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Crytek interested in offering free development platform
When Epic offered the Unreal SDK free to all users, it got Crytek to thinking -- specifically, thinking about doing the same thing. Speaking to Develop, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli said that his company is looking to offer a free platform for budding game developers "that will be up to speed" with CryEngine 3. It's nothing new to Crytek, which offered free versions of its previous platforms to the modding community, but this new venture is something different -- a "standalone free platform that people can run independent of CryEngine that will also be up to speed with the latest engine," Yerli hopes. While he's quick to point out it's not the same thing as what Epic and Unity are doing -- another popular game development tool that offers a bit of variety in free and premium toolsets -- we're hard-pressed to find much of a difference between the two. Crytek curently has no timetable for release of the new platform, nor has it commented on potential tech and licensing agreements stemming from the new venture.
EVE video corner: "Future Proof"
There's no doubt about it that EVE Online can produce some stunning visuals and incredible stories. New Eden has been the setting for countless creative works, some featuring real gameplay and events and others pushing the limits of the prime fiction. Every so often, I come across a video so mind-blowing that it has to be shared. Last night CrazyKinux's Musing pointed me toward an awesome new EVE video that's been seven months in the making. Produced by Kale Ryoko, "Future Proof" tells the tale of a Caldari militia fleet on a combat mission for the state. Headed up by support commander Firefox of the Chimera "Overlord", the fleet must do all it takes to push through to their objective. Assisting with this twelve minute masterpiece is Veto corporation's Kyoko Sadako, the mastermind behind such incredible videos as "War Has Come" and "The Angel Cartel (Push Eject)". Made using some of EVE's art assets and the Unreal 3 Engine, Future Proof is a video that simply must be seen. Skip past the cut to watch both parts of the video in HD. The original version is available for download at the video's official page on the EVE forums.
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 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.
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%
Square Enix explains The Last Remnant's technical shortcomings
The Last Remnant represented a major experiment for Square Enix. Not only was it one of the company's first Xbox 360 games, it utilized the Unreal Engine, a first for the Japanese publisher. Unfortunately, the experiment wasn't quite successful, with critics calling it "a technical mess." Thankfully, the company isn't simply ignoring its mistakes, with Square Enix's new chief technology officer explaining how the misuse of the Unreal Engine led to such disappointing results. "One of the traps with middleware (like Unreal) is that some game teams believe that, because they got this middleware, maybe they need less programmers on their team, or maybe they don't need that many skilled programmers," Julien Merceron told Gamasutra. By relying too much on middleware, teams face precarious situations when issues arise that can't be solved internally. "You don't have anyone that is able to solve the problem on your team," Merceron explained. In the case of The Last Remnant, the "problem" happened to be a wildly inconsistent framerate. Merceron isn't advising against using middleware, noting "it won't be possible anymore to work without middleware because of time, talent, and cost reasons." Hopefully, under the new guidance of Merceron, Square Enix won't repeat the same mistakes it made with The Last Remnant.
Bioware: 'Mass Effect is for the PC and Xbox 360'
Okay, there seems to be some confusion out there. Gamers have taken a microscope to the code in the PC version of Mass Effect 2, which they claim hints at an inevitable PS3 release. Well, we hate to break it to you, but it looks like that's not gonna happen. Bioware's Chris Priestly hopped onto the forums to bring some balance to the Matrix. "The Unreal Engine is cross platform, hence the PS3 code," he said. "This was brought up back in Mass Effect 1 days as well." So, there you have it. Priestly also added one last quote, to help drive the point home: "Mass Effect is for the PC and Xbox 360." [Via GameWire]
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.
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.
Scourge Project 3rd-person shooting to Steam, XBLA
click to enlarge Tragnarion Studios has announced that it will soon bring its third-person shooter, entitled The Scourge Project -- first announced in 2007 -- to Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam. The game, powered by the Unreal Engine, promises "a unique focus on co-operative narrative and gameplay," in which each of the four playable characters will have a unique perspective on the story. From a more meat-and-potatoes standpoint, the game features five hours of gameplay over four levels, nine different weapons and co-op for up to four players (each with different special abilities). The Scourge Project also offers versus multiplayer for up to sixteen players and includes deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and "Frontier." The game certainly seems to be packing some graphical chops, especially compared to Tragnarion's previous project for the DS, a puzzler called Doodle Hex. The game is expected to debut on Steam this month, while the XBLA version is scheduled to arrive in March 2010. The press release does mention a PSN version of the game, though it doesn't appear in the body of the text. We've contacted Tragnarion to see if the PSN listing was legitimate or made in error. Check out some screens in the gallery below and find more info on the official Scourge Project site. [Via Big Download] %Gallery-79346%
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.
