Volumetric Clouds in Unreal Engine 4

[UPDATE]
I released a new video showcasing the new BETA 2.0 version that improves Volumetric Clouds almost under every aspect. You can check it in here: • VOLUMETRIC CLOUDS BETA...
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I did a quick test of the free Volumetric Clouds plugin for Unreal Engine 4 created by Harry Emelianov. It's a really nice blueprint system that lets you play around with a lot of parameters in order to get the exact clouds' look you are aiming to.
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Here the link to the plugin: gumroad.com/de...
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[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

You can find a new video showcasing the new BETA 2.0 version, that improves Volumetric Clouds almost under every aspect, in here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5WlqaFvl5d3eJo

[@garyhaus]

HOLY MOLY!!! WOW! Will be getting this into my project ASAP!!!

[@cr3ap3r1]

Managed to do it by making a 'create dynamic material instance' node in the construction tab of the blueprint, then calling that from other BPs. Love this plugin

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

If you are working on 4,24 you can try the new 2.0 version ( gumroad.com/l/rBnfo ), It's a lot better to use and it's not anymore a plugin but just an asset to drag in the scene. An updated tutorial on that and more is coming soon! So don't forget to subscribe and stay tuned!

[@CaliberBeats]

do we still put it in the plugin folder?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

No, they are regular assets you put in your project's content folder, then all the parameters have moved inside a material and material instances.

[@NibblyBitz]

Actual legend thank you for making this

[@soop8765]

Did you even listen to the first 30 seconds? He said he found it.

[@Yuskebub]

Stroath Mate He was probably talking about the video. Chill out mate.

[@kd318]

Beta 2 is just amazing, thanks a lot for that! The controls are pretty easy to understand but updated video would be great. One question though, is it possible that clouds would react scene lighting? I'm using new Sun Sky system. I guess not in this version as there are multiple presets (material instances) for particular lighting conditions (day, night etc...)

[@KUBE.archvis]

K D this is exactly what I was wondering. I've been trying to get the sun sky to cooperate with a sky sphere but had the problem where the sun disk would no longer be visible. The compass is great for making the light direction physically accurate but what use is that when the realism effect is ruined by ever fact that there is not even one wisp of cloud in the sky? Hence why I'm looking for cloud alternatives. Please Let me know if you figure out how to make this work. 😊

[@kd318]

@@KUBE.archvis i was playing with it a little and created a simple blueprint that changes parameteres in cloud material instance based on time of day (Solar time in SunSky). It also blends between multiple cubemaps so it creates believable lighting. Ground shadows function in this cloud system is also superb because it is very easy to create overcast lighting, I'm planning to extend it to basically create a weather system

[@KUBE.archvis]

K D wow! Super cool. Sounds like soon I'll have lots of cool new stuff to learn. 😇🙃😌

[@AnandStudios]

not working in 4.24 try to rebuild?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

If you are working on 4,24 you can try the new 2.0 version ( gumroad.com/l/rBnfo ), It's a lot better to use and it it's not anymore a plugin but just an asset to drag in the scene

[@cr3ap3r1]

Is there a way to get the clouds to update during gameplay via an EventTick? Like changing light color over time? I see the values change in the actor in the Outliner, but they do not update in the viewport. But if I manually change the actor values in the outliner they will update in the viewport.

[@hollowknight_2022]

Great plugin! I really love it! But when I try to "package" the project it gives me an error. I tried many different options regarding the packaging but the only way for me to make it work is to disable the plugin. It builds well but it wont package and make ".exe". Do you know how to resolve this problem? Thanks in advance!

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Are you on 4.24? If yes, have you tried the new beta v2.0?

[@hollowknight_2022]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that I was using 4.22 and the older version of the plugin. Should I download 4.24 and move the project to that version?

[@abstractcoral100]

Hi, I'm having issues getting shadows from the clouds. The light function material does not seem to work with version 2.1.... Is there anything I need to do in particualr?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Do you mean the clouds interaction with sun light? I am didn't play with it for a while, I need to check

[@KhappaMusicHD]

Thank you very much. I wanna try the version 2.0 in a project. Sorry mr. Giannelli may I ask what is the reason why are you using UE4 for? Is it for game projects? Because I would like to talking about

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

I am focused on archviz and tools creation/pipeline optimization Feel free to contact me even for a quick chat Here the just released video about version 2.0 of the Volumetric clouds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5WlqaFvl5d3eJo

[@KhappaMusicHD]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG oh yes, I'm currently working to a game project with my studio, that's why I was asking. It could be nice if we could talking about. How can we do that? Are you comfortable in doing this here on KZbin?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Discord would be nice. Or whatever you prefer

[@stanwildin3D]

how do i get it to work? Could u, like maybe make a tutorial where you put it in to the project and use it. How do i Get the plug in to work

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

If you are working on 4,24 you can try the new 2.0 version ( gumroad.com/l/rBnfo ), It's a lot better to use and it it's not anymore a plugin but just an asset to drag in the scene

[@3dmilk]

thanks

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Thanks for checking it out ;)

[@ty_teynium]

Im currently on .23. Is there a way to use this for my current version? In the meantime I'll try updating my engine hopefully without losing any project progress data.

