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11 Overview
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33 Lumen is the dynamic global illumination and reflections system built into Unreal Engine 5, and is one of the rendering technologies powering Neverness to Everness's lighting on PC and console. Lumen calculates indirect lighting and reflections in real time as the camera moves through the scene, producing more believable lighting than traditional baked lighting solutions, especially in dynamic environments like Hethereau's neon-lit streets.
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55 The Version 1.0 launch build upgraded the engine to Unreal Engine 5.7, which includes a refined Global Illumination System that delivers "dramatically improved lighting" compared to earlier beta builds. The Launch Roadmap specifically called out fixes to noticeable ghosting artifacts in the existing Lumen implementation that beta testers reported during the Containment Test and the Co-Ex Test.
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77 How Lumen Works
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99 Lumen produces global illumination through a hybrid approach that combines screen-space tracing, software ray tracing, and (when available) hardware ray tracing. The system:
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1111 Tracks how light bounces off surfaces, creating realistic indirect lighting that fills shadowed areas with ambient illumination from nearby lit surfaces.Updates lighting in real time as objects, characters, and the time of day change.Produces dynamic reflections on surfaces like wet streets, glass facades, and vehicle bodywork.Avoids the static "baked" look of traditional pre-computed lighting, particularly on moving objects and during weather transitions.
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1313 In Neverness to Everness's urban open world, Lumen pays off most visibly during the day-night cycle: as Hethereau transitions from afternoon sunlight to neon-soaked evening, Lumen recalculates the indirect lighting in real time so that interiors lit by streetlights through windows behave correctly without manual lighting setups for every scene.
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1515 Lumen and the Launch Roadmap
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1717 Beta testers during the Containment Test and Co-Ex Test reported visible ghosting artifacts in the Lumen implementation. The Launch Roadmap published February 26, 2026 explicitly called out Lumen Bug Fixes as a priority for the launch build, listing the goal as "fixing noticeable ghosting artifacts in the existing Lumen implementation that players reported during beta."
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1919 The roadmap also confirmed the engine upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.7 with Global Illumination System support "for dramatically improved lighting," providing a higher-fidelity foundation for Lumen on top of the bug fixes.
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2121 Lumen vs. Path Tracing
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2323 Lumen and Path Tracing are different rendering techniques that solve overlapping problems:
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2525 AspectLumenPath TracingCostLower; runs in real time on a wide range of hardwareHigher; requires high-end RTX GPUs to run smoothlyQualityVery good real-time GI and reflectionsHighest-fidelity lighting model available in the gameUse CaseDefault lighting for all platformsOptional toggle for high-end PC playersHardwareRuns on PS5, mobile, and most PC GPUsBest on RTX 40-series and newer; PC only
2626 Most players running Neverness to Everness experience the world through Lumen rendering. Path Tracing is a high-end PC option for players with capable GPUs who want the most physically accurate lighting available.
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2828 Lumen on Different Platforms
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3030 PlatformLumen BehaviorPC (Windows)Full Lumen with hardware ray tracing assist on RTX cards. Quality scales with the graphics preset (Low through Ultra).Mac (Apple Silicon)Lumen is available; quality and performance depend on the specific Apple Silicon model.PlayStation 5Lumen runs natively, providing dynamic lighting at console-tuned settings.PlayStation 5 ProLumen runs alongside PSSR upscaling, Distance Field Ambient Occlusion, and Volumetric Fog enhancements.iOS / AndroidMobile-tuned Lumen for portable hardware; visual quality is reduced from console and PC to maintain framerate.
3131 Tips
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3333 Lumen quality scales with the graphics preset. The Epic and Ultra graphics presets run Lumen at higher fidelity than Low or Medium.If you experience ghosting after launch, check for game updates first. The launch build addressed beta-era ghosting; further improvements may roll out in subsequent patches.Path Tracing is the high-end alternative. Players with RTX 40-series GPUs who want the absolute best lighting should consider toggling Path Tracing on, accepting the lower framerate it requires.Lumen interacts with weather. The Weather System produces visibly different lighting depending on Lumen's quality setting; rain effects in particular look more grounded with higher Lumen quality.
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3535 Related Pages
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3737 Unreal Engine 5Path TracingGraphics SettingsPS5 Pro EnhancementsLaunch RoadmapDLSS 4Day-Night CycleWeather System