Unreal Engine 3.

[thenerdguy]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/83022-EA-Extends-Epic-Engine-Engagement

Electronic Arts and Epic Games have expanded their Unreal Engine 3 licensing deal, giving EA the right to use the engine in "more than five" new titles currently in development.

EA's original agreement with Epic, first signed in 2006, saw the engine used in Medal of Honor: Airborne and Army of Two. Information about what games will make use of the engine under the new terms has not been divulged.

"Epic is committed to providing EA with the premier development infrastructure, tools and technology for its upcoming games," said Epic Vice President Mark Rein. "We're extremely excited that EA has chosen to expand their use of Unreal Engine 3 and we can't wait to see more of the great games they will produce with it."

Frank Gibeau, president of Electronic Arts, added, "With the largest and most talented studio operation in the world, it's critical for us to give our studio teams the best tools they need to make great games. This agreement reflects our commitment to Epic's technology which, in combination with our own cutting-edge systems, allows us to create ground-breaking hits."

Epic's Unreal Engine 3 has been one of the most popular game engines ever created, licensed by numerous companies for use in high-profile games including BioShock, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and Rainbow Six Vegas 2, as well as Epic's own Unreal Tournament 3 and Gears of War.




The beast continues to grow.

 

[giant384]

its sad that it looked the worst in there flagship game that it was created for in the first place.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

its sad that it looked the worst in there flagship game that it was created for in the first place.

You haven't seen Hour of Victory or Turning Point, have you?

 

[mastag]

You haven't seen Hour of Victory or Turning Point, have you?

Hahaha, true.

Although, I liked the Turning Point demo...

 

[Dalamari]

Ugh, Hour of Victory was ****ing horrible...

Never again

 

[Bad^Hat]

Although, I liked the Turning Point demo...

No you didn't. That's impossible. :|

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Ugh, Hour of Victory was ****ing horrible...

Never again

I'm not even joking when I say that the second time my 360 Red Ringed happened while I was playing the demo for it.

 

[mastag]

I'm not even joking when I say that the second time my 360 Red Ringed happened while I was laying the demo for it.

:O

char.

 

[giant384]

turning point didn't look that bad but the pc port was utter shit.

 

[Evo]

Ah the PC Gamer review put me totally off it! Had thought it was going to be quite good...

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

:O

char.

That's right, I got the demo laid. Laid baby.

 

[VirusType2]

its sad that it looked the worst in there flagship game that it was created for in the first place.

Just like Doom 3. The thing behind Doom 3, it was really a tech demo to sell the engine, probably the same deal. Though, I really liked it after i modded the living shit out of it.

 

[i am HOLLYWOOD]

Hooray for more games that look exactly like Gears of War!

oh wait. . .

 

[Shamrock]

That engine has been whored to everyone. I'm kind of getting sick of seeing it. Games are starting to look rather similar.

 

[thenerdguy]

That engine has been whored to everyone. I'm kind of getting sick of seeing it. Games are starting to look rather similar.

It is by far the most popular Engine besides the Quake engines. I wonder if its still a million $$$ to buy rights to use it?

 

[Deleted member 56031]

Hahaha, true.

Although, I liked the Turning Point demo...

No...It's not true...IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!! NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!

 

[Kyorisu]

That engine has been whored to everyone. I'm kind of getting sick of seeing it. Games are starting to look rather similar.

I'm sorry but the graphics engine has **** all to do with art direction. Brown is the new black.

 

[Narvi]

Actually, since it's really easy to do lighting with brown, and a variety of other oddities, graphics engines DO have a fair amount to do with art direction.

 

[Cormeh]

I saw Rein on TV a while back boasting Unreal Engine's superior development tools, which is why it's been so consistently popular to other companies.

I was under the impression that this was true for earlier Unreal titles as well.

 

[StardogChampion]

I was under the impression that this was true for earlier Unreal titles as well.

It was true, so that's why loads of companies used the previous engine too.

Thief 3/Deus Ex 2 has an unreal engine base. Swat 4, Tribes: Vengeance, Splinter Cell 1/2/3/4, Brothers in Arms etc etc.

