Mar 14, 2024

Phanto: A New Mixed Reality Showcase for Unreal Engine

We are thrilled to announce the release of Phanto for Unreal⁠, an open-source port of our original Unity Phanto⁠ project to Unreal Engine 5.3. This showcase demonstrates how Presence Platform features, such as Scene Mesh, Passthrough and Depth API, can be combined to create action-packed mixed reality gameplay. The majority of Phanto functionality is implemented via Unreal Blueprints, so whether you’re an Unreal veteran or just starting out, Phanto is an excellent starting point to integrate mixed reality into your project.

Mixed Reality Features in Phanto

Phanto⁠ is a mixed reality game in which ghostly foes⁠ attempt to fill your room with ectoplasmic goo. Armed with the Polterblast 3000⁠ and the Ecto Blaster⁠, players must wash away the goo, destroy Phanto and the Phantoms, and save their room.

Phanto for Unreal⁠ provides a practical illustration of how to implement many presence-based interactions in Unreal Engine. We’ll showcase a handful of these below:

Content placement⁠ using Scene API: Phanto for Unreal demonstrates how to use the scene mesh to place content in the player’s environment. This is achieved by using a blueprint that identifies suitable surfaces and positions the object accordingly.

Immersive mesh collisions⁠ using Scene Mesh: Using a particle system that bounces the particles off the surface of the Scene Mesh, the Ectofluid in the game splashes off real objects in your room. Effects like these can help to immerse the player in mixed reality gameplay.

Character air navigation⁠ using Scene Mesh: Scene Mesh can also be used with raycasting for an air navigated character. This allows the character to move around the room in a realistic manner, responding to the physical layout of the room.

Character ground navigation⁠ using Scene Mesh: Phanto is also a great case study for how to use mesh for ground navigation. This is achieved by dynamically generating a NavMesh using the mesh of the room. Once the NavMesh has been generated, the game locks it to prevent further changes, ensuring consistent navigation throughout the game.

In addition, Phanto for Unreal uses Application Spacewarp to improve latency and performance as well asDepth API to create realistic Soft Occlusion. These features are integrated seamlessly into the gameplay code, providing a comprehensive example of how to create a rich mixed reality experience in Unreal Engine.

Start Building Your Mixed Reality App with Phanto for Unreal Today!

Like many other Quest showcases, the full source code for Phanto for Unreal is available on GitHub, including all the assets. If you are interested in building your own mixed reality experience or learning from the best practices demonstrated in the showcase, check out the code and documentation⁠.

Phanto for Unreal is the latest of our mixed reality showcases built using Presence Platform. For other examples of mixed reality gameplay, check out Cryptic Cabinet⁠ and Discover⁠ along with our other samples and showcases in our GitHub repository⁠.

Phanto: A New Mixed Reality Showcase for Unreal Engine

Mixed Reality Features in Phanto

Start Building Your Mixed Reality App with Phanto for Unreal Today!

Get the latest updates from Meta Horizon.