Editing Unreal (1998 video game) (section)

==Development==
''Unreal'' was jointly developed by [[Epic MegaGames]] and [[Digital Extremes]] and mostly funded with the proceeds from ''[[Epic Pinball]]'', Epic's best selling shareware game.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gamezone.com:80/news/03_13_02_08_44AM.htm |title=Digital Extremes moves from the days of shareware programs to set the mark in mainstream gaming |last=Lafferty |first=Michael |website=GameZone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020613103656/http://www.gamezone.com/news/03_13_02_08_44AM.htm |archive-date=June 13, 2002 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gamesdomain.com:80/gdreview/depart/dec99/de.html |title=Digital Extremes: James Schmalz Interview |last=Kang |first=Jeff |date=December 16, 1999 |website=[[Games Domain]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001006000731/http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/depart/dec99/de.html |archive-date=October 6, 2000 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132426/from_the_past_to_the_future_tim_.php?print=1 |title=From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks |last=Edwards |first=Benj |website=[[Gamasutra]] |date=May 25, 2009 |access-date=January 15, 2018}}</ref> In the February 1997 issue of ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'', lead designer James Schmalz recalled how it started:

{{blockquote|I made the terrain first. A ''[[Magic Carpet (video game)|Magic Carpet]]''-type terrain ... I was experimenting with a cavern-set, robot-type game, and I progressed to the continuous mesh technique that we have now, so I changed it from caverns to outdoors. By then I had these polygon creatures, like this dragon flying around - that was the first good polygon creature we made up. From there we added buildings, and [lead programmer] [[Tim Sweeney (game developer)|Tim [Sweeney]]] got into making this editor for doing the buildings - after that, it took off ... So I started focusing on the creatures and the artwork, and Tim took over the engine. [Co-designer] [[Cliff Bleszinski|Cliff [Bleszinski]]] came on ... Because the editor was making it so easy to put together the structures, we had the tool to make the indoor areas, so there was less focus on the outdoor stuff.<ref name="NGenInt">{{cite magazine|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/1/14/NextGeneration_US_26.pdf#page=77|title=An Interview with Epic MegaGames|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=26|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=February 1997|pages=75–76}}</ref>}}

While the team still had only the outdoor terrain and the dragon in place, [[Intel]] invited Epic MegaGames to demonstrate ''Unreal'' to them. Following the demonstration, Intel told them about their upcoming [[MMX (instruction set)|MMX]] instruction set. Sweeney was immediately excited by the possibilities MMX presented, and put together a working MMX version of the rendering code before Epic had even received a chip with MMX.<ref name="NGenInt"/>

Originally, ''Unreal'' was going to feature a large status bar and centered weapons, similar to ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' and ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]''.<ref name="NGenAlp">{{cite magazine|title=NG Alphas: Unreal|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=26|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=February 1997|pages=68–73}}</ref> As development progressed, various levels were cut from development. A few of these levels reappeared in the ''Return to Na Pali'' expansion pack. A number of enemies from early versions are present in the released software, but with variations and improvements to their look. One monster that didn't make the cut was a dragon. One of the weapons shown in early screenshots was the "Quadshot" - a four-barreled shotgun; the model remains in-game, while there is no code for the weapon to function (several user-made modifications bring the weapon back in the game). Another weapon shown was a different pistol, but this may have just been an early version of the Automag. At one point, the rifle could fire three shots at once, which is wrongly stated as the alternate fire in the ''Unreal'' manual that comes with ''Unreal Anthology''.

[[File:Unreal screenshot.jpg|thumb|A screenshot of ''Unreal'' released by Epic MegaGames, circa 1995<ref name="lightbown">{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/classic-tools-retrospective-tim-sweeney-on-the-first-version-of-the-unreal-editor |title=Classic Tools Retrospective: Tim Sweeney on the first version of the Unreal Editor |last=Lightbown |first=David |date=January 9, 2018 |website=Game Developer |access-date=February 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823012812/https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidLightbown/20180109/309414/Classic_Tools_Retrospective_Tim_Sweeney_on_the_first_version_of_the_Unreal_Editor.php |archive-date=August 23, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
Initially the game's player character was to be female, but as the number of games with female playable characters increased, the team decided to allow the player to select from a male character and a female character.<ref name="NGenAlp"/>

In late 1996 [[GT Interactive]] secured exclusive global publishing rights to ''Unreal''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Inside Scoop|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=99 |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=December 1996|page=32}}</ref>

