UE3 or UDK?

[salolito42]

What's better for a level designer?
as of now, which one is more powerful and better?

Unreal Editor 3 or Unreal Development Kit?

Thank You.

[CrystalCore]

Their almost identicle. Only, UT3 can be used to make mods only, and UDK can be used to make standalone games. UDK has a few updated features such as lightmass and the new content browser. UDK is free, UT3 costs a small amount of money.

UDK is probably better if your just wanting to use your own content in your own game.

[ambershee]

As a mapper, demonstrating the ability to map with an existing game is probably more important than mapping for a stripped-down demostration application.

I'd probably shoot for UT3. Having the latest and greatest tool isn't what makes you a good level designer, after all - it's getting the best out of what you've got

[Brexer]

But, if he wants to show off some work, woudnt lightmass and such help to show his things even more interresting/catchy ?.

Also, learning UDK at the moment is a wise thing, alot of people are starting projects and some are certainly gonna need help (team wise), atleast thats what i get out of reading the forums

[ambershee]

If you worked with UT3, everything you know would port over to UDK. There are only minor differences between the tool sets. All UDK offers to him is a different lighting system and a few toys that are essentially unecessary. Small shinies won't make a massive difference, and UT3 has far more example content out there.

[micahpharoh]

If you worked with UT3, everything you know would port over to UDK. There are only minor differences between the tool sets. All UDK offers to him is a different lighting system and a few toys that are essentially unecessary. Small shinies won't make a massive difference, and UT3 has far more example content out there.

To me, the new light system looks really nice once you get used to it. Additionally, it may be easier for people to learn from scratch. In DM-Deck for UT3 there were over 600 lights that were placed by hand in the level. In the UDK version there were less then 50.

Also, I have been waiting a long time for these new toys. I've been waiting for them for a long time. Fracture and the new crowd system had me foaming at the mouth months before I could get my hands on them .

[saymoo]

Lol, you guys don't read well, do you?

He/she asked:

"as of now, which one is more powerful and better?
Unreal Editor 3 or Unreal Development Kit?"

Unreal Editor 3, thus not Unreal Tournament 3.

I found that quite amuzing, how everyone automaticaly reads UT3 instead of UE3, which is basicaly a different ballgame.

My Answer is, in overall UE3 is better then UDK, since it has the sourcecode along with many examples (incl. assets), upon licensing, and better support.
But, For your goals (level design), it doesn't matter, since the UnrealED(itor) is the same.

And yes folks, i know he/she ment UT3 editor (well most likely anyway), but we could be wrong.
Therefor it's wise to answer the question as stated, without much selfinterpretation/fill-ins, that are not in the question (per words).
Maybe this person is truely interrested in the differences between the two versions. (UE3 full license edition vs UDK edition)

[Piranhi]

Unreal Editor 3, thus not Unreal Tournament 3.

I found that quite amuzing, how everyone automaticaly reads UT3 instead of UE3, which is basicaly a different ballgame.

My Answer is, in overall UE3 is better then UDK, since it has the sourcecode along with many examples (incl. assets), upon licensing, and better support.
But, For your goals (level design), it doesn't matter, since the UnrealED(itor) is the same.

You do realise that UE3 and UT3 are exactly the same. The only way you get access to all the assets and examples is by buying UT3 and using the UT3 Editor. So, UT3 and UE3 aren't a totally different ballgame in this context, they're exactly the same.

[eliteoftheelite]

why not just use both to learn from to increase your understanding of unreal engine 3.0?
:-)
then we can be one big happy family!
:P

[elmuerte]

UE3 for me means UnrealEngine 3, not Unreal Editor 3.
In fact, there is no Unreal Editor 3. There is Unreal Tournament 3 Editor, and UDK Editor. In the previous generation the editor was called UnrealEd. UE1 has UnrealEd 1 and 2, UE2 had UnrealEd 3.

ps, there is also no UnrealEngine 3.0 (or 3.5), it's just plain and simply UnrealEngine 3

[Scubamonkey]

You do realise that UE3 and UT3 are exactly the same. The only way you get access to all the assets and examples is by buying UT3 and using the UT3 Editor. So, UT3 and UE3 aren't a totally different ballgame in this context, they're exactly the same.

WOW man, you are WAY off!

Yes, UT3 contains copyrighted assets that have been stripped away for UDK but it wasn't because they wanted you to pay, its because it is a "Development Kit" and meant to be a blank canvas for the fledgling developer to utilize without needing to have any funds available initially.

UT3 is a game, and the editor that was so kindly included with the game became a tool that many of us in the "MakeSomethingUnreal" contest utilized to create really cool mods (modifications) of that game - but, by no means if it the same as UE3 - not even close!

At some point the UT3 editor may have been very similar (like when UT3 first came out) but UE3 is a constantly changing, an ever evolving masterpiece that is the lifeblood of Epic games. At this point UE3 is a ridiculously powerful editor that can compete with anything else out there whether proprietary or mass-distributed.

UDK is the UE3 with only some differences (those of which I am not completely familiar with - and in actuality the reason I was searching, and am now posting here tonight... ) -the UDK (Unreal Development Kit) has essentially a different investment and payoff ($$=business) definition.

So- for the original poster's question: UE3 and UDK are almost identical, but the most significant difference is that UE3 is for professional studios that can afford a $1,000,000 licence fee and UDK is for Independent Developers (like myself) that cannot afford to pay unless we make money first - which is why UDK is a beautiful opportunity that should be jumped on if you are creative, and wish to create games independently, with a small budget.

UDN is a way to build and sell games virtually free and then only pay to the software developer when you make a very large profit on your game - and even then only pay a small percentage.

I have begun building a network of game developers that span across various platforms, genres and formats, utilizing several new independent software development publishers, but of the many that have sprouted recently - UDN (utilizing UDK) is best (in my opinion) and I recommend it fully.

If you would like more information, or are a professional game developer and would like to join my game development network (GDN) and develop games with UDK or other popular engines please contact me at http://www.gamedesignnetwork.com.

Thank you,

-Phil

[UnspoiledWalnut]

^^^ Yeah... okay dude that was a lot of text and I am failing to get anything out of it bro.

[Solid Snake]

My 2 cents.

UDK and UE3 is exactly the same. UDK is just a compiled version of UE3, so you don't have compile it (Epic takes care of that for you, and trust me, if you're not a programmer you want Epic to do that for you).

Other than that, they're exactly the same program.