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NVIDIA may have unwittingly leaked Unity ray-tracing support
NVIDIA launched the era of ray tracing about 5 months ago with the release of the RTX 2080 Ti GPU, but so far, it hasn't gone over well -- there's just one game that supports it. Sales of the pricey cards have been slower than it expected, and the cryptocurrency collapse hasn't helped. So, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was eager to mention that ray tracing support was available on both Unity and Unreal, the most popular gaming engines. The problem is, Unity has yet to reveal anything like that, so NVIDIA may have inadvertently stolen its thunder.
Unity's '2017' game engine will focus on artists and designers
Unity's keynote at this year's GDC was all about the future of its game engine. The company has outlined plans for the next major version of its platform, Unity 2017, which is being designed with creators in mind. Unity says one of the main goals is to improve team productivity and collaboration features for non-programmers, particularly those who are artists and designers -- someone like a cinematic animator, for example. Developers will be able to sign up for a beta in April, marking the end of the Unity 5 cycle that began in 2014.
Valve's VR technology now works with the Unity game engine
For many gaming platforms, the litmus test these days is whether or not they get official support in Unity's game engine -- land that and many developers (and by extension, gamers) are likely to give them a closer look. Valve just got a big credibility boost, then, as Unity is introducing native SteamVR support. If a virtual reality game runs on Unity's seemingly ubiquitous code, it's that much more likely to work with the HTC Vive and other SteamVR-friendly headsets. And much like the Unreal Engine, teams can edit in VR if they want to know what a scene will look like for players.
Microsoft buys 3D physics developer Havok to boost gaming efforts
Microsoft today announced the acquisition of Havok from Intel. Havok makes a 3D physics engine and licenses it to gaming studios; its work has been featured on more than 600 titles, including popular franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Destiny, Dark Souls, The Elder Scrolls and Microsoft's own Halo. While Microsoft says it is delighted to add Havok's technologies to its robust portfolio of tools and components for developers, like DirectX 12 and Azure, it did point out that it won't stop supporting partners going forward. "We will continue to license Havok's technology to the broad AAA games industry," Microsoft said in a statement to IGN. "This also means that we will continue to license Havok's technology to run across various game consoles including Sony and Nintendo."
Autodesk targets small studios with its Stingray game engine
Autodesk finally has a game engine to go along with its design tools. The company just launched Stingray, which it built around the Bitsquid engine it bought last year. Autodesk kept the basic guts of that program -- which has already been used on titles like Gauntlet from Warner Bros -- and revamped it with a new interface. The company told Engadget that the goal was to build an engine for smaller studios that can be customized without the need for a lot of programming. At the same time, it wanted Stingray to have all the bells and whistles of competing products like Unreal Engine 4 -- physical shading, post-processing effects, a high-performance reflection system and more.
Valve's new 'Source 2' game engine has the low price of $0
Half-Life 2. Counterstrike: Source. Team Fortress 2. Left 4 Dead. Portal. Besides being developed by Valve, what else do those games share? They all run on the company's Source Engine that's been used since the first two released 11 years ago. Well, Valve has a new engine coming, officially, and it's aptly dubbed Source 2. Valve says that the focus of the engine this time 'round is "increasing creator productivity." The idea is to democratize game development and make it easier for amateurs (and budding indies) to use the toolset and enable them to, as Valve tells it, participate in the creation and development of their favorite games. In fact, the company specifically calls out the importance of user-generated content as a reason for making the engine easier to work with, which, undoubtedly plays into the millions of dollars its paying out to Steam Workshop creators.
One of gaming's most-used engines arrives today on PlayStation Vita
With PlayStation Vita getting Unity game engine support in today's update, one of gaming's most widely used game engines is heading to Sony's latest handheld. And that means it's all the easier for the dozens of great Unity engine games to head to the Vita as well, to say nothing of future developments. It also means that, when games are ported, they'll have access to the full suite of PlayStation Network features (matchmaking, trophies, etc.); previously, many developers took the PS Mobile publishing route, leaving out rich features many other Vita games enjoyed. As content is the lifeblood of any game console, we're thrilled to see what today's update means for 2014 with PlayStation Vita. Unity's also promising PlayStation 4 support in the near future, which hopefully means that applicable Unity engine games will also have crossbuy support. We can dream, can't we?
