New Epic 3D game engine toolset: Fabulous, fun, and free!
Summary: This is big: Epic Games just announced the release of the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), a free edition of the Unreal Engine 3. This is the same technology behind popular PC and console games such as Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, Bioshock, and Medal of Honor. Now anyone can download the PC version of the UDK and immediately try it out without paying a cent.
This is big: Epic Games just announced the release of the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), a free edition of the Unreal Engine 3. It's available to anyone interested in using 3D game engine technology, including game developers, students, hobbyists, researchers, creators of 3D visualizations.
The Unreal Engine is the technology behind popular PC and console games such as Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, Bioshock, Medal of Honor, Army of Two, and Batman: Archam Asylum. It's one of the best game engines available today. See the UDK features page for more details on all of its capabilities.
Previously, if you wanted to use the Unreal Engine in your programs you had to enter into a very expensive agreement with Epic for access to the technology. A few years ago, Epic reportedly asked for up-front payments of as much as $8 million before your game was even developed! Now anyone can download the PC version of the UDK and immediately try it out without paying a cent or signing anything. As a former professional game developer, this is just amazing to me.
The Unreal community was going nuts this morning after the announcement. Some were shocked that Epic chose to release the entire engine and not just a crippled subset. As one poster put it,
"Man, one thing I hope you guys realize is that this is almost EXACTLY the engine build that we're using here at Epic! You get every single feature that we've been using here that aren't even in any games yet! We only got some of these features last week!"
Use of the new UDK is free for noncommercial purposes, but it can be licensed cheaply for commercial uses. For example you can use it to write a commercial PC video game and pay nothing up front and no royalties until your sales go over $5,000. See the licensing page for all the details. Currently, the free kit is only offered to PC users but Epic says console support is "under consideration".
"Unreal Engine 3 has been used to create games in a wide range of genres, as well as military simulations, 3D architectural walkthroughs, animated movies and more," said Epic VP Mark Rein. "Users are only limited by their imaginations. Go ahead, make something Unreal!"
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Talkback
Creation of content for UT3, GoW, etc
Not so fabulous and fun anymore. Epic FAIL, Epic.
Um, dude...
They gave away the whole damn engine! Plus development tools. What the heck do you want, eh?
I'd say this is pretty darned impressive, and I'm not a game developer! Way to go Epic!
What have you given away lately?
Next you'll be wanting them to give you the computer to run it on.
Moron!
Innovation
Epic are trying to encourage people to write new games, not take the clothes off the old ones.
I'm pretty sure the needs of teenage leet haxors were included in the discussions - for about 1 second! Epic arent in the business of breaking their toys, so they sure as hell arent going to let you do it either.
Perhaps when you have grown up a bit you might realise for yourself that for most people, becoming a parent is the closest they'll get to creating a work of art, unless someone just gives them the tools and knowledge.
If you dont have a talent, learn a skill, and if you cant do that, get paid for being laughed at. Its a tough world...
It's for stand-alone programs
RE: New Epic 3D game engine toolset: Fabulous, fun, and free!
Torque just went the opposite direction . . .
development kit, just went the opposite direction. Became
more expensive.
Although it should be noted you can't just run away with
it - they want 25% if you make more than $5000 in sales.
I'm sure Epic will consider distributing the best games
RE: New Epic 3D game engine toolset: Fabulous, fun, and free!
More development kits should be under this type of license
This way you don't price people out but at the same time you don't give your work away for free either.
Takes away two advantages of open source
What would happen if business software, for example the Oracle database, was available this way? Would that increase or decrease their overall revenue? How about a program like Photoshop? Same answer?
RE: New Epic 3D game engine toolset: Fabulous, fun, and free!
to time Microsoft launches new games and these are
really much appreciated by game lovers.
Unity ?