View source for Unreal Engine 3

{{Short description|Game engine}}
{{Infobox software
| logo                   = Unreal_Engine_3_Logo.jpg
| name                   = Unreal Engine 3
| released               = Unreal Engine 3 build 100 / March 2004
| latest release version = Unreal Engine 3 build 12791.2424394
| latest release date    = February 2015
| programming language   = [[C++]], [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/CodingStandard.html|title=UDK - CodingStandard|publisher=|access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> [[UnrealScript]], [[GLSL]],<ref name="udn.epicgames.com">https://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ColorGrading.html</ref> [[Cg (programming language)|Cg]],<ref name="ReferenceA">https://udn.epicgames.com/Three/DevelopmentKitProgramming.html</ref> [[HLSL]]<ref name="ReferenceB">https://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MaterialsCompendium.html</ref>
| platform               = [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Linux]], [[OS X]], [[Xbox 360]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Wii U]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epicgames.com/news/epic-games-releases-epic-citadel-for-android/|title=Epic Games Releases "Epic Citadel" for Android - News            - Epic Games|author=Epic Games|publisher=|access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> [[iOS]],<ref>http://www.unrealengine.com/mobile/</ref> [[Windows RT]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unrealengine.com/news/unreal_engine_3_debuts_on_windows_8/|title=Unreal Engine 3 Debuts on Windows 8|publisher=|access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> and [[PlayStation Vita]], [[Adobe Flash Player]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unrealengine.com/news/epic_games_announces_unreal_engine_3_support_for_adobe_flash_player/|title=Epic Games Announces Unreal Engine 3 Support for Adobe Flash Player|publisher=|access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> [[HTML5]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unrealengine.com/html5/|title=Tappy Chicken|publisher=|access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref>
| license                = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
}}

'''Unreal Engine 3''' ('''UE3''') is the third version of [[Unreal Engine]] developed by [[Epic Games]]. Unreal Engine 3 was one of the first game engines to support multithreading. It used DirectX 9 as its baseline graphics API, simplifying its rendering code. The first games using UE3 were released at the end of 2006. It was succeeded by [[Unreal Engine 4]].

==History==

Screenshots of Unreal Engine 3 were presented by July 2004, at which point the engine had already been in development for over 18 months.<ref name="eurogamer July 1, 2004" /> In July 2005, [[Sony Interactive]] obtained sublicensing rights of Unreal Engine 3 for the [[PS3]]'s Software Development Kit.<ref name="sony" /> The first games released using Unreal Engine 3 were ''[[Gears of War (video game)|Gears of War]]'' for Xbox 360, and ''[[RoboBlitz]]'' for Windows, which were both released on November 7, 2006.<ref name="arstechnica 2008 03" />

[[File:Unreal Engine 3 Samaritan Demo Screenshot.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Screenshot of the ''Samaritan'' demo]]

Initially, Unreal Engine 3 only supported Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms, while iOS (first demonstrated with [[Epic Citadel]]) and Android were added later in 2010, with ''[[Infinity Blade]]'' being the first iOS title and ''[[Dungeon Defenders]]'' the first Android title.<ref name="develop-online December 20, 2010" /><ref name="adweek 2012" /> In 2011, it was announced that the engine would support Adobe Flash Player 11 through the Stage 3D hardware-accelerated APIs and that it was being used in two [[Wii U]] games, ''[[Batman: Arkham City]]'' and ''[[Aliens: Colonial Marines]]''.<ref name="theverge flash" /><ref name="develop-online wii-u" /> In 2013, Epic teamed-up with [[Mozilla]] to bring Unreal Engine 3 to the web; using the [[asm.js]] sublanguage and [[Emscripten]] compiler, they were able to port the engine in four days.<ref name="gamedeveloper mozilla" /> The engine is no longer receiving updates.<ref name="unrealengine no updates" />

==Features==

The engine was based on the first-generation but contained new features. "The basic architectural decisions visible to programmers of an object-oriented design, a data-driven scripting approach, and a fairly modular approach to subsystems still remain [from Unreal Engine 1]. But the parts of the game that are really visible to gamers – the renderer, the physics system, the sound system, and the tools – are all visibly new and dramatically more powerful," said [[Tim Sweeney]], founder of Epic games.<ref name="fall2004" /> Unlike [[Unreal Engine 2]], which still supported a fixed-function pipeline, Unreal Engine 3 was designed to take advantage of fully programmable shader hardware.<ref name="fall2004"/> All lighting and shadowing calculations were done per pixel, instead of per vertex. On the rendering side, Unreal Engine 3 provided support for a gamma-correct high-dynamic range renderer.<ref name="fall2004"/>

