Epic's Announces Unreal University

Site Admin Joined: 17 May 2003 Posts: 0

I have been waiting to talk about this since I got back from the trip to Epic. Here is the official press release.EPIC GAMES ANNOUNCES UNREAL UNIVERSITY,
NOVEMBER 8 & 9, 2003, AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL SUPPORTS "$1,000,000 NVIDIA MAKE SOMETHING UNREAL®" CONTEST

RALEIGH, NC - October 13, 2003 Epic Games, co-creator of the award-winning Unreal®
game franchise, today announced the details for their inaugural Unreal University, the first
intensive workshop devoted to learning how to create mods (a new game or add-on created
with tools from the original title) using the Unreal Game Engine. The university will take
place on November 8-9, 2003 at North Carolina State University, and will attract modders
from across the country who want to learn how to develop their own content using the Unreal
Technology. Unreal University is being sponsored by Epic Games, NC State's Center for
Digital Entertainment, NVIDIA, AMD, Alias® and Atari, Inc. People interested in finding
out more about Unreal University can visit www.makesomethingunreal.com; registration,
schedule information and other specifics can be accessed at cde.ncsu.edu/uu. The cost of the
seminar is $25, which includes meals and a t-shirt.

The Unreal University class presenters will include Epic Games developers and artists, as
well as Jason Busby, creator of the www.3dbuzz.com site and the www.masteringunreal.com
site. To help modders before, during and after the course, the 3d Buzz Mastering Unreal site
contains more than 100 hours of free downloadable Video Training Modules (VTMs) geared
toward educating users on how to program and build content using the Unreal Game Engine.

Participants of the Unreal University will get an overview of the Unreal Game Engine's
techniques and technology, as well as insider secrets on how to maximize their skills to create
professional-level game content. The valuable tips and tricks learned at the seminar can be
used to create mod entries for the "$1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal" contest, a
year-long competition that rewards the best and brightest in grassroots mod design.

Unreal University is one of a number of events, including the "$1,000,000 NVIDIA Make
Something Unreal Buzz Tour," that is supporting the "$1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something
Unreal" contest sponsored by Epic Games, Digital Extremes, NVIDIA, Atari, Inc., AMD, and
Alias. The contest, which runs in three parts, had more than 400 entries in its first round.
The second phase of the contest has begun accepting entries, with winners announced this
winter. The third and final phase will conclude in April 2004, with the finalists being
announced at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in May, 2004. The grand prize winners
will be announced shortly thereafter. In total, winners will receive cash prizes totaling
US$500,000, and more than $300,000 worth of high-end PCs that feature the combined
processing power of NVIDIA's GeForceT FX graphics, the NVIDIA nForceT2 platform
and AMD Athlon processors, and more than $30,000 worth of Maya® Software. Along with
money and a loaded PC, the grand prize winner will receive a commercial Unreal Game
Engine license (valued at $350,000).

Unreal University will also showcase Unreal Tournament 2004, the latest Unreal title from
Epic Games, which builds on the success of last year's smash hit, Unreal Tournament 2003.
The new title marks the return of the fan-favorite "Assault" mode, completely reinvented and
updated with new technology, as well as the introduction of an all new game mode,
"Onslaught," which pits players in wide-scale vehicular warfare across massive battlefields.
Unreal Tournament 2004 includes additional upgrades, such as new characters, weapons,
skins, maps, voice-over-IP capabilities, software rendering and other technology
improvements, while also including all of the content from Unreal Tournament 2003 and its
free downloadable bonus packs. Unreal Tournament 2004 will ship for Holiday 2003.Looks like Epic intends to have UT2004 stay around for a while. Good news for Mod Authors for sure.

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 9:51 pm

I will be there.

- Tye

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 10:29 pm

Holy fuck, this looks awesome!

i might have to take a roadtrip for this Wink

Irix WAnnabe Joined: 22 Jun 2003 Posts: 122

Just 2 days.
What would be brilliant would be to host a solid week, even if it meant charging more serious dollars. Instead of a quick overview, get deep into some subjects.

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 8:46 am

now i remember what sucks about not living in the states...
Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 8:51 am

/me points at Cheetah and laughs Laughing

i am 99% positive i'm going...... now i just gotta wait for my car to be fixed.

hmmmmm. hey tycho.... methinks that since i'm staff the site should pay my way Wink

just kiding Smile

anyone else going?

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 11:02 am

il just have to move then Very Happy

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2003 9:42 am

It's official, I'm driving down on the 7th, and leaving on the 10th.

hopefully someone else will be going besides Tye, I wanna meet some of you guys!. i'm gunna have to get one of the Unreal Ops t-shirts and put "STAFF" on the back.

maby my e-mail addy too Wink

/me goes and looks for my digital camera...

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:40 am

back to school for ya'll Wink