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Unreal Engine 3 adds extra dimension with NVIDIA 3D Vision
Epic Games has announced that its wildly popular Unreal Engine 3 has now added NVIDIA's 3D Vision to its list of supported technologies. We've already come across Batman: Arkham Asylum being played with NVIDIA's signature shutter glasses so this isn't a huge surprise per se, but it does put a stamp of compatibility on the vast catalog of games -- both current and future -- built upon Epic's graphics engine. Those include Borderlands, Mass Effect 1 and 2, Bioshock 1 and 2, and that all-time classic 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. The Unreal Development Kit -- a freeware version of the Engine for non-commercial uses -- is also being upgraded to make the addition of stereoscopic 3D effects "easier than ever," while other small improvements (covered by Gamespot) show that the Epic crew isn't standing still on its core product. Good news for all you mobile mavens wanting a taste of Unreality on your iPhones or Pres.
Unreal Engine 3 coming to Palm WebOS soon
The iPhone isn't the only touch-controlled mobile platform to get a baffling port of Unreal Engine 3. Palm announced that a version of UE3 on WebOS -- that's what the Palm Pre uses -- is on display at GDC. According to the announcement, licensed Unreal Engine developers will soon gain the ability to create games for the mobile platform, using both UE3 and Palm's new Plug-in Development Kit. The more mobile platforms support Unreal, the more cost-effective it will be to develop games for them using the technology. After all, once you've got an Unreal iPhone game, you now have the basis for a WebOS game too. [Thanks, Sean!]
Unreal Engine 3 up and running on webOS, and we've got video!
Palm just showed us the Unreal Engine 3 running on webOS, which apparently took a couple weeks to port over to the platform using that fancy new PDK. It runs at a pretty smooth clip, with just a tiny bit of artifacting in our enemy's death animation. As an added bit of wow factor, Palm has it currently setup to demonstrate the game at 1 fps when in card view. Like most touchscreen shooters, this doesn't really solve the problem of simulating dual analog sticks, but it's still a fun and good looking engine for a mobile device. We're still unaware of any games that have been built for the mobile engine, which has now been shown for iPhone, Tegra 2, and will be headed to the iPad as well, but we have to assume we'll be seeing some before too long. Check out the webOS video after the break.
CCP: Unreal Engine 3 will power Dust 514
EVE Online developer CCP Games has announced a partnership with Epic Games China that will bring Unreal Engine 3 technology to their forthcoming console MMOFPS known as Dust 514. Set in the same universe as their successful PC MMORPG, Dust 514 is a console-only title that will enable players to interact with EVE pilots as they battle for control of New Eden's resource-rich planets. "The dynamic large-scale battlefields of DUST 514 presented an interesting challenge for us," said Hilmar Petursson, CEO of CCP. "We determined Unreal Engine 3 to be the perfect solution because its tremendous flexibility allows us to easily integrate new technology and produce stunning results." Hit the link for the full press release. [Thanks Amethyst Lynx!]
Epic giving Unreal Engine 3 devs free Steam SDK update
Carrying on in the longstanding Epic Games tradition of offering up free upgrades to existing products, the developer, publisher and game engine creator announced this morning that it will be adding Steamworks support to Unreal Engine 3. "With Valve offering these services free of charge, the idea of providing the Steamworks SDK [software development kit] to all Unreal Engine licensees was a no-brainer," Epic VP Mark Rein notes in the announcement. As it turns out, Valve offered up the development tools to UE3 developers (via Epic) without charging a single penny. That said, this isn't just a philanthropic gesture on Epic's part, but rather a strategy aimed at targeting the large stable of games powered by Unreal Engine. "Epic's technology is one of the most widely used engines in the industry and has powered many of the best games created in the past 10 years, on multiple platforms," Valve prez Gabe Newell proclaims. That's really the crux of it -- bring in the Unreal Engine 3 users and they might stick around to purchase some other games on Steam. It's a bit of a sneaky trap (and a smart business move to boot), but it's one we wouldn't exactly be upset about falling for.