With the game still in development, Epic MegaGames started work on a port for the [[Nintendo 64DD]]. [[Mark Rein (software executive)|Mark Rein]] revealed that while a port for the standalone [[Nintendo 64]] was possible, the limited storage space of the cartridge format would have necessitated heavy compromises to the details on the monsters and the number of unique textures.<ref name="NGenInt"/> A [[Dreamcast]] port was also planned, and was in fact demoed for the system's capabilities early on its lifecycle, but was canceled when GT Interactive entered financial struggles (one of the reasons they would be purchased by [[Atari, Inc. (1993–present)|Infogrames]] in 1999), and a port of ''[[Unreal Tournament]]'' would take its place in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/06/03/did-somebody-say-unreal-tournament-on-dc |title=Did Somebody Say Unreal Tournament on DC? |author=Staff |date=June 2, 2000 |website=IGN |access-date=January 9, 2020}}</ref>

Since ''Unreal'' came packaged with its own scripting language called [[UnrealScript]], it soon developed a large community on the [[Internet]] which was able to add new modifications, or [[mod (video games)|mod]]s, in order to change or enhance gameplay. This feature greatly added to the overall longevity of the product and provided an incentive for new development. A map editor and overall complete modification program called [[UnrealEd]] also came with the package.

''Unreal''{{'}}s method of creating maps differs in major ways from that of ''Quake''. The bundled UnrealEd map editor uses the ''Unreal'' engine to render scenes exactly as they appear in-game, as opposed to external editors like [[Worldcraft]] attempting to recreate it with different methods. Whereas ''Quake'' maps are compiled from a variety of different components, ''Unreal'' maps are inherently editable on the fly. This allows anybody to edit any map that is created, including the maps included with the game.

===Graphics===
The ''Unreal'' engine brought a host of graphical improvements rarely seen at that time. ''Unreal''{{'}}s [[software rendering|software renderer]] allowed software features as rich as the hardware renderers of the time, including colored lighting and even a limited form of [[texture filtering]] referred to by Sweeney as an ordered "texture coordinate space" [[dither]].<ref>Yong, Li Sheng. [http://www.flipcode.com/archives/Texturing_As_In_Unreal.shtml Texturing As In Unreal], flipcode.com, July 10, 2000.</ref> Early pre-release versions of ''Unreal'' were based entirely on software rendering.

''Unreal'' was one of the first games to utilize [[texture mapping|detail texturing]]. This type of multiple texturing enhances the surfaces of objects with a second texture that shows material detail. When the player stands within a small distance from most surfaces, the detail texture will fade in and make the surface appear much more complex ([[high-resolution]]) instead of becoming increasingly blurry.<ref>[http://www.opengl.org/resources/code/samples/sig99/advanced99/notes/node88.html 6.20 Detail Textures], OpenGL.org, August 6, 1999.</ref> Notable surfaces with these special detail textures included computer monitors, pitted metal surfaces aboard the prison ship, golden metal doors, and stone surfaces within Nali temples. This extra texture layer was not applied to character models. The resulting simulation of material detail on game objects was intended to aid the player's suspension of disbelief. For many years after ''Unreal''{{'}}s release (and ''Unreal Tournament''{{'}}s release), detail texturing only worked well with the S3 MeTaL and [[Glide (API)|Glide]] renderer. It was, in fact, disabled in the Direct3D renderer by default (but could be re-enabled in the ''Unreal.ini'' file) due to performance and quality issues caused by the driver, while it was present even on hardware many times more powerful than the original [[S3 Savage|S3 Savage3D]] and [[3dfx Interactive|3Dfx Voodoo Graphics]].

Because of ''Unreal''{{'}}s long development time, the course of development occurred during the emergence and rapid progression of hardware 3D accelerators. Along with the advanced software 3D renderer, ''Unreal'' was built to take advantage of the 3Dfx Glide [[application programming interface|API]], which emerged as the dominant interface towards the end of the game's development. When ''Unreal'' was finally released, Microsoft's [[Direct3D]] API was growing rapidly in popularity and Epic was fairly quick to develop a renderer for their game engine. Direct3D renderer, however, released initially to support the new [[Matrox G200]], was less capable and slower than the Glide support, especially in the beginning when it was unstable, slow, and had many graphics quality issues.<ref>[http://unreal.com/press/matrox_pr.html MATROX OFFERS SNEAK-PEAK AT UNREAL DIRECT3DPATCH] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061113204050/http://unreal.com/press/matrox_pr.html |date=November 13, 2006}}, [[Epic MegaGames]], September 24, 1998.</ref> ''Unreal'' also had official [[OpenGL]] support.

