I am fairly new to the Unreal community but am quite intrigued to learn that the game engine technology like Unreal and Lumberyard can be utilized in the industry of landscape architecture, urban design, and planning. I am in this industry and have some basic knowledge of 3D software packages used in this industry mainly 3D .
My question would be what kind of effort would it take to learn the game engine technology so that I can provide virtual reality walk throughs and real time animations of spaces designed by some of our urban designers and landscape architects? Also is would there be a fee to use the game engine in the engineering/architecture/landscape urban design consultant industry?
Thanks for your time and I look forward to anyone who can help me learn more.
I am working at company where we have been developing room visualizations for VR for last 3 years. The main effort is to learn how to use lighting, low poly meshes and textures to make an optimized application that also looks good. Remember that VR requires your app to run with high refresh rate (optimum value is 90 fps but some people says it should be 120 fps).
It all depends on what kind of features you want to include in your final app. If you want to run it on Android you have to learn how to integrate it in UE4. If you want your app to be connected to a server, you need to learn about that too. There are tutorials made by people who have done it already, but not always everything works as expected. I think you will have to learn most of the engine features (step by step) to use Unreal in 100%. Hopefully you don’t need to know C++ to make a good VR app (we have developed almost everything in Blueprint), unless you have to use some hacks.
Regarding the pricing, you will have to pay for your app like for any other game: “When you ship a game or application, you pay a 5% royalty on gross revenue after the first $3,000 per product, per quarter.”
Thanks for your response Koralgoll, its greatly appreciated.
Here is a bit more context as to my current position in learning game engine technology. As a graphics person in the industry of architecture/urban design/ and landscape design, I am trying to provide better graphic solutions to these professionals that I work with.
Most of the graphics I put together are either hand drawn visualizations (illustrations) like this:
What I would like to learn and provide for my company is a service to the client where they can come in and explore the virtual space of a park or a building hopefully through some kind of VR head set or more practically through their desktop/lap device. I think having the ability for a client to come in and explore the reality of the space would be a lot more effective and beneficial than a 3D animation fly-through as much as they are the norm in the industry. I think giving the viewer the ability to actually explore the space is of great value.
In addition to my earlier comment about cost, “does using the game engine cost anything for our industry?” could use further clarification because we aren’t producing games or apps but just providing a means for people to experience and view a new design space.
I apologize for the delayed response. If you are looking to do 3D VR walkthroughs, UE4 is a fantastic option that can fill your needs. We already have several developers who have done similar projects. To answer your question about cost: In general, the 5% royalty on $3000 or more each quarter is specific to money made directly as a result of a product made in editor. So things such as games made specifically to derive revenue. In our FAQ, it does specifically state this:
Are any revenue sources royalty-free?
Yes! The following revenue sources are royalty-free:
Ancillary products, including t-shirts, CDs, plushies, action figures and books. The exception is items with embedded data or information, such as QR codes, that affect the operation of the product.
Consulting and work-for-hire services using the engine. This applies to architects using the engine to create visualizations as well as consultants receiving a development fee.
Non-interactive linear media, including movies, animated films and cartoons distributed as video.
Cabinet-based arcade games and amusement park rides.
Truly free games and apps (with no associated revenue).
I would recommend posting in the Legal and Licensing section if you have further inquiries about the licensing and royalty policies provided within the FAQ/EULA