GDC: This is what Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone looks like
Unreal Engine 3 on the iPhone ... it looked better in person! While we've yet to see Unreal Engine 3 ported to Nintendo's Wii or Sony's PSP, Epic did undertake the considerable task of squeezing its seemingly ubiquitous middleware platform onto Apple's similarly ubiquitous iPhone. According to Epic's Josh Adams – Epic Games' senior console programmer – that could be due to fundamental hardware limitations in the other platforms. You see, the iPhone 3GS has a PowerVR SGX graphics processor which supports programmable shaders. According to Adams, "Programmable shaders are something UE3 is pretty much dependent on." Though you're probably most familiar with Unreal Engine on Windows, Xbox 360, and PS3, Adams says the engine also runs on Nvidia's Tegra 2 platform, on Linux, and on Mac, though (Adams notes) "we haven't shipped any games on those platforms yet." Adams says the iPhone port was "a fun 'Can we get UE3 onto the iPhone?' kind of project." Though Adams' presentation was exceptionally technical – this is the Game Developers Conference, after all! – it's fascinating to hear about the technical underpinnings and workflows that result in this type of outcome.
Epic showing off APB, new Unreal features at GDC
As has become custom, Epic has announced that it will be showing off new Unreal Engine features during a press conference at GDC 2010. Some of the new features include a new "procedural artist-driven tool" for creating buildings and new tool for "continuous branching objects such as roads, sidewalks, tentacles, roots, vines, cabling, and railway tracks." A new foliage demo -- which will be viewable in 3-D -- is set to highlight the engine's new features. In addition to its Unreal Engine 3 conference, Epic will also host live demonstrations of the upcoming Realtime Worlds MMO, APB. Joystiq will be on hand for both events, so stay tuned for coverage next week.
Make Something Unreal winners announced
Epic has announced the winners of its Make Something Unreal contest, in which several teams competed to create the best mod of Unreal Tournament 3 using the recently released -- and free -- Unreal Development Kit. The winner of the contest of the contest is the team led by Michael 'Hegi' Hegemann for its title The Haunted. A third-person survival horror action game, The Haunted looks something like a Wild West version of Left 4 Dead. As the winner of the contest, the team will receive $50,000 and a commercial license for the Unreal Engine, meaning the team can actually release an Unreal Engine title as a commercial product. Assuming the team chooses to make The Haunted a retail product -- complete with what can only be described as a portable zombie blender -- consider us pumped. See the full list of Make Something Unreal winners, courtesy of Big Download, after the break. Also be sure to visit the Make Something Unreal website, where you can download all of the winning entries. Update: As some commenters have pointed out, the team responsible for The Haunted is not ModDB -- which hosts the mod -- but rather an unnamed team headed by Michael 'Hegi' Hegemann. The information has been corrected in the above post. The team's work can be seen at hells-reach.com. Joystiq apologizes for the error. %Gallery-85964%
Epic's Mark Rein 'very excited' about the iPad's possibilities
Sure, it might resemble a large iPod Touch to some of us, but to the folks who get paid the big bucks to make games -- such as Epic Games VP Mark Rein -- the iPad looks like opportunity. Speaking to Gamasutra at this week's big unveiling event, Rein said "I really like the device and I think it's going to be great for gaming." And considering his company's Unreal Engine 3 is popping textures in and out of view on the iPhone already, it's no surprise that he said it's a "pretty safe assumption" to bet that the engine will make its way to the iPad. Like the iPhone game developers we spoke with yesterday (and our own wishes for what we'd like to see on the device), Rein hopes that devs will "take advantage of the differentiated form factor of the device." And hey, with all that extra screen space, we have to imagine that at least a quarter of Marcus Fenix's enormous husk is now able to fit into view! It's called innovation, folks, ya dig?
Nvidia shows off Unreal Engine 3 on Tegra
NVidia chose to show off the processing power of the new version of its mobile Tegra processor the same way many companies demonstrate their big-boy processors: with Unreal Engine 3. On stage at its CES presentation, NVidia demonstrated an FPS running on the processor -- the same processor the company demonstrated in several portable tablet-type devices. Though Epic's Tim Sweeney classified it as the "same engine" that runs on PC, Engadget described it as "A lot like the iPhone demo we saw recently. Certainly impressive, but this isn't an Xbox 360 yet." And, in fact, the environment bears a resemblance to that from the iPhone demo. Nonetheless, the demonstration prove that Tegra is quite powerful for a chip designed for handheld devices -- and one that's rumored to be part of a future DS system.
