Infinity Blade III to launch alongside iPhone 5s (update: video)

Infinity Blade III to launch alongside iPhone 5S

Donald Mustard, co-founder of Chair Entertainment (owned by Epic Games), just hopped on stage at Apple’s hardware reveal and pulled back the proverbial curtains on Infinity Blade III, the final installment in the series. The game’s making use of the iPhone 5s’ new 64-bit architecture, and it has the graphics prowess to prove it: combinations of rendering effects including depth of field, blur and full-screen vignettes. Not to mention lens flares “that would make J.J. Abrams proud.” According to the developers, converting the game to 64-bit took just two hours, so developers with apps of their own need not fret. Infinity Blade III is slated to be “available alongside the new iPhone 5s,” which should get a release date of its own in a few minutes.

Update: The iPhone 5s will be hitting shelves on September 20th, so Infinity Blade III should break into the App Store with it.

Update 2: Chair’s published the game’s trailer, which you can find nestled after the break.

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Check out all the coverage at our iPhone ‘Special Event‘ 2013 event hub!

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Firefox updated to support 3D games, video calls and more

The latest version of Firefox (22) is full of big new features. Most notably, the latest update adds support for 3D gaming (care of Epic Games), for video and voice calls as well as file sharing “without the need to install additional software or use third-party plugins,” and for a new version of JavaScript that Mozilla’s calling, “supercharged.” Mozilla’s even got a 3D game for you to play called BananaBread, so you may put the company’s claims through the wringer.

Should that not be enough for you diehard Firefox devotees, there’s also a thrilling update that’ll show download progress on OS X directly in the Dock icon. Take a breath and a seat, and maybe download the latest Firefox build right here when you’ve cooled down.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Mozilla Blog, Release Notes

Unreal Engine 4 now supports Oculus Rift, introduces ‘Integrated Partners Program’

Unreal Engine 4 now supports the Oculus Rift VR headset, Epic Games announced this morning. The move comes as part of an “Integrated Partners Program,” which also adds support from a variety of other middleware companies (Autodesk, IDV, and NVIDIA to name just a few). Licensees have access to the entire list of middleware software, and can implement functionality in their UE4-powered projects starting today. Epic Games VP Mark Rein told us at GDC 2013 that Unreal Engine 4 support for Oculus Rift was in the works, but we didn’t think it’d arrive this soon!

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Visualized: Unreal Engine 4 ‘Infiltrator’ demo gives an impressive peek at next-gen gaming

Visualized Unreal Engine 4 'Infiltrator' demo gives an impressive peek at nextgen gaming

Just in case you missed it last night buried in our interview with Epic Games VP Mark Rein, the company showed off a new real-time demo at GDC 2013 this week, titled “Infiltrator.” The nearly four-minute clip, showcases a sci-fi shootout created with its Unreal Engine 4, and remarkably powered by a single GeForce GTX 680. Now that we’ve piqued your curiosity a bit, check out this gorgeous display of futuristic espionage after the break, plus a bonus clip of the “Elemental” UE4 demo running on a PlayStation 4 dev kit in real-time.

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Mozilla partners with Epic Games to bring Unreal Engine 3 to the web

DNP Mozilla partners with Epic Games to bring Unreal Engine 3 to the web

Building on its recent advancements in JavaScript optimization, Mozilla has announced a partnership with Epic Games that will bring the Unreal Engine 3 to Firefox. Unlike the ill-fated InstantAction, this gives developers the opportunity to port high-end titles to the web without the use of plugins. Hardly content with enhancing desktop browser-based games, Mozilla is aiming to bring this experience to mobile devices — but it’s stopping short of providing any details beyond that. The company notes that it’s currently working with major developers such as EA, ZeptoLab and Disney to bring optimizations to their existing titles. Mum’s the word on when 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand will get the chance to soak browsers everywhere, but you can catch a video preview of something slightly less spectacular just after the break.

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Source: Mozilla

HP introduces Unreal Engine 4-ready ‘turnkey solution’ workstations, collaborating with ALT Systems

HP introduces Unreal Engine 4ready 'turnkey solution' workstations, collaborating with ALT Systems

Hewlett-Packard may not be well-known by consumers for creating the machines that power the industries that power the world we live in, but the company’s workstation business does just that. From film to oil drilling to medicine, HP’s workstations have their hands in a lot of pies — and today, that expands more directly to yet another major industry: video games. With its Z1, Z820 and Z620 workstations, HP is collaborating with Epic Games, Autodesk, and ALT Systems to create what they’re calling a “turnkey solution” to game development workstation woes. The three aforementioned units can be customized to arrive with a variety of variables, including Unreal Engine 4, Autodesk, and NVIDIA GTX-line GPUs.

