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Epic Games' Unreal Engine will support HoloLens
You can't call HoloLens 2 a gaming platform, but Microsoft is at least laying the groundwork. Epic Games has announced that it's adding HoloLens support to Unreal Engine 4, the technology that powers a wide range of games and 3D productivity apps. It's "up and running" now, Epic's Tim Sweeney said, and should be available to all developers in May. You're not about to play an augmented-reality version of Fortnite. It should allow for "photorealistic" 3D in AR apps, though, and it's really just the start of Epic's plans.
Fox Sports’ new virtual studio runs on Unreal Engine
It's no secret that Epic Games has enabled a number of gaming studios to create more-realistic visuals with its Unreal game engine. Since its debut in 1998, powering the first-person shooter Unreal, the technology has evolved to power hundreds of games, from Fortnite to Street Fighter V, and with that process, the virtual has become increasingly more realistic. Now in its fourth iteration, Unreal Engine is no longer exclusively being used for gaming, as other industries have taken notice of the possibilities. Unreal Engine 4 has become a key element for film and television in recent years, and Fox Sports is using it to power its new, completely virtual studio set. "Virtual sets have been around for quite some time, and we've done our fair share of using them," Zac Fields said. "But it's always been a struggle to give that sense of photo realism." Fields oversees Fox Sports' Graphic Technology and Integration department, which includes the addition of new gear during a studio build. He said the team started thinking about the idea of a virtual set about two years ago. Around 15 months ago, the network started getting staff familiar with the software and began tests. Then last winter, the broadcaster did a virtual show. Fields described this as a "full run-through" of a show on the virtual set that was built in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Epic's long-awaited 'Fortnite' hits consoles and PC July 25th
We've been waiting on Epic Games' fort-building monster defense game Fortnite for a long, long time. First announced in 2011, the developer's initial Unreal Engine 4 title was slated to be a PC exclusive. A trailer released in 2014 gave interested fans a bit of hope, and we even saw the gameplay at E3 in 2015. Now that we've hit 2017, though, Fortnite is poised to actually release on July 25th to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac, along with "paid early access" to the game via pre-order.
Google's Android-powered VR platform supports Unreal games
Yesterday during Google's annual I/O keynote, the company made a point of mentioning that Electronic Arts and Ubisoft -- two of the biggest third-party game studios -- were working on projects for Google's new virtual reality platform, Daydream. Now the company is ready to announce another: Epic Games. The latest version of the company's powerful and ubiquitous game-design toolset, Unreal Engine 4, is coming to Google's next-gen mobile VR system. For developers it ensures easy porting of existing apps to Daydream with little extra work required. For consumers, it means higher-quality mobile VR experiences, and maybe more of them too.
The makers of 'Titanfall' are working on a 'Star Wars' game
Respawn is ready to break out of the Titanfall mold... and in a way you probably didn't expect. The game studio has announced that it's working with EA and Lucasfilm on a third-person Star Wars action/adventure. It's saying precious little about the title, which doesn't even have a release date, but it will run on the Unreal Engine (according to job listings) and "pay respect" to the series' universe at every step. Suffice it to say that this won't just be Titanfall with lightsabers and AT-STs. It's not a guaranteed success, but Respawn's early track record suggests that it'll take Star Wars seriously.
Watch the Epic Games GDC 2016 keynote right here!
Although plenty of announcements have already come out of this year's Game Developers Conference, the main Expo doesn't officially begin until today. And Epic Games is kicking off the festivities with an opening keynote, led by none other than its founder Tim Sweeney. It's unclear what we should expect from the Unreal Engine creator, but the company did say the GDC 2016 event will be newsworthy. You can watch it live starting at 9:30AM PT/12:30PM ET, via the embedded stream below.
'Metal Gear Solid' fan remake bites the dust
When a fan remake of a popular game dies, it tends to die quickly. Either the effort required is too much for a group of part-time volunteers, or the original developer's lawyers shut it down over copyright issues. And unfortunately, the team behind the recently revealed Metal Gear Solid remake Shadow Moses is learning this first-hand -- the creators have abruptly shut down their project for "reasons beyond our control." It's not clear just what those reasons are (we've reached out to both sides for comment), but the phrasing suggests that copyright might play a role.
