Unigine Rolls Out Schemer, Skinner & Scratch

Unigine has today introduced three new projects: Schemer, Skinner, and Scratch. This news comes as their inaugural OilRush game nears completion.

Unigine Schemer is a visual scripting system for creating "complex sequences of gameplay events without having to script them manually. This way the artists can add interactivity to the world without the help of a programmer. By connecting paths in a flow graph, it is possible to script cutscenes, switches, timers, changes in lighting and much more." Schemer is written in UnigineScript, the scripting language used by the Unigine Engine.

Skinner meanwhile is a visual scripting system for animations. "It allows blending different animations together to create complex movements of skinned characters. It also possible to include the physical ragdoll into played animation (for the whole the character or per bone)."

Scratch meanwhile is about "help[ing] you get started with your own Unigine-based game in no time. Tweak and play all using the same application: change settings on-the-fly, see the coded behavior in effect or quit the Editor to go into in-game mode and test how your game feels like. No compilation is required: simply add your models, replace the GUI interface and run the launcher."

If you're a Unigine Engine licensee or just want to check out the screenshots of these development components and learn more information, check out this Unigine development blog posting.

Meanwhile, Unigine Corp is nearly ready to release OilRush, a real-time strategy game. Yesterday the OilRush v0.90 beta was released to those who pre-ordered the $20 USD game for Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X. This new beta release adds in several new maps, various game-play enhancements, improved Linux packaging, and visual improvements. Details about Unigine OilRush 0.90 can be found on this page.

Last I heard from Unigine Corp contacts is that they're hoping for OilRush to be gold in November. Based upon the latest advancements, it looks like they're nearly ready. Most of the last minute work has been about enhancing game-play and settling matters with their distribution partners.

There's also a new Unigine Engine tech demo (benchmark) coming soon and it looks mightly impressive -- it ups the ante even compared to the Unigine Heaven demo. I have also heard that there will be an Unigine Heaven 3.0 release, which will likely be an update to match their latest engine improvements (this article among many other recent stories).