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Epic 'Nervous' Over Unreal Engine 4

Epic Games is nervous over the next iteration of its mega-selling game tech, Unreal Engine, says president Mike Capps.

Speaking in the latest issue of Edge, Capps admits that just like everyone else the developer's still trying to guess when the next iteration of consoles will actually land.

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computerandvideogames.com
Fishy Fingers5888d ago

Sounds more like he's nervous to know when and what the next generation will entail so they can be prepared, rather than nervous over their tech.

Reibooi5888d ago

Personally I really don't wanna see what happened with UE3 happen with UE4 unless they do a crap load of work.

The biggest problem with UE3 was that when this gen began EVERY game used the engine and the problem quickly became games looking to similar to each other. It's only now that devs have figured out ways to make the Unreal Engine look very different and it's really to little to late as the engine is incredibly dated now and really doesn't look that good compared to some of the other incredible engines out there.

Epic needs to make the UE4 really open ended so that devs can make their games look totally unique. People should not be able to tell simply by looking at the game that it's running on UE4 which is something most can do with UE3.

I have no doubt the next UE will be incredible but when everything that uses it looks the same it quickly looses that visual punch.

hamoor5888d ago

i don't think the UE3 is bad
The problem that there is no single ps3 exclusive game that works on the UE3 to take advantage of the engine
And thats why ps3 exclusive games are better than any UE3 based game in graphics department
But when we talking about multiplats,the unreal engine shines
mass effect 2
Gears of war 2
Batman:AA
All of them looked amazing

Reibooi5888d ago (Edited 5888d ago )

The UE3 at it's core is a buggy engine. That alone aside from graphics means Epic needs to step up their game with UE4.

Even Epic's own games that run on UE3 are riddled with glitches. Why do you think Gears of War earned the nickname Glitches of War. The engine has horrible collision detection and it's not uncommon to find yourself stuck in a wall or seeing little thinks like debris or ammo clips floating in mid air for no reason. Those things are just as much a hallmark of the UE3 then the look of the engine itself is.

I will admit the engine can look decent in this day and age. The problem I stated is that you can tell when a game is running the engine and you shouldn't be able to do that because it means on the back end it's limiting the artists making the games and preventing their game from having a 100% unique look.

SuperStrokey11235888d ago

Well muliplats are not really a good example as the UE3 really runs best on the 360 and the ps3 is just an after thought but its much more accomodating now than it was before.

But i do agree that it has its place in the market. You should add Borderlands to your list as well as it was made on teh UE3. The new transfomers game is as well and it looks rather nice too.

secksi-killer5888d ago

in all honesty, i wouldve thought microsoft would already be in bed with epic planning the next gen gears trilogy!

and as im sure microsoft will be first out of the gate again, it would be a massive boost to have a new gears, running on the new unreal engine within the launch window.

we will have to xait and see i guess

ThanatosDMC5888d ago

Not to mention there's Cry Engine 3 with awesome graphics... well the PC version anyway.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5888d ago
isa_scout5888d ago

of course their nervous and I dont think it has anything to do with the next-gen systems. Epic is starting to see that other developers are creating better more advanced engines...CRYENGINE BABY!!!

Double Toasted5888d ago

What exactly is it doing thats better than Unreal? I'll wait...

bigman73875888d ago

For larger companies that can afford to make their own engines, yeah they're doing pretty well.

But what about the mid-level guys who want to put a sweet IP out, but can't afford to develop their own engine for both PS3 and 360 or either one singularly? The ones that don't necessarily need an engine like CryEngine? They turn to UE3. It's not that UE3 is a bad game engine, it's that it's affordable and utilized on both 360 and PS3.

TOO PAWNED5888d ago

no new consoles until 2013-2014, maybe wii2 to finally join current gen

ALFAxD_CENTAURO5888d ago

Maybe for Nintendo. But from Sony and Microsoft I disagree.

viperfx5888d ago

I really dont think Nintendo should go for the whole next gen and graphics approach to games. It should stay as it is, for gamers of younger ages.

PS360WII5888d ago (Edited 5888d ago )

Well I think anyone would be nervous to make yet another engine on a new set of hardware that every single developer would want to use on their game. UEIII had an insane impact and would be hard to duplicate.

Now I'm saying this not knowing what games UE and UEII made but I don't think as many as UEIII has been used on.

Yomiro5888d ago (Edited 5888d ago )

They should be...Uncharted and Killzone engine.

hamoor5888d ago

by the time UE4 comes,uncharted and killzone engines will be outdated -_-

waterboy5888d ago

thats something to look forward to

Kushan5887d ago

Yes, because the Uncharted and Killzone engines were used on hundreds of games as well, weren't they? Oh wait, they weren't. You obviously don't get it, the Unreal engine was designed for developers to make games of all kinds with, not for one or two specific games.
Sure, it might not have the BEST graphics, or the most realistic physics or anything like that, but when it comes to versatility, no other engine can match it. UE3 was a massive success for Epic and they'll be wanting to replicate that success as closely as possible.

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70°

Xbox boss: Memory crisis could impact next-gen hardware pricing

Xbox boss Asha Sharma has discussed how component shortages will impact the company's plans for Project Helix.

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gamedeveloper.com
Eonjay60d ago

When does this end? Its killing everyone. Consoles and PC. And for what? AI? The benefits of AI are completely outweighed by the negatives. And the government should have never allowed one company to buy up all the RAM.

Lexreborn260d ago

This kind of proves this is an after thought product, most products like this are in r&d 5 years before they start mass producing. So they typically have the cost of components and things worked out long before assembly starts.

