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Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine

Overview

What is Unreal Engine?

Originally designed in 1998, Unreal Engine is a game engine designed to build games of all type, with sharp graphics and control, using the C++ language.

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Pricing

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End User License Agreement for Publishing

Free

On Premise
5% of royalties after gross product revenue exceeds 1M

End User License Agreement for Creators

Free & Royalty Free

On Premise

Custom Licenses

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On Premise

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.unrealengine.com/en…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Details

What is Unreal Engine?

Originally designed in 1998, Unreal Engine is a game engine designed to build games of all type, with sharp graphics and control, using the C++ language.

Unreal Engine Video

With a wealth of features, tools and resources, Unreal Engine gives you everything so you can create anything. Start building your vision today by downloading Unreal Engine 4 for free at http://www.unrealengine.com.

Unreal Engine Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(25)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Users have found that iClone is a useful tool for creating animations that can then be seamlessly sent to Unreal Engine for rendering. This integration between iClone and Unreal Engine allows users to take advantage of iClone's intuitive animation tools and Unreal Engine's powerful modeling capabilities. For game developers, Unreal Engine offers a wide range of development options and features, making it a popular choice for both novice and experienced game makers. The Blueprint Visual Scripting feature within Unreal Engine is particularly helpful for users who have little to no coding experience, allowing them to create complex gameplay mechanics without the need for extensive programming knowledge. Additionally, the marketplace within Unreal Engine provides access to a variety of free and paid assets that users can incorporate into their game development projects, further enhancing the creative possibilities. Overall, iClone and Unreal Engine offer a seamless workflow for animators and game developers, providing the necessary tools and resources to bring their visions to life in impressive 3D environments.

Intuitive User Interface: Users consistently praise Unreal Engine for its intuitive and easy-to-use user interface, with many stating that it has allowed them to quickly create and customize projects.

Powerful Blueprint System: The Blueprints system is highly regarded by users for its power and visual nature, enabling efficient development without extensive coding knowledge. Several reviewers have mentioned how this feature has made the development process easier and more accessible.

Extensive Online Support and Documentation: Many users appreciate the extensive online support and documentation available for Unreal Engine, including tutorials and forums. This resource has helped troubleshoot issues and find solutions, making it easier for users to navigate any challenges they may encounter during their projects.

Steep Learning Curve: Unreal Engine has been noted for its steep learning curve, which can pose challenges for beginners looking to navigate and understand the software. Some users have found this aspect frustrating and time-consuming, especially without proper guidance or mentorship.

Confusing User Interface: Users have mentioned that the user interface of Unreal Engine can be confusing, outdated, clunky, and unintuitive. Additionally, navigating the asset marketplace has been described as difficult by some reviewers. These factors may require additional time and effort to familiarize oneself with the software and complete tasks efficiently.

Program Crashes: Reports of program crashes in Unreal Engine have been raised, particularly when working with large files. This unreliability can negatively impact the user experience and lead to frustration during project development.

From user reviews, here are the most common recommendations for Unreal Engine:

  1. Try the samples to see if they suit your project. Users suggest exploring the available samples in Unreal Engine to determine if they align with their specific project needs and goals.

  2. Utilize the abundance of tutorials and resources available. Many reviewers highly recommend taking advantage of the numerous tutorials and resources online to learn Unreal Engine effectively. They emphasize that there is a steep learning curve and time commitment involved, but the available support can help overcome these challenges.

  3. Consider the complexity of your game and features provided by Unreal Engine. Users advise carefully evaluating the complexity of your game and determining if Unreal Engine's features align with your requirements. Understanding the capabilities of the engine before starting development can help avoid potential roadblocks or limitations later on.

Overall, these recommendations highlight the importance of experimenting with Unreal Engine's samples, utilizing available tutorials and resources, and considering game complexity when using this engine for game development.

Reviews

(1-3 of 3)

Renderings made more attractive and easier with Unreal Engine

Rating: 9 out of 10
June 29, 2023
ES
Vetted Review
Verified User
Unreal Engine
1 year of experience
I began employing Unreal Engine to take renders of the construction model prepared using Revit. The level of customization and detail available is truly astounding. I can now increase the extent of realism in my renderings, thanks to Unreal Engine, which has greatly helped me attract the attention of my clients.
  • Achieving proper depth effect of the background layer
  • Walkthrough videos of any given layout can be easily prepared and made more immersive
  • Creating the most detailed 3D models
  • Takes very little time to produce the required renders depending on the complexity of the input
Cons
  • The user interface is quite hard to get familiar with
  • Requires very high spec configuration to run
  • The asset library could use some additional content
  • Licensing does not seem very budget friendly
Despite the fact that Unreal Engine is generally used to create games, I tried combining it with Revit to generate 3D models of construction plans and renders, and it worked very well indeed. The level of detail in Unreal Engine renders was higher than that of normal architectural rendering tools. There were also a lot more customization choices.
  • Ease of importing 3D models
  • Superior quality renders
  • Much faster when compared to other rendering tools
  • Renders prepared by Unreal Engine are much more detailed and easier to understand by the clients
  • Unreal Engine can be used to produce multiple renders within a short span of time, unlike it's competitors
  • Very easy to integrate with architectural tools like Revit and AutoCAD
Despite the fact that the Unreal Engine user interface took some getting used to, it was rather simple to navigate once we got the hang of it. Furthermore, Unreal Engine offers unrivalled flexibility and fine-tuning tools. Twinmotion has a slightly complicated UI as well, but the number of options for personalization and fine adjustment is limited.

