unreal engine 4
Latest
Watch Microsoft's HoloLens 2 event in 13 minutes
If you missed Microsoft's big MWC event yesterday, we've distilled all of the news down to 13-minutes to get you caught up quickly. There's plenty of HoloLens, mixed reality, Kinect and more, so here's a brief rundown of what you might've missed.
Epic Games wants architects to make Unreal Engine more lifelike
While gaming graphics keep getting more realistic, they're still a far cry from what architects can do. That's why Unreal Engine maker Epic Games and architectural site Ronen Bekerman are marrying the two in a new competition. For the 2015 Vineyard Challenge, competitors will "interpret a modern winery setting" (of all things) in Unreal Engine 4, where they'll be judged on categories like lighting, design and interactivity. Winners will draw from "the largest cash prize in architectural visualization contest history," with a $25,000 grand prize for the group winner and a $12,500 individual award.
City of Titans explains its prototyping process
The developers behind City of Titans haven't been shy about praising the Unreal Engine 4 at the heart of development. A new design article gives some insight into one of the major elements of design that makes it so useful to the team, a feature that offers rapid progress between brainstorming, prototyping, and testing: blueprints. While the article doesn't contain the nuts-and-bolts of the programming elements, it demonstrates how the team was able to build and test a tile-based map system (akin to Skyrim) as an independent element to be tested. The result is that instead of spending a great deal of time brainstorming the idea, the team can drop the prototype in for testing and it can be evaluated as an actual option instead of simply a theory. Take a look at the full article for more details on the map system and the test process. [Thanks to Byron for the tip!]
Wesley Arthur's re-creation of Bully's dorms is sharp, untidy
Wesley Arthur isn't working on his Masters at Bullsworth Academy, but that didn't stop him from paying a visit to the stomping grounds of Jimmy Hopkins, protagonist and general mischief maker of Rockstar's Bully. Arthur's work, seen in the above tour, is a faithful, HD recreation of the game's dorm environment built in Unreal Engine 4, complete with backing music written and recorded by James Smith that's inspired by Bully's original soundtrack. Is this a good time to bring up those trademarks that were filed in 2013 for "Bully" and "Bully Bullsworth Academy"? What about Polygon's interview that took place between those filings with Rockstar's Dan Houser, who responded to the idea of a Bully sequel with "I know I want to" and "Well, hopefully, you never know"? ... What's that? It's actually the worst time and we should fall down a well? Hmm. [Image: Wesley Arthur]
Report: Kingdom Hearts 3 jumps to Unreal Engine 4
In lieu of utilizing in-house technology, Square Enix has opted to shift development of Kingdom Hearts 3 to the ubiquitous, heavily-supported Unreal Engine 4. "Surely and steadily, we're progressing on schedule," stated director Tetsuya Nomura in a recent Famitsu interview (translated by Gematsu). "For various reasons, we've changed the game engine to Unreal Engine 4, because of which we've been facing rendering troubles. But Epic Games has been really cooperative and helpful, so we're progressing just fine." Unfortunately, Nomura makes no mention of when we can expect Kingdom Hearts 3 to reach the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, only adding that currently his development team is working on "scenario writing and world selection" along with new outfits for series mainstays Sora and Riku. [Image: Square Enix]
Unreal Engine Marketplace opens, UE4 free to educators
*You enter a building marked with the Epic Games and Unreal Engine logos. As you do, a cheerful voice comes over the intercom.* Greetings, shoppers! Welcome to the just-opened Unreal Engine Marketplace, where Unreal Engine 4 developers can peruse and purchase all of their community-created needs. Need a sci-fi themed environment for your in-development top-down shooter game, but lack an environment artist or don't have the know-how to create one yourself? Simply subscribe to Unreal Engine 4 for $19 per month and you'll be able to buy and download said environment for its listed price. Teachers and education administrators, please enjoy Unreal Engine 4 free of charge when you register your school information with Epic. Students, you too can enjoy the benefits of a free game development engine by having your teacher request a student license for you. Teacher copies are to be installed on school-owned computers, while students must be enrolled in an accredited video game development, computer science, art, architecture, simulation or visualization program. Thank you for visiting the Unreal Engine Marketplace, where there's a helpful, computer-rendered smile in every aisle. [Image: Epic Games]
The Stomping Land is switching to Unreal Engine 4
Dino-delay or evolutionary upgrade? The situation might be both for The Stomping Land, which has been on the down low while its developer works to bring it to a new game engine after the old engine lost studio support. "It has been quiet in The Stomping Land community but that is certainly not the case behind the scenes!" Developer Alex "Jig" Fundora told Kotaku. "The game is being moved to Unreal Engine 4 to take advantage of technical and creative opportunities, and while the game was so early in development, I didn't want to keep working for years with a game engine (UDK) that had officially lost support by Epic. The move has put a bit of more work on my plate, but the already discovered opportunities using UE4 are exciting, and I'm confident fans will be satisfied with the long-run decision." The dinosaur-themed survival sandbox went into early access this past May 30th.
