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Unreal Engine 3

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Unreal Engine 3
Developer(s)Epic Games
Written inC++, UnrealScript, HLSL
PlatformAndroid, iOS, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Xbox 360, Wii U, Adobe Flash
TypeGame engine
Websitewww.epicgames.com

Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) is a computer game engine developed by Epic Games. It is the third generation of Unreal Engine, designed for DirectX 9/10/11 personal computers (PC), the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U,[1] PlayStation Vita, Android, and OpenGL-based operating systems (OS) such as iOS and Mac OS X.[2] Its renderer supports many advanced techniques including high dynamic range rendering (HDRR), per-pixel lighting, and dynamic shadows, and builds upon the tools available in prior versions of the engine.

Epic has used this version of the engine for their in-house games Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War, Bulletstorm, Mortal Kombat IX, and an improved version for Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3. Due to aggressive licensing, this current iteration has gathered a great deal of support from several big licensees, including 2K Games, 3D Realms, Activision, Atari, Capcom, Disney, Electronic Arts, Koei, Konami, Microsoft for Kinect, Midway Games, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, THQ, Ubisoft, and more.[3]

History

The first screenshots of the Unreal Engine 3 were first presented in 2004,[4] at which point the engine was in development for 18 months already.[5] Unlike the Unreal Engine 2, which still supported fixed-function pipeline, the Unreal Engine 3 was designed to take advantage of fully programmable shader hardware (in DirectX 9 terms, it required shader model 3.0). All lighting calculations were done per-pixel, instead of per-vertex. On the rendering side, the Unreal Engine 3 also provided support for a gamma-correct high-dynamic range renderer. Similar to the idTech 4 engine and CryEngine, UE3 expected that content was authored in both high- and low-resolution version and baked for run-time; a major difference to previous generations where the game content was modeled directly.

The first released console game using the Unreal Engine 3 was Gears of War. The first released PC game was RoboBlitz. Initially, the Unreal Engine 3 only supported Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 platforms while Android and iOS was added later in 2010 (with Infinity Blade being the first iOS title and Dungeon Defenders the first Android title). Mac OS X support has been added in 2011.[6]

Unreal Development Kit

While the Unreal Engine 3 has been quite open for modders to work with, the ability to publish and sell games made using UE3 was restricted to licensees of the engine. However, in November 2009, Epic released a free version of their engine, called the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), that is available to the general public. According to the current EULA, game makers can sell their games by paying Epic the cost of $99 USD, and 25% royalty on UDK related revenue from all your UDK-based games or commercial applications above US$50,000.[7] The December 2010 UDK release added support for creating iOS games. As of the September 2011 release, iOS, Mac OS X, and Windows platforms all support UDK-created games.

Non-gaming use

In addition to the game industry, UE3 has also seen adoption by many non-gaming projects including construction simulation and design, driving simulation, virtual reality shopping malls and film storyboards.[citation needed]

Jace Hall pushed the boundaries of traditional filmmaking by using a computer game engine, UE3, to meet the challenge of animating Alex Pardee's surreal work, Chadam.[8]

The popular children's TV show LazyTown used UE3 during filming to generate virtual sets for real-time integration with footage of actors and puppets performing in front of green screens.[9]

In December 2009, Epic demoed UE3 running on Apple's 3rd generation iPod Touch. They said that this will also support iPhone 3GS, and also an unknown mobile platform set to be unveiled at CES 2010,[10] which was later revealed to be Nvidia's Tegra 2 platform for use with Android devices.[11] On December 16, 2010, Epic released for free the Unreal Engine 3 with other gaming development tools as the "Unreal Development Kit" on Apple's mobile devices.[12]

The Unreal 3 engine also powers the animation software "Muvizu 3D", which is currently in beta stage.[13]

In March 2012, the FBI licensed Epic's Unreal Development Kit to use in a simulator for training.

Updates

Epic Games announced at Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2009 some improvements made to the Unreal Engine 3. These included:[14]

In addition to the game industry, UE3 has also seen adoption by many non-gaming projects including construction simulation and design, driving simulation, virtual reality shopping malls, and film storyboards.[15]

In December 2009, Epic demoed UE3 running on Apple's 3rd generation iPod Touch. They said that this will also support iPhone 3GS, and also an unknown mobile platform which has been revealed to be the webOS at CES 2010.[16] It has been revealed so far to be something on Nvidia's Tegra platform, and also Palm's webOS running PowerVR's SGX chip.

