Unity 2017.3 is available now for developers all around the globe, delivering an impressive array of improvements across the board.
Xbox One X gamers will be particularly happy to know that Microsoft's new console is now officially supported in all Unity 2017 versions of the engine. Furthermore, the increasingly popular dynamic resolution feature is now available for the Xbox One platform, with other platforms due to become compatible with it at a later date.
Xbox One X Support
We added support for the new Xbox One X console from Microsoft. Use Quality Settings to enable support for 4K HDR rendering, or use the extra power in other ways such as improving framerate or increasing graphical fidelity. Xbox One X support is available in all 2017.x versions of Unity.
Graphics improvements
There is now support for HDR compressed lightmaps (BC6H) on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. We also made a number of GPU instancing improvements, and we’re adding Dynamic Resolution as an engine feature debuting on the Xbox One platform with other platforms to follow later.
Dynamic Resolution debuting on Xbox One platform
As its name suggests, Dynamic Resolution refers to dynamically scaling some or all of the render targets to reduce workload on the GPU. Dynamic Resolution can be triggered automatically when performance data indicates that the game is about to drop frames due to being GPU bound. In such a case, gradually scaling down the resolution can help maintain a solid frame rate. It can also be triggered manually if the user is about to experience a particularly GPU intensive part of gameplay. If scaled gradually, Dynamic Resolution can be virtually unnoticeable.
Two Unity powered games that could very well make use of Unity 2017 to add Xbox One X support are the recently announced Antigraviator anti-gravity racing game as well as the gorgeous action/adventure RPG Ghost of a Tale, available now via Game Preview.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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