I agree totally with that pricing. I can even say it is a rididule cost considering that a full license to UDK with source code and access to information was around 2500$. The 99$ plus 25% fees of a shipped comercial game was quite high. 5% + 20$ a month is nothing if you end up shipping a game. 20$ to use the engine and have access to source code is a blast to me. I so much dreamt of it when I was using UDK.
And to get back to OP let’s say that you might, as Sincere said, consider trying out Project Spark to sink your teeth in game making without having to worry about cost, and all the more advanced engines have to offer. When you are ready, get back to UE4 or UDK and be creative. If you have never used a professional engine before, among the most recommended Unreal Engine is the easiest to use.
i have to agree with what is said here. You are under the illusion that you were just going to pick up this editor and kick out a game… unfortunately i also am new and have never done any of this… but i realize that when i left point A…to get to Point X that there was going to be a lot more letters to walk through to get there.
There is no short cut. if you want to put out something that approaches your vision of the game you wish to design, you have no choice but to learn all the processes to make it happen. the tutorials are coming. more examples are coming…some people have put out some amazing shots of works in progress on just the little we know. give it time… and give yourself time to learn. set small goals and attempt to reach them instead of trying to reach the whole thing in a short time.
I would suggest at this point to start with the Unreal Development Kit if you can’t afford the 20$ monthly bill, learn the fundamentals, then switch to UE4 when you’re ready.
But if you have just an idea and don’t know anything about game development, better start off with something really really simple to get the idea what it mean to build a game from zero…start with a 2D free engine, build your own game, then switch to something advanced like UDK/UE4/Cryengine and so on…
Don’t forget that UE4 comes with lots of free scenes where you can learn A LOT!
Blueprints functions, materials, layers, lighting and so on, and consider that UE4 tutorials are already starting to pop prominently on YouTube, so its just a matter of searching what you’re looking for and test it into UE4
OMG again the thread about 19 $! Guys stop feeding trolls! There is a type of people who can’t do anything except crying . I personally also don’t belong to game industry ,but also! like the idea of creating my own world like in computer game .It 's very cool thanks to EPIC of releasing such powerfull engine.As for me when the UE4 cam out ,I almost didn’t eat anything and going anywhere for 3 days.Then I bought it! I’m not rich but you can do anything if you will try to!
P.s.Sorry guys but this is the 10th thread about 19$/month I’m sick of it!
Would you expect to go into medicine or even a factory without any prior knowledge of how it runs or works, obviously not.!
What you’re basically saying is, " I don’t know and therefore it’s sh*t"
The pricing model will not drive anyone away, (in fact it’s the complete opposite and is trawling in thousands of new users)
I’m new to UDK also. But before purchasing today I spent a couple of weeks evaluating the options (free UDK3, Unity3D, Crytek, and lessers) and, while I have strong C# skills (hence Unity bias), I’m confident the Unreal team have a *Real *winner on their hands (in terms of pricing + tec). Of course I’m assuming there are no gotchers down the line. But if we are truly able to utilise the power that they themselves weild… well I say: shut the mouth up, get your head down and start being creative. So say we all?
I have been learning to make games for 15 years and am only just starting to really feel I can make dreams into reality. When I started there was little in the way of accessible professional development environments, very little support available for learning the dark arts and studios licensing any proper technology for more like a million dollars under NDA rather than $20 for arguably the best work in the business, with full source access to learn from.
My reply would be that beginners have never had it so easy.
I remember learning 3D in 1990, there was something call the digital divide and the internet was a non existent so was 3D software. You kids have it so easy today with the internet, 3D software, UE4
learn it and dedicate yourself to it. Ive been in the 3d art side for about 2 years and UE4 is the most welcoming engine i have ever seen. So much tuts and help, i mean even the unreal devs are looking at it, This is truly the best engine for beginners
I never really worked on a Game, which managed to pass the entire process until being finished and shipped, nor did I learn something like C++ etc at University. Still, the Tutorials and Documentation offered by EPIC and the Community really helped me fast to get hooked with the Blueprint System’s Workflow and to get more done and understand more than I ever managed compared to C++.
I am a “Visual” Guy. Means, I am more familiar with creating and (instantly) seeing, what I did. (Level Design, especially) C++ therefor was a struggle for me, but Blueprints…a totally different Story.
So, no matter how inexperienced you are, I can only and highly recommend spending 19 USD once to get the UE4, dig into the official Tutorials and Documentation, as well as into the Marketplace Items and what the Community has to offer. It really helps you getting started with UE4 and progressing with whatever you aim to use UE4 for.
You do know you have to put in effort to learn with anything that’s worth achieving yes?
I started programming on the ZX spectrum back in the 80s as a small kid and have spent years investing time into coding (eventually C++ which was my self imposed challenge that I enjoyed cracking), level design, 3D, game design etc - this all took time I was willing to put in because I was fascinated by it all. You can’t just buy a tool and expect results just because you have an idea! The world doesn’t work like that. At some stage there has to be a vast energy (even mental) investment into your creative pursuit if you wish to get something back. That fault doesn’t lie with UE4 but firmly with yourself by expecting results without research or self learning.
You don’t even need to learn C++ with UE4 and can get great games from it still, how’s that for EPIC helping you out? While visual scripting is ‘easier’ than C++ it still falls back to similar programming methods (ways of thinking), and that’s something you’d need to learn over time or get a programmer (or someone who can pick things up quickly) to help with. Many people have ‘ideas’ only those with the will power and desire actually see it through.
