Devlog #26 Higher, Smarter, Better

Hello Builders!

Last time, we introduced snow and rooftops. This time, we're taking you deeper into the construction site — because a lot has changed.

The most important news first: we’ve moved the entire project to Unreal Engine 5.

This decision allowed us to fully redesign our workflow and push the game forward in both visuals and gameplay complexity. With the power of UE5, we now support high-fidelity lighting through Lumen, detailed environments, and more scalable building mechanics

What’s new?

We’ve built a fully functional house construction system from the ground up. You can now:

• Lay down foundations, build walls, floors, and ceilings

• Snap everything to a dynamic grid system with proper alignment

• Insert windows and doors with automatic wall cutouts

• Preview every item before placing it

• Rotate, delete, and paint walls using an in-game UI

You can also build vertically. The game now supports multi-story construction with stairs, floor toggling, and visibility control. You can switch floors, hide or reveal levels, and continue building without visual clutter.

To support more realistic construction workflows, we added:

• A wall finishing system with layers: insulation, plaster, paint

• A paint roller tool and plaster gun with animated effects

• Scaffolding and ladders for reaching upper levels

• A revamped UI/HUD with tool categories, icons, and progress indicators

And beyond the house...

The world outside your construction site is no longer empty. We’ve introduced:

• 3D terrain, vegetation, and background objects

• Dynamic lighting and weather effects across the environment

• Full day-night cycles and support for advanced rendering features like Ray Tracing, Path Tracing, and HDR

A graphics settings menu, performance profiling, and fallback modes for lower-spec machines

This is the biggest leap we've made so far — technically and creatively. We're now laying the groundwork for more advanced gameplay systems, deeper mechanics, and visual polish.

Until next time – stay warm, and keep building.

Yours, Desand Game Studios Dreamhouse: The Game Team