Unreal Engine is a Massive Powerhouse for Games and More!

Rating: 10 out of 10
February 07, 2023
KM
Vetted Review
Verified User
Unreal Engine
8 years of experience
Unreal Engine is an all-around powerhouse that is used with my studio for Game Development and Archviz projects which is an all-around powerhouse for real-time games and visualizations to bring creations to life or even tell a story in a beautifully rounded way for many purposeful platforms. It can be a bit daunting at times but the end result is truly amazing and will astound the end-user.
  • Real-Time Visualization
  • Easy Programming
  • Valuable Toolset
  • Addons Galore
  • Vast Marketplace of Assets
  • Lots of Free Stuff
Cons
  • A lot of the Addons/Plugins don't work with the most recent engine versions.
  • The engine itself can be very problematic at times.
  • Changes and Improvements to the engine can become frustrating at times.
I would strongly recommend Unreal Engine for many reasons because it is very versatile and very easy to jump right into with lots of different resources making it a very well-rounded toolset to use along with the fact that it provides beautiful end results for nearly any visual project type.
  • Video Game Creation
  • Blueprint (Visual Scripting)
  • Asset Collection
  • Plugins and Tools
  • It has had a major impact with visually stunning results
  • It has won us a lot of clients and work
  • It has also create some tension due to changes that have impacted workflows
I have used Unity in the past and found it rather clunky and not so easy to use to program games unless knowing how to fully program along with the fact that it seems very cluttered and difficult to find tools for making games and such. Additionally, I have also tried to use CRYENGINE and found it was extremely difficult to use to make games or even package them along with lacking assets and ease of usage.

Unreal Engine will open new worlds, possibilities and revenue potential.

Rating: 10 out of 10
January 30, 2023
RH
Vetted Review
Verified User
Unreal Engine
3 years of experience
We use Unreal Entine to augment our normal 3d visualization workflow. Primarily it is used to add functionlaity to 3d environments, develop VR products and provide realtime render capabilities. It's really easy to export models and textures from our primary software, 3ds Max, to Unreal Engine and then continue to develop the model. Epic Games, the developer of UE has spent a lot of time and money to make sure UE plays nice with everybody.
  • Realtime rendering
  • Interactivity and user interface
  • Virtual Reality development
  • Ease of distribution of final product
Cons
  • The modeling tools are getting better but have a good way to go to really be intuitive
  • They are trying to bridge the gap between coders and artists and have done well but more needs to continue to happen to enable users who have little experience writing code to be able to use it effectively. It's not that this is a "room for improvement" thing per se, it's just that more of it needs to be done and I think they know that and are on it.
  • It's so powerful, it's difficult to find anything else that needs improvement. It's kind of mindblowing what it's capable of.
It's really well suited for experiential uses. Sure, games are made with it, but I'm guessing that more non-gaming assets are being made with it than anyone realizes. It's a fantastic post-production for 3d modeling tasks. It's fantastic for fast nearly photo real rendering. It's almost as good at rendering truly photo real assets now that Path Tracing is becoming mature.

It's fantastic for creating background and matte plates for video and film production. There are few things that do that as well as it can.

It's not well suited to modeling the initial 3d object so you really need to have something to build the 3d assets in. Hard asset modeling and creating is the one area that it's lacking. But, even if it never rises to the level to compete with 3ds Max or Maya, etc., that's ok, because it's just another tool and it does what it does so well, that modeling deficiencies can be overlooked.
  • Pretty intuitive minimizing learning curve
  • Compatability with other software standards
  • Speed of rendering very high quality imagery
  • It's helped a tiny studio like mine to compete with larger and more financially sound studios.
  • It gives me another product from which I can derive a revenue stream.
  • Unless you are publishing a game for sale or a packaged product, UE is free to use and tinker with. You can use it to build something amazing to use in your portfolio which in turn can help you sell your skills.
  • Unity
Unity and Unreal Engine have gone toe-to-toe for years. At one point Unity I felt was lagging behind but lately they've relized that threat UE represents and they've upped their game considerably. Unity is unquestionably very powerful but I find UE's learning curve less steep and I find that it's more intuitive. Plus, I still believe UE is more cutting edge.
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