Twinmotion

Twinmotion is real-time visualization software developed by Epic Games and built on Unreal Engine. It is designed for architects, urban planners and landscape designers. It connects directly to programs such as Revit, SketchUp, Archicad and Rhino to bring the model in, and design updates carry over to the scene with little effort.

How it works

The interface is kept simple enough that no game engine knowledge is needed. Materials, plants, people and vehicles are dragged in from the library. Season, weather, time of day and geographic location can be changed in a few clicks, so the same model can appear on a rainy autumn evening or a sunny summer noon. Moving people and cars turn the scene into a living environment.

What it produces

Stills, videos, 360-degree panoramas and virtual reality presentations all come from the same scene. Alongside the real-time engine it offers a path tracer mode for more accurate lighting; it takes longer but comes closer to photorealism. Presentations can be shared with people who do not have the software. Because it sits on Unreal Engine, a project can move into Unreal Engine itself when a more elaborate interactive application is needed. As with any real-time tool, a strong graphics card matters. We look at its features in detail in our article on Twinmotion real-time rendering.