Neoglyphic Entertainment releases NeoFur for Unity
Originally posted on 5 August 2016. Scroll down for news of the commercial release.
Neoglyphic Entertainment has released a beta version of NeoFur, its real-time hair and fur system, for Unity.
Real-time ‘fuzzy surfaces’ with self-shadowing and physics support
Already available for Unreal Engine – for which it won one of Epic Games’ Unreal Dev Grants earlier this year – NeoFur creates fuzzy surfaces like hair and fur in real time.
The plugin uses a geometry shell rendering technique to create a “beautiful illusion of millions of strands of fur”. The demo video’s claims of “cinematic quality” are a bit hyperbolic, but it’s an attractive effect.
The technology is capable of dynamic self-shadowing, supports rim lighting and ambient occlusion, and comes with controls for strand colour, length and thickness.
Strands also have physics parameters like gravity and stiffness, and can be affected by a game engine’s native forces. There is also a custom level of detail system.
“Creating realistic fuzzy objects and surfaces has always been a difficult and time-consuming process,” said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, speaking of the original UE4 version. “[NeoFur’s] performance is exemplary.”
Updated 1 December: Neofur for Unity is now shipping. The plugin is compatible with Unity 5.3.5 and above, running on Windows and Mac OS X.
Indie licences of the plugin cost $99. They’re for projects with budgets under $150k, and support Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS as build targets. Enterprise licences are priced on demand.
Neoglyphic also offers $19 Personal licences for learning and non-commercial work.