Epic Games Releases The Unreal Performance Test 2002: The Ultimate Game Benchmark
Benchmark Puts Graphics Performance to the Test:
Does Today's Hardware Meet the Capabilities of Tomorrow's Games?
Aiming to stress-test the functionality and power of today's graphics performance, the benchmark is a barometer of how current hardware technology measures up against next generation gaming applications. The Unreal Performance Test is the first game benchmark to utilize a widely used game engine, Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine. Licensed by many of the recognized leaders in PC gaming such as Electronic Arts (Undying, Adventure Pinball), Infogrames (Epic's own Unreal Tournament), and Eidos (Deus Ex, Deus Ex 2, Thief 3), the Unreal Engine is viewed as the game industry's most advanced and widely used complete 3D game engine.
"It is well recognized throughout the industry that games drive hardware innovation," said Mark Rein, vice president at Epic Games. "At Epic, we are striving to influence and educate the card manufacturers and consumers to improve the overall quality of the gaming experience. We created the Unreal Performance Test to be the first true indicator of how gaming hardware will respond to the ever-increasing demands of tomorrow's games."
The performance test was recently put to task on leading hardware Web site Anandtech.com. The site compared 15 of today's leading cards at five different resolution settings.
"There are other game engines that have been used for benchmarking, but none are as robust, or as relevant as the Unreal Performance Test 2002," said Anand Lal Shimpi, editor-in-chief of AnandTech.com. "With the 6-month video-card product cycles, you have to play a guessing game as to whether you'll be buying adequate power for the future. Card manufacturers have long stated that their hardware could stand up to the demands of tomorrow's games. Now we can finally put their claims to the test."
The Unreal Performance Test is designed to be a torture test for today and tomorrow's personal computers that contain the best available CPUs and GPUs and stresses both equally. The content being used in the current version of the test shows as much as 1,000 times the detail levels seen in Epic's 1999 hit game title Unreal Tournament.
With accelerated 3D rendering that is constantly being tweaked and refreshed the benchmark represents the latest internal build of the Unreal Engine. It is designed to test polygon counts, CPU performance, AI and animation at the highest possible settings. As Epic's next-generation Unreal game engine is constantly evolving, the Unreal Performance Test 2002 will be continually updated and the test will remain an important tool for the industry.
About Epic Games:
Epic Games Inc, based in Raleigh, NC and established in 1991, is a developer of cutting-edge computer and video games. The company is best known as the creator of hit PC 3D action games Unreal and Unreal Tournament both award-winning blockbuster hits having each sold more than 1 million copies. Unreal Tournament has been recognized as the Game of the Year by many leading gaming media outlets including Computer Gaming World, the #1 PC games magazine, and has appeared on PC, Macintosh, Linux, Sony PlayStation 2 and Sega Dreamcast. Epic's Unreal engine has been licensed to several top game developers for games in a variety of genres on multiple platforms including the Microsoft Xbox. Eidos' Deus Ex, which was PC Gamer magazine's 2000 Game of the Year, and Electronic Arts' critically acclaimed Undying are among the many shipping titles built using the Unreal engine. Prior to their 3D success, Epic Games was well known for the hit shareware games Jill of the Jungle, Jazz Jackrabbit and Epic Pinball. Additional information can be obtained through Epic's Web site at www.epicgames.com.
About the Unreal Engine:
The Unreal Engine, created for Epic's revolutionary 3D first-person Unreal computer game, provides programmers with a complete solution for software development -- from design and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to texture mapping and networking. Many programmers both inside and outside of the gaming industry are drawn to the Unreal engine's scripting possibilities and flexibility, which makes it extremely beneficial and easy to use for numerous applications, including architectural and historical recreations. The engine is constantly being improved to provide developers with tools for creating more detailed and expansive environments.