Unreal Engine 5 is setting out to bring massive visual improvements in games, but we obviously haven't seen many titles using it, as developers need time to take advantage of technology that is still relatively new. Small demos, however, are already showing what the engine is capable of.

　　MAWi United, the developer behind some great-looking Unreal Engine 5.1 demos such as the Redwood and Conifer Forest demos, recently released another impressive Dune Desert Landscape demo. Alongside the demo, which can be downloaded by going here, the developer released a few videos showcasing this landscape at different times of the day.

　　Digital Dreams also shared a video showcasing this Unreal Engine 5.1 Dune Desert Landscape demo, which you can check out below.

　　Unreal Engine 5.1 is the first major update for the new version of the engine by Epic. Released back in November 2022, it brought plenty of improvements, such as Lumen, Nanite, and Virtual Shadow Maps improvements, as well as enhanced world building tools. You can learn more about the engine by heading over to its official website.

　　Lumen, Nanite, and Virtual Shadow Maps updates

　　"We’ve laid the groundwork for the Lumen dynamic global illumination and reflections system, the Nanite virtualized micropolygon geometry system, and Virtual Shadow Maps (VSM) to support games and experiences running at 60 fps on next-gen consoles and capable PCs, enabling fast-paced competitive games and detailed simulations to run without latency.

　　Meanwhile, Nanite has also been updated with a Programmable Rasterizer to allow for material-driven animations and deformations via World Position Offset, as well as opacity masks. This exciting development paves the way for artists to use Nanite to program specific objects’ behavior, for example Nanite-based foliage with leaves blowing in the wind."