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

The first version of the plugin, the one I actually use in the video, should work on 4.23. The new version 2 is apparently only available for 4.24+. Anyway you shouldn't have issues with your projects upgrading from 4.23 to 4.24. I skipped completely the 4.23 update, but 4.24 is really good for so many reasons.

[@adriantaylor09]

Out of interest: where did you get your building data from?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

That's the topic for a series of upcoming videos 😁 Anyway it is a mix of sources, nothing was modelled, everything comes from satellite maps data (Open Street Map and Google Maps)

[@KUBE.archvis]

did you use the new blender plugin for it? I have been playing around with it myself and it is really cool and imports to unreal easily via fbx.

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

@@KUBE.archvis Do you mean the Blender GIS addon? In this case I used the OSM addon for Blender and other softwares for Google Maps data. I still have to try GIS to see if it's better than OSM addon.

[@wolfmanproject1982]

How tov install plugin ?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

If you are working on 4,24 you can try the new 2.0 version ( gumroad.com/l/rBnfo ), It's a lot better to use and it it's not anymore a plugin but just an asset to drag in the scene

[@ojier2482]

not work in 21+ version(

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Are you on 4.24? If yes I suggest to you to jump on the new beta 2 version you can find here gumroad.com/l/rBnfo

[@yuliakrasnokutska3770]

How to import to project 4.24?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

There is a new 2.0 version specifically for 4.24 :) gumroad.com/l/rBnfo differently from the previews version I showed here in the video it's not a plugin anymore, but just a blueprint you can drag in the scene and control every aspect from the material instance. See provided materials and maps for example.

[@kathoden]

@StrangeLove It's no longer a plugin. Just drag the blueprint found in the blueprints folder to your level and it should show up. Just in case the clouds are dark, go to the base folder in the material folder of the clouds, make a material instance from the material in there, open up the material instance and set the lightIntensity to something high like 75000 or 50,000. It's mostly dependent on what your directional light's lux settings is.

[@gluebubbler]

How install?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Are you on 4.24 or still on previews engine versions?

[@gluebubbler]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG Yes, I updated the version but there is still a problem. I created a Folder in the project path called Plugin and put the contents of the archive there. When I launched the UE4 project, I got an error "Unable to Rebuild this plugin" or something like that. After that, the UE did not start.

[@gluebubbler]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG Omg ... Sorry, I'm just a dumb. I did not see the attached comment and tried to install the old version of the plugin on a new engine... Thanks anyway for the quick feedback😅

[@gluebubbler]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG But anyway, I don't see plugin in plugin list in UE. i do something wrong?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Here the just released video about version 2.0 :) Enjoy kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5WlqaFvl5d3eJo

[@friendlycreep9562]

does this work on planet?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

Do you mean along spherical surfaces? I don't think so... At least at default settings.. But it could be possible to tweak it in order to place the clouds along a planet and not just straight

[@3dani49]

Nice! I really like it, I´ve been playing with the settings, but they doesnt save properly and when I save and re-open my project again, clouds are as default..!! I 2.0 newer version... Anyone can help?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

That's weird. They should be saved in the material instance parameters. I should try to reproduce your issue

[@Nonokiller99999]

Hey man ! I have a problem to install this on a 4.22. version it says that i have to recompile it manually because it was designed for a 4.20. version of UE... :(

[@thefyrenight]

There is a way, I'm in 4.24. What you need to do is recompile plugin. To do that create a c++ project, it can be a blank one. Once created the c++ project, go into its main folder create a new folder called "Plugins"(it should be on same level as Content folder not deeper, just main project folder.) Once plugin is added load into project. It will ask you if you want to run plugin for that engine version, say yes, you will get another prompt saying it needs build, click yes again(this time it should work) if it runs successfully you have rebuilt plugin and you can move it back to the engines plugin folder rather than it being project specific. But I should warn you even after this fix I am only able to use volumetric clouds in editor not within simulate.

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

I tested it on a 4.23 blueprints project and it worked. Download the plugin from Gumroad, create a Plugin folder inside your uproject folder and copy the downloaded content in there. At project startup the plugin should be successfully recompiled for your engine version. If you are jumping to 4.24 the developer released an updated version of the plugin.

[@zinalEng]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG hi, i'm a little lost. i created the Plugin folder in my project's main folder but once I open unreal i don't see anything. Am I suppose to activate it in the plugins?

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

@@zinalEng Click on Show Plugins Content in the Content Browser and you should be able to see the VolumentricClouds folder. from there you just need to drag the BP into your level :)

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

There is a new 2.0 version specifically for 4.24 :) gumroad.com/l/rBnfo differently from the previews version I showed here in the video it's not a plugin anymore, but just a blueprint you can drag in the scene and control every aspect from the material instance. See provided materials and maps for example.

[@gurjar3609]

bro its not workinbg

[@NazzarenoGiannelliCG]

If you are on 4.24 or newer engine version check out the version 2. Link in the description

[@gurjar3609]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG my 4.25.3

[@gurjar3609]

@@NazzarenoGiannelliCG Sir its Not Working