Unreal Engine 3 up and running (and shooting) on iPhone
[AnandTech] Epic Games has again shown itself a practitioner of the dark magicks by porting its powerhouse Unreal Engine 3 to iPhone. AnandTech got a peak at a playable tech demo, featuring a weapon and architecture from the Unreal Tournament series. Although, the site says it was told this shouldn't be taken as a sign that Epic is getting into iPhone game development. The demo evidently ran quite smoothly, but the engine requires Open GL ES 2.0, meaning that it will only run on the iPhone 3GS or the third-generation iPod Touch. Check out a quick -- we're talking 15 seconds -- video of the demo, made by AnandTeach, after the break.
Unreal Engine 3 running on the iPod touch
Whenever you talk about games on a mobile platform, you usually have to also mention that while things like high-end 3D graphics are certainly possible, there are usually some concessions that have to be made. But in the case of the iPhone, perhaps not: Epic Games has apparently been showing Anandtech their Unreal Engine 3 on Apple's handheld, the same graphical engine that runs modern console hits like Gears of War 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum. There's even video, and the thing looks pretty darn incredible. It's possible that in the hands of a skilled developer, you could have a very impressive realistic graphical game running on the iPhone hardware. Some of the iPhone hardware, that is -- the engine was shown off on the 3GS and the 3rd generation iPod touch, so only those have the speed and power (and the OpenGL ES 2.0) to pull this off. But it's impressive nevertheless. Epic hasn't licensed this version of the engine yet as far as we know, but they promise to show off more in the future, so we'll be keeping an eye out. One more version of the iPhone, and we might be looking at games that can compete graphically with even modern consoles. [via Engadget]
Epic shows off Unreal Engine 3 running on iPhone / iPod touch
There's certainly plenty of good looking iPhone games available these days, but things could be about to get quite a bit more interesting, as Epic has now demonstrated its Unreal Engine 3 (the same one used for games like Gears of War 2) running on the iPhone 3GS and 3rd gen iPod touch to our friend Anand Shimpi of AnandTech. Unfortunately, it hasn't also announced any games or licensees that will be using the engine, but it seems like it has at least managed to get it running remarkably well on the hardware -- albeit in a somewhat limited demo, as you can see in the video after the break. What's more, Epic also reportedly said that it would be showing off the engine running on "another mobile platform entirely" at CES next month, but didn't drop any further hints besides that. Video after the break, and hit the read link for the full scoop.
Anti-Aliased: Blade & Soul > Aion
All right, now that the inflammatory title that makes you look at my column is out of the way, let's get down to business. This week we got to see a 30-second teaser trailer from the folks at NCsoft about Blade & Soul, a game from NCsoft that has been stealthing in the background, waiting for the right time to strike and jump in front of Aion. Blade & Soul isn't a brand new game though. In fact, the game's artwork has already made a guest appearance on our website. (With subsequent comments on how that woman's back is going to break in half if she should walk forward.) Plus, if you really want to see what the game has to offer, a quick YouTube search will bring you to the Blade & Soul HD gameplay video which looks, well, simply stunning. So why am I dedicating my opinion column to a game that's nowhere close to being released? Well, because I think it has potential, and because it's my opinion column. So come along after the break, and let's look at Blade & Soul.
Free Unreal Dev Kit already has over 50K users
Epic Games announced that the free version of its Unreal Engine 3 development kit (UDK) has surpassed 50,000 downloads since it was released to the public last week. The UDK -- which affords developers the opportunity to create non-commercial games, or titles for sale with a royalty sharing option with the company -- has been downloaded in over 130 countries and 4,500 cities across the world, according to information Epic provided to news site Develop. Epic vice president Mark Rein was "thrilled" the studio was able to provide the tools to schools and students, allowing them to use the same tool used by "many of the top game developers and publishers around the world." We're excited to see what the community can do with the tools, considering the issues certain teams have had with the engine in the past. Currently the tools only allow budding developers to create software for the PC.
