# Unreal — Process
**Role in the pipeline:** the master engine. One repository holds every character, place kit and program; builds are cooked per surface.
**Version lock:** Unreal Engine **5.8** (23 June 2026), the final planned UE5 release. Do not upgrade to UE6 mid-season.
## Project structure
```
AT_Studio/ (Perforce or Git LFS)
├── Characters/<Figure>/ MetaHuman, outfits, grooms, anim library
├── Places/<Kit>/ Vestal House, Atheneum hall, whaleship deck
├── Programs/<Figure>/ Sequencer monologues, program-clock state machine
├── Mind/ Conversation client, captions, logging hooks
├── Platforms/ Kiosk, Quest, Vive, AndroidXR, VisionPro configs
└── Tools/ Editor utilities, build scripts
```
## Key systems
| System | Unreal feature |
|---|---|
| Program clock (monologue → Q&A → out of character) | Blueprint/C++ state machine + Sequencer |
| Lip sync and expressions for live answers | MetaHuman real-time audio-driven animation (or Audio2Face via plugin) |
| Captions | Subtitle system driven by the conversation service's text |
| Lighting | Lumen / MegaLights for kiosk; baked or Lumen Lite for headsets |
| Crowds | MetaHuman Collections (experimental) |
| Streaming | Pixel Streaming 2 |
| XR | OpenXR, Meta XR plugin, Android XR plugin, Vive OpenXR; visionOS full immersion |
| Editor AI | MCP plugin (experimental) for LLM-assisted editor tasks; staff use only |
## Per-surface build settings
| Target | Renderer | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiosk (Windows) | Deferred, Lumen/MegaLights, TSR | Cine, strands | Auto-start, watchdog, offline fallback |
| Quest / Vive standalone / Android XR | Mobile forward, MSAA, fixed foveation | Optimized, cards | 72–90 fps target; baked lighting |
| PC-VR (Vive Focus Vision via DisplayPort) | Forward or deferred | Cine where budget allows | Tethered hero demos |
| Vision Pro | Full immersion (Metal) | Optimized | Build on a Mac |
**Owners:** technical director, Unreal engineer, XR engineer. Tutorials: [[Unreal — Tutorials]]