Also, Epic does not patch UDK directly instead they just release an install with the added or modified features. This means that many of the tools are imperfect and there are a number of known issues. On top of that, UDK is still technically in beta despite the various releases it has had since 2009. There are a lot of ways you can modify the system, but without extensive knowledge and understanding of programming concepts you won't get as far, so if that's what you want to do you must be prepared to look into programming tutorials as well. While UDK is an incredibly powerful tool there are a few weak points you should consider before deciding to use it.įirst, while it is possible to make almost any 3D game you can imagine in UDK, making things that are not first person shooters can be quite challenging. (After that you have to start giving Epic a 25% cut of your profits.) There are other details to consider, so if you want more info on licensing, head to this page. Once you start making a profit you can make up to $50,000 across every product you publish with UDK before you owe Epic any royalties. UDK is free to use for development and as long as the product you make is not making you a profit you don't have to pay anything. UDK also includes the Cascade editor, an easy to use Particle effects tool, and integration for a Scaleform UI, a vector-based UI system that is used in many game engines but is not easily accessible to non-professionals in many other tools.įinally, let's look at licensing with UDK. If you want to become a 3D artist for games or movies, and you want to work in a real-time environment, UDK is a great choice because it has an entire art pipeline and allows you to easily import models, textures, and animations to see how your assets work together. Plus, UDK has a number of other tools integrated into it. If want to dive head first into the code and start adding new content or game mechanics you can, but UDK is also a great playground to try your hand at level design as well.
UDK actually originated as the mod tool which is released with every game that Epic Games ships and was designed to work as a level editor for those games. UDK can also be used to practice other disciplines besides game development.