OTEE on Friday announced a forthcoming update to its Mac OS X game development engine, Unity. The new release will add full-screen graphics effects and other enhancements. OTEE plans to release Unity 1.2 over Christmas.
Unity is a complete game development environment that enables game programmers to craft games that can run on Mac OS X and Windows. Unity even includes software for producing Dashboard widgets for Mac OS X v10.4 “Tiger.” It’s been used to create Gooball, a third person action game published for the Mac by Ambrosia Software.
A new framework in Unity handles realtime full-screen graphics effects, using Unity’s shading engine. Examples of the effects include color-correction, grayscale, sepia, twirl effect and vortex effect.
Built-in workflow tools for 3D content editing can be extended and new workflows can be added, so users can create “wizards,” context menus, and automated processes for repetitive tasks.
New character-related features in Unity include a new First Person Shooter (FPS) controller, tools to set up “ragdolls,” and improved character animation support.
Unity 1.2 will be a free update for registered users. Pricing starts at $249 for the “Indie” license. A free trial demo is available for download.