Now there are easier engines out there, for far simpler games, and if you really are lost then I’d suggest you look at those and make some very simple 2D games to start with (like us oldies all did in the 80s haha). All the basics still apply and will get you in the frame of mind for thinking about why things need to be how they are for game logic, then you can learn more about the ‘boring’ technical stuff like variables, arrays, loops, functions, maths etc. You shouldn’t need to go much further than that, because of Blueprints, without which you’d most definitely need to learn C++ and get your head around OOP/classes and the more advanced stuff.
UE4 is amazing. To be able to develop my own software, esp using the grandson of my favourite level editor I’ve used since 98 ( the old Unreal Ed of course) makes me feel extremely lucky, compared to when I spent months making my own simple 3D game engine (D3D8 underneath it) and still found I could always add new features (instead of working on the games). Well this is a massive time saver believe me. You have no idea how long it takes to implement a seemingly simple, taken for granted feature in UE4 if you were coding your own engine.
And remember, you could just pay for one month, then cancel immediately. All you would be missing would be the monthly updates. You can still use it whenever you like. (N.B. you could even publish a game without ever having to resubscribe. That’s it. $20 one-time payment).
Strange to read what you wrote, I think that what Epic is doing is exactly the inverse. lol
Anyway, your message don’t says too much about your current expertise level and I agree with you that could be soon to get a license NEITHER think on get an engine.
When you say that could just put a box with a light on it, we automatically suppose that you don’t know how to use “yet” a 3D software like 3dsmax or Maya, because if you do, your phrase could be put a character with a light on it, you are a great mistery as your project… So, get into account please that I’m talking here with few information.
To put your project UP if you are alone, you’ll also need (on this order):
1 - To assets:
Knowledge about a 3D tool (I recommend Maya, since looks like Epic left 3dsmax behind).
Knowledge about Photoshop.
IF you plan using UE4 - Knowledge about how to prepare stuff to the engine chew this is pretty well documented, AND from public access (youtube, documentation, forums), so you don’t need to pay to learn this.
2 - To implement gameplay:
Learn gameplay logic (also free docs).
Recommended: Programming logic.
Optional: C++
With all previous on belt, get the engine (pay the license at least one time) to experience with Blueprints, make the tutorials and study the samples,trust me they’re really investing on release lots of begginer level stuff.
lol Everyone just wants to be good at everything without the effort these days
Wanting people to hold your hand 24/7 wont work. you need to have the drive and desire to go it alone and LEARN.
“I have an idea for an open world survival mmo rpg fps but thinking about it really hard doesn’t make it magically happen, this is too hard, I’m entitled to instant-brain-game-development!!!”
Learn, simply learn. I am a political scientist changing one day his mind and going into game design. I had to learn everything on my own. I didn’t mourn and blame others for my lack of knowledge but did learn as much as possible. After some time I was even able to publish a book on programming, now I am preparing another one on level design (maybe with Unreal?). For several years now I am giving lectures on game design. So simply: learn.
No one does force you to subscribe to UE4. If you just want to play around, take UDk which is still a very powerful engine at no cost at all.
Sure, you will get back a lot if you are serious with your hobby. Not everything is about making money …
A good game does not need the latest fancy technology. Much more important is the gameplay, an interesting story, believable characters etc.
No, to the contrary: UE4 is presently the only AAA-engine you can get with the source code at a merely 19 US-$.
Making a video game is very much a learn as you go process and even though I have years of experiences in this area I and I’m sure many were/are all in the same boat as far as being a beginner goes on the same day Unreal Engine 4 was released.
The difference as to who is a beginner as to being able to use the tools given depends on where you are on the learning curve as to what one needs to know to make a game using UE4 and a lot depends on the understanding of the language of the art form. If you don’t know the word use in a tutorial or in the documentation your not going to be able to relate to the nuts and bolts of the sum total.
It should also be noted that UE4 is not a completed engine as far as the maturity of say a UDK goes and I suspect that Epic made the decision to release based on what is needed to get developers working on design conversion for what ever engine they were using and then added what is wanted as part of their development cycle.
So yes I agree that UE4 is not beginner friendly if it’s the first go at making a game but you don’t learn to drive using a Formula 1 race and not expect to keep hitting walls if you do not know the art of racing a car.
As for how much an engine like UE4 would be licensed for some of the numbers I’ve been seeing seems to be kind of low, and I don’t see Epic staying in business for long, if they are selling licenses for only 70k or there about, and the numbers I hear are more between 900,000 and 1.5 million and most likely includes a scaled percentage based on sales. Getting the actual numbers I suspect will never happen as I’m sure that these kinds of numbers will not be known as it would likely be included as part of the NDA.
As well as a perspective nineteenth dollars a month to have access to an AAA engine is not expensive but what is cheaper even still is the support behind the product that one could not even buy for 19 dollars an hour and beginner or advance having access to this resource is why you buy a subscription in the first place and not to just get access to an engine as an option to the many out there already available for free.
As a opinion making a game is all about perspectives and as a perspective there are few days that I sit down and not think to myself “how do I do this” so as far as beginners goes Epic does a very good job of moving works that needs to be done forward as long as I understand the basic language as to the objective based on purpose.
I have re-opened this thread due to the ongoing posts and discussion. We want to see if there are any areas that could possibly be shortcomings on our part. As long as the discussion remains civil, we will leave it open. If the discussion changes from civil to volatile, we will consider closing.