unrealengine3
Latest
Stranglehold slips again on PC, PS3
Guy with two guns epic Stranglehold is still struggling to get a grip on the PS3 and PC, with both versions facing delays just as the Xbox 360 version sees completion. Inspector Tequila's seething vendetta against neatly stacked grocery stands begins on the Xbox 360 September 5th (September 14th in Europe), with the PC version now following on September 18th in the US and the 21st in Europe. Shacknews reports that the PS3 version of the bullet bonanza is now scheduled for release on September 25th, which translates to an imprecise "October" for Europe.
Stranglehold slips to Sept. 5 on PC and Xbox 360
Midway has confirmed to Joystiq that guy with two guns epic, Stranglehold, has been delayed past its initial August 27th release date on Xbox 360 and PC. John Woo's thoughtful study into the nature of exploding watermelons will now release on September 5th, with the PlayStation 3 version still following on September 17th. If you're clueless about Stranglehold or just have an urge to crush goons beneath suspiciously tethered neon signs, we'd recommend you have a look at the demo currently on the Xbox Live Marketplace.[Thanks, Kyleia and Justin]
Wideload working on XBLA games
With Hail to the Chimp coming along quite nicely, Alex Seropian admits they are working on Xbox Live Arcade "games." Speaking with Gamasutra, Seropian says they have two teams now at Wideload Games. One is working on HttC and the other is on games for "digital distribution." When pressed, he admitted they were for Live Arcade. Wideload Games seems be looking toward the future of digital distribution and learning the ins and outs of XBLA. Hail to the Chimp, despite being a retail product, plays like an arcade game. It's quite obvious how Xbox Marketplace could add to the coffers of Wideload if they sell extra battlegrounds and animals for the game. There's no word yet on what the actual XBLA games they are working on are.Seropian also talks about Hail to the Chimp using the Unreal Engine 3 and his experience with the controversial engine. He says it's a "great toolset, it's a great engine, and you have to be a little careful about what you want to do with it." He says the engine was designed to make Gears of War, so it's been a challenge getting it to work, but that's it's been "really good" for them.
Silicon Knights' lawyer responds to Epic countersuit
GameDaily BIZ has been following the back and forth between Epic and Silicon Knights regarding their dueling lawsuits over the mess that is Too Human and the "inadequacies" of the Unreal Engine 3. Silicon Knights' lawyer has spoken out against Epic's claims that Silicon Nights stole their tech saying SK has now built a "better" engine. The nit-picky part becomes how much of that engine is based of the Unreal Engine 3 tech?Silicon Knights' attorney, Christopher T. Holland, of a law firm with way too many names, says they'll stand their ground. He says the counterclaim has no merit. Epic is asking for $650,000 in their counterclaim while SK wants "millions of dollars more." Holland also points out that the suit will have no effect on Too Human and that the compensation they are seeking is "based on substantial delay and damages that Epic caused." He goes on to say that the game will come out in a "timely fashion." You know, ignoring the whole two year delay.
Mark Rein speaks on Silicon Knights v. Epic suit
Epic's Mark Rein is standing strong in the face of the Silicon Knights suit over the "inadequacies" of the Unreal Engine 3. In a statement sent out today he says they have "done nothing wrong" and that they are committed to fight against Silicon Knights' "unfounded allegations." Epic has now gone and filed a counterclaim in U.S. District Court saying that Silicon Knights "decided to misappropriate Epic's licensed technology" and that SK's lawsuit has no merit.There have been some developers who spoke out regarding development issues with Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Sony even admitted their concerns by sending in their own engineers to get the UE3 working on their "timed exclusive" title Unreal Tournament 3 for PS3. Whatever the issue with the engine, the latest bit in this saga revolves around Silicon Knights allegedly co-opting the UE3 tech as their own. Epic says in their suit, "Indeed, the plain language of the Silicon Knights' Complaint makes clear that Silicon Knights wants to take Epic's Licensed Technology, pay nothing for it, and use it any way it pleases." Epic wants "compensatory and punitive damages, the destruction of infringing goods, including infringing computer code, and attorney's fees and costs." This is only going to get bigger before it gets better.