===Audio===
{{listen|filename=Unreal music sample.ogg|title=''Unreal'' Introduction theme (Flight Castle)|description=31-second sample from the intro theme of ''Unreal'', written by Alexander Brandon.|format=[[Ogg]]}}
While many game companies went from [[FM synthesis]] or [[General MIDI]] in the early 1990s to enhanced CD audio and pre-rendered audio, many of the Epic Games used the less common system of [[Module file|module music]], composed with a [[Music tracker|tracker]], which used stored [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]] [[Sampling (signal processing)|sound samples]] of musical instruments sequenced together to produce music. Epic had been using this technology for other games such as ''[[Jazz Jackrabbit (video game)|Jazz Jackrabbit]]'' and ''[[One Must Fall: 2097]]'', which allowed relatively rich music to be stored in files usually smaller than one megabyte.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=m5exIODbtqkC&dq=%22epic+games%22+tracker+music+mod+unreal&pg=PA341 Game Development and Production] by Erik Bethke, page 341</ref> This technology allowed easy implementation of dynamic music for mood changes in ''Unreal''. The ''Unreal'' soundtrack was written by MOD music authors [[Alexander Brandon]] and [[Michiel van den Bos]] with a few selected tracks by [[Dan Gardopée]] and [[Andrew Sega]] ([[Straylight Productions]]). ''Unreal''{{'}}s music engine also supports CD audio tracks. The game also made use of the [[A3D|Aureal 3D]] technology.<ref>{{cite book |title=1394 Monthly Newsletter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N40wrMDs1GUC&pg=PA4 |last=Polishuk |first=Paul |date=December 1998 |page=4}}</ref>

===Community patch support===
In July 2000 the [[End-of-life (product)|official support ended]] with [[patch (computing)|patch]] 2.26f by Epic MegaGames. Therefore, with the awareness and permission of Epic, the [[fan community]] started the ''OldUnreal'' [[Community patch]] project based on the original [[source code]] in 2008.<ref name="rps2012">{{cite news|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/11/12/patchy-like-its-1998-unreal-1-updated/|quote=''The list of fixes upon fixes are too long to mention here, but the essential purpose of v227 is to add DirectX9 and OpenAL support as well as mending everything that needs mending. Epic are aware of and permit the patch ...'' |first=Alec |last=Meer |newspaper=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] |date=October 12, 2012 |access-date=December 21, 2012 |title=Patchy Like It's 1998: Unreal 1 Updated}}</ref> The latest patch iteration, 2.27j, released on June 23, 2022, includes new graphics rendering like [[DirectX 9]], updated OpenGL, new sound rendering based on [[OpenAL]] and fixes many incompatibilities with modern [[operating system]]s and hardware.

===Mac OS===
The [[Mac (computer)|Mac]] version was released in parallel with the PC version. It supported [[QuickDraw 3D|RAVE]] hardware acceleration as well as 3DFX's Voodoo, built-in software rendering and, later on, OpenGL rendering. RAVE acceleration support allowed the game to support hardware 3D acceleration with just about every Mac that included it. It also supported [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[Game Sprockets]].

The last update for the [[Mac OS]] port was version 224b, which breaks network compatibility between it and the PC version, as well as lacking support for some user-created content made for 225 and 226f. Westlake Interactive, the company responsible for the port, claimed that previous patches were produced voluntarily in their free time, beyond their contractual obligations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westlakeinteractive.com/unrealstatus.html|title=Westlake Interactive|date=October 13, 1999|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013124911/http://westlakeinteractive.com/unrealstatus.html|archive-date=October 13, 1999}}</ref> They also stated that they did not receive the code for the 225 patch and that it had become unavailable due to Epic moving on to develop version 226.

===Linux===
An unofficial content port of the single-player maps to [[Linux]] was created by several users of [[icculus.org]], which allowed the ''Unreal'' single-player game content to be run as a modification for ''Unreal Tournament''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icculus.org/~ravage/unreal/unrealgold/|title=Unreal Gold for Linux}}</ref><ref>[http://cheats.gamespy.com/linux/unreal-gold/ Unreal Gold (Linux)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091220224059/http://cheats.gamespy.com/linux/unreal-gold/ |date=December 20, 2009}} - [[Gamespy]]</ref><ref>[http://www.linuxhardware.org/article.php?story=03/04/18/169209 Gaming and Linux in 2003 - LinuxHardware.org]</ref> The online retailer Tux Games at one point sold a box set including the Linux version.<ref>[http://www.tuxgames.com/details.cgi?&gameref=87 Unreal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716081424/http://www.tuxgames.com/details.cgi?&gameref=87|date=July 16, 2011}} - Tux Games</ref><ref>[http://www.linuxgames.com/archives/5805 Unreal Available at Tux Games] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614052359/http://www.linuxgames.com/archives/5805|date=June 14, 2011}} - [[LinuxGames]]</ref> The 227 community patch contains a full Linux [[Source port|port]] for Unreal.

===Sega Saturn===
In 2023, one fan has ported the entire first two levels of the game to the [[Sega Saturn]] as a tech demo, with plans to port more portions of the game down the line.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=vWv0YsI2ric|title= IRRÉEL - tech demo of Unreal on Sega Saturn|website= [[YouTube]]}}</ref>