Epic-Games posts

LucasArts signs multi-year Unreal Engine 3 licensing deal

by John Callaham Apr 26th 2011 @ 11:00AM

Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 game development tools just got a new buyer. The company announced today it has signed a multi-year agreement with LucasArts. The agreement is to use Unreal Engine as the basis for "multiple projects" at the developer/publisher. There is no word on which games will use the engine and financial details were not disclosed.

LucasArts has used previous versions of Epic's Unreal Engine before. The most notable use was with LucasArts' Star Wars Repubic Commando tactical shooter which was first released way back in 2005. Rumors of a sequel to that game have popped up on the net from time to time.

[Via email press release]

Filed under: Tools

Download: Bulletstorm Soundtrack

by John Callaham Apr 14th 2011 @ 11:00AM

While more and more game soundtracks are being released as paid separate products the folks at developers People Can Fly and Epic Games have decided to go ahead and release the music from the recent first person shooter Bulletstorm for free.

The soundtrack contains 24 separate tracks totaling 55 minutes of music from the game's composers Michal Cielecki and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz. Unfortunately the soundtrack doesn't have the "Disco Inferno" track that is heard in the game while your character is in a, well, futuristic disco. However you can't go wrong with the price and quite frankly we would like to see more soundtracks release for free.

Download the Bulletstorm soundtrack at Big Download

Gallery: Bulletstorm Screenshots

Filed under: Downloads, FPS, Multiplayer, Bulletstorm

Download: Unreal Development Kit April 2011 Beta

by Steven Wong Apr 11th 2011 @ 3:30PM

The Unreal Development Kit (UDK) beta, a free-to-use version of the Unreal Engine 3 development tools, has been updated with the latest updates and improvements. The April 2011 update includes a number of improvements and optimizations. For a full list of changes, visit the official website.

Download Unreal Development Kit April 2011 Beta (1.32 GB)
Check out all Unreal Development Kit related Downloads

Gallery: Unreal Development Kit

Filed under: Downloads, Tools

Bulletstorm PC demo storms onto Steam and Games For Windows Live

by John Callaham Apr 4th 2011 @ 5:30PM

The ultra violent and very cool sci-fi first person shooter Bulletstorm has been lacking a free PC demo, unlike its console versions. That made PC gamers, understandably, not happy. That situation changed today as Epic Games announced that the demo for the title is now finally available via both Steam and the Games For Windows Live client software.

It's not immediately clear what content is in the PC demo but we are betting that it will be identical to what was put into the console version. That demo was released a few weeks before the main game itself shipped to stores on February 22.

Gallery: Bulletstorm Screenshots

Filed under: Downloads, Demos, FPS, Multiplayer, Bulletstorm

Epic Games defends against Silicon Knights charges

by John Callaham Apr 2nd 2011 @ 9:00PM

Earlier this week it was reported that the long-in-development court case between developers Silicon Knights and Epic Games had now been cleared to go to a jury trial. While Silicon Knights' head Denis Dyack has tried to claim that this is a victory for his side, Epic Games has now come out with its own statement on the matter.

Silicon Knights claims that Epic Games committed fraud in licensing Epic's Unreal Engine 3 game development software. Epic's statement, as posted on VG247.com, says that the court rejected a number of Silicon Knights' claims, including that Silicon Knights "could cancel its license agreement, that Epic interfered with its contractual relationships with publishers, and that Epic acted unjustly under the license." Epic's statement added that it, "remains confident that it will be fully vindicated at trial."

Filed under: Biz

Unreal Engine lawsuit by Silicon Knights to move forward to trial

by John Callaham Mar 31st 2011 @ 1:00PM

It's been a while since developer Silicon Knights filed a lawsuit against Epic Games claiming that Epic didn't adequately support its Unreal Engine game development technology while Silicon Knights used it to develop the Xbox 360 action game Too Human. Now Kotaku reports that the lawsuit, first filed in 2007, has moved into a new phase as a federal court has agreed to allow the case to go to a jury trial.