Unity drops licensing fee on game engine for mobile developers
Indie developers have been able to take advantage of a free version of the Unity engine for desktop game development some time now, and starting today they can extend that development to mobile games at no added cost. The company's confirmed that it's dropping the $800 licensing fee for its Android and iOS build options, with BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8 development also promised to be moving to a free option in the "coming months." As Unity CEO David Helgason explained at the Unite Nordic conference earlier today, the company has been hoping to make the move "for what seems like forever," with his ultimate goal being to push the "democratisation of game development further than ever before." He further explains in a blog post that the new option comes with "no strings attached, no royalties and no license fees," apart from the prior rules that require large companies to use the paid version of Unity. As for those who've recently paid up for the mobile engine only to find it now free, Helgason says they can expect to hear from him in the next two weeks with an offer of discounts on future purchases.
Unity 3D for linux gets two playable demos
Linux gamers are really just having the time of their lives right now. They've been embraced by indie game devs, by Valve, Epic and the increasingly popular Unity 3D. And, some of these properties aren't quite ready for the big show yet, you can get a taste of what to expect from Unity 4 thanks to a pair of playable demos that have hit the web. AngryBots and Unitroids are both available as standalone executables for your open-source desktop. They're not complete games, but they at least serve as practical demos of the progress being made in porting the gaming engine. They've both got their quirks at the moment, but it's hard not to get excited about the prospect of plummeting through AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome on your Quantal PC. Hit up the source for download links.
Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 to play nice with Unity game engine
You can't have too many supported platforms and Unity Technologies seems to agree, announcing that its self-titled game creation tool will be coming to both Windows 8 and its mobile sibling. According to CEO David Helgason, "The Unity community has been asking for access to Windows Phones and have been eagerly anticipating the release of Windows 8. We're happy to announce that we will support both." He added that several of its games will also be making their way to Atom processor-powered Android phones soon.
Valve launches Linux blog, officially announces Steam for Ubuntu
If bits of launcher script, photographic evidence and a short video weren't enough to convince you Valve was porting Steam to Linux, maybe you'll take it directly from the horse's mouth: Steam is coming to Ubuntu 12.04. Sick, perhaps, of denying the project, Valve has created a Linux blog to document its efforts -- outlining its history with the open-source OS and making its goals public. The plan is simple: get Steam ported to Linux with full functionality, optimize Left 4 Dead to run at a respectable clip with OpenGL and port additional Valve titles. The team is also asking for feedback, and hope to leverage the ideas of the community. Eager to put in your two cents? Check out the blog at the source link below. [Thanks, Andrew]
Crytek's CryEngine 3 makes it easier than ever for devs to build games as pretty as Crysis
It's not every day you get to speak with the folks who make one of the most advanced game engines in the world, but today at E3, Crytek (you know, the folks responsible for Crysis) let us in on some of the secrets behind its latest game platform, CryEngine 3. We sat down with Kirthy Iyer, an animation technologist at Crytek, and had him walk us through some of CE3's tools that are enabling publishers to build games for any platform -- including PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 -- faster and better than ever. Among the highlights are a "multi-layer navigation mesh" that automates the movements of AI-controlled game characters, and super realistic water rendering technologies. We could go on singing CryEngine's praises, but instead we'll let you get all the details from Mr. Iyer in the video after the break. Enjoy.