Tekken 7 coming, uses Unreal Engine 4 [update: confirmed, trailer]
Update: A Bandai Namco press release rolled out on Monday morning confirmed Tekken 7 is in development using Unreal Engine 4. Meanwhile, the YouTube description on the newly published teaser trailer (which you can watch below the break) says we can expect more details at the San Diego Comic Con, which takes place later this month. Additionally, a quote from Game Director and Executive Producer Katsuhiro Harada points towards a release on the new generation of systems. "The power and flexibility means that we can focus our efforts on making Tekken 7 the best possible game without worrying about spending time creating a stand-alone graphic engine," said Harada. "With Unreal Engine 4, we could rapidly achieve visual quality expected on next-gen platform[s] and go beyond it. Not only is Unreal Engine 4 powerful and easy to use, but it allows us to immediately bring Tekken 7 to any platform we desire."
Epic plays the new Unreal Tournament (and you can, too)
Epic Games has shown off the first playthrough of its upcoming Unreal Tournament reboot/sequel/thing-we-haven't-had-since-2009, and the results are ... well, it's got a ways to go. But that's okay, because as you may have heard, Epic wants you to help shape the game as it's developed. And now, you can. According to a post on the Epic Games community site, those who subscribe to Unreal Engine 4 can download the prototype on display above, while intrepid coders can even create their own prototypes. Not a fan of the weapons available, or think the character models move just a hair too slow or fast? Build your own version and submit it for the community to test. While calling what's on display and available to download a fully-fledged game would be generous to say the least - the devs in the video seem genuinely surprised when the build keeps track of score and recognizes a winner - it is still, nonetheless, the bones of what will one day form a complete skeleton. A skeleton which will subsequently develop meaty, bloody bits that will presumably be blown away by Flak Cannons. [Image: Epic Games]
The first Unreal Engine 4 mobile game is ... a Flappy Bird clone
The Unreal Engine has been known throughout its various iterations for pushing the limits of visual fidelity. High-definition textures, spectacular lighting, complex real-time physics, etc. You won't find any of that in the first mobile game created in Unreal Engine 4, though. What you will find is Tappy Chicken, a Flappy Bird clone. Tappy Chicken may not be a graphical powerhouse, but it's not supposed to be. Instead, the game is intended to be an example of how easy the newest iteration of the Unreal Engine can be to program - a lesson taught earlier this year at GDC. Tappy Chicken was created by a single artist using a scripting system called Blueprints, which is part of Unreal Engine 4. Game development was started and completed within the span of just a couple of weeks. Tappy Chicken is now available for iOS and Android devices, at the low, low cost of free. If its life story has inspired you to unleash your inner game developer, you can get Unreal Engine 4 for $19 per month. [Image: Epic Games]
Vehicles, blueprints, more join Unreal Engine in 4.2 update
Epic Games has unveiled a list of additions aimed at the developer's latest incarnation of the Unreal Engine, and among a host of bug fixes, camera tweaks and animation changes, Unreal Engine 4.2 also brings with it support for vehicles and blueprints for developer-created content. To celebrate the inclusion of vehicles in Unreal Engine 4.2, Epic has granted developers a free tutorial on how these virtual rides function in the form of a short, off-road racing game. Not only does Unreal Engine 4.2 support your typical four-wheeled conveyances, it also allows developers to design a vehicle with any number of