Unreal Engine 3 was one of the first game engines to make use of [[Multithreading (computer architecture)|multithreading]].<ref name="anandtech 2005" /> According to Sweeney, several systems within the engine were rewritten to employ multithreading, such as the physics, animation updates and the renderer's scene traversal loop's systems, but multithreading was not used for "systems that are highly sequential and object-oriented, such as the gameplay".<ref name="anandtech 2005" /> In its early phases of development, UE3 optimized for minimizing memory usage in favor of taking advantage of greater CPU and GPU power, which Sweeney described at the time as having seen greater improvements than that of memory.<ref name="eurogamer interview part two" />

Unreal Engine 3 adopted [[DirectX 9]] as its baseline graphics API support, allowing the engine to incorporate more features which would be impossible to support if UE3 attempted to support older versions such as DirectX 7.<ref name="eurogamer interview part two" /> According to Sweeney, "a great deal of generalization, improvement, and even simplification has been made possible by eliminating legacy code paths and formulating all rendering around fully-general pixel shader programs".<ref name = "beyond3d" /> Similarly, a major goal for UE3 was that "designers should never, ever have to think about 'fallback' shaders, as Unreal Engine 2 and past mixed-generation DirectX6/7/8/9 engines relied on".<ref name = "beyond3d" /> In general, one of the major areas of focus for UE3 was "empowering artists to do things which previously required programmer intervention: creating complex shaders, scripting gameplay scenarios, and setting up complex cinematics".<ref name = "beyond3d" />

Throughout the lifetime of UE3, significant updates were incorporated,<ref name="bigdownload 03 2009" /> including improved destructible environments, [[soft body dynamics]], large [[crowd simulation]], [[iOS]] functionality,<ref name="anandtech 12 2009" /> [[Steamworks]] integration,<ref name="epicgames 03 2010" /> a real-time global illumination solution,<ref name="unrealengine enlighten-integration" /> and stereoscopic 3D on Xbox 360 via TriOviz for Games Technology.<ref name="computerandvideogames e3 2010" /><ref name="epicgames darkworks-trioviz" /><ref name="joystiq 2010 10" /> [[DirectX 11]] support was demonstrated with the ''Samaritan'' demo, which was unveiled at the 2011 Game Developers Conference and built by Epic Games in a close partnership with [[Nvidia]], with engineers working around the country to push real-time graphics to a new high point.<ref name ="kotaku 02 2013" /><ref name="forbes 2011 09" />

==Unreal Development Kit==
While Unreal Engine 3 was quite open for modders to work with, the ability to publish and sell games meant using UE3 was restricted to licenses of the engine. However, in November 2009, Epic released a free version of UE3's [[Software development kit|SDK]], called the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), to the general public.<ref name="ign 2009 11" />

In December 2010, the Unreal Development Kit was updated to include support for creating iOS games and apps,<ref name="ign 2010 12" /> followed by [[OS X]] compatibility in the September 2011 release.<ref name="joystiq 2011 09" /> By 2013, it reported more than 2&nbsp;million unique installations.<ref name ="popularmechanics 2013 06" />

==See also==
[[:Category:Unreal Engine 3 games]]

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="sony">{{cite web |title=Sony Computer Entertainment Enters into Strategic Licensing Agreement with Epic Games |url=https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2005/sony-computer-entertainment-enters-into-strategic-licensing-agreement-with-epic-games/ |website=sonyinteractive.com |date=July 21, 2005}}</ref>

<ref name="unrealengine no updates">{{cite web |title=We are no longer shipping updates for UE3 or UDK. |url=https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/previous-versions |website=unrealengine.com}}</ref>

<ref name = "beyond3d">{{cite web |last1=Tan |first1=Anthony |title=Interview with Epic's Tim Sweeney on UnrealEngine3 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209030429/http://www.beyond3d.com/interviews/sweeneyue3/ |website=beyond3d.com |access-date=10 July 2024|date=18 June 2004}}</ref>

<ref name="anandtech 2005">{{cite web |last1=Gelas |first1=Johan De |title=The Quest for More Processing Power, Part Two: "Multi-core and multi-threaded gaming" |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/1645/3 |website=www.anandtech.com |date=March 14, 2005}}</ref>

<ref name="eurogamer interview part two">{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Kristan |title=An Epic next-gen adventure |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/i-epicgames2-june04 |website=Eurogamer.net |access-date=10 July 2024 |language=en |date=2 July 2004}}</ref>

