Epic Touts Success Of Unreal Engine 3
Batman: Arkham CityThe Unreal Engine 3 has certainly made the rounds this generation, and designer Epic Games isn't afraid to let everyone know it.
During a demonstration at GDC 2012, Epic vice-president Mark Rein showed off a bunch of titles that have successfully used the UE3 engine thus far (catch the full list of current and upcoming games at RipTen). He also made the following statement:
"Unreal is the engine of success… people who choose to use other technology for the price don’t know what they’re doing."
He may not be far off base. Some of the most critically acclaimed titles of the generation have used UE3, including all the Gears of War and Mass Effect installments, both Batman games by Rocksteady, Borderlands, the Mortal Kombat and Medal of Honor reboots, Mirror's Edge, Shadows of the Damned, Lost Odyssey, Singularity, and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Future UE3-powered titles include Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, DMC, DUST 514, and even Mortal Kombat for the PlayStation Vita.
Yeah, developers have used this engine with great success. Remember, the team using an engine has a lot to do with how it will perform in the long run.
Tags: unreal engine, unreal engine 3, ue3, epic games, unreal engine games
3/19/2012 10:09:35 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (31 posts)
BTNwarrior
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 9:20:35 PM
1 up, 0 down
berserk
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 @ 7:15:08 AM
I m really not a fan of games with engines that have that effect on textures .Must be why i like the mgs 4 engine so much ( best looking game on ps3/360 for me ) .
Last edited by berserk on 3/20/2012 7:16:47 AM
1 up, 0 down
Qubex
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 @ 9:08:53 PM
Anyway, the Unreal Engine 3 incarnation I think does a better job, but I would prefer Guerrillas engine if I had a choice...
I am surprised Dust514 doesn't use a proprietorial Sony engine!
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 10:29:14 AM
Reply
:/
1 up, 10 down
Beamboom
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:15:17 PM
Phew... Thank the makers that Alice dodged the biceps'o'matic then, since her arms are thin and vein like straw... Just like they should be.
;)
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/19/2012 1:15:47 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:26:17 PM
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 2:48:57 PM
Maybe *that's* why I prefer a female character in my games? To avoid being constantly reminded of all the hours in the health studio I *didn't* spend? Who knows! :D
I guess the blame has to be put on stereotypes and unimaginative designers. One thing is for sure though: A 3D render engine doesn't really have any preferences on upper arm measurements. :)
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/19/2012 2:52:17 PM
0 up, 1 down
CrusaderForever
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 11:17:13 AM
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2 up, 1 down
Temjin001
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 12:07:55 PM
The engine that powers Bethseda's games are usually worse off on PS3, are they not?
What about the CoD engine? I don't really have to go there, do I?
Was anyone blown away by the tech powering Kingdoms of Amular?
Yes, fighting games look pretty, usually better detailed than most games, but there's a good reason for that which I don't think I have to explain why.
The CryEngine 3 is great, no doubt. But it came way late this gen with many studios already having grown accustomed to the UDK.
Really, I don't like crappy performing games just as much as anyone else here does, and possibly more, but it's hard to level a sound argument about UE3 when so many multiplats aren't standing head and shoulders higher. Outside of the Castlevania engine and BF3... I just don't think there's much of an argument here.
I'm going to have to say the quality of games we get this gen have a lot more to do with the skill of the dev than it does the engine. Because it's hard to imagine as many game engines that are as refined as the UE3 is when so many devs have worked with Epic to get the most out of the tech.
2 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:11:08 PM
Far, far too many misguidedly blame the engine and not the developers and designers. It's like blaming Photoshop for poor web designs.
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/19/2012 1:12:49 PM
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:13:40 PM
Last edited by Jawknee on 3/19/2012 1:14:16 PM
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:17:53 PM
0 up, 0 down
bigrailer19
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 12:15:25 PM
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 3/19/2012 12:17:03 PM
0 up, 1 down
Beamboom
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:09:34 PM
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/19/2012 1:10:03 PM
3 up, 0 down
Ludicrous_Liam
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:13:46 PM
Reply
Your own.
