Auran Jet takes off

Australian company Auran might not be well known in the gaming community, but it was their Tactics Engine which powered the hit real time strategy game "Dark Reign" back in 1997. Now they are releasing their latest work to the public for free in the form of AURAN Jet, a "fully integrated 3D game development application" which includes almost everything you need to make your own 3D games, from code samples to 3D Studio Max plug-ins. The idea is to allow developers and hobbyists to make their own games without paying any upfront fees, while non-commercial use of the system is completely free.

The first beta version was released on the AURAN Jet website today, weighing in at just under 10Mb. It's not fully functional yet, but should give you a taste of what is to come, as Auran CEO Greg Lane explains. "What we're looking for from Beta 1, is feedback on direction, comments on example code, manuals, perceived flexibility of the product, and hardware compatibility. "We're not looking for people to create games during Beta 1, so we've specifically held back the info required to do this. Our methodology is to invite you to interactively develop AURAN Jet with us."

For the full story, read the press release, and then head over to the AURAN Jet website for more information and download links...