Yep, spot on.
The part about different GPUs/drivers also explains why this isn't a problem for console games. On console the exact GPU and firmware is known in advance so the shaders can be compiled in advance by the developers instead of doing it in-game :)

More unique materials -> more shaders to compile -> more stuttering
There are some strategies to reduce the numbers of unique materials in a game, but this of course makes content creation more complicated and therefore slower.

Gamedev here: The issue isn't specific to Unreal Engine 5, all game engines that use modern APIs must compile shaders at some point so that the GPU can perform its function. However, Unreal's workflows make it easier to create lots of unique materials than some other engines.

Just taking another look at the new Unreal FPS Template project because I need an example project for an upcoming lecture. Already on the first step you take you can notice that the new hands clip into the camera at every single step (screenshot attached). Feels a bit rushed tbh.

Wait, what?! I read through the whole article without noticing that part 😱
Really looking forward to it. Right now Superluminal is one of the very few applications left that I couldn't easily replace when switching to Linux 👀

New blog post! In "Billions of triangles in minutes" we'll walk through hierarchical cluster level of detail generation of, well, billions of triangles in minutes. Reposts welcome!

zeux.io/2025/09/30/b...

It's understandable that Unreal needs to touch a lot of files when starting the editor. But what if I told you that >5500 of those files are not needed for the editor to start at all and are just adding seconds to the editor launch time?
(Fix included!)
#u5 #gamedev
larstofus.com/2025/09/27/s...

Are you or someone you know skipping GDC (or considering doing so) because of worries about coming to the US/San Francisco in the current environment?

If so, I want to hear from you for a piece. DM me here or kyle DOT orland AT arstechnica DOT com.

Please spread the word

Becoming obsessed with adding QoL features to the Mip Explorer:
- Navigate directories with the arrow keys
- Taskbar notification when directory scan ends while app is in the background
- Resizable UI
- Support for single-channel textures (ok, not just QoL)
github.com/HaukeThiesse...
#gamedev

Just noticed that 5.7 is the first UE5 version since 5.0 without any explicit Lumen improvements on the roadmap 🧐
Guess MegaLights is the focus for the next few releases?

With the latest update for the Mip Explorer, it now also reads and compares the alpha channels if existent, and can process entire directories, returning the results in a sorted list.
The goal is to turn this from a toy into a tool for actual production.
github.com/HaukeThiesse...
#gamedev

Source: dev.epicgames.com/documentatio...
(you can switch the engine version via the drop down on the left)

Short Answer:
Yes. But I think inside Epic Games nobody noticed, because they can afford to use ludicrous workstations. A typical Epic workstation back in UE4 times had 6 cores and 64 GB of RAM. Currently Epic calls workstations with 64 cores and 256 GB of RAM "reasonable". 🫠

especially if everyone on the team got already got accustomed to the way things look.

engine in the first place. You need experience (and time) to determine which of those features actually make sense for your game and which you can disable. You also need to convince the rest of the team that it's the right to to, which can be difficult,

Honestly, there is no huge difference between UE5 and UE4, most UE4 projects even still open fine in UE5.
The main reason for the bad performance of some recent UE5 games is that by default the engine enables all of it's shiny next-gen features at once, since those are the features that sell the..

Attention fellow AUSTRALIANS! 🇦🇺

We now have an official petition to parliament to STOP MASTERCARD and VISA from its campaign of censorship, restricting what legal products we can buy.

Please sign it now, and if you're not an Aussie, spread the word!

www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/...

Tabs! 👋

There are a lot of reasons why starting the Unreal editor can be slow. In my latest blog post I fixed 38,000 of them.
#ue5
#gamedv

larstofus.com/2025/09/02/s...

@godotfest.bsky.social is still seeking some volunteers to assist video recordings. Free ticket.

Discord: discord.com/invite/vA4pN...
Form: forms.gle/73X7M5pa59Dc...

#godot #godotfest #godotcon

In a recent talk I called Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 one of the best optimized video games in existence, and there probably aren't many big savings left anymore...
Well, just weeks later it's open source re-implementation made the creation of savegames 12(!) times faster 🏎️
openrct2.io/blog/2025/08...

Hi authors! Please remember to file a claim!

Do you have a gamedev blog with RSS active? comment with the link, I'll follow, let's spread a bit of love for good old blogging! mine's in bio if you want.

Yeah, I knew RSS isn't dead yet 🥳
larstofus.com