This is an assumption still, but I wouldn’t be surprised if project helix is similar to Scalebound,perfect dark and sod3. They had an idea but no actual execution other than concept stage. Being impacted by the ram shortage likely would also put this device 3-4 years out.

I’m not even sure MS has that endurance with Xbox yet

Fishy Fingers60d ago (Edited 60d ago )

I mean.... what?

We're at a point that Samsung wont even provide their own phone department ram because they can sell it at higher prices to 3rd parties (AI). Its more profitable to sell the ram than make their own devices with it.

You think because R&D starts 5 years ago the 3rd party component manufacturers will honour that price? They'll sell it to whomever is paying the most today, not some gentlemens agreement they made years ago. AI farms will buy more volume at higher prices than any console manufacturer will. It'll be the same for Playstation.

Lexreborn260d ago

Contractual agreements are not the same as “gentlemen” agreements. If you think that they work with their distributors a month before production then their entire business model is trash. They work with companies like nvidia constantly for building the graphics cards they need. They work with companies that build motherboards years in advance. This is what proper business planning does.

They are not buying components on a whim like a consumer. So again, considering the ram isn’t a singular module and is integrated into the motherboard I highly doubt they wouldn’t have a final schematic that they are supposed to be building around.

If they are delaying production another 3 years then it’s obvious again this is an after though project and is just trying to be responsive to their bad execution they had the last 14 years.

It also isn’t far fetched to use their failure to produce first party titles the last 7 years including the highly anticipated games I mentioned all being cancelled. That they would continue to you know… lie

Sitdown60d ago

You don't really know how this works huh?

Profchaos60d ago (Edited 60d ago )

Helix is going to be stupidly expensive

Instead of leaning into smarter upscaling techniques they're brute forcing hardware that will cost them dearly and it remains to be seen if it's genuinely going to provide a meaningful differential

I know in the oc.doace people like to brag about not using frame gen or dlss to get to high on a game but for the majority of players they happily use those technologies without a second thought

That's going to be ps6 vs Helix

Eonjay60d ago

Yeah with FSR 5 they should be able to offer a much cheaper version of Helix.

Eonjay60d ago

While this does seem to be the case, I am encouraged by the statement from Microsoft about wanting to provide affordable options. If this means a Series S style Helix, at least there will be something affordable being offered.

XBManiac59d ago

Series S is what has killed Xbox Series so... Will they dare?

blacktiger60d ago

It's called systematic inflationary. Yes we get it Microsoft, keep raising in the name ofall kinds of stuffs

pwnmaster300060d ago

Honestly if there was thing I learned from this generation is that new consoles arnt day one anymore.
I can wait 1-3 years.

DarXyde60d ago

Another important lesson from this generation: while Nintendo showed us that prices don't necessarily need to ever drop, we've now learned that waiting 1-3 years does carry some risk that prices increase. This generation is just bizarre in all the wrong ways.

LucasRuinedChildhood60d ago (Edited 60d ago )

The factors are largely external. Covid and Russia-Ukraine war causing inflation led to the first price increase in 2022.

Then we get Trump's tariffs increasing hardware prices, AI boom causing a RAM crisis, war on Iran causing a worldwide fuel crisis which impacts the cost of everything.

Gaming doesn't exist in a vacuum. The last few years have been a shitshow and lot of it was definitely avoidable.

DarXyde60d ago

LucasRuinedChildhood,

For sure. No disagreement on the external factors doing a lot of this. Where I have to gently push back however is on two fronts:

1. The pandemic definitely caused some issues: asynchronous development was a big issue and really complicated timelines and affected game quality. At the same time, when it comes to price hikes, it's really difficult to know what was genuine necessity and what was taking consumers for a ride. The pandemic brought about "stag-flation" which was increasing prices and stagnant wages, which was a problem caused by supply chain constraints. There was also "Greed-flation", where companies that were slightly affected or had no issues took advantage of the situation and squeezed everyone citing supply chain issues when there were none.

2. It's definitely true that the tariffs, AI boom, and RAM crisis were all things enabled by tech broligarchs throwing money at this caricature of a world leader, one of them being Satya Nadella. I don't think Sony and Nintendo have contributed much to this problem if at all, but Microsoft's Nadella I feel was instrumental in causing every one of those issues. Microsoft as a company contributed to both candidates (though they gave Harris 4x as much if I recall), but Nadella was all in on letting AI run wild. He paid for unregulated AI, and got a war that's not a war (even though Trump called it that at least five times on television) that screwed up helium access. So for me, I feel that one of the players in the gaming industry is a key architect of these issues, and for that reason I struggle a bit to think of it as "external".

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30°

Top Racers Need Top Gear – Introducing the Forza Horizon 6 Limited Edition Controller and Headset

Omar writes: "With the Horizon Festival coming to breathtaking Japan, you’ll need the essential gear to prove you’ve got what it takes to become a Horizon Legend as you cruise, drift and explore an open world full of spectacular driving experiences. That’s why we’re happy to announce the newest Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller and Wireless Headset collection, featuring inspired designs from Forza Horizon 6. The bright cyan and lime colorways celebrate the Horizon Festival’s recognition of iconic cars and hit music, with special features that are sure to impress any collector."

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news.xbox.com
Killer2020UK66d ago

Oh my, that is one gaudy design

50°

44% of games industry professionals have considered leaving the industry as a result of redundancies

New report from Skillsearch found that 22% of those surveyed had been laid off within the past 12 months.

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gamesindustry.biz
Cockney70d ago

Well if that 44% left im sure there would be a lot less redundancies