tech demo Archives

AppWizard

January 1, 2026

PUBG creator’s take on a metaverse is radically different from Roblox or Fortnite: “Everyone’s doing it the wrong way”

Prologue is a new survival game from PlayerUnknown Productions that utilizes advanced machine learning technology to create expansive maps. It is the first of three initiatives aimed at developing a broader metaverse concept called Artemis. Brendan Greene, the creator of PUBG, envisions Prologue as a community-driven experience and a testing ground for features that will contribute to Artemis. He aims to create a 3D internet where millions can share ideas and create content, contrasting with existing models that limit user experiences. Greene discussed the challenges of creating a viable metaverse, referencing limitations in current server infrastructure. Prologue's game world is generated using a machine learning agent and Unreal Engine, while another project, Preface, demonstrates the potential for creating environments on players' devices without server reliance. Greene emphasizes that Artemis will be open-source, allowing various experiences across platforms, and he projects it will take about a decade to fully realize. Prologue will remain in early access for about a year, with continued support expected after its official launch.

AppWizard

November 30, 2025

Unreal Engine 5.7 Venice Next-Gen Tech Demo Released

Scans Factory has released a tech demo using Unreal Engine 5.7, featuring the city of Venice, which is available for download. The demo includes over 500 assets, allowing players to explore various aspects of Venetian life. Performance testing on a high-end gaming rig showed 40FPS at Native 4K resolution with Cinematic Settings, and over 65FPS at Ultra settings. A walkthrough video and performance comparison between UE5.4 and UE5.7 are also provided. Additionally, various free fan-made projects in Unreal Engine 5 include remakes of popular games and other tech demos.

AppWizard

October 29, 2025

PUBG creator’s roguelike survival game with machine learning-generated worlds hits Steam early access next month – the first step toward “realistic Minecraft” for “millions of players”

PlayerUnknown Productions, an independent studio, will launch its first title, Prologue: Go WayBack, on November 20, entering early access on Steam. This single-player survival game features roguelike elements and is the first part of a trilogy envisioned by Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene, who aims to create a dynamic survival ecosystem called Project Artemis. Prologue: Go WayBack includes challenging first-person survival mechanics and a free roam mode. The development of this game is part of a larger initiative to create a technology platform for large-scale emergent play, utilizing a proprietary engine called Melba.

AppWizard

October 12, 2025

The Need for Speed Underground 2 Unreal Engine 5 Fan Remake Looks Better Than Ever

In January 2025, a demo for a fan remake of Need for Speed Underground 2 using Unreal Engine 5 was unveiled. The project, developed by apfelbaum, features a fully playable Career Mode, although it currently lacks AI opponents, traffic, and destructible environments. Future updates are expected to improve driving mechanics, introduce a new weather system, and update the car paint model. A new launcher will be introduced to streamline user experience, allowing easy downloads, updates, and integrity checks of game files. The previous demo is accessible through RPGGameplay’s Discord server. Additionally, various other fan-made demos are available, including remakes of popular games like Superman, Halo 3: ODST, and more.

AppWizard

September 3, 2025

Planetary Minecraft-inspired demo uses a spherical planet — game has the same blocky mechanics, but converts flat earth surface into a sphere

Bowerbyte has introduced Blocky Planet, a tech demo that transforms the flat worlds of Minecraft into a spherical experience. This project is available for download on PC or can be played in a web browser. Adapting the flat terrain into a spherical model involves filtering blocks based on their proximity to a central point, which presents challenges related to gravity. Players may face difficulties with upward building or downward digging due to the absence of proper gravitational mechanics. A demonstration video of Blocky Planet is available on YouTube.

AppWizard

July 23, 2025

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers review

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is an action-heavy soulslike game set in 14th century China during a plague, with a release date of July 24, 2025, priced at .99. It is developed by Leenzee and published by 505 Games. The game features a combat system that allows players to engage in battles while dodging attacks and using spells without a mana bar, supported by a skill tree for upgrades. However, the combat experience can become repetitive, with a lack of variety in enemy design and encounter mechanics. The environments are visually appealing but can feel disjointed, and the game struggles to establish a unique identity, often echoing elements from FromSoftware's titles. It does not include multiplayer and is verified for Steam Deck. The game was reviewed on an RTX 5090, Intel Core i9 12900K, and 32GB RAM.

