Unreal vs Octane as path tracing renderer , AOV baker ?
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Can someone tell how close Unreal path tracer could be to Octane or Red Shift for rendering images , textures, backgrounds ? I am quite tired of Octane quirks lately . So would like to ask if anyone use Unreal rather not as a game engine but more like a regular renderer? Can it output usual AOVs and do render layers ? I never tried to use it in such capacity but read somewhere movie studios do it already for background renders. Is it easy there or needs extensive node wiring? Could it produce same mild and tender SSS, light scattering as Octane or Red shift for subjects like grass and foliage without black holes in the center of grass bunches/clusters or nice volumetric clouds from sculpted shapes ? Can it do same render time GPU instancing and interactive editing as Octane? I mean in full scale path tracing mode.
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(I used unreal 4 by the way, so I can imagine unreal 5 or next will do an even better job)
You can output render passes, choose solutions for computing lighting, reflections, shadows...etc. To me the shift was interesting because the viewport render look actually like the final one, so you don't loose time rendering>compositing>checking your renders looks good. You just hit play and adjust in realtime, then once everything is okay, you almost hit that same "play" button and you'll get your renders quite as fast as your movie plays. I can't tell how precise unreal renderer compare to Octane/RedShift, but I assume realtime saves time to refine your vision before hitting that render button
About more realism I think the demos unreal put speaks for themselves ; I think about the matrix "realtime immersive short film" or even the very first tech demo showcasing lumen & nanite running dosens of megascans and a realistic character exploring caves and temple's ruin, even if their art direction might not align with your vision, they probably showcase solid capabilities for what you'd like to achieve