Stranglehold placed on Xbox 360 and PC Aug. 27
Guy plus two guns news now, with Gamespot conveying the long-awaited release date for Midway's bullet-time bonanza, Stranglehold. The destructive action title, labeled as the interactive sequel to John Woo's classic Hong Kong film, Hard Boiled, starts its commercial shootout on Xbox 360 and PC on August 27th. Slow-mo effects seem to be a little more pronounced in the PlayStation 3 version, however, as it's scheduled to arrive three weeks later on September 17th. One might speculate that Stranglehold is yet another title to be sucked into the increasingly epic Unreal situation, though a three-week delay is certainly preferable to indefinite postponement (and help is on the way!). PS3 owners can take solace in the fact that an HD version of Hard Boiled awaits them on that special edition Blu-ray disc -- well, except for the ones that actually had to click on that IMDB link.
Developers talk about Unreal Engine 3 lawsuit
Following the news of Silicon Knights suing Epic games for "inadequacies" with the Unreal Engine 3, ShackNews went ahead and talked to some developers about the issue. Of course, most of the people who spoke against the engine and its licensor Epic (Gears of War, Unreal Tournament 3) did it anonymously -- except for the Postal developers, 'cause they just treat the world with one giant middle finger up in the air, although they did it so softly here with a simple: "It just wasn't the best relationship for us [with Epic]."The statements pretty much cover the spread from good to bad. The most interesting anonymous source talks about several studios who had various levels of experience with the UE3. The key thing is that the source doesn't believe the problems were "intentionally malicious," but a product of Epic being stretched thin because of their own product development. Interestingly, this is given even more credence by Sony swooping in and lending support to Epic in getting the UE3 working properly with PS3. The question is slowly turning into what did Epic deliver to these developers through their license? How much extra work did these developers have to put into the engine to get it functional? Obviously, Sony felt the need to help out. The Unreal Engine 3 tree is going to continue shaking and we're sure to see more stories fall out very soon. Hopefully, with developers who know what they're talking about and are willing to go on the record.
Phil Harrison pledges support to Epic and their Unreal Engine
Sony engineers are hard at work optimizing the Unreal Engine 3 for the PlayStation 3, reports Phil Harrison proudly. For those of you who don't know, the Unreal Engine 3 is the "big deal" graphics engine for this generation of systems (sans the Wii). News that the system is getting optimized for the PlayStation 3 is pretty handy, letting us know we can expect some excellent titles in the coming years, possibly exclusive due to said optimization.Phil also apologized to Epic indirectly, admitting that Sony did not support them as much as they could have in the beginning, but are taking steps, like those mentioned above, to rectify the situation. With the Unreal Engine 3, optimizing the use of the SPU's is the crucial task. Harrison explains the importance of that aspect: "The benefits that it yields to end developers, whether they're writing exclusive titles or multiplatform titles, is that the performance on PS3 goes up exponentially - and it will make for a much better game experience." Let's just hope that lawsuit between Epic and Silicon Knights ends in a way that won't attack such lofty goals for massive damage.[via Games Industry]
Square Enix's Last Remnant trailer debuts
Square Enix has unveiled its "debut" trailer for The Last Remnant. The trailer is certainly pretty, powered by the Unreal Engine 3, and the gameplay (for better and worse) is eerily reminiscent of Koei's Dynasty Warriors series. The text serving as bookends to the one minute, 22 second trailer make a point to highlight that this is an RPG "for the world" that will see simultaneous release in North America and Japan (what about Europe?) on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The actual date of that simultaneous release is unknown. Video embedded after the break.