Unreal Development Kit brings Unreal Engine development to the masses
No, Whizzle and The Ball aren't Cincinatti's crazy drive-time zoo crew, rocking WKRP with six hours of fart jokes, crank calls, and toilet-flushing sound effects – instead, they're two new indie games built entirely using the hey-isn't-that-expensive Unreal Engine 3. Or, if you want to get specific, built using the just-announced (though expected) Unreal Development Kit, or UDK for the acronymical out there. Sure, Unreal Engine 3 is super enough to bring you games like Gears of War 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum, but as long as you're using it for non-commercial or educational purposes, UDK is available totally free of charge. You can download the Unreal Development Kit for yourself from Big Download, and while you're over there read their blowout coverage, including interviews with Epic Games, Whizzle's Psyonix Studios, and The Ball's Toltec Studios. We've got images and descriptions of both games, along with a video from Psyonix, after the break. %Gallery-77452%
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.
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.
Epic Games Korea opens to work closely with local devs
Epic Games has opened a new subsidiary in Seoul, Korea, with plans to provide licensing services and support resources to development teams using its Unreal Engine. Epic Games Korea will be led by Ray Park, formerly the business and strategy development manager for Microsoft's in-game advertising company, Massive, Inc.While Epic Games has provided its Unreal Engine to teams in the territory for over five years, Park states the opening of a Korean subsidiary signifies Epic's "desire to collaborate more closely with the [local] game development community." Jay Wilbur, Epic Games' vice president of business development, noted Epic Games Korea would serve as "a hub for Unreal Engine access, knowledge and support in the Korean marketplace."Rumors of developer Silicon Knights moving to Korea in search of the support it claims to have never received from Epic Games could not be confirmed ... because we made it up for the sake of a bad joke. [Image Credit: Nanopaprika]
The Daily Grind: What is this mystery project at CCP Games?
We know that CCP Games, creators of EVE Online, is going to announce a new project at GDC Europe in August. As CCP acquired White Wolf, creators of pen-and-paper RPG titles like Vampire, Mage, and Werewolf (the World of Darkness setting), we've known for some time that a World of Darkness MMO is in the works. Unfortunately, beyond the fact that the project exists at some stage of development, we know very little. But this mystery project announcement might not be about WoD at all. We're also aware that CCP Games has plans to release a first person shooter based on the EVE Online IP, which they hinted at during EVE Fanfest 2008. The latest info we've found about a new project at CCP Games (via @crazykinux) is a job listing at CCP for a Senior Game Engineer. The successful applicant "will join a seasoned team based in Shanghai, China where they will work on original IP for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3." The listing also mentions development on the Unreal Engine. Regardless of whether they're planning to unveil World of Darkness Online or an EVE Online first person shooter, you don't need to be an EVE player to appreciate how cool either of these releases could be. What game do you think CCP is going to announce at GDC Europe?
Epic wins North Carolina tech award
Mark Rein and company will have another memento to share during the office barbeque as Epic has been recognized as the "Top Industry Driven Technology Company of the Year," at least on the Atlantic Seaboard. The accolade was given by the North Carolina Technology Association, or NCTA, as part of the organization's annual NCTA 21 awards ceremony, which applauds technology go-getters in the Tar Heel State. Other finalists for the award included Parata Systems, PeopleClick and Railinc, companies we imagine lost out due to their flagrant disregard for rag doll physics and courtroom shenanigans.
Epic Games China reforms as Titan Studios, developing MMO
When most of us hear talk of the company "Epic Games", the first thing that comes to mind is Gears of War or the Unreal series of titles. While Epic Games had a Shanghai games studio for outsourcing purposes, it's now evolved into Titan Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Seattle. Through Titan Studios, it seems Epic Games is turning their attention to MMOGs, following up their work on the PS3 title Fat Princess.As to what's going on within the Titan Studios walls, GameSpot's Tom Magrino reports that "an undefined number of unannounced projects are in the works at the studio, one of which is a massively multiplayer online game." Needless to say, that bit of information has piqued our interest, and we'll keep our eyes open at Massively for more about the Titan Studios MMO project in the future.
