Unreal Studio open beta announced

Epic Games has announced an open beta for Unreal Studio, its new suite of tools and services for enterprise users. Unreal Studio includes Datasmith, previously available in a closed beta, which is designed to speed up the process of moving assets from 5 named CAD and DCC programs to Unreal by automating the conversion and importing of scenes, models and materials. 

Datasmith includes a plugin for 3DS Max that translates entire scenes including lights, cameras and materials in V-Ray, Corona and Mental Ray format. It does this via an intermediary file format.

A number of CAD applications are also supported including Rhino Solidworks, Inventor, Catia, Siemens, NX and Creo. Basic colour extraction, hierarchy and metadata are preserved.  UVs are automatically created for further texturing and material creation in Unreal.

For applications that aren’t listed, several additional file formats are supported such as .gbf, .unv, .x_t, .rf, .fbx, .gitf, .iges, .step, .jt, .sat, and .3dxml.

In addition to the translation software, Unreal Studio includes services designed to make working with the engine easier for enterprise users. This includes training, support and asset.

Training is course-based, with each course broken into small bite-size chunks. At the time of launch, there are already quite a few courses to get users started, including how to prepare scenes to optimise performance, mastering Unreal GI solution – Lightmass, creating materials, editor basics and project structure, real-time rendering, pipelines, and how to create plugins.

Users who need support will be able to search a knowledgebase or get 1:1 support via a ticketing system.

Unreal Studio will also include assets. 100 Substance materials are included at launch covering several common architectural and design materials. There are an additional 25 substances aimed more at the games market.

Pricing information has also been revealed. The free open beta runs until 1 November 2018, after which time the service will cost $49 per month under an annual rental scheme.

Find out more about Unreal Studio on Epic’s enterprise website.