Getting Started: Production Planning

Overview

Planning and preparing for the production cycle are extremely important to ensuring the production process goes as smoothly as possible. Issues will always arise that simply could not be accounted for, but a solid plan and knowledge of the most common problems that befall developers can go a long way to mitigating the potential delays and costs associated with these types of issues.

As a producer or administrator, it is important to:

• Study the licensing terms and decide whether they suit your needs.
• Have a strong grasp on the current feature set of Unreal Engine 3.
• Be aware of what features may be implemented in the future throughout your development cycle.
• Know your target audience and whether the average specifications of the hardware of that audience are supported by Unreal Engine 3.
• Understand the content pipeline and what resources in terms of hardware, software, and manpower are needed to produce content.

This, along with other information provided here, should help in making the decision of whether or not to use Unreal Engine 3 for your project as well as helping the planning and scheduling of a smooth production.

Production Planning

It is important to know what features the engine provides as well as what the pipelines for content or coding require and what considerations you should be making before jumping in to development on any project. This can help to work out schedules and tasks as well as help determine whether you are currently prepared to handle the project and what additional resources may be needed.

Some helpful information regarding planning can be found at the UE3 Min Specs pages.

Licensing

Knowing the licensing terms and conditions of the technology and software you will be using is extremely important, whether you are planning to use UE3 or UDK. You never want to think you are allowed to do something only to find out just before release that you are indeed not allowed. That can set back the release schedule, cost extra money, or even endanger the entire project.

For information on licensing UE3 or UDK, see the Licensing page.

If you ever have any questions or concerns before beginning your project or at any point during the production process, please contact one of the email addresses below immediately:

• licensing@epicgames.com - For UE3 Licensing
• udklicensing@epicgames.com - For UDK Licensing

Business and Legal

There are some requisite legalities that must be followed any time a project is produced using technology from Epic Games. These involve trademarks, copyright notices, logos, etc.

For complete legal information regarding producing and releasing a game made with UE3 or UDK , please see the Business and Legal page.

Documentation and Support

Epic provides several avenues for obtaining support for developers creating games using Unreal Engine 3 or Unreal Development Kit. Extensive documentation, which is constantly being updated, improved, and expanded, is provided on the Unreal Developer Network wiki. The knowledge and experience of Epic's developers is at your disposal through the mailing lists provided for licensees. The community forums are also a great place to get insight from others working with Unreal Engine 3 and Unreal Development Kit.

For detailed information about Epic's support outlets, please see the Support Home page.