Unreal Engine

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Unreal Engine
Developer Epic Games
Latest release Build 3521 / December 2007
OS Cross-platform
Genre Game engine
Website http://unrealtechnology.com/

The Unreal Engine is a 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, Mass Effect, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Red Steel, Gears of War, BioShock, Tactical Ops and so forth. 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 multitude of platforms including Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS and Mac OS X on personal computers and many video game consoles including the Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Wii. 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, DirectX 10 for 32/64-bit Windows Vista, and OpenGL 2.0, OpenGL 2.1 and OpenGL 3.0 for 32/64-bit Linux, Mac OS X and PlayStation 3.

Contents

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.

A comparison of Unreal Engine 1, 2 and 3's rendering capabilities using the Malcolm model from Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Unreal Tournament 3 side-by-side.
A comparison of Unreal Engine 1, 2 and 3's rendering capabilities using the Malcolm model from Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Unreal Tournament 3 side-by-side.

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. Build UE2.5, an update, improved rendering performance and added vehicles physics, particle 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.

The third generation Unreal Engine was designed specifically for DirectX 9/10 PCs, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.[1] Its 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) includes:

Epic used this generation of the engine for Gears of War and for Unreal Tournament 3.

Due to aggressive licensing, this current iteration has garnered a great deal of support from several big licensees, including Atari, Activision, Capcom, Disney, Konami, Koei, 2K Games, Midway, THQ, Ubisoft, Sega, Sony, Electronic Arts, Square Enix and more. UE3 has also 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 are meant for games. At E3 2007, Sony announced a partnership with Epic with the objective of optimizing the Unreal Engine 3 for the PlayStation 3 hardware, which would affect the dozens of games and developers currently using it.

As of July 19, 2007, the Unreal Engine 3 is the subject of a lawsuit served to Epic from Silicon Knights. Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights alleged that the Unreal Engine 3 did not work as Epic promised and that certain features and support were not delivered in a timely manner. "..it seems pretty clear that Gears [of War] was built on the backs of the Unreal Engine licensees. We certainly stand by our allegations in the lawsuit that instead of using our licensing fees to develop and support the Unreal Engine 3, Epic used that money to build Gears," Dyack said. As such, Silicon Knights decided not to use the Unreal Engine for future games and instead, claim to have created their own at a large cost of time and money. Epic however, counter-sued Silicon Knights, claiming unrightful use of reverse engineered Unreal 3 technology in their new Silicon Knights engine.

  • Unreal Engine 3 is also being developed for the Nintendo Wii by Ubisoft.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16] However, at the 2006 GDC, Sweeney stated that development will not begin in earnest on the next version until some time in 2008. Tim gave a talk at POPL06 sharing some of his thoughts on programming[17]

Image:Splitsection.svg
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A list of many other games powered by Unreal Technology can be viewed on the official website.

Unreal Engine 2 Runtime Custom License is used in many non-gaming projects including construction simulations and designs, training simulations, driving simulations, educations, virtual reality shopping malls, movie storyboards, continuities, pre-visuals and etc

until October 2007, more than 500 companies had a Unreal Engine 2 Runtime Licenses.

  • The Jim Henson Company
  • University of Advancing Technology
  • Louisiana State University in Shreveport
  • Centennial College
  • Expression College for Digital Arts
  • Digital Media Arts College
  • The Art Institute of California

  • Warner Bros
  • Frantic Films
  • The Walt Disney Company
  • HDFilms
  • Sony Pictures Entertainment
  • Columbia Pictures
  • TriStar Pictures
  • Square-Enix

Unreal Engine 3 Runtime Custom License is used in many non-gaming projects including construction simulations and designs, training simulations, driving simulations, education, virtual reality shopping malls, movie storyboards, continuities, pre-visuals, real-time CG animations, pre-rendered CG animations and so on.

until October 2007, more than 100 companies had a non-gaming projects Unreal Engine 3 Licenses.

And a lot of companies the Unreal Engine 3 Licenses for thier many projects including educations, traning programs, simulation programs, virtual reality projects, CG animation projects and etc.

