Unreal Engine: Difference between revisions
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Its core written in [[C++]], the Unreal Engine features a high degree of portability, supporting a plethora of platforms including the [[IBM PC compatible]]s ([[Microsoft Windows]], [[Linux|GNU/Linux]]), [[Apple Macintosh]] ([[Mac OS]], [[Mac OS X]]) and many [[Video game console|consoles]] ([[Wii]], [[Dreamcast]], [[Xbox]], [[Xbox 360]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]]). A great deal of the gameplay code is written in [[UnrealScript]], a proprietary scripting language, and as such large parts of the gameplay can be modified without delving deep into the engine internals. Additionally, as with other [[middleware]] packages, the Unreal Engine also provides various tools to assist with content creation, both for designers and artists. |
Its core written in [[C++]], the Unreal Engine features a high degree of portability, supporting a plethora of platforms including the [[IBM PC compatible]]s ([[Microsoft Windows]], [[Linux|GNU/Linux]]), [[Apple Macintosh]] ([[Mac OS]], [[Mac OS X]]) and many [[Video game console|consoles]] ([[Wii]], [[Dreamcast]], [[Xbox]], [[Xbox 360]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]]). A great deal of the gameplay code is written in [[UnrealScript]], a proprietary scripting language, and as such large parts of the gameplay can be modified without delving deep into the engine internals. Additionally, as with other [[middleware]] packages, the Unreal Engine also provides various tools to assist with content creation, both for designers and artists. |
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The latest release is the Unreal Engine 3, which is designed around [[Microsoft|Microsoft's]] [[DirectX 9]] technology for 32/64-bit [[Windows]] and [[Xbox 360]] platforms; [[OpenGL]] 2.x technology for 32/64-bit [[Linux]], [[Mac OS X]] and [[Sony|Sony's]] [[ |
The latest release is the Unreal Engine 3, which is designed around [[Microsoft|Microsoft's]] [[DirectX 9]] technology for 32/64-bit [[Windows]] and [[Xbox 360]] platforms; [[OpenGL]] 2.x technology for 32/64-bit [[Linux]], [[Mac OS X]] and [[Sony|Sony's]] [[PlayStation 3]]; and [[Microsoft|Microsoft's]] [[DirectX 10]] technology for 32/64-bit [[Windows Vista]]. |
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==Versions== |
==Versions== |
Revision as of 03:54, 24 May 2007
The Unreal Engine is a powerful widely-used game engine developed by Epic Games. First illustrated in the 1998 first-person shooter game Unreal, it has been the basis of many games since, including Unreal Tournament , Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield, Red Steel, and Gears of War. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully utilized in a variety of genres, including 3rd-person stealth (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell) and MMORPG (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes).
Its core written in C++, the Unreal Engine features a high degree of portability, supporting a plethora of platforms including the IBM PC compatibles (Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux), Apple Macintosh (Mac OS, Mac OS X) and many consoles (Wii, Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3). A great deal of the gameplay code is written in UnrealScript, a proprietary scripting language, and as such large parts of the gameplay can be modified without delving deep into the engine internals. Additionally, as with other middleware packages, the Unreal Engine also provides various tools to assist with content creation, both for designers and artists.
The latest release is the Unreal Engine 3, which is designed around Microsoft's DirectX 9 technology for 32/64-bit Windows and Xbox 360 platforms; OpenGL 2.x technology for 32/64-bit Linux, Mac OS X and Sony's PlayStation 3; and Microsoft's DirectX 10 technology for 32/64-bit Windows Vista.
Versions
Unreal Engine 1
Making its debut in 1998, the first generation Unreal Engine integrated rendering, collision detection, AI, visibility, networking and file system management into one complete engine. With the level of integration used, some trade-offs were necessary to maintain performance levels with the hardware that was available at the time. For example, Epic decided to use cylindrical collision detection over the IK collision detection system in an effort to maintain playable framerates on systems that were common at the time of its release. Internally, Epic used this engine for Unreal and Unreal Tournament.
Unreal Engine 2
The second version of the Unreal Engine got off to a rocky start with the mixed reviews for Unreal Tournament 2003. This generation saw the core code and rendering engine completely re-written and the new UnrealEd 3 integrated. It also integrated the Karma physics SDK, which powered the RagDoll physics in Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Championship. Many other engine elements were also updated, with improved and added support for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and the Xbox, respectively. after engine build 3xxx are called UE2.5. improving rendering performance and adding vehicles physics, particles system editor for UnrealEd and 64-bit support in Unreal Tournament 2004. A specialized version of UE2.5 called UE2X, which was used for Unreal Championship 2, features optimizations specific to the first-generation Xbox.
