This Isn’t a Photo, This Is Unity Engine Going Wild with Real-Time Hair Strands

With projects like The Matrix Awakens, Unreal Engine 5 has shown that we are this close to video game graphics that are indistinguishable from real life. However, Unreal isn’t the only engine that can leave you questioning reality. Notably, Unity has revealed a video demo called “Enemies,” showcasing high-end real-time 3D technology for humans that uses, among other things, a strand-based hair solution. Unity has spelled out on a technical level what the technology in “Enemies” entails, but for the layman, it can be summarized with — it looks like people.

“Enemies” expands on technology showcased in a previous demo, “The Heretic,” by including things like a new skin shader and a “better 4D pipeline.” However, the additions get more eye-popping from there, perhaps literally: There are now caustics in the iris of the eye. The technology also automates blood flow simulation and wrinkle maps in order to create fine details for you. Likewise, there is a “Skin Attachment system on the GPU to allow for high-density meshes (e.g., peach fuzz).” Meanwhile, the strand-based hair Unity shows off works with “any authoring tools that output data in the Alembic format,” and “Enemies” used Maya XGen and Weta Barbershop for it.

Let us know if any aspect of this demo could have fooled you if we didn’t already tell you what it was. The new hair technology solution will be included in an updated Digital Human Package for Unity in Q2 2022.