Holy Source Code Batman! Unreal's new license?

[Mouser]

I can't believe I missed this. I stumbled on it checking the Unity page to verify something for my blog post and found this.

Unreal is releasing the full C++ source code of their engine and editing tools for $19/month. If you never make a game with it, just being able to study that code (some of the best ever written) is worth that - and they've included provisions so educational institutions can use the code in classrooms for free.

If you distribute a game, Unreal takes 5% of the gross. That's less than they were (are) taking with the UDK, and lower than any other AAA game engine license I've seen.

Personally, this doesn't change anything with my plans for Dammerung - I'm still going to finish that and try to market it as a commercial product. I may even work on other RM title or two after that.

But I'm signing up for this. I figure it will take at least a year to get up to speed on the source, even with the forum and community support (Unreal isn't providing any direct support for this). One major prohibition for the code is no 'copyleft' code (like the GPL) may be added to it, so any forks or 'addons' or edits you see on their forums will be free to use however you see fit.

I don't see this as any real competition for RPG Maker - if you're using this engine, you want something easy to use, quick to create, etc... But Unity could be in for a world of hurt, especially if Unreal's asset/app store starts rolling. Right now they just have 'free' stuff up there, but users (licensees) will be able to submit assets for sale as well as Unreal. That would take away the one big thing Unity has going for it: and Unity comes with a $1500 price tag - even if you're eligible to release a commercial product with the free version, you're going to want the features of Unity Pro - and another $1500/yr to license their big asset package (or you can buy them a la carte).

Talk about some game changing stuff...

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

wow, talk about cheap... that's just $228/year for an engine like Unreal, more so for a full source code license. not that I can use that in the near future (my laptop lags so much when doing quite even a small level on Unreal last time I tried it)


and really, the 5% is less considering UDK has a 25% royalty if you earn more than $50k (for example if you gain $100k, then using the 5%, it will be 5% of 100k so 5k, while on UDK, it will be 25% of 50k which is 12.5k)


but then again, this might mean I can actually get Unreal when I get a more powerful system...

 

[Mouser]

And Crysis is offering CryEngine as "Engine as a Service" for $10/month. No source included in that one, but IIRC you can do some C++ coding in Crysis anyway instead of just scripting languages.

It's the Browser Wars all over again  BD

This is a good time to be an indie developer. I guess the next move is Unity's. Suddenly $1500 + the price of all the assets you buy from their store doesn't look as appealing anymore. I checked out the Unreal boards - they're already bemoaning the flood of 'Unity Kiddies' that will be coming over into their community and walking on the lawn. Not to mention this just killed engines like C4. Why pay for a source license for a 'pretty good' engine when you can have a AAA one for less up front? Hell, even Hero's going to be feeling it - their revenue share is higher than Epic's, plus a big upfront cost (better support though).

I can't sign up till early next month so it fits my credit card payment cycle.

I'm like a kid before Christmas right now... 

Now I've _really_ got a reason to go through all Knuth's books again (4 for the first time).

PC Gaming in general needed a swift kick in the ass - I think this qualifies.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

What's the perks for the CryEngine at $10?

 

[Mouser]

What's the perks for the CryEngine at $10?

Check it out here.

Basically royalty free use of their license and toolkit for $9.90 (or 9,90 Euros), but no source code access.

That makes it start look cheaper than even RPG Maker Ace...

On the flip side, you have to stay subscribed to keep using it. Unreal you can pay the $19, download everything and cancel until they release an update you want.

I'm surprised you and I are the only ones finding this comment worthy. This is going to turn indie gaming on its ear.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

oh right... I actually emailed Unreal if game distribution can continue for the case that the subscription ended, and they say as long as you keep paying royalties (assuming it's a commercial game), then yes the distribution continues, you only don't get updates... XD

 

[Mike]

I attended the GDC on SF last week. My pal subscribed for the unreal license right away since he's fairly new to game dev-ing, and I just borrowed his access for awhile to see how it does the API handling for future references. It's a good study. : )

Though personally, I won't be working on unreal anytime soon since my dev. group has been prototyping on unity for awhile, so we'd like to finish our prototype (and maybe some more prototypes) and see how it'd go before deciding to code our own engine. 

 

[Tsukihime]

Do you know anything about support for 2D games out-of-box for either of those engines?


I've seen several questions regarding UE about 2D support and most of the responses are leaning towards "it's POSSIBLE I guess..." though it's a bit difficult since many of the responses are also filled with "why do you want to make a 2D game with a 3D engine?" so I don't know how biased they are.


Same goes for Cryengine.


While the deals sound enticing compared to the figures I've heard before, 3D doesn't really interest me much when it comes to making games.

 

[Mouser]

Do you know anything about support for 2D games out-of-box for either of those engines?

I've seen several questions regarding UE about 2D support and most of the responses are leaning towards "it's POSSIBLE I guess..." though it's a bit difficult since many of the responses are also filled with "why do you want to make a 2D game with a 3D engine?" so I don't know how biased they are.

Same goes for Cryengine.

While the deals sound enticing compared to the figures I've heard before, 3D doesn't really interest me much when it comes to making games.

I'm fairly certain I've seen a 2D component in the engine chart for Unreal - all the documentation for the engine is online now so you can check and make sure.

Cryengine, I don't know about.

@Engr - the 25% license for Unreal 3 (which is still available) is based off net revenue: I don't know exactly how 'net' they go EBIT, EBITDA, etc... but you don't pay royalties on the 30% cut to the app store or Valve or whatever portal you're using, while the new license is based on gross revenue.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

@Tsukihime - well, AFAIK, as long as you have resources it is possible, though it might be a case of flat "3D" models for UE and Cry, Unity on the other hand has a full 2D support.

why do you want to make a 2D game with a 3D engine

well, some people has this tendency:


I have a 2D engine, but I want to make 3D. I have a 3D engine but I want to make 2D...


@Mouser - ah, so that 25% is from net... then it might be best to simply determine which one will yield less cost on a case to case basis... or you might still be able to have a custom license for UE4 if you contact them.

 

[Milkdud]

I guess the next move is Unity's. Suddenly $1500 + the price of all the assets you buy from their store doesn't look as appealing anymore.

You can already pay $75/month for Unity instead of the $1500 up front, and this includes their add-ons. Considering how dedicated Unity's community and populated its asset store is, it probably won't go away anytime soon.

This program, while interesting to see Epic Games do this, doesn't really interest me. I don't like having a flat 5% royalty fee and I already have Unity with full iOS and Android support that I got for free from a promotion that Unity had a couple of years back anyways. Plus I'm sick of seeing games using the Unreal Engine all the time.

 

[felsenstern]

The Unreal Engine is now FREE -> ARTICLE <-

They still want their royalty though