Rumor: Epic to announce Unreal Engine 3 for consumers
Like our sister site Big Download, you may have been asking yourself, "What was going on at Epic Games yesterday?" Well, we think we have the answer: According to the Joystiq Mole™ -- the same mole who accurately predicted NBA 2K10 Draft Combine and LucasArts' Lucidity -- the epic announcement will be the release of an Unreal Engine 3 PC toolset for consumers.Our mole tells us that the toolset will ship with example objects, like weapons and maps, and will show users how to build their own custom assets. Odds are, the kit being a product for consumers (read: nonprofessionals), that the cost won't be all that high. Of course, knowing who's going to get their hands on this (again, read: nonprofessionals), we're totally frightened by the inevitable flood of Delta Squad fanfics that will unfold on YouTube.
PAX 2009: Massively's first look at gameplay in All Points Bulletin part 2
In fact, Chris' narration made certain to point this fact out. There isn't any back-snapping to walls and peeking around corners, but you'll want to crouch behind a sturdy object when reloading or trading bullets with an opponent behind some cover of their own. Although I wouldn't hide behind cars, because they can explode in a very kill-you-good fashion.
E3 Natal demos created with Unreal Engine 3
Microsoft's E3 demo for Project Natal include two game demos -- Paint Party and Ricochet. We assumed that these minigames were developed from scratch, specially for the E3 demonstration, but Epic's Mark Rein has stated in an interview with OXM that they were made using the Unreal Engine 3.That makes UE3 the first middleware to support the new motion control system, meaning developers who utilize it shouldn't have much difficulty adding Natal functionality to their titles. UE3 isn't quite as commonly used as it was in 2007, but this does mean there's no excuse for Gears of War 3 not to support Natal. We suspect a great many of you would enjoy a bit of motion-controlled chainsawdomizing.
Alien Breed Evolution to spawn trilogy on XBLA, PSN, PC
Speaking at the Develop Conference in Brighton, England today, Team17 leader Martyn Brown described his studio's forthcoming digital release, Alien Breed Evolution, as a trilogy -- "one of the most expensive digital titles to-date," too -- according to GamesIndustry.biz. Said to be costing in the realm of $2.5 million to develop, Team17's Unreal remake of its Amiga shooter will be distributed in three parts, spanning an estimated 15 hours of gameplay. The first "episode" will include three, one-hour levels and an additional three-hour, co-op scenario, and is scheduled to hatch on Xbox Live Arcade around October and destined for PSN at a later date, confirmed VG247. The underlying message of Brown's presentation, titled "10 Things Nobody Tells You About Digital Distribution and Self-publishing That You Must Understand to Succeed," seemed to be one of caution, as summarized by Gamasutra. Brown dispelled much of the get-rich-quick myth of independent, digital development -- and publishing. Sure, one in a billion basement programmers might strike gold, but to enjoy lasting success, as Team17 has for nearly two decades, expect to spend money to make money and employ a staff with a "wide variety of skills" (a team of 30 or so is currently working on Alien Breed, for example). Brown warned, "if you don't know something, get someone who does, because you will not be able to wing it." Update: It's coming to PC too. Source - Alien Breed trilogy cost $2.5 million to make Source - Alien Breed trilogy: PS3 version coming later Source - Develop 2009: Team17's Brown Talks Challenges Of Self-Publishing Online
Cliff Bleszinski explains why there are so many bald space marines
If you think Unreal Engine 3 games feature too much gray and brown, laden with "pillars and girders," all being stomped around on by bald space marines, Cliff "Young Clifford" Bleszinski wants you to blame the tech. Speaking with Develop recently, the man that birthed Marcus Fenix said, "The technology of this generation just happens to be very good at rendering metals and stones and dramatic lighting." He argues that "translucent effects" are much harder to pull of with the technology given and as such, "the tech is good at showing off armor and it's not that good at doing hair ... that's why we have bald space marines."Though we'd argue that there are lots of bald men in our lives who happen to not be space marines -- CheapyD and Dr. Manhattan prime among them -- we can appreciate how Marcus Fenix may be more equipped to take down the Locust than an omnipotent blue man. Wait a minute! Interestingly, Bleszinski also notes during the interview that he's got "like five projects going on right now" -- we're counting Shadow Complex and another (still unannounced) Gears of War, which leaves three unannounced projects? Something is afoot at Epic Games. And it almost certainly involves bald space marines.
