Photorealistic speedboat configurator — real-time product config in UE5
A real-time 3D configurator that renders a photorealistic boat in-engine and lets a customer reconfigure it live — built in Unreal Engine 5 for a high-end custom speedboat company, and still evolving.
Architecture
What it is
A real-time configurator for a high-end custom speedboat company: the customer’s exact boat — hull, finishes, upholstery, options — rendered photorealistically in Unreal Engine 5, reconfigurable live. No render farm, no pre-baked turntable videos; Lumen handles the lighting and every swap updates immediately.
The work
The hard part of a photorealistic configurator isn’t the swapping — it’s making each configuration look expensive. Materials had to read correctly under every lighting condition, options had to combine without visual glitches, and the whole thing had to run smoothly on showroom hardware.
Built on UE5 with C++ core systems and Blueprints for designer-facing configuration, so the client’s team can add new options and finishes without touching code.
Status
Shipped to the client in 2024 and continuing to evolve — new model lines bring new materials and options, and the tooling grows with them. It’s a running engagement, not a one-off deliverable.
Because it contains the client’s unreleased designs and proprietary geometry, it isn’t publicly accessible — happy to walk through how it works in a call.
Deep dive → Making a boat look expensive in real time — why the hard part of a photorealistic configurator is combinations, not swapping.