This R&D focuses on using Houdini simulation data and visualizing it in real time inside Unreal Engine.

The smoke simulation was created in Houdini and then adapted for real-time use in Unreal, with a strong focus on maintaining the look and motion of a high-quality simulation while keeping the effect suitable for interactive environments.

Key features of the setup include:

• Fully art-directable Houdini smoke simulations
• Vector Field–driven motion
• Particle data integration
• Live-lit smoke that reacts to the environment lighting
• Self-lit smoke for effects containing fire, sparks, or internal emission
• Volume-based smoke shaders
• GPU particle support
• 3D smoke with visible depth and volume
• Flipbook particle techniques
• Texture sheet–based particle animation

The main goal was to explore different workflows for bringing high-quality Houdini smoke simulations into Unreal Engine while preserving depth, lighting response, and art direction in a real-time setup.