Get the Unreal Development Kit April 2010 Beta off WP (550mb)
UDK is available to anyone interested in using 3D game engine technology, from game developers to students, hobbyists to researchers, and creators of architectural walkthroughs to digital filmmakers. Use of UDK is free for all schools and students, and anyone can release free UDK-powered games.
Extensive UDK technical documentation is available at the Unreal Developer Network, and community members can share ideas, show off projects and learn from UDK developers like Psyonix and The Prometheus Team.
3D Buzz will soon release dozens of free video tutorials specific to UDK to complement the company’s existing Unreal Engine 3 video training modules. Over 100 Unreal Technology videos are viewable at the 3D Buzz web site free of charge.
Individuals and companies wishing to develop software for commercial purposes should refer to licensing terms. Commercial terms have been structured to make it easy for independent developers, start-up firms and seasoned professionals to use UDK with minimal financial barrier from concept to deployment.
The April 2010 UDK Beta upgrade notes are as follows.
· UTGame
o Renamed to UDKGame
§ All the tools now refer to this game as 'UDKGame'
§ UDK content directory is now named UDKGame, not UTGame.
o All UTGame native functionality is now either removed, moved to UnrealScript, or moved to UDKBase if more generally useful.
§ This means that the UTGame package can be removed by removing it from the EditPackages and not referencing any classes from it in your maps or ini files.
o Removed unused UTGame properties and functionality.
o UDKPawn client update smoothing using mesh translation
§ Controllable via new UDKPawn properties bSmoothNetUpdates, MaxSmoothNetUpdateDist, NoSmoothNetUpdateDist, and SmoothNetUpdateTime.
§ This improves the smoothness of other players’ movement on clients.
o Improved comments for various UDKBase and UTGame classes (work in progress).
o Removed obsolete localization files from UDKGame, and added UDKGameUI.int with UDKBase specific localization references.
o Removed hoverboard towing support.
o Hint loading system (for loading movies) is no longer hard-coded, and is now useable by other UDK apps.
o Separated UDK versions of ini files from UTGame specific ini entries, adding new DefaultEditorUDK.ini, DefaultEngineUDKBase.ini, and DefaultGameUDK.ini files.
o Fixed UDKGame code to spawn dedicated server.
· New tools/features ready for use.
o GDC_FeaturesDemo map is now included with the UDK.
o ProcBuildings
§ Documented and ready for use
§ http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ProceduralBuildings.html
o Consolidation Tool
§ Takes multiple assets of similar types and "consolidates" them into one asset that is selected from the list.
§ Great for optimizing content and removing very similar variants to quickly eliminate redundancy.
§ http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/AssetConsolidationTool.html
o Lighting
§ Cascaded shadow maps
§ Dynamically shadowed translucency
· http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlog.html#Dynamically%20Shadowed%20Translucency
§ Unbuilt lighting preview improvements
· http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlog.html#Changes%20to%20previewing%20unbuilt%20lighting
o Editor and Workflow
§ Depth Dependent Halos in the perspective viewports.
· Makes wireframe much easier to read!
§ http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlog.html#Depth Dependent Halos
§ Property Window now supports script defined ordering.
· Go to the property window options menu to enable globally.
· Upgrades/Updates
o Attachment editor
§ 'Delete' now breaks links while still keeping hierarchy intact
§ ALT-click on link now breaks links
§ Double-clicking a node centers the view on that actor
§ Added keyboard shortcuts
· ALT-A adds selected actors to the attachment editor
· ALT-C clears all nodes from the attachment editor
· CTRL-Right selects all nodes below selected nodes
§ Added attachment editor context menu
§ New attachment editor menu command for removing actors from the graph
§ Attachment editor now has more visual cues to show attachment states
· Content browser
o New "Source -> Find in Explorer" right click command for assets!
