Taz wrote:And that's the trouble. How many around are going to have the time and resources available to create their own new game, with its own monsters, weapons etc, as opposed to just a simple game level/map?
Certainly not me. Which is why I'm going back to good old Unreal/UT mapping. Until I make my first million so I can organize and financially support a team for making a new game using UDK (fat hope ).
LOTS of people. You DO realize the UDK isn't just aimed at the Unreal community, right? Don't be so narrow-minded. This is a business move on Epic's part (and a very generous one at that; it really seriously helps out indie devs - look at Hawken), not a mod SDK for the Unreal games.
It also isn't expensive to form a team and make a game for the UDK. It costs only as much time and energy as it takes to find people you want to work with. Once I finish EXU2, I'm going to be working with some people on a UDK game for sure.
And on top of that, you get to keep your first $50,000 before you pay a penny to Epic in royalties! This is a REALLY good deal compared to the alternative of building the entire engine yourself, which is something that few can manage to do as well as Epic, especially in a short enough time span to stay relevant.
The only people complaining about UDK are the ones who have no idea what it's for/how it works/how to use it and/or have this weird entitlement complex that a game developer should spend tons of time and energy to release free mod SDKs for people who just are interested in hobby projects. That's not what the UDK is made for.