NVIDIA's Ansel technology makes it simple for PC gamers to capture and share enhanced images from their games. Integrating the Ansel UE4 plugin into your game is quick and easy.
An end-user overview of Ansel is available on NVIDIA's Ansel Site.
The Ansel features available in Unreal Engine 4 are:
- Free Camera - Position the camera for ideal composition before taking a picture
- Super Resolution - Render at higher than game resolution for ultimate quality
- Post Processing - Apply filters to alter the mood
- 360 Capture - Capture 360 panoramic images that can be viewed on PC or with a VR headset
Hardware and Software Requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Unreal Engine Version | 4.14 or later |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 780 or better |
| Display Driver | NVIDIA GeForce 372.90 or later |
Enabling Ansel Photography for Your Game
To enable the Ansel Photography feature in your game:
-
In the Settings dropdown of the Level Editor toolbar, choose Use Plugins to open the Plugins Browser.
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Select the Photography category and locate the NVIDIA Ansel Photography Plugin. Toggle the Enabled option.
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Restart Unreal Editor.
Your game should now have a working Ansel Photography Mode which the player can invoke. For instruction on how to test the Ansel integration in your game, see the NVIDIA Ansel Capture Testing page.
Capture Types
Ansel offers the following capture types:
| Capture Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Screenshot | A standard screenshot using the current viewport resolution | |
| Superresolution | A high resolution screenshot using a configurable multiple of the current viewport resolution | |
| 360 | A 360 degree view screenshot using a configurable resolution | |
| Stereo | A stereo screenshot using the current viewport resolution for each viewpoint | |
| 360 Stereo | A 360 degree view stereo screenshot using a configurable resolution |
To select a capture type, use the Capture type slider:
Not all Ansel filters are valid with multipart Capture types, e.g. 360 and Highres. You may therefore see filters, or aspects of a filter, removed in the final picture.
Similarly, not all UE4 postprocessing effects are valid with multipart Capture types. Standard UE4 postprocessing effects which are problematic in this case are automatically removed in the final picture.
Camera Constraints
The photographer is allowed to move the camera freely, with two constraints by default:
- The camera is forced to remain within a certain distance of its starting position.
- The camera is unable to move through collidable objects, i.e. walls and characters.
Filters
A number of filters can be applied to adjust the look of the scene.
Drag to see the available filters in action
To select a filter, use the Filter slider:
Some filters, such as the Custom filter, have additional settings that can be used to adjust the filter even further.
Controlling game effects from the Ansel UI
The Ansel plugin detects whether the game is using certain graphical effects (Focus, Bloom, etc) and adds a 'Game settings' section to the Ansel UI. Expand this section to control these options during photography.
Customizing the Player Experience
The default Ansel plugin configuration is meant to provide a sane out-of-the-box experience for typical projects but for the best player experience it should be configured for your game's needs and potentially integrated with your game logic. See the NVIDIA Ansel Console Variable Reference and NVIDIA Ansel Blueprint Node Reference for information on the available options and logic hooks.