 

[Shamrock]

I'm sorry but the graphics engine has **** all to do with art direction. Brown is the new black.

Well now, someone isn't understanding. The textures, the feel of games, just by the look of the game, you can tell it is using the UE3 engine. I can't describe it, but I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about.

Just like how if every game started using the Source engine, you would notice it. In the mods that use the Source engine, it just has that distinct feel to it that you know it is on that engine.

 

[Gray Fox]

Don't mind the UE3, I think both UT3 and especially GoW showed how beautiful it could look while
maintaining high FPS. On the other hand it may be only suited for those types of games, and that may be
the reason why it sucks monkey balls in the hands of other developers.

Either way together with source it has the best performance to looks ration imo.

 

[Docm30]

Well now, someone isn't understanding. The textures, the feel of games, just by the look of the game, you can tell it is using the UE3 engine. I can't describe it, but I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about.

Just like how if every game started using the Source engine, you would notice it. In the mods that use the Source engine, it just has that distinct feel to it that you know it is on that engine.

As a graphics-designer, I can tell you that UE3 does not have a distinct look to it, but rather developers try to copy the look of games like Gear of War and UT3. Look up the (UE3 powered) game Hail to the Chimp if you don't believe me.

Source looks unique because of its lighting-method, which uses a (cheap) baked-on radiosity that simulates light-bouncing.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

That engine has been whored to everyone. I'm kind of getting sick of seeing it. Games are starting to look rather similar.

I would have to say this is only the fault of the developer. Unreal is flexible enough such that no two games should look anything alike. Bioshock VS. Splinter Cell for instance. Though I understand that notion, because despite the radical differences in art direction, pacing and general gameplay all Unreal engine games do have certain similar qualities.

As a graphics-designer, I can tell you that UE3 does not have a distinct look to it, but rather developers try to copy the look of games like Gear of War and UT3. Look up the (UE3 powered) game Hail to the Chimp if you don't believe me.

Source looks unique because of its lighting-method, which uses a (cheap) baked-on radiosity that simulates light-bouncing.

This, basically. Everybody uses the same damn filters and grainy textures. If I see another goddamn "GRITTY OVERSIZED TEMPERMENTAL SPACE MARINES IN POORLY LIT, DINGY ENVIRONMENTS" game I might have to kill myself.

original, applaudable uses of Unreal include:

Brothers in Arms
Deus Ex
XIII
Splinter Cell (simply because of reworking the animation/action system so damn well)
Bioshock
Mass Effect

 

[99.vikram]

As a graphics-designer, I can tell you that UE3 does not have a distinct look to it

Oh, come on, UE3 models have the same plasticky look that Doom 3 suffered from!

Source looks unique because of its lighting-method, which uses a (cheap) baked-on radiosity that simulates light-bouncing.

Cheap or not, it looks quite natural and runs on low end machines.

EDIT:
Unreal Engine 3
Doom 3 Engine
Source Engine (with industry leading facial animation!)

 

[giant384]

UE3 doesnt isnt even close the plasticy feeling of doom3. UE3 is more shiny and rugged.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Oh, come on, UE3 models have the same plasticky look that Doom 3 suffered from!


Cheap or not, it looks quite natural and runs on low end machines.

Doom 3 on mid-range:

UE3 midrange:

These screenshots are just quick google image searches, but they illustrate a point. UE3 models look awkward because of the lighting method and Doom 3 models have a strange plastic weightlessness to them. Of course UE3 has the advantage of being the younger and more adaptable engine, whereas Doom 3 hasn't seen as much love or interest in the development community. Purely from a flagship game perspective (D3 vs UT3) both games have hindrances in the models that take away from the realism. I think a good balance and reference point is the human models in Half-Life 2 and the episodes, they seem perfectly weighty and the lightning isn't quite as over the top.

What I'm wondering is when this stupid focus on realism in graphics will die down and people will realize it's better to be tastefully artistic. (TF2, cell shading, LoZ series, Blizzard games) Of course realistic graphics have merits as well, but someone needs to convince these guys it has very little to do with polygons anymore and everything to do with motion and facial animation (more people taking hints from Valve, please).