In so many words, ALT Systems will take the disparate pieces of hardware and software from HP, NVIDIA, Autodesk and Epic Games to provide an all-in-one buying solution for game dev studios. As ALT Systems president Jon Guess laughingly explained, it provides clients “one neck to wring” should things go wrong, rather than dev studios having to suss out hardware issues on their own. The first fruits of the partnership arrive this year in game developer-centric versions of the aforementioned three workstation models. For a full rundown of the various workstation configurations that’ll arrive this year, ALT Systems has a site set up just for you.

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Unreal Engine 3 adding Oculus Rift support this April, Epic Citadel demo packed in

The engine that powered the vast majority of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3’s hit games, Unreal Engine 3, is getting a development kit update to support the soon-to-be-released Oculus Rift VR headset. Of course, the model of the Rift that’s soon-to-be-released is intended for developers, so the Unreal Engine 3 UDK update is right on time; it arrives at some point in “early April,” soon after the headset itself arrives for Kickstarter backers. Beyond UDK integration, full UE3 licensees will also get an update for integrating the headset into their games.

That said, if you snagged yourself a Rift dev kit and have no intention of actually developing games with it, the upcoming UDK release also includes a “VR Mode” version of the software’s sample Unreal Tournament game, as well as a summer version of the Epic Citadel demo we were shown at CES 2013. Paired with Valve’s offering of Team Fortress 2 VR Mode, that brings the grand total of playable things with the Rift headset to … five or six (depending on what you define as a “demo”). Upcoming PC mech shooter Hawken is also promising Rift support, though it won’t launch until mid-December. The Oculus folks are saying that Rift dev kits will begin shipping to Kickstarter backers this month, with orders fulfilled by mid-April.

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Unreal Engine 3’s Epic Citadel demo now available on Android with special features, iOS version updated

Unreal Engine 3's Epic Citadel demo now available on Android with special features, iOS version updated

Epic Games’ first internal initiative to produce an Unreal Engine 3 project on Android is complete, nearly three years after a similar initiative produced the Epic Citadel demo. That same demo is being employed on Android, albeit with one shiny new feature: benchmarking. The new mode enables users to test framerate, quality settings, and resolution details — it’s an exclusive for the Android version. The iOS version also saw an update today across its various iterations, enabling support for higher-res displays (the original app launched in September 2010 and has seen little in the update department since).

While Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 has supported Android for some time, the release of the internal app means, “we’ve invested in plenty of QA testing against a wide range of devices, and we’ve executed the necessary profiling required for shipping Android games,” an Epic Games rep tells us. Moreover, that investment carries over to Unreal Engine 3 licensees. To snag the Epic Citadel demo (for free) on your Android device of choice, head to Google’s Play store or Amazon’s App Store. And for a taste of games currently on Android based in Unreal Engine 3, check out the incredible trailer for Horn just beyond the break.

Show full PR text

Epic Games Releases “Epic Citadel” for Android
Android users can download the free app now, plus ‘Epic Citadel’ gets iOS update
CARY, N.C. (January 29, 2013) – Epic Games, Inc. today released “Epic Citadel” for Android devices. The free app, which is used to demonstrate the studio’s award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) technology on multiple platforms, is available now on Google Play and Amazon Appstore for Android. A new benchmarking mode and updated visuals bring added depth to the popular app.
In “Epic Citadel,” players navigate the dynamic fantasy setting of the award-winning Infinity Blade. From the circus bazaar to the sweeping cathedral in the center of town, “Epic Citadel” dazzles with a visual parade of special effects.
“While we’ve licensed our engine to help developers build and ship many fantastic games for Android, ‘Epic Citadel’ is our first internally developed product to be released to Android users,” said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic Games. “It’s a free, easy way to check out the high-quality experience Unreal Engine technology delivers on mobile devices.”
High-End Graphics for Android
“Epic Citadel” was created with the same UE3 tools and technologies used to develop best-selling PC, console and mobile games. Features include:
· Amazing visuals. “Epic Citadel” pushes the envelope for modern visuals on Android devices. Through the latest advances in Unreal Engine 3 technology, the application delivers unrivaled graphics and special effects that immerse players in the kingdom’s grounds.

· Benchmarking mode. “Epic Citadel” enables users to gather performance data for Android devices through its benchmarking mode, which displays frames per second stats, quality settings and resolution details.

· Realistic reflections and animations. Environment mapping and other high-end rendering techniques produce lifelike reflections, and vertex deformation and skeletal animation bring trees and banners to life with dynamic movements.

· Global illumination. Unreal Engine 3’s built-in global illumination system, Unreal Lightmass, provides realistic lighting and shadows with minimal development resources.

