AMD has revealed today in a press release that TressFX 4.1, the latest version of its software library dedicated to the simulation and rendering of hair and fur, is available with Unreal Engine 4 integration as a patch on the Epic Games Unreal Engine GitHub repository.

　　It's been a while since any game supported TressFX. The most famous implementations are still those featured in 2013's Tomb Raider, 2015's Rise of the Tomb Raider and 2016's Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, all games published by Square Enix. Perhaps the Unreal Engine 4 integration will entice more game developers to look into it.

　　We are delighted to announce our TressFX 4.1/Unreal Engine integration and our TressFX 4.1/Radeon Cauldron framework implementation. The TressFX library is AMD’s hair/fur rendering and simulation technology. TressFX is designed to use the GPU to simulate and render high quality realistic hair and fur.

　　This latest version – TressFX 4.1 – is designed to be a performance and feature enhancement of TressFX 4.0. Highlights include further optimization of the physics simulation shaders, new rendering features, documentation and tutorials, and an updated TressFX Exporter for Autodesk Maya.

　　This release also demonstrates TressFX integration with Unreal Engine (4.22). This is a minimal integration to improve ease-of-use with multiple TressFX components, features, and rendering and simulation materials.  Developers wishing to further the integration or customize it for their own requirements may find this basic level of integration a helpful first step in that process.

　　TressFX/Radeon Cauldron demonstrates how TressFX can be cleanly dropped into an existing codebase.

　　TressFX features

　　Hair and fur support, designed for high quality anti-aliasingAnimation/skinning supportUnreal Engine (4.22) integrationTressFX/Cauldron implementation (source code)Maya plugin provided for hair/fur and collision authoringSource code providedNew in TressFX 4.1

　　TressFX/Unreal engine integration (patch under Epic Games Unreal GitHub repository) with multiple components, rendering and simulation material supportTressFX/Cauldron implementation with source code (DirectX 12 and Vulkan)Optimized physics simulation shaders can allow more hair to be simulated in real-timeNew rendering features (StrandUV and Hair Parameter Blending)New Level of Detail (LOD) systemDocumentation and tutorialsUpdated Maya Exporter with new UI and new features/error checking