 

[LackingSaint]

Too many FPS's. WE NEED ANOTHER 'KINETICA' ENGINE UP IN HERE.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Just like Doom 3. The thing behind Doom 3, it was really a tech demo to sell the engine, probably the same deal.

Yeah, but where the hell are the Doom 3 engine games?? 'Nuff said.

 

[Eejit]

This, basically. Everybody uses the same damn filters and grainy textures. If I see another goddamn "GRITTY OVERSIZED TEMPERMENTAL SPACE MARINES IN POORLY LIT, DINGY ENVIRONMENTS" game I might have to kill myself.

You damn well better be willing to make an exception for NS2.

 

[Wanted Bob]

Huh, why hasnt the CryEngine been mentioned? Or for that matter the engine that Far Cry 2 is using (it has a bit of CryEngine source code, but it has largely been rewritten).

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

You damn well better be willing to make an exception for NS2.

NS2 is on a different boat altogether. It's my most anticipated game EVAR!

 

[thenerdguy]

Huh, why hasnt the CryEngine been mentioned? Or for that matter the engine that Far Cry 2 is using (it has a bit of CryEngine source code, but it has largely been rewritten).

How many games are using the cry engine? Far Cry. Far Cry 2.....

 

[Kyorisu]

Actually, since it's really easy to do lighting with brown, and a variety of other oddities, graphics engines DO have a fair amount to do with art direction.

Which means they've taken the quick and dirty method and hence lack any decent art direction. You cannot make a game that's 75% brown look good.

Well now, someone isn't understanding. The textures, the feel of games, just by the look of the game, you can tell it is using the UE3 engine. I can't describe it, but I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about.

Just like how if every game started using the Source engine, you would notice it. In the mods that use the Source engine, it just has that distinct feel to it that you know it is on that engine.

Thankyou for failing to understand my point. You can choose to use the defaults and looks like every other bloody game on the planet using that engine. Or you can do something new. Sadly in this industry it's very rare for anyone to try something new so you end up with products that look and feel identical.

As a graphics-designer, I can tell you that UE3 does not have a distinct look to it, but rather developers try to copy the look of games like Gear of War and UT3. Look up the (UE3 powered) game Hail to the Chimp if you don't believe me.

Source looks unique because of its lighting-method, which uses a (cheap) baked-on radiosity that simulates light-bouncing.

At least someone here knows what they're talking about. Now as for this "feel" of an engine that might possibly have something to do with devs using the same movement/gravity speeds as the original game the engine was built for.

 

[Wanted Bob]

How many games are using the cry engine? Far Cry. Far Cry 2.....

Yeah, that begs the question as to why they havent sold the rights to the engine to other developers... could make a lot of money with that.

 

[stemot]

Yeah, that begs the question as to why they havent sold the rights to the engine to other developers... could make a lot of money with that.

Well, there is a MMORPERGER coming out using the Crysis engine, don't recall what it's called though.

 

[thenerdguy]

Yeah, that begs the question as to why they havent sold the rights to the engine to other developers... could make a lot of money with that.

I thought it was the crappy dev tools.

 

[Pesmerga]

All John Carmack's games look like ****ing plastic. Even his new tech demo looks like plastic shit.

Source is probably currently the best overall game engine. It is scalable, it looks great, and there are a shitton of mods for it.

UE3 looks like shit.

 

[Kadayi]

The problem Source has is that Hammer is an antiquated PoS (yreal time mapping would be nice) and the map limitations are smaller than other engines are capable of producing. I'd say Valve has the best facial tech presently going though. Sure there are a bucket load of people making mods for Source, but hardly any developers have picked it up, compared to other engines out there.

 

[99.vikram]

Source took the practicality route rather than focus on being a demo for the latest gimmicks (Megatexture? Really, how many people are going to admire a patch of moss on the ground?). That makes it the best engine on the market for almost any project.

Unfortunately, it's underlying structure is ancient (bsp?? qc files?!) and it's toolset isn't refined enough.

Also, I counter-hate people who hate Carmack. Sure, he's made some bad decisions in recent years with id Tech 4, but the man is a genius. Technically his engine is the best out there. He's the one pushing boundaries (alongside Crytek), not Source or UE3.