· Dynamic specular lighting with texture masks. Sophisticated graphics features impart a tangible quality to cobblestone roads and vivid reflective marble surfaces, while lens flares and light coronas add dramatic emphasis when panning across light sources.

Outstanding Cross-Platform Performance
Epic has worked closely with hardware leaders to ensure that “Epic Citadel” delivers a superior experience on the latest mobile platforms.
“‘Epic Citadel’ features beautiful, high-performance graphics that are characteristic of mobile Unreal Engine games. Throughout the app’s development for Android, we worked closely with Epic Games to ensure that the visuals can be experienced on NVIDIA Tegra-based devices in all of their glory,” remarked Tony Tamasi, SVP Content and Technology, NVIDIA.
“Intel is very pleased to see Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine 3 technology shipping on Android with full native support for x86,” said Mukesh Goel, Director of Ecosystem Enabling, Mobile Communications Group, Intel. “We’re especially excited by the tremendous performance being realized in ‘Epic Citadel’ on the Atom Z2460 platform.”
“As the leading supplier of mobile and embedded GPUs for both iOS and Android, Imagination has worked extremely closely with Epic for many years as it has continuously pushed the boundaries of mobile graphics with Unreal Engine technology,” Tony King-Smith, VP of Marketing, Imagination Technologies. “We are delighted that our collaboration is extending into the Android space and that Epic is making such excellent use of our PowerVR GPUs and tools as it brings the best of gaming capability to the rapidly growing Android market.”
New iOS Update
Today Epic also released an update for “Epic Citadel” on the App Store that improves the industry-leading visuals of the iOS app. Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, “Epic Citadel” now supports high-resolution devices and offers aesthetics even more striking than previously seen.
About Unreal Engine
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics technology, world-class toolset and scalability across PC, console and mobile platforms. Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for creating high-quality games, applications, training simulations, visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Powering hundreds of games and integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, UE3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including eight Game Developer Front Line Awards and five Develop Industry Excellence Awards. The Unreal Engine also owns a seat in the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame. Unreal Engine 4 (UE4), winner of multiple Best of E3 2012 awards, offers unprecedented graphical capabilities and workflow improvements that provide unparalleled accessibility for developers building the next generation of games and applications. For more information, visit http://www.unrealengine.com and follow @UnrealEngine.
About Epic Games
Established in 1991, Epic Games, Inc. develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company is responsible for the bestselling “Unreal” series of games, the blockbuster “Gears of War” franchise and the groundbreaking “Infinity Blade” line of mobile games. Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine technology has won dozens of awards and is available for licensing. Epic is continually recruiting top talent for its studios located in North Carolina, Washington, Utah, Maryland, Poland, Korea and Japan. For more information, visit http://www.epicgames.com and follow @EpicGames.
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Infinity Blade, Unreal, Unreal Engine, UE3, UE4, Unreal Lightmass and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
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Cliff Bleszinski quits Epic Games, leaves us with an Unreal feeling

Cliff Bleszinski quits Epic Games, leaves us with an Unreal feeling

Fall must be the season for sea changes in the game industry. Just weeks after BioWare’s founders retired, key Epic Games veteran and Design Director Cliff Bleszinski (known to many as just CliffyB) is hanging up his hat. He simply describes it as taking a “much needed break,” which makes sense when you see his development experience: he joined Epic’s crew with Dare to Dream Volume One in 1993 and has nurtured virtually every major (and often minor) game franchise at the company since, including the Jazz Jackrabbit platformers, untold numbers of games in the Unreal line and most recently the Gears of War series. Bleszinski hasn’t said where he’s headed next, although it’s hard to imagine him switching professions like the two BioWare doctors — for many, he’s synonymous with certain eras of first- and third-person shooters. Wherever he goes, we wish him the best of success.

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Cliff Bleszinski quits Epic Games, leaves us with an Unreal feeling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA, Epic Games bringing Unreal Engine 3 to Windows 8 and Windows RT (video)

NVIDIA, Epic Games bringing Unreal Engine 3 to Windows 8 and Windows RT video

NVIDIA and Epic Games have successfully ported the full PC version of Unreal Engine 3 to both Windows 8 and, more importantly, Windows RT. Demonstrating the achievement on a Tegra 3-powered ASUS Vivo Tab RT, it played a buttery-smooth version of Epic Citadel, suggesting that developers of both PC and Xbox games should have no problem in bringing them over to the new operating system. It also casually mentioned that both Gears of War and Mass Effect were built on the engine, heavily implying that we could see titles of that caliber coming to Microsoft’s low-power OS once it makes it debut on October 26th, but we’ll let you decide for yourself after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA, Epic Games bringing Unreal Engine 3 to Windows 8 and Windows RT (video)

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NVIDIA, Epic Games bringing Unreal Engine 3 to Windows 8 and Windows RT (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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