AppWizard

July 17, 2025

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast RTX Remix Demo Released

A new Path Tracing Mod for Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, originally released in 2002, has been developed by modder ArjaanAuinger using the QindieGL wrapper, marking the first RTX Remix Mod for an OpenGL-based game. Currently a tech demo, it enhances one level of the game with Path Tracing capabilities, but is not fully polished and has visual issues, performing around 50 FPS at 1080p on an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070. The mod is available for download, and videos showcasing its capabilities have been released. In 2024, several RTX Remix Mods have been announced for various titles, including Tomb Raider 2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The modding community has also released Path Tracing Mods for older games like Deus Ex and Call of Duty 4, with ongoing innovations in RTX Remix Mods for other titles.

AppWizard

June 16, 2025

Stutters and hitches in Unreal Engine 5 games should become rarer over time due to Epic’s continuous updates, but we’ll still see them for a while because of the way games are made

At Unreal Fest in Orlando, Epic Games showcased new features for Unreal Engine 5 through a tech demo of CD Projekt Red's Witcher 4 and hosted training sessions for developers. Key topics included shader compilation stutters and performance issues in Unreal Engine games, with a focus on optimization methodologies rather than the engine itself. Insights revealed persistent performance optimization challenges, particularly with shader compilation and traversal stutters. Developers were encouraged to implement PSO precaching in Unreal Engine 5.2 or newer, although neither solution is perfect. Obsidian's game Avowed began development in Unreal Engine 4 before transitioning to version 5.3.2, while aiming for specific frame rates on Xbox Series S and X. The team size for Avowed was 140, with only 15 in technical roles, which may have limited their ability to fully utilize new features. Unreal Engine 5.6 offers performance enhancements that require strategic implementation by developers. Attendance at Epic's sessions was high, indicating a growing awareness of performance issues among developers. The hope is that future titles will leverage the latest engine version to address these challenges effectively.

AppWizard

June 5, 2025

Summer Game Fest 2025 preview: The big games and developers to expect at Friday’s livestream

E3 has transitioned into the Summer Game Fest, led by Geoff Keighley, featuring a livestream on June 6 at 2 pm Pacific on YouTube. New developers include Raw Power Games, working on a medieval sandbox game, and Soft Rains, developing a sci-fi action game. Big studios like 505 Games, 2K Games, Bandai Namco, Capcom, CD Projekt, Embark, IO Interactive, Square Enix, Techland, Xbox, PlayStation, Epic Games, Pearl Abyss, and Sega are expected to showcase new titles or updates. Additional partners include 1047 Games, Amazon Games, Annapurna Interactive, Atari, Bellring Games, Blumhouse Games, Coffee Stain, Devolver Digital, Dotemu, Dreamhaven, Enhance, Focus Entertainment, Frontier, Funcom, iam8bit Presents, Kakao Games, Kinetic Games, Kuro Games, Level Infinite, Magic the Gathering, Megabit, Meta Quest, Mundfish, NCSoft, Nekki, Neowiz, Netmarble, Niantic, Nintendo Switch 2, Nuverse, Playstack, PlaySide, PM Studios, Razer, Supermassive Games, Xsolla, and Yacht Club Games. An "intense body horror" game titled ILL and beta access to Soulframe will also be featured, with Hideo Kojima confirmed to attend.

AppWizard

April 5, 2025

Nintendo should have cribbed from Valve on how to make a good handheld tech demo

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct introduced a feature called Welcome Tour, which is priced at 990 yen (approximately £5), though there are speculations it may cost more. The feature has been described as a "glorified tech demo" or a "digital manual." In contrast, Valve's Aperture Desk Job is a free tech demo for the Steam Deck that effectively showcases its functionalities while incorporating humor and narrative elements from the Portal universe. It takes about half an hour to complete and has received positive reviews for its engaging gameplay and clever references. Many players find it both entertaining and educational. In comparison, the Welcome Tour has been criticized for its generic presentation and lack of creativity, highlighting a disparity between Nintendo's past successes and its current offerings.