<ref name="eurogamer July 1, 2004">{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_epicgames_june04 |title=Unreal Engine 3 Interview |website=[[Eurogamer]] |date=July 1, 2004 |first=Kristan |last=Reed |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315080605/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_epicgames_june04 |archive-date=March 15, 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="fall2004">{{Cite magazine |title=Game Engines – Exposed! |url=https://archive.org/details/Maximum_PC_Autumn_2004 |author=Maximum PC |magazine=[[Maximum PC]] |edition=Special |publisher=[[Future US]] |issue=Fall 2004 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Maximum_PC_Autumn_2004/page/n60 59], 62–64 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016081830/https://archive.org/details/Maximum_PC_Autumn_2004 |archive-date=October 16, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="arstechnica 2008 03">{{Cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2008/03/unreal-engine-4-to-exclusively-target-next-gen-consoles/ |title=Unreal Engine 4 to "exclusively target" next-gen consoles |last=Caron |first=Frank |date=2008-03-13 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us |access-date=2019-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123071502/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2008/03/unreal-engine-4-to-exclusively-target-next-gen-consoles/ |archive-date=January 23, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="develop-online December 20, 2010">{{Cite web |last=Crossley |first=Rob |date=December 20, 2010 |title=Unreal Engine 3 game comes to Android [Update 1] |url=http://www.develop-online.net/news/unreal-engine-3-game-comes-to-android-update-1/0108386 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811205259/http://www.develop-online.net/news/unreal-engine-3-game-comes-to-android-update-1/0108386 |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |website=Develop}}</ref>

<ref name="adweek 2012">{{Cite web |url=http://www.adweek.com/digital/a-top-grossing-ios-game-like-epic%E2%80%99s-infinity-blade-ii-can-earn-more-than-5-million-a-month/ |title=A Top-Grossing iOS Game Like Epic's Infinity Blade II Can Earn More Than $5 Million a Month |last=De Vere |first=Kathleen |date=January 6, 2012 |website=[[Adweek]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811204830/http://www.adweek.com/digital/a-top-grossing-ios-game-like-epic%E2%80%99s-infinity-blade-ii-can-earn-more-than-5-million-a-month/ |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref>

<ref name="theverge flash">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2011/10/7/2471974/epics-unreal-3-engine-coming-soon-to-adobe-flash-11 |title=Adobe Flash 11 adopts Unreal Engine 3 for better browser games |last=Sottek |first=T.C. |date=October 7, 2011 |website=[[The Verge]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706225700/https://www.theverge.com/2011/10/7/2471974/epics-unreal-3-engine-coming-soon-to-adobe-flash-11 |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref>

<ref name="develop-online wii-u">{{Cite magazine |last=Crossley |first=Rob |date=June 7, 2011 |title=Wii U powered by Unreal Engine 3 tech |url=http://www.develop-online.net/news/wii-u-powered-by-unreal-engine-3-tech/0109499 |url-status=live |website=[[Develop (UK magazine)|Develop]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811234035/http://www.develop-online.net/news/wii-u-powered-by-unreal-engine-3-tech/0109499 |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>

<ref name="gamedeveloper mozilla">{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/see-epic-s-unreal-engine-3-running-in-html5 |title=See Epic's Unreal Engine 3 running in HTML5 |last=Ligman |first=Kris |date=May 2, 2013 |website=[[Gamasutra]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811231639/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/191642/See_Epics_Unreal_Engine_3_running_in_HTML5.php |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref>

<ref name="bigdownload 03 2009">{{cite web|url=http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/03/16/epic-games-to-show-off-new-unreal-engine-3-features-at-gdc |title=Epic Games to show off new Unreal Engine 3 features at GDC |publisher=Big Download |date=March 19, 2009 |first=John |last=Callaham |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318235456/http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/03/16/epic-games-to-show-off-new-unreal-engine-3-features-at-gdc/ |archive-date=March 18, 2009 }}</ref>

<ref name="anandtech 12 2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/2892 |title=Epic Demonstrates Unreal Engine 3 for the iPod Touch, iPhone 3GS |publisher=AnandTech |date=December 29, 2009 |first=Anand Lal |last=Shimpi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708104324/http://www.anandtech.com/show/2892 |archive-date=July 8, 2012 }}</ref>

<ref name="epicgames 03 2010">{{cite web |url=http://epicgames.com/press_releases/steamworks.html |title=Steamworks Integration Now Available to Unreal Engine 3 Licensees |publisher=[[Epic Games]] |date=March 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517122844/http://epicgames.com/press_releases/steamworks.html |archive-date=May 17, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