wheels and any number of gears. Further, Unreal Engine 4.2 supports numerous drivetrains, from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive to four-wheel drive, with either manual or automatic transmission. The blueprints mentioned above may not be of much concern to players, but they should greatly aid those hoping to build anything complex within Unreal Engine 4.2. Think of Epic's blueprints as similar to those found in the real-world. Once you've constructed an object in the Engine, you can then save the thing in its entirety to a blueprint, which can later be retrieved and used to clone your original creation or make tweaks to the design without damaging the original prototype. For a full list of what's included in Unreal Engine 4.2, visit the Unreal Engine developer's blog. There, those interested in working with Unreal Engine will also find everything they need to subscribe to Epic's nascent licensing scheme. [Image: Epic Games]
Epic wants your help building the next Unreal Tournament
After a nearly seven year hiatus, Epic has announced plans to create a new entry in its beloved Unreal Tournament franchise. Even better: The game is going to be released at no cost, and Epic wants fan input on its design. Epic made this announcement earlier today, saying that from "the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers." This will involve frequent forum updates and ongoing discussion as well as regular Twitch streams showing exactly where development stands. Further, all code created during the development of this new Unreal Tournament will be available to Unreal Engine 4 developers via GitHub. Though obviously this design process will take quite some time, Epic has revealed that the game will appear on PC, Mac and Linux platforms at the very attractive price of "free." Not "free to play," but actually free. Borrowing a page from the Team Fortress 2 playbook, Epic plans to recoup its development costs with an in-game marketplace where modders can sell their creations to players, earning funds which are then split between the modder and Epic itself. Those interested in joining Unreal Tournament's extended development team should pay a visit to the Unreal Engine forums, where registering a free account is all that's required to offer input on the game's creation. [Image: Epic Games]
Unreal Engine 4 hits Xbox One, PS4 in update 4.1
With today's update 4.1, Unreal Engine 4 is available to developers at no additional charge on PS4 and Xbox One. Epic is running Unreal Engine 4 as a subscription-based service, for $19 a month and 5 percent of gross revenue from any commercial product made with the engine. Unreal Engine 4 already runs on PS4 and Xbox One, but today's update makes it easier for new developers to secure a license on these consoles. Microsoft notes that now its independent developers in the ID@Xbox program can access Unreal Engine 4. Developers must still register with Sony and Microsoft; see the rundown of registration steps here. With update 4.1, Unreal Engine 4 now supports previous- and current-gen consoles, PC, Mac, SteamOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus. [Image: Epic Games]
See the bridge of the USS Voyager with an Oculus Rift
Now that Unreal Engine 4 supports Oculus Rift, any virtual environment built with the platform can easily be pushed right over to the VR headset. Naturally, there's a Star Trek fan using every bit of bleeding-edge technology, so it's no surprise to see that a fan has crafted one of the first environments to take advantage of the feature. Oculus developer Thomas Kadlec has crafted the bridge of the USS Voyager for you to wander around, interact with and generally pretend that you're dodging Borg in the Delta quadrant. It's available to download now, so you can relive all of those moments when you hoped that Voyager would finally become any good, but didn't.