§ This takes you straight to the folder where the source asset lives
o New "Source -> Open in External Editor" right click command
§ Use this to launch Photoshop, 3ds Max, etc., straight from UnrealEd!
o New filters in package view for "modified" and "checked out" packages
§ https://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlog#Package%20List%20Filter
o Users can now type multiple packages into Content Browser's package search
o New drag and drop menu for placing actors! (hold shift key on drop)
§ https://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlog#Drag%20and%20Drop%20Changes
o Consolidation tool can now delete 'root set' objects (with prompt)
o New "Quarantine Mode" in Content Browser for hiding old or invalid assets
· Matinee
o Users can now CTRL + click to toggle selection of keys in the 3D view
o Restored support for Matinee material parameter tracks modifying multiple materials simultaneously
o Exporting linear and constant curves is now supported
o New 'bake-keys-on-import' option in Matinee menu (defaults to 30 fps)
o Clicking on empty space of a track now selects that track in matinee
o Improved Matinee material parameter track workflow
o Better tuning for game controller in Matinee recording viewport
o Many improvements to camera workflow between Matinee and Maya/3ds Max
· Nav mesh
o Lots of stability fixes
o Nav mesh optimizations greatly reduce rebuild times
o Fixed pylon mirroring borking the shape of the pylon
o Pylon workflow improvements
§ Workflow improvements for pylon'ing up a level
§ https://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UsingNavigationMeshes
· Other Unreal Editor improvements
o New toolbar button for toggling "real-time audio"
§ Audio is now completely independent from real-time rendering modes!
o Sound notifies can now set volume and pitch directly
o Texture stats browser is now enabled for use!
§ Located in the main browser tab list
§ Helps optimize texture usage in levels
o Extreme content can now be previewed in AnimSet Editor
o When duplicating over an existing asset, users can now choose to replace that asset
o Facade now has param/color 'swatches' (assigned in right click menu)
o Users can now hold '/' while clicking to place a target point
o Changed Kismet to not select on mouse-down (makes it easier to pan around)
o Material editor now draws a red indicator in viewport when previewing nodes
o Facade: added new "Cycle" rule type!
§ Kind of like an advanced "Repeat" node
§ Cycle through N different outputs, passing along "remainder"
o Added new map check warning for streaming volumes with no levels associated
o Users can now hit "Alt+0" to switch to lightmap density view mode
o Scene manager filter combo box is now sorted alphabetically
o New "Find Levels..." right click option for streaming volumes!
§ This selects the levels attached to that volume in the level browser
o New 'FindAssetReferences' commandlet
§ Finds all references of a set of assets in the specified maps
o Editor's main status bar now displays the "current level"
o Camera frustums are now shown in ortho views when streaming previs is enabled
o Added pop up dialog when moving actors between levels (can take awhile!)
o Background color is now saved with each particle system
o Sprites are now drawn purple even when "show selection" is off
o Cascade now has option to 'never warn me again' about removing curves
o Editor cameras now draw in 'Stat LevelMap' HUD display
o New "show only different properties" feature for selected objects
§ Enabled using the new setting in the property options drop-down
o Color picker now supports HDR colors in some places!
§ Create color values beyond 1.0 (with live preview)
o Static mesh editor now has 'real time' option on tool bar
o New "node debugging" feature in material editor
§ Right click on expressions and choose Debug
§ 3D preview will then display shader "up to that point"
o Resized viewport transform widgets
o Keyboard shortcut for resetting particles is now '/' (shift=all)
o Performance improvements for lighting builds
o ColorScaleOverLife now shows up in CurveEditor as a colored curve
o Added 'Fixup bad/empty elements' option to StaticMeshEditor, removing elements w/ 0 triangles
o Added range metadata to brush builder properties
o Vertex color view mode materials now have spline mesh support
o Added "Find Parent Material" to MaterialInstance context menu
· Miscellaneous Enhancements
o Improved crowd system interaction with level streaming, including not spawning agents in areas where the navigation mesh has been streamed out.