<ref name="unrealengine enlighten-integration">{{cite web |url=https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/geomerics-announces-new-enlighten-integration-with-unreal-engine-3|title=Geomerics Announces New Enlighten Integration with Unreal Engine 3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605210049/http://www.unrealengine.com/news/geomerics_announces_new_enlighten_integration_with_unreal_engine_3/ |archive-date=June 5, 2012 |access-date=February 22, 2022 }}</ref>

<ref name="computerandvideogames e3 2010">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/252372/news/epic-makes-3d-gears-of-war-2/?attr=cvg-general-rss&skip=yes|title=E3 2010: Epic makes 3D Gears Of War 2 - We've seen it. It's mega. But retail release not planned|magazine=Computer and Video Games|date=June 17, 2010|first=Tim|last=Ingham|access-date=February 12, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120728140333/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/252372/news/epic-makes-3d-gears-of-war-2/?attr=cvg-general-rss&skip=yes|archive-date=July 28, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="epicgames darkworks-trioviz">{{cite web|url=http://www.epicgames.com/news/darkworks-trioviz-for-games-sdk-brings-3d-capabilities-to-unreal-engine-3 |title=TriOviz for Games Technology Brings 3D Capabilities to Unreal Engine 3 |publisher=Epic Games |date=October 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309110608/http://epicgames.com/news/darkworks-trioviz-for-games-sdk-brings-3d-capabilities-to-unreal-engine-3 |archive-date=March 9, 2012 }}</ref>

<ref name="joystiq 2010 10">{{cite web|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/11/mark-rein-trioviz-interview/ |title=Epic's Mark Rein goes in-depth with Unreal Engine 3's TriOviz 3D |publisher=Joystiq |date=October 11, 2010 |first=JC |last=Fletcher |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312142947/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/11/mark-rein-trioviz-interview/ |archive-date=March 12, 2012 }}</ref>

<ref name ="kotaku 02 2013">{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5982905/apparently-the-story-behind-epics-dazzling-2011-tech-demo-is-a-doozy |title=Apparently, The Story Behind Epic's Dazzling 2011 Tech Demo Is A 'Doozy' |publisher=[[Kotaku]] |date=February 8, 2013 |access-date=October 4, 2014 |first=Kirk |last=Hamilton |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006073732/http://kotaku.com/5982905/apparently-the-story-behind-epics-dazzling-2011-tech-demo-is-a-doozy |archive-date=October 6, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="forbes 2011 09">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2011/09/21/epic-games-founder-tim-sweeney-pushes-unreal-engine-3-technology-forward/ |title=Epic Games Founder Tim Sweeney Pushes Unreal Engine 3 Technology Forward |magazine=[[Forbes]] |date=September 21, 2011 |access-date=October 4, 2014 |first=John |last=Gaudiosi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007010938/http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2011/09/21/epic-games-founder-tim-sweeney-pushes-unreal-engine-3-technology-forward/ |archive-date=October 7, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="ign 2009 11">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/11/05/epic-games-announces-unreal-development-kit-powered-by-unreal-engine-3 |title=Epic Games Announces Unreal Development Kit, Powered By Unreal Engine 3 |website=[[IGN]] |date=November 5, 2009 |access-date=September 14, 2014 |author=IGN Staff |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915025000/http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/11/05/epic-games-announces-unreal-development-kit-powered-by-unreal-engine-3 |archive-date=September 15, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="ign 2010 12">{{cite web |date=December 16, 2010 |title=Epic Games Releases Unreal Development Kit With iOS Support |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/12/16/epic-games-releases-unreal-development-kit-with-ios-support |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915025004/http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/12/16/epic-games-releases-unreal-development-kit-with-ios-support |archive-date=September 15, 2014 |access-date=September 14, 2014 |work=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]}}</ref>

<ref name="joystiq 2011 09">{{cite web |last=Grant |first=Christopher |date=September 19, 2011 |title=Unreal Engine 3 comes to Mac OS X, courtesy of September UDK release |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/19/unreal-engine-3-comes-to-mac-os-x-courtesy-of-september-udk-rel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119075057/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/19/unreal-engine-3-comes-to-mac-os-x-courtesy-of-september-udk-rel/ |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |publisher=[[Joystiq]]}}</ref>

<ref name ="popularmechanics 2013 06">{{Cite web |last=Brian |first=Steiner |date=June 24, 2013 |title=How the Unreal Engine Became a Real Gaming Powerhouse |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a9178/how-the-unreal-engine-became-a-real-gaming-powerhouse-15625586/ |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=[[Popular Mechanics]] |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327165237/https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a9178/how-the-unreal-engine-became-a-real-gaming-powerhouse-15625586/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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