Unreal Engine 3
The third generation Unreal Engine was designed specifically for DirectX 9/10 PC's, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Its (once again) rewritten renderer supports many advanced techniques including HDRR, per-pixel lighting, and dynamic shadows, and builds upon the tools available in previous versions of the engine. Unreal Engine 3 IPP (Integrated Partners Program) including Ageia's PhysX[1], OC3 Entertainment's FaceFX[2], RAD Game Tools's Bink Video, DivX, Inc.'s Divx, Quazal Technologies's Render-Vous and Spark,[3] Fonix Speech's VoiceIn,[4] Engenuity's AI Implant,[5] IDV's SpeedTreeRT,[6] Digimask's Diskmask SDK, Kynogon's Kynapse A.I,[7] Geomerics's Enlighten,[8] Allegorithmic's ProFX.[9] Epic used this generation of the engine for Gears of War and is using it for Unreal Tournament 3.
Due to aggressive licensing, this current iteration has garnered a great deal of support from several big licensees, including Sega, Sony, Electronic Arts, and Square Enix. Speaking volumes for its extensibility, UE3 has seen adoption by many non-gaming projects including construction simulation and design, training simulation, driving simulation, virtual reality shopping malls, movie storyboards, continuity, pre-visual, etc., in spite of the fact that the toolset and source code is meant for games.
Unreal Engine 4
Mark Rein, the vice-president of Epic Games, revealed on August 18 2005 that Unreal Engine 4 had been in development over the past two years.[10] The engine targets PCs, then the next generation of consoles after the seventh generation. The only person to work on the Unreal Engine 4 core system design so far is Tim Sweeney, technical director and founder of Epic games[11] however, at the 2006 GDC, Sweeney stated that development will not begin in earnest on the next version until some time in 2008, as UE3 is intended to be sustainable until 2012.
Video games
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A list of many other games powered by Unreal Technology can be viewed on the official website.
- Adventure Pinball: Forgotten Island — (2001) Digital Extremes
- Brother Bear — (2003) KnowWonder Digital Mediaworks
- Clive Barker's Undying — (2001) Dreamworks Interactive
- Deus Ex — (2000) Ion Storm
- Deus Ex: The Conspiracy — (2002) Ion Storm[12][13]
- Dr. Brain's Thinking Games: Action/Reaction — (1999) Knowledge Adventure
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — (2002) KnowWonder Digital Mediaworks
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S) — (2001) KnowWonder Digital Mediaworks
- Mobile Forces — (2002) Rage Software
- Nerf Arena Blast — (1999) Visionary Media, Inc.
- New Legends — (2002) Infinite Machine[14]
- Rune — (2000) Human Head Studios
- Rune: Viking Warlord — (2001) Human Head Studios
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen — (2000) The Collective[15]
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard — (1998) MicroProse[16]
- Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror — (2002) Kamehan Studios
- TNN Outdoors Pro Hunter — (1998) DreamForge Intertainment
- Twin Caliber — (2003) Rage Software
- Unreal — (1998) Epic Games
- Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali — (1999) Legend Entertainment
- Unreal Tournament — (1999) Epic Games
- Unrealty — (2000) Perilith Industrielle[17]
- Virtual Reality Notre Dame: A Real Time Construction — (1999) Digitalo Studios
- The Wheel of Time — (1999) Legend Entertainment
- X-COM: Enforcer — (2001) MicroProse
- Advent Rising — (2005) GlyphX Games
- America's Army v1.0 ~ v2.81 — (2006) U.S. Army
- Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30 — (2005) Gearbox Software
- Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood — (2005) Gearbox Software
- Brothers In Arms: D-Day — (2006) Gearbox Software
- Combat: Task Force 121 — (2005) Direct Action Games[18][19]
- Dead Man's Hand — (2004) Human Head Studios
- Desert Thunder — (2003) Brainbox Games
- Deus Ex: Invisible War — (2003) Ion Storm
- Devastation — (2003) Digitalo Studios
- Exteel — (2005) NCsoft[20]
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — (2004) KnowWonder Digital Mediaworks[21]
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events — (2004) Adrenium Games
- Lineage II — (2003) NC Soft
- Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds — (2003) Atari
- Pariah — (2005) Digital Extremes[22][23]
- Postal² — (2003) Running With Scissors, Inc.
