KEY POINTS OF THE ARTICLE
- Introduction to Unreal Engine 5. This tool is used the most by game makers, online artists, and people who make movies.
- Highlights for Unreal Engine 5.1. This version brings new tools, adds more things you can do, and fixes many issues for online production.
- Talk about how Unreal Engine 4 and 5 are not the same. UE5 can use up to 10 billion polygons. Now, you get larger and more detailed worlds than what came before.
- Quick look at the updated Lumen lights in UE5. With Lumen, you get live and real lights that feel true, while UE4 asks more from your computer for these kinds of effects.
- Find out about the new editor in UE5. It now works better with plugins and helps you get your work done faster.
- See UE5’s new shapes and tools for design. These new lights and models let you change things how you want. You get more options and freedom to create.
- Note a few things that need to be improved. There is no support for VR yet in Lumen or Nanite.
If you’re new to game development, you might feel overwhelmed by the many software options available. However, Epic Games launched Unreal Engine 5, which offers exciting new features for game developers, virtual artists, and filmmakers who use it to craft virtual worlds. Furthermore, the latest version, Unreal 5.1, includes additional tools, features, and bug fixes that enhance virtual production. Unreal Engine’s rendering capabilities consistently produce stunning and lifelike results. Whimsy Games will present a comprehensive comparison of Unreal Engine 4 vs 5.
Main Difference between Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5
Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5 are two game engines with a lot of potential, but UE 5 has some impressive features compared to UE 4 that can enhance the user experience. The significant difference is the amount of polygons each engine can handle. Polygons are used to create meshes within the game engine, and UE 5 can handle up to 10 billion polygons, while UE 4 can only handle a few million. With UE 5, you can create larger cityscapes and environments than before.

UE5: New Features
If you’re interested how to develop a vr app games or creating movies, Unreal Engine is the top choice for software. UE5’s new features deliver seamless performance and remarkable outcomes due to its many appealing features, making unreal game development more efficient and engaging. For example, the new MetaHuman tool now allows for the easy and precise creation of highly realistic characters. This tool can serve as an excellent starting point for character artists or to populate non-playable characters in extensive game environments. Additionally, it streamlines the animation stage of character creation, making the process faster and more efficient for all involved.
Lighting
Another big change in how UE4 and UE5 work is with their lighting system. In UE4, you had to make lighting look real by adding things that were like real light, but it was not actually real. UE5 has a system called Lumen. This system lets you add lights and this will have them look real and work in real-time. Lumen follows how actual light would move, so you get lighting that looks very natural.
Unreal Engine 5 gives you moving and changing lighting turned on from the start. All the lights change as things move and everything looks like it would in life. But UE4 had raytracing, and this was harder to use. You needed a strong graphics card and CPU. You also had to go into settings to turn this on and you had to know about lighting a lot.
Also, putting in light by hand was just the start in UE4. Making raytracing work well needed a lot from your computer, so games could not use it in a good way. Now, with UE5’s Lumen, even your new computer can get the real feel with great looking lights that update right as you play, including what raytracing does.
But UE5’s Lumen and Nanite do not work with virtual reality at this time.
User Experience and Interface
Let’s keep going with the Unreal Engine 5 look at. The Unreal Engine has got a big upgrade with UE5. The old UE4 was nice to look at, but it was made about ten years ago. Now, the new UE5 editor is modern, simple, and easy to use. It comes with a Create tab, better help for plugins like Quixel and Substance, a launcher that works well, and a new way to look for what you need in the content browser.
Most UE4 guides and info still work for UE5. A few things are new, and the way it looks has got better.

Modelling Tools
That’s another difference between Unreal Engine 4 and 5. Unreal Engine 5 now includes modeling, sculpting, and UV unwrap tools. The Modelling Mode allows for quick customization with various transformers and tools. Users can also access Landscape, Foliage, Mesh Paint, and Animation modes and a brush editing mode specifically for the Mesh Paint function.
At Whimsy Games, our team of experts has been working with Unreal Engine 5 since its early access. We have gained extensive knowledge of its advanced features to create visually stunning, engaging, and high-performing games.