Fatal Inertia hits Xbox 360 in September, 'delayed indefinitely' for PS3
Though the distinct lack of dynastically-inclined warriors may convince you otherwise, futuristic racer Fatal Inertia is indeed a product of Koei. The first game from the company's Toronto-based studio has now been assigned a release date on half of its originally intended platforms, with the Xbox 360 version arriving on 11 September 2007. The PS3 version, unfortunately, received no such date and has been "delayed indefinitely."The game's unfortunate status, as conveyed to Joystiq by a Koei representative, is as a result of developers awaiting completion of the game engine for the PS3 platform specifically. Fatal Inertia is built using Epic's Unreal 3.0 engine, which debuted on Xbox 360 last year in testosterone vs. chainsaw epic, Gears of War, and was more recently seen on PS3 with Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas. Koei explained that the game had not been canceled outright, but offered that progress on the PS3 engine was "out of our hands." We next talked to Epic's VP Mark Rein, who thought that the Unreal 3.0 engine was incomplete only in the sense that it's constantly being upgraded. "Unreal Engine 3.0 is running quite well on PS3 and people will have the chance to see that when we show Unreal Tournament 3 next week."
Crytek and Epic Games rev their engines
Epic Games has found a wide audience, from Silicon Knights to Square Enix, with its Unreal Engine 3; meanwhile Crytek is looking to find success by licensing out CryEngine 2. Both companies also release games highlighting the engines (Unreal Tournament and Crysis, respectively).Next Generation has an article where both Epic Games' Mark Rein and Crytek's Harald Seeley talk about the competitive field of game engines. According to the opening remarks, the article sees Crytek as one of the more promising competitors to the Gears of War developer. It's an interesting read, but we shouldn't forget one engine that just recently made its first unveiling: id Tech 5. Creator John Carmack promised more information at Min-E3, and we think there's a good chance the House of Doom will add some major heat to all game engines.
New details on Unreal Tournament 3
A feature story in the latest Official Xbox Magazine has revealed some new details about Epic Games' upcoming Unreal Tournament 3 as well as some hype-tacular words by lead designer Steven Polge. Additions to the game include: Four-player co-op and two-player split-screen in the single-player campaign 18 vehicles and five types of turrets Hoverboards Polge also made a few claims sure to be cited in any brouhaha concerning the shooter. Referencing the Great Keyboard & Mouse vs. Controller Debate, the designer claimed that UT3's controls are so good that half of the staff prefer the Xbox 360 version. Also noted were the improvements in Unreal Engine 3, as exemplified by contrasting the game to previous Epic title Gears of War. Polge said that UT3 is "Gears on crack. Cover is for wimps!" You hear that, gamers who bought his company's previous Xbox 360 title? You're a bunch of wimps! (Until Gears of War 2 is announced, of course.)
Capcom dragon punches Unreal Engine 3
We're starting to think that Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the core component of Skynet. As more and more developers sign on to use Unreal Engine 3, its network -- and its intelligence -- grows. Soon, when enough developers latch onto the Gears of War creating powerhouse, our world will be overrun with diabolical machines that wish for nothing but out destruction. The latest victim is Capcom, which has licensed the engine for an unannounced North American project. We'd love to imagine the possibilities of a fully rendered Ken Masters in Unreal glory, but we're pretty sure that Capcom wouldn't hand over any Street Fighter development to the US. Could the project be a sequel to one of Capcom's hot 360 properties like Dead Rising or Lost Planet? Only time will tell. Let's hope they get the game finished before the machines attain sentience.[Via Xbox Addict]See also:Activision uses Unreal Engine 3 in new game
Activision uses Unreal Engine 3 in new game
With the Xbox 360's number one game under their belt -- 3 million copies and counting -- you'd think Epic Games would be satisfied. But no, not Epic. No, Epic has to have a much larger slice of the video game pie (mmm ... video game pie), licensing their Unreal Engine 3 to every company under the sun. The latest victim is Activision, who has licensed the engine for an as yet unannounced project. All that is known at the moment is that the game will be an action title. Said Mark Rein of the deal -- no doubt following peals of maniacal laughter -- "We've admired them for a long time and we're pleased that they've chosen to use Unreal Engine 3 and we're confident they're going to make a great game with it."What could be the game in question? Dare we dream that it might be a good remake of Pitfall?[Via Evil Avatar]
Activision licenses Unreal Engine 3
Activision today announced it has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for an upcoming "action" title. The deal would seem to end -- or at least put on hold -- Activision's frequent use of id Software's game engines; though a partnership will continue to exist, as Activision remains the publisher of Quake Wars. No further details were disclosed, but the possibilities have our spider-sense tingling...