In March 2010, Steamworks was integrated into the software, and is offered to licensees.[17]

In June 2010, Epic Games revealed Epic Citadel, a tech demo to showcase Unreal Engine 3 on iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices).

In June 2010 during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, Mark Rein (vice president of Epic Games) showcased a tech demo of Gears of War 2 in stereoscopic 3D running on an Xbox 360 thanks to the TriOviz for Games Technology. "This technology’s great because it works on normal HD TVs, as well as the very high end 3DTVs,” Rein commented to Computer and Video Games.[18] "We're not planning to re-release this in 3D - unless Microsoft want us to - but I'm sure it's technology may be keen to put in the games developed by our partners."

In October 2010, TriOviz for Games Technology has been officially integrated in Unreal Engine 3,[19][20] allowing to easily convert in stereoscopic 3D, numerous past and upcoming games developed on Xbox 360 and PS3 with this engine.

As of March 2011, the Unreal 3 Engine supports DirectX 11. Epic Games showcased it with a real-time demonstration video, entitled "Samaritan".[21] Additions include tessellation and displacement mapping, advanced hair rendering with MSAA, deferred rendering with MSAA, screen space subsurface scattering, image-based lighting, billboard reflections, glossy reflections, reflection shadows, point light reflections, and bokeh depth of field.[22]

In July 2011, Geomerics announced that their real-time radiosity solution Enlighten is now integrated with Unreal Engine 3 and available to licensees.[23]

In October 2011, Epic Games announced that a version of the engine would be compatible with Adobe Flash Player.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.gametrailers.com/side-mission/2012/03/13/epic-vp-mark-rein-on-wii-u-id-be-shocked-if-it-doesnt-do-well/
  2. ^ Unreal Technology
  3. ^ "E3 2011: Microsoft Studios Licenses Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 for Kinect Fun Labs". gamingconsolenetwork.com Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  4. ^ First Look: Unreal Engine 3.0
  5. ^ Unreal Engine 3 Interview
  6. ^ Unreal Engine 3 comes to Mac OS X, courtesy of September UDK release
  7. ^ Licensing - Epic UDK
  8. ^ Hsu, Jeremy (2011-04-13). "Gaming Software Offers Cheap Alternative to Hollywood Animation Tools". InnovationNewsDaily.
  9. ^ "Unreal Engine 3 Powers Critical and Commercial Success LazyTown". Unreal.com. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  10. ^ "Epic Demonstrates Unreal Engine 3 for the iPod Touch/iPhone 3GS". AnandTech. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  11. ^ "Live from NVIDIA's CES press event". Engadget. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  12. ^ Chiang, Oliver (2010-12-15). "Hit Game Engine Launches On iPhone Thursday, Android Later". Forbes. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  13. ^ Muvizu 3D web site
  14. ^ "Epic Games to show off new Unreal Engine 3 features at GDC".
  15. ^ "Success stories"[dead link]
  16. ^ Epic Demonstrates Unreal Engine 3 for the iPod Touch, iPhone 3GS
  17. ^ "Steamworks Integration Now Available to Unreal Engine 3 Licensees". Epic Games. March 11, 2010.
  18. ^ Computer and Video Games.com: E3 2010: Epic makes 3D Gears Of War 2 - We've seen it. It's mega. But retail release not planned (17-Jun-2010)
  19. ^ www.epicgames.com: TriOviz for Games Technology Brings 3D Capabilities to Unreal Engine 3
  20. ^ www.joystiq.com: Epic's Mark Rein goes in-depth with Unreal Engine 3's TriOviz 3D
  21. ^ www.udk.com: UDK March Release
  22. ^ "Slide 1" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  23. ^ http://www.unrealengine.com/news/geomerics_announces_new_enlighten_integration_with_unreal_engine_3/
  24. ^ Kotaku.com - Unreal Engine 3 Now Works in Flash
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