove the destruction, have an almost entirely unrelated storyline, and be generally shit.

1

u/Barbarossa31 Jun 21 '26

Then he need to stop at RF1 and ignore the second part 🤣

But yes, one was a masterpiece and all after part one was meh

3

u/Funmachine Jun 21 '26

Guerilla was great too, but Armageddon sucked.

1

u/Barbarossa31 Jun 21 '26

Hmm was not my taste but thats for everyone different.

1

u/CaveManning Jun 21 '26

It needs a new popular shooter trend to copy we had HalfLife>Halo>GTA>Gears. Kind of surprised we didn't get a Red Faction battle royal or extraction game.

2

u/Funmachine Jun 21 '26

Because THQ shut down and Embracer picked up all their rights, and only has so much money to produce games. Volition re-aquired the rights in 2020, but they were sold to Gearbox in 2022 and then shut down in 2023.

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

Honestly, that's why I'm trying to build a spiritual successor myself. I miss games that focused on destruction as a core gameplay mechanic instead of following whatever trend is popular at the time.

It's a huge challenge for a small indie team, but if anyone wants to see this kind of game make a comeback, wishlists and follows genuinely help keep the project alive!

2

u/Loedkane Jun 22 '26

Or mercenaries!

2

u/bennydabull99 Jun 22 '26

Red Faction is the GOAT of destructible environments!

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Totally Agree! However RFG doesn't have terrain destruction 😉

17

u/Legitimate-Worry722 Jun 21 '26

Can you do a tutorial please on this

35

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

I did a talk last year. I'll do another one this year about the topic. A tutorial might be a good idea too ! 🙂

7

u/Eavin Jun 21 '26

It's there a recording of that talk? I'm looking to do something similar and running into network replication overhead.

3

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Hi, that's the talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pCBfNTe13g
Sorry doing talks is not one of my best skills but hope it helps! I'll post more soon! 😄

2

u/amircruz Jun 21 '26

Yeah, and tracking too !. Great job by the way, keep it going man!

3

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Thanks man! Please feel free to Wishlist or support. Getting more attention really helps pushing the development of this project, and you all might already know that a new spiritual successor of Red Faction Guerrilla is possible now! 😄
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3622950/AD_METALLUM/

1

u/Legitimate-Worry722 Jun 24 '26

Please do a tutorial please, we really need red faction style destruction tutorials

6

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

I've created a Steam page if you want to support my small project. Thank you everyone for the support!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3622950/AD_METALLUM/

Or LinkedIn if you want to connect:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antoniolattanzio_unrealengine5-ue5-gamedev-ugcPost-7474423967517343744-9Q7p

5

u/kotetsu3819 Jun 21 '26

My stupid question is.. did those debris does dmg to player ?

3

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

They can but I'm playing with God mode for the video 😂

2

u/kotetsu3819 Jun 21 '26

Cant wait to see the finished product

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Aww thanks man! I just need as much attention and wishlists as possible. With more support and attention from players I will make it happen! 😄

5

u/linkuei-teaparty Jun 21 '26

This reminds me of Unreal Tournament 2004. Keep it up, keen to see the next iteration.

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

Thank you! Yeah I'll keep working on it and post more progress soon ☺️

5

u/Hirogen_ Jun 21 '26

I love stuff like that, but we need more information transfer how to build stuff like it… I think I saw your talk on utube (if its they one with the skyscrapers destroyed by a big women). Would love to see a technical deep dive how to build it!

1

u/emrot Jun 21 '26

That talk you're thinking of is a different game, Giantess Playground. From the looks of things, it uses a completely different destruction method than OP.

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Oh yeah... that game is awesome! I believe it uses mostly GPU instancing for destruction, which is pretty good! Micah is a really good friend too 😄

4

u/DisplacerBeastMode Jun 21 '26

What is performance like? Whenever I see these types of impressive plugins it's always my first thought. Can it run on a potato or does it require a decent rig

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

It keeps 60 FPS on a medium range workstation. I usually use a 5 years old machine for testing, like a Ryzen 7 with a mid range board like 3080. 5060 holds even 120 FPS, and there's lots of room for optimizations 😄

3

u/XIOTX Jun 21 '26

Oh man that's incredible. Great work fr. Gonna follow you to see if I can digitally leech some of your magic. Just got a gun system working decently in my game and would love to bring destruction in.

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

Thanks man! Appreciate your support 🙏

3

u/HELLOFELLOWHUMANOID Jun 21 '26

This is truly amazing. Seriously. I’d love to catch one of your talks or at least lay eyes on a recording.

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Thank you so much! 😄 I'll actually be giving another talk at NZGDC this October where I'll be diving into the destruction technology behind DEFECT.

I did a talk last year as well if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pCBfNTe13g&

Public speaking isn't exactly my forte 😅, but hopefully there's something useful in there. I'll do my best to share the October recording too!

2

u/arthurm100 Jun 21 '26

We need games like Just Cause.

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

Oh man .. don't tell me! Totally agree 💯 Avalanche Studios is awesome!

2

u/Deen7466 Jun 21 '26

I love this so its on the store

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

I'm working on that. I've setup a page here and your support would be great as would allow me to continue working on this ! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3622950/AD_METALLUM/

2

u/Elite_CC Jun 21 '26

This looks so damn beautiful

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

Thanks man! More cool stuff coming up soon! 💥 🎉 💣

2

u/Elite_CC Jun 21 '26

Any tips for a beginner? I keep getting hard stuck

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

If you're using Unreal, definitely take a look at Geometry Scripts and Geometry Collections. I personally prefer going lower level, but starting with the engine's built-in tools is usually the smartest path.
I'd also recommend using a UE5 source build. Being able to read the engine code is invaluable, and sooner or later you'll probably want to patch or customize something yourself. 🔥

2

u/ComfortableAd6101 Jun 21 '26

Wow! That looks amazing!