Unreal Tournament III Trailer on Marketplace
Major Nelson has let us know that there is an Unreal Tournament III trailer available on Marketplace. Although it is not available in Mexico or Asia. Perhaps it's a bit of payback for releasing Crackdown early. Still, the game features the Unreal 3 Engine, and is going to easily be on par with Gears of War in terms of visual fidelity. The trailer comes in two flavors, 720p or 480p and weigh in at 66 MB and 33 MB, respectively. So hop on Live, download the trailer and tell us what you think.
Mortal Kombat 8 inspired by Gears of War, using Unreal Engine 3
Speaking with Game Informer, Ed Boon described an opportunity to start anew with the next version of Mortal Kombat, the eighth in the series. Boon revealed that MK8 will be built using Unreal Engine 3, inspired by Epic's recent engine showcase Gears of War. "To me, when I saw Gears of War, I was like, 'Holy shit! That's the look that we've been talking about.' Visually, that's what we want to do," explained Boon. Visually.MK8 is still a fighter at heart, and Boon and the team hope that by starting from scratch, Mortal Kombat can inspire the genre as it did more than a decade ago. "We're not going to have three fighting styles, we're not going to have the same punches and kicks and the same kind of control scheme. Everything is getting trashed. We're reinventing everything from the ground up," promised Boon. Don't expect any solid details for some time; Boon admitted that MK8 is currently not in a playable state, supposing that its release won't come until the end of 2008.While Boon hinted at the possibility of MK8 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii, it should be noted that Epic's Mark Rein recently told Wired that "it's not in [Epic's] plans to bring Unreal Engine 3 to the Wii. It's really designed for next-gen, high-definition." Oh snap!
Unreal Tournament 2007 = Unreal Tournament 3... also multiplatform
So, what's this talk about Unreal Tournament 2007 going to the 360 and PC? That's completely untrue. Why? Because that's not going to be the game's title anymore -- even though the game is actually the fourth UT, it's going to be dubbed Unreal Tournament 3. Why would Epic Games instigate such a confusing name change? You have about ten seconds to make the connection or... well... we'll tell you.Still thinking? Well, here's a hint: replace "tournament" with "engine" and you'll find your answer staring you in the face. That's right, they're changing the name to coincide with their incredibly popular, even in Japan, engine dubbed the Unreal Engine 3. So, we can assume UT3 is going to be one of the "showcase" titles for the engine. Honestly, the engine doesn't need any more showcasing. We know it's great. Now, if you say Unreal Tournament 3 is going to be multiplatform, you're right. We'll all enjoy it, so is that a problem?
Square-Enix enters into license with Unreal Engine 3
You know you've created an amazing engine/toolset in the West when Japanese bigshots like Square-Enix want to "expedite [their] game development process significantly." These words come from Taku Murata, general manager of R&D at Square-Enix, who also said that the licensing with Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 will allow "extra time and resources to be spent on game design and mechanics by establishing an effective technology platform." Hooray, so maybe this is why there are rumors of Final Fantasy XIII being released before the end of 2007, as well as a demo of the game? It's worth a guess... depends how you interpret: "Since this is the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy, we have a surprise we'd like to keep for our fans until the end of the year."[via Joystiq]
Epic dismisses NVIDIA evidence, Gears not on PC (yet)
Epic's Mark Rein has responded to the Gears of War reference in NVIDIA's ForceWare driver, stating frankly that there's no "new information" to report on the possibility of a PC port. The NVIDIA connection was simply a result of Epic providing some Gears content to NVIDIA in order to tweak the performance of Unreal Engine 3 on the company's graphics chips. Further, Rein chided, "You know console games are developed on PCs, right?"Despite shooting down this latest rumor, Rein avoids outright denying that a version of Gears will eventually land on a Windows platform; because chances are it will.See also: Rumor: Gears of War PC-bound?