- Ragnarok Online 2: The Gate of the World (MMORPG) — (2007) Gravity
- Red Steel — (2006) Nintendo / Ubisoft
- Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 — (2006) Tripwire Interactive[24][25]
- Redneck Kentucky and the Next Generation Chickens - (2007) City Interactive
- Shadow Ops: Red Mercury — (2004) Zombie Studios
- Star Wars: Republic Commando — (2005) LucasArts[26][27]
- SWAT 4 — (2005) Irrational Games[28]
- Thief: Deadly Shadows — (2004) Ion Storm
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword — (2004) Ubisoft[29]
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow (Xbox only) — (2004) Ubisoft
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield — (2003) Ubisoft
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell — (2002) Ubisoft
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow — (2004) Ubisoft
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory — (2005) Ubisoft[30]
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent — (2006) Ubisoft
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials — (2006) Ubisoft
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 — (2006) Ubisoft
- Tribes: Vengeance — (2004)Irrational Games
- Unreal II: The Awakening — (2003) Legend Entertainment
- Unreal Championship — (2002) Digital Extremes
- Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict — (2005) Epic Games
- Unreal Tournament 2003 — (2002) Digital Extremes
- Unreal Tournament 2004 — (2004) Digital Extremes
- Vanguard: Saga of Heroes — (2007) Sigil Games Online
- World War II Combat: Iwo Jima — Direct Action Games[31]
- Warpath — (2006) Digital Extremes[32]
- XIII — (2003) Ubisoft
- Aliens — (2009) Gearbox Software
- America's Army 3.0 — (2007) US Army
- APB — (2008) Webzen
- Black Powder Red Earth - (2007) Echelon Studios
- Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway — (2007) Gearbox Software[33]
- BioShock - (2007) Irrational Games
- BlackSite: Area 51 — (2007) Midway Austin
- Elveon — (2007) 10tacle Studios[34]
- Fatal Inertia — (2007) Koei[35]
- Frontlines: Fuel of War — (2008) Kaos Studios
- Gears of War — (2006) Epic Games
- Halo Wars — (TBA) Ensemble Studios
- Huxley — (2007) Webzen Games[36]
- The Last Remnant — (2008) Square Enix
- Lineage III — (TBA) NCsoft[37]
- Lost Odyssey — (2007) Mistwalker[38]
- Mass Effect — (2007) BioWare[39]
- Medal of Honor: Airborne — (2007) Electronic Arts[40]
- Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia — (2007) Artificial Studios[41]
- RoboBlitz — (2006) Naked Sky Entertainment[42]
- Stargate Worlds — (2007) Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment[43]
- Stranglehold — (2007) Midway Chicago[44]
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas — (2006) Ubisoft
- Too Human — (2007) Silicon Knights[45]
- Turok — (2007) Propaganda Games
- Unreal Tournament 3 — (2007) Epic Games
- Upcoming Mortal Kombat Game — (Unknown) Midway Games
- The Wheelman — (2007) Midway Games
- HEI$T — (2007) InXile Entertainment
- Condemned 2: Bloodshot — (2008) Sega
- Various upcoming Sega titles will utilize the Unreal Engine [14]
See also
References
- ^ Unreal Engine 3 integrates AGEIA PhysX processor support
- ^ http://www.oc3ent.com/Oct-18-2005.html
- ^ http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20047
- ^ http://www.fonix.com/fonix/recentNews2.php?id=3
- ^ http://www.ai-implant.com/solutions/games/unreal_engine_3_support.htm
- ^ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20199
- ^ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20823
- ^ http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/news/?id=15289
- ^ http://www.profxengine.com/?PAGE=HOME
- ^ Rein: "We've been working on Unreal Engine 4 for two years" [1]. Computer And Video Games. Retrieved on August 19, 2005.
- ^ Interview: Mark Rein [2]. Computer And Video Games. Retrieved on September 30, 2005.
- ^ Interview with the developers, mentions the issues porting UE to the PlayStation 2
- ^ Review of DE:TC with mention of the use of the Unreal Engine
- ^ Smart Computing Article - New Legends
- ^ IGN: Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen Preview
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ XGP Gaming: Combat: Task Force 121 Announced
- ^ Extreme Gamer - Combat Task Force 121 Xbox Review
- ^ Online Multiplayer Games Network (OMGN): Games Directory: Exteel
- ^ Gamespot review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ^ Pariah - Games - Review - www.pcauthority.com.au
- ^ IGN: Pariah
- ^ PC Interview: Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 - ComputerAndVideoGames.com
- ^ Welcome to Gamepyre - Gamepyre
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ WORTHPLAYING - - All about games
- ^ Raven Shield: Athena Sword
- ^ Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for PC Reviews - PC Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Reviews
- ^ World War II Combat: Iwo Jima
- ^ http://www.groovegames.com/Games/Warpath/index.php
- ^ [7]
- ^ Gamer's Hell news - "Elveon Powered By Unreal Engine 3"
- ^ [8]
- ^ GameSpot Preview of Huxley
- ^ [9]
- ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/613/613377p1.html
- ^ [10]
- ^ Medal of Honor: Airborne First Look
- ^ Pre-E3 2006: Hands-on with Monster Madness
- ^ [11]
- ^ [12]
- ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/748/748381.html
- ^ [13]
External links
- The official Unreal Developer Network documenting the Unreal Engine
- Unreal Technology
- Unreal Engine 1 Features
- Unreal Engine 2
- Unreal Engine 2.5
- Unreal Engine 2X
- Unreal Engine 3.0