Epic working to bring Unreal Engine 4 to Windows Phone, Windows RT
Windows Phone and Windows RT, the Microsoft operating systems for the company's smartphones and tablets respectively, could be getting a little more ... epic in the future. Epic Games co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney told forum-goers that the company is working on implementing its Unreal Engine 4 on mobile Microsoft platforms. "We have been doing some work in this direction (implementing various levels of WinRT API support) and we want to have Windows Phone support eventually, but we're a very long way from having a ship-quality implementation," Sweeney wrote on the Epic forums. "Right now our mobile efforts are really focused on iOS and Android based on their huge market sizes. We have a lot of work to do on these platforms before expanding to other mobile platforms such as WP." In other words, while we might see Unreal Engine 4 support on Windows Phone and Windows RT in the future, for now it's still more likely to hear or read "coming soon to iOS and Android" than it is "coming soon to Windows Phone." [Image: Epic Games]
Wander the dark corridors of Caffeine in Unreal Engine 4 trailer
Our last look at sci-fi survival horror epic Caffeine was rendered in the third incarnation of the Unreal Engine, but now developer Dylan Browne has kicked off an Indiegogo fundraising effort for the game and unveiled a new Unreal Engine 4 trailer to whet players' appetites. [Image: Dylan Browne]
Epic keen to add console support to Unreal Engine 4 subscription model
Epic Games' new, surprisingly inexpensive subscription model for Unreal Engine 4 development drastically lowers the requirements for those hoping to create PC games, but the announcement left fans wondering if Epic might do the same for developers eyeing the console side of things. When asked if Epic had any plans to add console support to its Unreal Engine 4 subscription model, studio co-founder Mark Rein responded in the affirmative. "[W]e'd love to," Rein tweeted in reply. "For now you need to be authorized by MS and/or Sony first." "But I need to stress that UE4 already runs amazingly on XboxOne and PS4," Rein immediately added. "Lots of devs are already making UE4 games on those platforms." As Rein illustrates, while Epic are working to lower the barrier of entry to game development, in a closed, proprietary system like a gaming console, the console's manufacturer holds all of the real power. Until Microsoft or Sony decide to kick open the gates, expect the status quo regarding who is able to develop console games to remain largely stagnant. [Image: Epic Games]
Seen@GDC: Unreal Engine 4 showcases power with Tappy Chicken
Epic Games has harnessed the power of its Unreal Engine 4 with videos like Infiltrator and Elemental, but today the company took it to a whole other level with Tappy Chicken. Featuring graphics that won't be experienced until the next-next gen, the game is remarkably similar to the so-cool-it's-gone sensation Flappy Bird. "I confirm that the Tappy Chicken game is included with the download of Unreal Engine 4," said a representative for Epic Games. Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney mentioned during the company's reveal of the engine's new subscription model option that the company is "not shipping an Unreal Tournament game" and is "not developing anything in the Unreal Tournament universe at all at the moment." He did reiterate that Epic is working on Fortnite and other unannounced game projects.
Unreal Engine 4 available for all in new subscription model
Epic Games announced today that Unreal Engine 4 will take an entirely different approach to its business model using a subscription-based system. Instead of paying for a license (which can easily reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars), the new model is a flat $19 per month, plus 5 percent of gross revenue from any commercial product. The monthly fee is obvious, but for those who don't speak business, this new model means that almost anyone can have access to the the Unreal Engine 4 and the only real caveat is if they try to sell a game made with it, they owe Epic a small cut. For those not interested in the subscription model, the engine is still available as custom-negotiated license. The subscription model is available starting at 12:30PM Eastern (9:30AM Pacific) today. "It's not a shooter engine anymore, it's for whatever you want to build," said Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games. He showed off a demo called Tappy Chicken and mentioned strategy games.
Firefox stops being polite, starts getting Unreal Engine 4 in tech demo
Mozilla offered up a new trailer this week that shows Unreal Engine 4 tech demos running in Firefox. The games shown are seemingly running without the use of plugins in the popular browser. The software company added Unreal Engine 3 support to the browser last June.
