EPIC's next gen graphics

[morgs]

Saw this on another forum, some very nice looking images in here.

Unreal 3.975

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/unreal-engine-next-generation-graphics,12324.html

 

[Higlac]

It looks brown.

 

[Quixoticism]

That pile of bricks in the middle of the sidewalk looks out of place because the lighting. I think Frostbite 2 looks better.
I was somewhat hoping that this would be the next engine, but it's just an updated UE3.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Rain done right.

 

[stemot]

Looks much the same as the current engine.

 

[Krynn72]

Show me a screenshot that isn't 70% black please.

The wetness effect is really good looking though. Finally theres a non-expensive (relatively) way of having decent reflections.

 

[Barnz]

It looks brown.

This.

 

[Krynn72]

You guys need to see an eye doctor if you think it looks brown.

 

[Stigmata]

It looks like it handles low levels of light exceptionally well.

 

[Stormy]

It looks fantastic. Would be great to see it running but I guess you need a mad system to do so.

 

[Paulaner]

Unreal is the best engine, imo. This looks like a nice update.

 

[Bad^Hat]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-trailer-samaritan/711467

Apparently this is actually a game they're making, too, as opposed to just a tech demo.

Please be an awesome sweet cyborg beat-em-up.

Edit: You can still see those weird muddy textures in places that are all over UE3. Always hated those.

 

[morgs]

I love me a dystopian setting.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-trailer-samaritan/711467

Apparently this is actually a game they're making, too, as opposed to just a tech demo.

Please be an awesome sweet cyborg beat-em-up.

Edit: You can still see those weird muddy textures in places that are all over UE3. Always hated those.

I've seen things you humans wouldn't believe....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARPCjp0ppEE

Gorgeous trailer, by the way. Thanks for the share.

 

[Warped]

yeah I like the name and feel of the game. but yet again great story driven games are hard to come by with cutting edge graphics. I just wish they spent as much time on the graphics as they did the story

EDIT: the meat of the video explained here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq1wUEkkEw8&feature=feedu

 

[DEATHMASTER]

If that wasn't pre-rendered (hah), it was quite impressive.

 

[StardogChampion]

You can use all of this in UDK for free now. I just got their email.

Important DirectX features now shipping with UDK include:

• Tessellation and displacement;
• Geometry shaders;
• Multisampled textures; and
• Shader Model 5.

High-end rendering features include:

• Image-based reflections that allow surfaces of any shape to reflect an approximate version of scenes, with varying glossiness across surfaces, anisotropic HDR highlights and anti-aliasing;
• Subsurface scattering (SSS) that simulates the light that scatters inside semi-translucent materials, making character skin come alive;
• Anti-aliased masked materials that super sample the edges of masked and alpha-tested materials, making character hair more look realistic than ever before;
• Deferred rendering with MSAA support;
• Bokeh depth of field providing close to film-quality DOF, with artist-controllable Bokeh; and
• High-quality dynamic shadows from many lights on the environment, such as shadows for point lights and other light sources.

NVIDIA’s APEX technology has also been integrated into the engine and ships with UDK.

In addition, Epic has raised the royalty-free revenue threshold for UDK commercial developers. Under the new license agreement, developers don’t pay any royalties until their total revenue exceeds $50,000 (US). Beyond that, developers keep 75 percent of each dollar they receive and Epic receives 25 percent. A great article to reference is here.

UDK projects can be promoted to the community in the Works in Progress forum and the Released Projects forum.

 

[Darkside55]

Beating up old ladies that break curfew: the game.

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

Dammit I can't afford $1600 worth of video cards. But I'd still love if they released a downloadable demo the way NVidia does that allows you to pause and pan and tweak and stuff. Then I could lol at how inferior my card is.

 

[Kula Meenur]

...the game.

Oh far-que

Looks really, really good.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Amazing that it's already avail to UDK... modders GOGOGO wish I had talent in that department . Psyched to see what comes around, should any major udk projects spring up. wtb another Make Something Unreal contest!

 

[CR0M]

@ 4.50 in the vid: "realtime shadows from moving lightsources which is new to unreal engine 3" Er wut???? this is old tech that was used even in Oblivion, which is infamous for having no environment shadows... how is it new to the latest unreal engine? or am I missing something?

 

[morgs]

If you cast a fireball in the dark in Oblivion did the shadows move with the fireball?

 

[CR0M]

Not the fireballs, but hand held torches did cast dynamic shadows. It's also been used in the xray engine since SoC.

 

[Warped]

this reminds me of the rippin' and the tearin' of fabric they showed off with one of their older engines.

 

[StardogChampion]

@ 4.50 in the vid: "realtime shadows from moving lightsources which is new to unreal engine 3" Er wut???? this is old tech that was used even in Oblivion, which is infamous for having no environment shadows... how is it new to the latest unreal engine? or am I missing something?

