Unreal Engine 5.8 Gets Advanced Shader Delivery for Less In-Game Stuttering

Epic Games is finally addressing one of the biggest issues with its game engine: in-game stuttering. Thanks to the latest version of Unreal Engine, version 5.8, this problem is becoming a thing of the past. The engine now incorporates Microsoft's DirectX Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) for pre-compiled game shaders, moving shader compilation off the player's device. This change reduces the power and CPU time spent on compiling shaders. The company packages shader data into a State Object Database (SODB) and uses cloud-based compilation to convert that data into a Precompiled Shader Database (PSDB). This database can be shipped alongside the game, allowing it to find ready-to-use shaders on the first run. As a result, game developers will be able to provide pre-compiled shaders, speeding up game loading times and reducing any shader-induced stuttering during gameplay.

Once these pre-compiled shaders are downloaded onto the device, they will be simply invoked when playing the game, leaving Unreal Engine with easy access to shaders for seamless loading. As one of the most demanding game engines, Unreal Engine in its version 5.x is already computationally intensive and requires powerful graphics cards for optimal results. However, even with powerful GPUs, in-game stuttering can occur if a game's shaders aren't properly compiled and loaded. Using ASD will finally resolve this issue for good, provided game developers choose to support it. Read full story