o Changed decal materials to default to having no specular
o Stats Viewer enhancements (Search, Color Coding, and more)
o Removed support for legacy shadow volumes
o Light functions on dominant lights can only be grayscale now
· New and Updated UDN Documentation
o New
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/AssetConsolidationTool.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/InteractiveStaticMeshes.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UsingSplineLoftActors.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ThreeDVision.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/DistanceFieldShadows.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ProceduralBuildingsTutorial.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ProceduralBuildings.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/FBXImporterUserGuide.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ColorGrading.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/AssetConsolidationTool.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UnrealFrontend.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/BulkImport.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBrowserDatabase.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/GameStateReplication.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/FullScreenMovie.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/Beams.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/AttachingActors.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ActorTicking.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ShaderModel2Fallback.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/PackagesAndNetworking.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/Eat3D.html
o Updated
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UDKProgrammingHome.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UDKContentCreationHome.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UDKLevelCreationHome.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/DevelopmentKitFirstScriptProject.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/DevelopmentKitFAQ.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/DevelopmentKitProgramming.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/LevelOptimization.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ConsoleCommands.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlog.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UDKCommunityLinks.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ReferencedAssetsBrowserReference.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/GroupsBrowserReference.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ActorsBrowserReference.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MakingACommandlet.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ActorComponents.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/StaticMeshEditorUserGuide.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/CommandletList.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBrowserReference.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UnrealEdUserGuide.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/UnrealScriptDelegates.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MaterialsCompendium.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/PhysXSoftBodyReference.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/LightingReference.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/StatsDescriptions.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentCooking.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ImportingSkeletalMeshTutorial.html
- § http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/IntegratedPartnersProgram.html
Additional documentation, code samples and more are available at the Unreal Developer Network (UDN):
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/DevelopmentKitHome.html
More details are available at the Unreal Developer Network (UDN):
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/DevelopmentKitBuildUpgradeNotes
UDK includes:
- The Unreal Editor toolset, complete with fully integrated game editing environment.
- Unreal Gemini multithreaded rendering system with support for all modern rendering and shading techniques, advanced lighting and shadowing, ambient occlusion and a powerful material system for creating complex shaders on the fly.
- Unreal Lightmass global illumination solver for high-quality static lighting.
- Unreal PhAT visual physics modeling tool with state-of-the-art physics system powered by NVIDIA PhysX.
- Unreal Kismet, an advanced visual scripting solution that facilitates rapid prototyping of ideas and gameplay mechanics.
- AnimSet Viewer and AnimTree Editor, which give animators precise control over every muscle and bone movement.
- Unreal Matinee, which includes movie director-class tools for creating in-game cut scenes and gorgeous cinematics.
- UnrealScript, a fully integrated, high-level object-oriented programming language.
- Unreal Cascade particle effects system for implementing explosions, fog, fire and smoke. Module-based system gives real-time previews of visual effects.
- Terrain building tool for placing and customizing vegetation, structures and countless in-game points of interest.
- Audio control through UnrealEd's visual Sound Cue Editor, plus support for major audio compression schemes; 3D sound positioning, spatialization and attenuation; multi-channel playback, and much more. Built-in Internet and LAN networking support for up to 64 players.
- Integrations with leading game development middleware including NVIDIA PhysX, SpeedTree, FaceFX and Bink Video.
UDK ships with "UT Demo," which is demo content from "Unreal Tournament 3" consisting of four maps: Deck, Necropolis, Sanctuary, and Sandstorm; with deathmatch, team deathmatch, and vehicle capture the flag gametypes. Assets include one robot character, three weapons and four vehicles.
In "UT Demo," blood, gore and human opponents have been removed. Levels have been enhanced to showcase recent upgrades to UE3 technology. See udk.com/showcase-ut-game.html for comparison screenshots.
The "Unreal Tournament 3" Unreal Editor is widely used for learning UE3, and now UDK provides all of its game creation tools in addition to high-level engine features developed since the game?s release. "UT Demo" is an excellent starting point to explore UDK?s capabilities, especially for those looking to develop their own first-person shooter experience.
System requirements
Minimum:
- Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista
- 2.0+ GHz processor
- 2 GB system RAM
- SM3-compatible video card
- 3 GB Free hard drive space
- Windows Vista 64 SP2
- 2.0+ GHz multi-core processor
- 8 GB System RAM
- NVIDIA 8000 series or higher graphics card
- Plenty of HDD space