Unreal Engine

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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 , 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.

Image:Unreal Engine Comparison.jpg

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.

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 perfomance 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 HDR, 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<ref>Unreal Engine 3 integrates AGEIA PhysX processor support</ref>, OC3 Entertainment's FaceFX<ref>http://www.oc3ent.com/Oct-18-2005.html</ref>, RAD Game Tools's Bink Video, DivX, Inc.'s Divx, Quazal Technologies's Render-Vous and Spark,<ref>http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20047</ref> Fonix Speech's VoiceIn,<ref>http://www.fonix.com/fonix/recentNews2.php?id=3</ref> Engenuity's AI Implant,<ref>http://www.ai-implant.com/solutions/games/unreal_engine_3_support.htm</ref> IDV's SpeedTreeRT,<ref>http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20199</ref> Digimask's Diskmask SDK, Kynogon's Kynapse A.I,<ref>http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20823</ref> Geomerics's Enlighten,<ref>http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/news/?id=15289</ref> Allegorithmic's ProFX.<ref>http://www.profxengine.com/?PAGE=HOME</ref> 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 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.<ref>Rein: "We've been working on Unreal Engine 4 for two years" [1]. Computer And Video Games. Retrieved on August 19, 2005.</ref> 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<ref>Interview: Mark Rein [2]. Computer And Video Games. Retrieved on September 30, 2005.</ref> 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.