  1. ^ http://www.unrealtechnology.com/html/technology/ue30.shtml
  2. ^ Unreal Engine 3 integrates AGEIA PhysX processor support
  3. ^ http://www.oc3ent.com/Oct-18-2005.html
  4. ^ http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20047
  5. ^ http://www.fonix.com/fonix/recentNews2.php?id=3
  6. ^ http://www.ai-implant.com/solutions/games/unreal_engine_3_support.htm
  7. ^ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20199
  8. ^ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20823
  9. ^ http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/news/?id=15289
  10. ^ http://www.profxengine.com/?PAGE=HOME
  11. ^ http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14573
  12. ^ http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15134
  13. ^ http://www.umbra.fi/Umbra-PR_2007-09-07_Epic.txt
  14. ^ http://games.kikizo.com/news/200711/083.asp
  15. ^ Rein: "We've been working on Unreal Engine 4 for two years" [1]. Computer And Video Games. Retrieved on August 19, 2005.
  16. ^ Interview: Mark Rein [2]. Computer And Video Games. Retrieved on September 30, 2005.
  17. ^ http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~dpw/popl/06/Tim-POPL.ppt
  18. ^ Interview with the developers, mentions the issues porting UE to the PlayStation 2
  19. ^ Review of DE:TC with mention of the use of the Unreal Engine
  20. ^ Smart Computing Article - New Legends
  21. ^ IGN: Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen Preview
  22. ^ [3]
  23. ^ [4]
  24. ^ XGP Gaming: Combat: Task Force 121 Announced
  25. ^ Extreme Gamer - Combat Task Force 121 Xbox Review
  26. ^ http://www.frogster-studios.co.kr/eng/business_online.html
  27. ^ Online Multiplayer Games Network (OMGN): Games Directory: Exteel
  28. ^ Gamespot review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  29. ^ Pariah - Games - Review - www.pcauthority.com.au
  30. ^ IGN: Pariah
  31. ^ PC Interview: Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 - ComputerAndVideoGames.com
  32. ^ Welcome to Gamepyre - Gamepyre
  33. ^ [5]
  34. ^ [6]
  35. ^ WORTHPLAYING - - All about games
  36. ^ Raven Shield: Athena Sword
  37. ^ Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for PC Reviews - PC Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Reviews
  38. ^ World War II Combat: Iwo Jima
  39. ^ http://www.groovegames.com/Games/Warpath/index.php
  40. ^ [7]
  41. ^ Gamer's Hell news - "Elveon Powered By Unreal Engine 3"
  42. ^ [8]
  43. ^ [9]
  44. ^ Fury Homepage
  45. ^ Global Agenda Game
  46. ^ http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15074
  47. ^ GameSpot Preview of Huxley
  48. ^ [10]
  49. ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/613/613377p1.html
  50. ^ [11]
  51. ^ Medal of Honor: Airborne First Look
  52. ^ Pre-E3 2006: Hands-on with Monster Madness
  53. ^ [12]
  54. ^ [13]
  55. ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/748/748381.html
  56. ^ http://www.developmag.com/news/26665/Ghostlight-published-Kuju-game-to-use-Unreal
  57. ^ http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=43896&mode=thread&order=0
  58. ^ http://www.futura-sciences.com/newsrss-bluenauts-paye-licence-ue3_555778_0.php
  59. ^ http://www.starvault.se/about.php
  60. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/news/6183486.html
  61. ^ http://job.cgland.com/index.html?mode=recruit&sub_mode=view&no=5850
  62. ^ http://forums.beyondunreal.com/showthread.php?p=2413051&posted=1#post2413051
  63. ^ http://www.epicgameschina.com/editor/news/1197544452.html
  64. ^ http://www.epicgameschina.com/presscontent.php?id=90
  65. ^ http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15658
  66. ^ http://www.developmag.com/news/28228/Virtual-Heroes-gets-UE3

v • d • e
Unreal franchise
Video games Unreal · Unreal II: The Awakening
Unreal Tournament · Unreal Tournament 2003 · Unreal Tournament 2004 · Unreal Tournament 3
Unreal Championship · Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
Compilations Unreal Gold · Totally Unreal · Unreal Anthology
Misc Unreal Engine · UnrealScript · UnrealEd
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_Engine"
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