Create VR experiences within VR itself using Unreal Engine
Epic Games has been teasing "the future of VR development" recently, and the team is finally ready to tell everyone what that is: Creating virtual reality content within virtual reality itself, using the full version of its Unreal Engine 4. Epic cofounder Tim Sweeney says that while the company's been supporting the likes of the Oculus Rift from the outset, the irony is that, up to this point, the experiences we've seen so far have been developed using the same tools as traditional video games. "Now you can go into VR, have the entire Unreal editor functioning and do it live," he says. "It almost gives you god-like powers to manipulate the world."
Enjoy the 1998 'Metal Gear Solid' in Unreal Engine 4
Shadow Moses is a labor of love from some serious Metal Gear Solid fans who want to play Konami's pivotal 1998 game in updated, Unreal Engine 4 graphics. So far, it's looking so good. The creators don't have permission from Konami to actually release the remake, though they're aware that conversation will have to take place, eventually. "Konami owns the MGS copyright and therefore sooner or later we will need their full permission," creator Airam Hernandez writes on YouTube and Facebook. "We have therefore chosen to openly share this project from the beginning so that we can deal with any issues that may arise as they come. We believe this is better than putting years of work into a project only to get it shut down. Please, respect this decision."
N64's 'GoldenEye 007' goes modern with Unreal Engine 4
Ah, yes. GoldenEye 007. One of the classic Nintendo 64 titles and a memorable first-person shooter is certainly a game that I spent a lot of time with. Now we have a glimpse of what the game could look like if it was made with the tools available to developers today. YouTube user Jude Wilson recreated a portion of the Facility Map using Unreal Engine 4, offering a bit of nostalgia for those of us who are familiar with the title. Wilson isn't the first to do this, as Mario and Sonic have already been given the UE4 treatment. It's an interesting take, but don't take our word for it, go through the level yourself via the video down below.
'Star Trek' virtual tour will recreate every deck of the Enterprise
You've probably seen a few attempts at recreating worlds in game engines, but never at this level of detail. Artist Jason B is working on the Enterprise-D Construction Project, an Unreal Engine-based virtual tour that aims to reproduce all 42 decks in the Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. While it's not quite photorealistic, the attention to detail in this digital starship is already uncanny -- the bridge, shuttle bay and other areas feel like lived-in spaces, just waiting for the crew to return. Jason is drawing on as much official material as he can to get things pixel-perfect, and he's only taking creative liberties in those areas where there's no canonical content.
Mario and Sonic look absolutely stunning in Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine 4 has shown us what the next generation of video games can look like: large, realistic and mind-bogglingly gorgeous. Frankly, its tech demos are breathtaking -- technical marvels that show off photo-realistic apartments and stunningly beautiful landscapes; but what happens when you cram cartoonish mascots like Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog into these technical marvels? Mind-blowingly awesome YouTube videos, that's what.
Epic wants to avoid making 'terrible' VR with Unreal Engine
Epic Games is a big proponent of VR, led by its Unreal Engine and the integrated resources it provides to developers. These tools are designed to be compatible with most existing virtual reality hardware, including the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR. To give you an idea of how strongly Epic Games feels about the technology, CEO Tim Sweeney told us earlier this year he believes virtual reality will "change the world." On the ground at E3 2015, we sat down with Chief Technology Officer Kim Libreri and Unreal Engine General Manager Ray Davis to talk about the state of VR and where they believe it's headed.
Unreal Engine 4 is (sort of) coming to Wii U and PS Vita
Long-time Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi is currently Kickstarting a spiritual sequel to the series called Bloodstained. Thanks to the overwhelming response to the campaign -- it's now the highest-grossing videogame Kickstarter ever -- the game is coming to PS Vita and Wii U. While that's great news for fans of the genre, the knock-on effect of the port could be huge. Bloodstained is being built using Unreal Engine 4 (UE4), and Armature Studio, the developer in charge of the Vita and Wii U versions, will be the first to port the popular engine to the platforms. Why's that so important? Well, both consoles are currently unsupported, and Armature says it will share its Vita and Wii U code with any developer authorised to create games for the systems, potentially opening the door for many more ports of UE4-powered games in the future.