While Epic Games has not commented publicly on this new development Silicon Knights' head Denis Dyack did state, "This ruling will allow us to have our day in court, before a jury, and to shine the light publicly on Epic's conduct." Despite the lawsuit, Epic Games has continued to sign tons of game developers and publishers to license Unreal Engine 3 and in 2009 released a free version of the engine, the Unreal Development Kit.

Filed under: Biz

Unreal Engine gets multi-year licensing deal from Warner Bros. Interactive

by John Callaham Mar 17th 2011 @ 9:00PM

Epic Games' Unreal Engine business just scored yet another major multi-year deal with a major publisher. This time its Warner Bros. Interactive who are paying an undisclosed amount to license the popular game development tools for all of the publisher's internal studios.

That includes UK-based development studio Rocksteady who used Unreal Engine 3 for 2009's acclaimed super hero action game Batman Arkham Asylum and will use it again for this year's upcoming sequel Batman Arkham City. The licensing deal will last until at least 2014. The engine is also the graphical basis for Warner Bros. Interactive' revival of the Mortal Kombat console fighting game series which will be released in April via developer NetherRealm Studios.

Filed under: Tools

Download: Unreal Development Kit March 2011 Beta

by Steven Wong Mar 9th 2011 @ 3:30PM

The Unreal Development Kit (UDK) beta, a free-to-use version of the Unreal Engine 3 development tools, has been updated with the latest updates and improvements. The March 2011 update includes DirectX 11, Nvidia APEX physics support and more. For more information, visit the official website. Continue after the jump to watch a realtime demonstration video showcasing the new features.

Download Unreal Development Kit March 2011 Beta (1.29 GB)
Download the 'Samaritan' Unreal Engine 3 Demonstration Video (220 MB)
Check out all Unreal Development Kit related Downloads

Gallery: Unreal Development Kit

Continue reading Download: Unreal Development Kit March 2011 Beta

Filed under: Downloads, Tools

Unreal Engine 3 GDC 2011 tech video shows off pretty graphics

by John Callaham Mar 8th 2011 @ 10:30PM

After seeing the screenshots for Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 tech demo made for GDC 2011, we couldn't wait to see the whole thing. Thankfully we now have the video made from the live tech demo for all to see, showing off how a certain Samaritan helps someone out in a near future version of Washington DC.

Keep in mind that the trailer, which you can check out after the jump, was not a pre-rendered CGI clip made in a server farm but ran in real time on a real PC (although a very powerful one) at Epic Games' booth during GDC 2011. The clip was cool enough that we are hoping that the Samaritan is the basis for an actual game and not just a tech demo.

Gallery: Unreal Engine 3 2011 Demo Screenshots

Continue reading Unreal Engine 3 GDC 2011 tech video shows off pretty graphics

Filed under: Video, Tools

Unreal Engine 3 GDC 2011 ShakyCam demo footage pops up

by John Callaham Mar 4th 2011 @ 4:00PM

Looks like someone who wasn't supposed to bring a camera to Epic Games' demo room at GDC 2011 did anyway and films the Unreal Engine 3 tech demo. The result is a blurry ShakyCam video showing off the live tech demo that was shown to the press earlier this week.

Keep in mind that the video was filming a real live in-engine demo and that the visual effects and other improvements needed a powerful PC running three Nvidia graphics cards in SLI in order to have a descent framerate. If you want to see a much more in focus and higher resolution movie you might want to wait until the official Unreal Engne 3 trailer is issued from Epic sometime next week. You can check out the ShakyCam YouTube version right now after the jump:

[Via VG247.com]

Gallery: Unreal Engine 3 2011 Demo Screenshots

Continue reading Unreal Engine 3 GDC 2011 ShakyCam demo footage pops up

Filed under: Hardware, Video, Tools

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