3 up, 1 down
Beamboom
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:27:00 PM
It's like if you want to edit a photo you did, only you have to write the photo editing software first.
If it wasn't for engines like these I can guarantee you there would be a LOT of great games that'd never seen the light of day, and many of the current games that run on Unreal would have played a LOT worse.
The idea that it would be better if every developer sat in each their offices spending years on coding their own set of libraries to do essentially the same... It's madness! Uneconomical, inefficient, and would hold back the entire industry like concrete shoes. And you could pretty much say bye-bye to all independent developers and niche games.
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/19/2012 1:30:14 PM
1 up, 0 down
Ludicrous_Liam
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 4:49:18 PM
Okay - if you're not under some big publisher like Sony or activision, then licensing a pre-existing engine is probably the only viable option, both realisticly & finacially. But what I'm saying is that, if you're planning to make a AAA title, well, a custom engine is the way to go if those games are any indication.
4 up, 1 down
Beamboom
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 @ 5:00:09 AM
You are right in your reasoning there, but like you yourself also say; most of the titles you mention have one thing in common: They are either backed by the hardware manufacturer (and let's face it - that puts them in another realm, budgetwise) or are backed by one of the absolute GIANTS of the game dev world. Those guys can afford it because they can (re)use their inhouse engines across several productions, thus spread the cost/risk.
it's like in the movie world, where the biggest productions can afford to actually (re)write the software who renders the scenes, to make the scenes *exactly* like the director wants.
So yeah, to get the absolute best out of your games, nothing beat custom code and enough time and skill to make the game *if* you got a big enough budget and skilled enough staff to actually make it work.
And that makes it a sound option only for the few. For the rest it's a much, much better solution to build your game on a platform that can give you a head start, thus giving you a chance to spend your budget on artistry, narrative, polish and tweaks instead.
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/20/2012 5:11:18 AM
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Beamboom
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 1:49:24 PM
Reply
Yup! I do. I have to!
Many of my best games ever has been built on that engine. Everything from the historic Bioshock to the wonderful Dragon Age, from the silly fun little Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars to the classy, artistic Mirrors Edge, not to mention my favourite franchise EVER, the wonderful space opera of Mass Effect!
Thank you UNREAL - thank you for a LOT of gaming hours I'd never want to be without. Cheers mate!
:)
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/19/2012 2:04:21 PM
3 up, 0 down
tlpn99
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 2:33:32 PM
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I'd love to see a new COD engine but while they are still churning them out they wont say were not making a new COD this year while we work on the new engine.
I don't suppose it would be possible to work on a new engine and do a game at the same time. It would mean losing half the workforce on one project and the other half on another unless this is probably not do able. Not being a programmer I can't say how it works.
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 3:43:25 PM
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Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 3/19/2012 3:48:42 PM
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 4:37:48 PM
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 4:57:27 PM
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BikerSaint
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 9:46:25 PM
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0 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 @ 4:44:03 AM
I hope we will see that engine being used in other titles too. It's obviously able to produce better visuals than Unreal - but at what cost? Maybe poorer development tools, maybe bigger restrictions on map design, maybe other limitations. Everything has a cost. But yeah, I'd love to see what other devs can make out of the Crytek engine.
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___________
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 @ 4:50:19 AM
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sorry epic but there are FAR better engines out there!
its so sad almost every game is using this crap where amazing engines like CE3 are left in the dark.
:(
no justice in the gaming industry, none at all!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nagi
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 @ 11:50:26 AM
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Its not the most cutting edge, and like beamboom already pointed out, not everybody has the luxury of making and using their own engine. Outsourcing saves developers time and money.
The engine gets the job done, not the best there is, but it is very versatile and practical for developers, can't deny that.
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coverton341
Reply
Monday, March 19, 2012 @ 10:26:22 AM
I don't know, maybe that's just the style of most of the games I have played using the UE3 and not so much the engine itself.