Epic Games Acquires Twinmotion!
Twinmotion joins Unreal Engine Suite of Technologies
Big news today in the world of Arch Viz and real time rendering. Epic games has added Twinmotion to their suite of products. Here are a few notes from Epic about Twinmotion:
"Real-time immersive 3D architectural visualization -- Easily produce high-quality images, panoramas, and standard or 360° VR videos in seconds! For architecture, construction, urban planning, and landscaping professionals, Twinmotion combines an intuitive icon-driven interface with the power of Unreal Engine."
Over the last several years, Epic Games has really tried to cater to the arch viz industry, specifically with the creation of their Unreal Studio group which includes the Datasmith product. In my conversations with the developers there, they have made it clear that they are dedicated to branching out into other industries (besides gaming) and help them to integrate real time technology into their workflows. In my opinion, a big company like this putting forth that kind of effort, not to mention a great product, means a lot.
Acquiring Twinmotion is just another step. If you don't know much about Twinmotion, is a probably the closest competitor to Lumion. Both programs use real time technology to make rendering faster and more intuitive for people like architects, who don't want to get too deep into a game engine. They have large asset libraries, photorealistic effects, etc., making it possible to quickly generate convincing 3d renderings without a huge learning curve.
Here is some of the added benefits of Twinmotion, according to Epic Games themselves:
"With Twinmotion, you can transform your BIM or CAD model into a compelling real-time experience faster and more easily than you ever thought possible."
Unprecedented Real-Time Quality
"View and edit your scene in real time at the same high quality as the final rendering. Twinmotion features real-time radiosity, and includes over 600 PBR materials that react to your environment, making it easy to get the realistic look you need."
Easy to Learn and Use
"A simple and intuitive interface makes Twinmotion extremely easy to learn and use, regardless of your project’s size and complexity, or your previous CG experience. Drag and drop lights, materials, and props; change the season or the weather by simply dragging a slider."
One of the big benefits I am seeing advertised is that, much like Datasmith, your CAD can be imported directly into real time with the click of a button. This is a huge advantage. Apparently there are direct links between all CAD software, but also one-click synchronization between Revit and ArchiCAD. This is huge for architects that want to be able to visualize and iterate very quickly.
They are also advertising that you will be able to have your Revit models in VR in a matter of seconds with this synchronization, putting Unreal in direct competition with other products like Enscape. Hopefully, with the full force of their development team, Epic can make a product that is fast an easy, but even more powerful than some of the other push-button solutions for VR.
PRICING
A big part of why Unreal has been embraced by the arch viz community is because of the pricing structure. Again, I expect the pricing to be user friendly. For now, twinmotion will be a free product to whoever wants it. In November of 2019, along with Datasmith, it will become paid. No news on how much. Good news is that you can use the free version forever, so get it now.
Download Twinmotion and learn more about the product HERE.
Check out this sample video of what Twinmotion can do
