Epic Games explains new features in Unreal Engine 4

Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4, the latest version of one of the most widely-used game engines, is on the horizon. In a presentation for Siggraph 2012 – an expo that showcases computer graphics and rendering technology – Epic has released a PDF that explains how the upcoming Unreal Engine 4 works.

While speaking at a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Cliff Bleszinksi, head of Epic Games, confirmed that Unreal Engine 4 would debut on Fortnite and the game will also be a PC exclusive. Epic unveiled Unreal Engine 4 by showing a live gameplay video of their tech demo Elemental. The video had amazing lighting, which seems to be the focus of the engine.

Unreal Engine has been one of the most popular and versatile game engines to be released. It has powered many games, some of the more popular ones being the Gears of War series for the Xbox 360, the BioShock series and the Batman Arkham series.

The Unreal Engine 4 explained

Besides Fortnite, which will debut Unreal Engine 4, some of the upcoming games using the Engine will be Borderlands 2, BioShock Infinite, and DmC: Devil May Cry.

Epic Games has also confirmed that Fortnite will be released in 2013. According to the company, gameplay revolves around players exploring, foraging and collaborating to build a structure by day, using scavenged materials "to quickly build and renovate structures of varying materials and complexity." At night, players will work together "to defend their prized fortress from the forces of darkness."

At QuakeCon, developer Apogee announced that Rise of the Triad will get a remake in Unreal Engine 3. The new game will also be a first person shooter and will be available for PC later this year. The studio working on the remake is Interceptor Entertainment, a studio based in Denmark that was working on a non-commercial remake of Duke Nukem 3D in Unreal Engine 3 before this. Development of that game was put on hold in 2011.

Much like the original, the remake of Rise of the Triad will have five playable characters. Popular game modes from back then, such as shroom mode, dog mode and 'Excalibat', will be returning, along with the weapons from the previous game. The remake will have a single player campaign as well as a multiplayer mode, and will be using Steam Workshop to support the modding community for the game.