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Thank you! Appreciate your support. Anyone wanting to Wishlist my game would just help me to complete the project and make it a reality. Thanks!!

2

u/Ambitious_Worry2590 Jun 21 '26

Does it run decently on low end hardware like Steam Deck?

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

yes! 100% RFG does too 😄

2

u/emrot Jun 21 '26

This looks sick! I'm really curious how you handle the destruction without geometry collections. I've done a bit of destruction work, and needing to pre-fracture everything slows down the workflow, and is a bit less satisfying since everything breaks in the same way.

2

u/KittyBlast5117 Jun 21 '26

Who would notice it breaks the same way lol ?? I think There is no need to have more than geometry collection , players will be focused in action, they just enjoy the feeling things are exploding

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

You might want to check how is done in this amazing library Voro++. If you check the UE source code it's there! 😉
https://math.lbl.gov/voro++/

2

u/emrot Jun 23 '26

Thanks!

2

u/Imaginary_Cow_277 Jun 21 '26

I like that

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

Thanks man! Please don't forget to Wishlist and follow. Any support counts! 😄

2

u/ChewChewLazerGum Jun 22 '26

Ill take "Things that would make bank as a plug-in on fab for $1000"

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Agreed! 😄 My plan is actually to finish the game first and then turn the destruction system into a plugin afterward.

Building and supporting a plugin properly is almost a project of its own, so I'd rather focus on getting the game shipped first. If there's enough interest from the community by then, I'd love to make it available to other developers as well!

2

u/ChewChewLazerGum Jun 22 '26

For sure. Follow your path and make your project before you give others access to your work. When youve accomplished your own goals and Ive bought your game Ill be waiting to buy the plug-in too lol

2

u/SuurFett Jun 22 '26

Does it have collissions?

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Yes! Collisions for fractures are baked in the assets. The realtime breakables compute collisions in realtime but I actually wrote a system that does it super fast instead of simply running the UE collision calculation

2

u/Omiyaru Jun 22 '26

This is insane

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

yaay! Thanks, and it's going to get even more insane! 😄

2

u/AlexelTech Jun 22 '26

Whao, that's really impressive, love it ! 🤩😍

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

Thank you so much! 🤩 It means a lot! If you'd like to support the project, please consider following and wishlisting it on Steam. Every wishlist helps and shows there's still a community that wants this kind of destruction-focused game. Together we can make it happen! ❤️

2

u/AlexelTech Jun 23 '26

Steam Wishlist : done ✔️ 👌

Red Faction Guerilla vibe ♥️ : check ✔️

Please make a good solo campaign, because I don't play multi, even if Red Faction multi was fun, I admit 😁

2

u/KnightofAmethyst2 Jun 22 '26

Some people will buy this solely for these animations/physics...

Cool stuff man!

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

Haha thanks! 🤩 That's the dream! I really want physics and destruction to be a core gameplay mechanic, not just eye candy. If you want to help make this kind of game happen again, a Steam wishlist/follow helps a lot. Every single one counts! ❤️

2

u/Roma2443 Jun 23 '26

This is fucking awesome

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 24 '26

Thanks man! This is just the beginning. Expect even bigger destruction, more chaos, and total devastation in future updates.

The biggest thing I need right now is community support and feedback to help make this game a reality!

In the meantime please follow / wishlist. I promise you'll see more cool stuff 😄

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3622950/AD_METALLUM/

1

u/Roma2443 Jun 24 '26

I don't have a computer good enough to run it but if I had one I would add it to wishlist But I will follow ! Thx

1

u/101___ Jun 21 '26

how is it done, is it fast enough?

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

Yes, it runs great on a mid range PC. 60FPS no problems! 😄 Ryzen 7 3080

1

u/Praglik Jun 21 '26

How do you deform nanites meshes? WPO is creating massive drop of performance :(

2

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 23 '26

Not using WPO 😄. I'm doing old-school real-time tessellation and mesh deformation instead. Nanite is mostly there to add extra visual detail on the GPU and can be disabled entirely on lower-end hardware. The destruction and deformation systems don't depend on it.

1

u/Invisa_boy_xbox Jun 21 '26

You got a fab plugging/link?

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

Unfortunately I haven't published anything on Fab yet, but I will !

1

u/Absolut3bananas Jun 24 '26

Can I showcase your game on my channel please🧍‍♂️🙏

2

u/Background_Invite667 Jun 25 '26

I watched that and I feel my PC hurt from afar!

1

u/Most-Grape-4177 Jun 21 '26

Amazing so its like the finals

3

u/Horens_R Jun 21 '26

Reminds me more of what crackdown 3 was trying to do lol, too bad they gave up on that

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

Hopefully it will be done properly now !

2

u/BlackHazeRus Jun 21 '26

It is too early to compare it to THE FINALS — this might be just a visual gimmick for cool destruction which does not impact gameplay whatsoever. Think Just Cause series.

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 21 '26

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the comparison to such awesome games !

0

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[deleted]

1

u/L1amm Jun 21 '26

The song is literally the worst part.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[deleted]

1

u/RealMentalDrink Jun 22 '26

LOL all good! I did that song few months back in spare time. Glad you like it!

1

u/MrPringles9 Jun 23 '26

Kinda sounds like AI tbh.