It's old tech but UE3 still didn't have them. Previously, I would guess the lighting wasn't properly deferred. That's why you will barely see any areas in Batman/Gears of War with dynamic shadows. They must be expensive, so 99% of the shadows are lightmapped. Character shadows don't count, because they're probably faked in some way that makes them cheap to display.

EDIT: Bioshock Infinite (uses UE3) interview

To meet the aesthetic goals of our art team, our rendering gurus had to write a whole new renderer for BioShock Infinite based on deferred lighting (a technique used in Uncharted 2, CryEngine3, and Killzone 2)

 

[Remus]

It's old tech but UE3 still didn't have them. Previously, I would guess the lighting wasn't properly deferred. That's why you will barely see any areas in Batman/Gears of War with dynamic shadows. They must be expensive, so 99% of the shadows are lightmapped. Character shadows don't count, because they're probably faked in some way that makes them cheap to display.

I've done maps of UT3 and that is correct. While the unupgraded UE3 is capable of dynamic lights, they are resource hogs. Previously the engine just wasn't optimised for dynamic lighting. I so wish they would add these upgrades to UT3 but, I doubt they will ever do that.

While these new features in UDK are tempting, what's keeping me from making some maps with UDK is that the UT3 features in it are obviously just bare bones.

 

[Naph]

It's getting to the point where changes to realism are growing thin. Engines are just too awesome to be heavily tweaked like it has been years ago. Their DoF and light reflections are a large leap however, and just superb.

 

[Gargantou]

I've seen things you humans wouldn't believe....

*bladerunnervid*

Gorgeous trailer, by the way. Thanks for the share.

Give me a Blade Runner first-person adventure game running on this new version of UE3 and I can die as a happy human.

 

[Paulaner]

... adventure game...

Adventure games are dead. Now, everything is either an fps or an action/rpg. And when they make true adventure games, gamers ignore them. Indie developers still resist, though.

 

[Remus]

Give me a Blade Runner first-person adventure game running on this new version of UE3 and I can die as a happy human.

Not an adventure game, but there already is a "Blade Runner" FPS... Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Boring. Advances in graphics are not going to cut it. They should really be asking us to be excited about something that is not totally ****ing expected. We all know graphics will get better so why should we be excited for them when no other improvements are shown? New and engaging modes of story-telling? No. Exciting different ways of developing an emotional response in the user? No. Heretofore unseen character development techniques? No. Anything that will sufficiently advance gaming truly into the next-gen? For sure no. Epic is just one of too many companies that tend to focus on form rather than function and for me it is just getting old. I want devs to think of games first and then develop tech around these ideas as needed, not the other way around. Technology should not drive gaming; games should. (I also don't want the next generation of games to all just be different versions of this ****ing engine--again.)

 

[Bad^Hat]

Yeah, can't really argue with that. I did get tired of seeing UE3 in every ****ing game, especially when the dev obviously had a hard time optimising it for the platform. Hell, even the Gears games were pretty shoddy in places, technically speaking.

 

[Gargantou]

Not an adventure game, but there already is a "Blade Runner" FPS... Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Yes but I want more of an adventure sorta like the upcoming game L.A. Noire, i.e. somewhat open-ended that has you tracking down the replicants via investigative work etc.

Adventure games are dead. Now, everything is either an fps or an action/rpg. And when they make true adventure games, gamers ignore them. Indie developers still resist, though.

I disagree, if you are implying that a "true adventure game" has to be point-and-click.

I view games like Heavy Rain, Shenmue etc as adventure games too.

 

[Gargantou]

Double post, please delete this one.

 

[Paulaner]

I disagree, if you are implying that a "true adventure game" has to be point-and-click.

I view games like Heavy Rain, Shenmue etc as adventure games too.

I agree with your definition of other adventure games. They doesn't have to be point-and-click. Heavy Rain and Shenmue are nice examples.

You know, in my personal vision I played even Fallout 3 as an adventure game. I never used real-time combat, only VATS, so I stripped the "action" element from "action-rpg"

By the way, my definition of true adventure game is simple: plot, objects, puzzles, no real-time action.
Skills and character progression are more in the realm of rpgs.

 

[Naph]

The only problem I had with the UE3 was the netcode.

 

[Gargantou]

I agree with your definition of other adventure games. They doesn't have to be point-and-click. Heavy Rain and Shenmue are nice examples.

You know, in my personal vision I played even Fallout 3 as an adventure game. I never used real-time combat, only VATS, so I stripped the "action" element from "action-rpg"

By the way, my definition of true adventure game is simple: plot, objects, puzzles, no real-time action.
Skills and character progression are more in the realm of rpgs.

Well, I think real-time action is acceptable, Shenmue had it via the fight sequences.

But, I do think that action segments should be a minor part of the game, and the overall focus should be on plot, puzzles and preferably exploration.

 

[Stigmata]

The only problem I had with the UE3 was the netcode.

What netcode?

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

I played a ton of UT3 and never had an issue with the netcode.