DICE to require 64-bit OS for some 2013 games, that Windows ME box in the den isn't cutting it
We're entering a world of mainstream 64-bit computing -- whether we like it or not. Just weeks after Adobe started requiring 64-bit Macs for CS6, DICE's Rendering Architect Johan Andersson has warned that some of his company's 2013 games using the Frostbite engine will need the extra bits as a matter of course. In other words, it won't matter if you have a quad Core i7 gaming PC of death should the software be inadequate; if you're still running a 32-bit copy of Windows 7 come the new year, you won't be playing. The developer points to memory as the main culprit, as going 64-bit guarantees full access to 4GB or more of RAM as well as better virtual addressing. Andersson sees it as a prime opportunity to upgrade to Windows 8, although 64-bit Vista and 7 (and presumably OS X, if and when Mac versions exist) will be dandy. Just be prepared to upgrade that Windows XP PC a lot sooner than Microsoft's 2014 support cutoff if you're planning to run the next Battlefield or Mirror's Edge.
Steam for Linux captured on video, one step closer to reality
Yesterday, Phoronix had encouraging news about the prospect of Steam for Linux: photo evidence of Left 4 Dead running on Ubuntu 11.10 with AMD Catalysts drivers. Today, the site followed up with video footage of that same scenario, posting a hastily shot clip to show that Valve is indeed making progress -- slow as it may be -- on porting the game engine to Linux. Got 14 seconds? Check out the video demo below the break.
Kinect and Windows Phone combine to create holographic game engine (video)
If your life is anything like ours, it's in sore need of more pseudo-holographic helicopters. Fortunately, YouTube user programming4fun has come up with a solution, using Microsoft's Kinect beta SDK and a Windows Phone handset. The system, pictured above, basically consists of a Kinect and a 3D engine; the former tracks the position of a viewer and automatically adjusts the image projected by the latter, creating the illusion of a 3D landscape. In this case, that landscape happened to feature a holographic helicopter, which could be controlled using a phone's accelerometer and a Windows Phone 7 app (apparently called HoloController). Watch it in action, after the break.
Doom 3 source code available now, gory customizations welcomed
Doom for everyone. It's not a particularly festive message, but as promised earlier this month, the Doom 3 source code is now out on a general public license. Programming types can meddle with the game's inner workings as wintery temperatures force them to huddle close to the warm hum of excessive gaming rigs. Doom dad John Carmack announced the release to his horde of Twitter followers, while doffing his cap to Timothee Besset, who helped sidestep some shadow rendering license issues that had dogged an earlier release. Peer into the source code at the link below, and know the true face of despair Doom.
Carmack: Doom 3's engine ready for open-sourcing, awaiting 'OK' from legal
When the granddaddy of FPS tweets, we listen. For those unaware, that's John Carmack -- you know, the guy behind games like Doom, Quake and Rage -- confirming that Doom 3's engine, id Tech 4, is all bundled up for its open-source release, only awaiting clearance from legal. To be verbose, that doesn't mean you'll be getting down with a gratis copy of Doom, but rather with the powerhouse that powers it, a veritable boon to game developers and tinkerers, alike. The release is par for the course for the company, as id Software's been routinely open-sourcing its older engines for as long as we can remember. We'll keep an eye out for when it drops, but while you wait, feel free to read an interview with the visionary himself.
InstantAction dies in an instant, future of embedded gaming looks questionable
Well, that was brief. Just a few short months after InstantAction went public with its embedded browser-based gaming platform at GDC 2010, the Oregon-based startup has gone belly-up. If you missed out on what this here outfit was offering, you clearly aren't alone -- but for the historians in attendance, we'd invite you to revisit our hands-on for an overview of what was planned. Unfortunately, the company has yanked all of its Vimeo clips detailing the system's features, and its website now affirms that the service as a whole is "no longer available." We're hearing that it'll be selling the underlying Torque Game Engine (and presumably that fancy "chunking" tech that enabled games to be played in a browser with just a broadband connection), but based on the tepid response so far, we're guessing it won't fetch much. We definitely saw a bit of promise in the concept -- after all, browser-based games like Solipskier are all the rage in some circles -- but bona fide console / PC games simply don't fit that mold, or so it seems.
WWDC Video: Unity 2.0 sneak peek
The gang from Over the Edge gave us a sneak peek of two new features in Unity 2.0: a cool terrain tool and real-time dynamic shadows. Check out the video, but also check out their page of all the other features coming soon to Unity.[Note: we'll have all these WWDC videos available for direct download soon!]