'Fortnite' would be a fun game, if it weren't so complex
When Fortnite started teaching me how to build a fort, its gentle tutor voice told my pickaxe-wielding warrior to never forget this simple rule: Remember to make a door. When you build forts in Fortnite -- in addition to about a billion other activities -- you want to make durable fortifications protecting a glowing portal from ravenous zombies that want to destroy it. That fort is no good if you can't get out of it or re-enter it to make improvements on the fly. Still, Fortnite creator Epic Games doesn't appear to follow the game's own advice. While a brilliantly simple, edifying puzzle of collaboration and creativity lies within, it's buried beneath myriad layers of confounding busy work and mechanical complexity. Right now, Fortnite doesn't have a door.
Epic Games challenges VR devs to make sense of big data
We've seen a handful of neat ways to visualize big data and make it useful, and the folks behind Unreal Engine, Epic Games, think virtual reality is the next step for that. Currently a half-dozen international teams are taking part in the Big Data VR Challenge, and hope their expertise with games and VR will help 'em "find new ways to manipulate and interrogate" the massive amounts of info generated by science studies. As of now, projects include putting together a digital edition of one of medical history's largest collections of patient consultations (some 80,000 participants) from the 16th and 17th century and a cohort study of kids born between 1991 and 1992.
Unreal game engine will support HTC's virtual reality headset
The crew at Epic Games has made a point of welcoming virtual reality with open arms, and it's not about to shy away any time soon. The studio recently updated its roadmap with indications that Unreal Engine 4 will support Steam VR (and by extension, the HTC Vive headset) no later than May. Also, Epic isn't wasting much time getting up to speed with Sony's newer Project Morpheus gear -- there's promises of silky-smooth 120Hz visuals, among other things. This wider support won't matter until you can buy both the VR hardware and titles based on UE4, but it suggests that there won't be a shortage of immersive gaming when everything lines up.
Photorealism on a large scale with Unreal Engine 4's new assets
"It's getting ridiculous." Epic Games Chief Technology Officer Kim Libreri is tired of chairs -- and rocks, and grass, and trees -- in the games created in Unreal Engine 4, Epic's game development platform. It's not that he doesn't like everyday objects, he simply sees them as a collective issue to fix: They're standard, repeatable items that developers don't need to spend time making, since they already exist in a ton of other games. To that end, Epic is releasing on its UE4 Marketplace a set of detailed, photo-real assets and a system that places these items intelligently throughout game worlds, available for studios of all sizes. "Once a chair's been made, there's no reason to make a custom version of that chair," Libreri says. "You might as well share it with the community.... It's mind-boggling when you think about how many games have made the equivalent of the Aeron chair."
One of gaming's most used engines is now free
Created in Unreal Engine 4 Game development is expensive. It's not a question of the tools costing too much; game engines like Unity and GameMaker Studio offer free versions, and paid versions aren't far out of reach. That's a recent development, though. When the last generation of game consoles (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii) ruled the roost, the Unreal Engine was both ubiquitous and costly. Its latest iteration, Unreal Engine 4, is widely used, but has taken a sideline to free offerings from the likes of Unity. The engine's maker, Epic Games, isn't sitting idly by and letting the competition take over, though: as of this morning, Unreal Engine 4 is free for all to use.
Epic Games is giving away $5 million to Unreal Engine 4 developers
Back in the days of dial-up, when Tim Sweeney was 21 and in his third year of college, he needed cash to release his first game -- "thousands of dollars," as he recalls. To pay for the game's launch, for two summers he borrowed his dad's tractor and mowed lawns in his childhood neighborhood. Today, Sweeney is the founder of Epic Games: a powerhouse in the video game world, responsible for the Gears of War franchise and Unreal Engine, now in its fourth iteration of providing development tools to aspiring and established game developers. With Epic's status and resources, Sweeney today announced Unreal Dev Grants, a pool of $5 million available to anyone creating interesting projects in Unreal Engine 4. No strings -- or tractors -- attached.
