Cine Tracer 0.75 ships
Matt Workman has released Cine Tracer 0.75, the latest version of the work-in-progress Unreal Engine-based ‘cinematography simulator‘, adding new stock figures based on Epic Games’ MetaHuman technology.
The software – half game, half professional tool – enables users to plan shots or capture storyboard frames using virtual sets featuring digital recreations of real-world lights, cameras and props.
Block out shots virtually using readymade recreations of real-world lights and cameras
First released in 2018, Cine Tracer is “technically” a game, although it’s more in the mould of a modding toolset, or the creative mode in a sandbox title.
For indie film-makers, it offers the possiblity of carrying out fairly detailed previs work, blocking out shots by creating digital representations of real-world sets using stock 3D characters and props.
The software also includes pre-built representations of a range of real-world lights and camera types.
Users can adjust lighting colour and intensity – Cine Tracer works in lumens, although it’s a guide to real-world lighting, not an accurate representation of it – and camera properties like ISO and focal length.
The Windows edition supports Unreal Engine’s real-time ray tracing system, making it possible to preview shots with ray traced shadows, reflections, AO, translucency and GI if you have a compatible GPU.
As well as rehearsing camera moves, users can capture stills for storyboards, at a range of aspect ratios.
Cine Tracer 0.75: new stock MetaHuman characters
The first update to Cine Tracer in over a year, version 0.75 introduces MetaHumans: stock figures based on Epic Games’ next-generation real-time character technology.
The functionality was announced last year as part of a teaser for Cine Tracer Meta, a new version of the software based on Unreal Engine 5, the latest version of the game engine, now available in preview.
The update replaces Cine Tracer’s old stock figures with a set of 10 MetaHumans: five male and five female, customisable using a small library of recolorisable hairstyles and clothing.
As well as their visual quality, key benefits of the new characters include more scope to customise their facial expressions, as shown in the video at the top of the story.
Improved performance on Macs, but many old stock assets removed
According to the release notes, the build has been confirmed to work on Macs with Apple’s current M1 processors, addressing one of the criticisms made in user reviews of Cine Tracer on Steam.
However, the update seems likely to exacerbate another point identified in critical reviews – the size of the asset library – with the changelog noting that “many assets have been removed”, including “some props”.
Pricing and system requirements
Cine Tracer 0.75 is available for Windows 10 and macOS 10.14.6+. The software is available via Steam only. It is currently in early access, and costs $89.99.