Gorgeous Next-Gen Unreal Tech Demo Would Make an Amazing Game

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Gorgeous Next-Gen Unreal Tech Demo Would Make an Amazing Game

Not only is this "next gen" tech demo for Epic's Unreal Engine 3 staggeringly good-looking, but it seems like it could be a really cool game, too.

Hot on the heels of the GDC CryEngine 3 trailer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108294-New-CryEngine-3-Trailer-Shows-How-the-Next-Generation-Could-Look] comes the GDC tech demo for its biggest rival: Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3. While there's not nearly as much of the real-time adjusting that we saw in the CryEngine video - and it's not clear if this is, in fact, real-time at all - it's certainly a feast of eye-candy; no denying that.

But what's more is that I kind of really want to play it. The whole trailer has a great sense of atmosphere; the sense of an oppressive dystopian state that could've come right out of Blade Runner. The main character looks like a certifiable badass who can turn himself into metal a la Colossus of the X-Men, and there's a showdown with a giant robot spider at the end. What more do you want?

In my mind, this would kind of play like a more brutal and violent Batman: Arkham Asylum, crossed with early Devil May Cry and maybe some God of War. Sure, the guy has a cool revolver, but it'd be far more entertaining to do the fighting with your bare (er, iron) fists.

I can't be the only one here who wants Epic to turn this into an actual game, can I? I mean, they're going to have to do something after they're finished with the Gears of War trilogy, and they obviously have the main character models done here. Epic should totally give this one a try.

Alas, this tech demo - Epic's vision of what the new next generation could bring - is probably doomed to remain just that. After all, we all remember what happened with that FF7 PS3 tech demo [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97717-Square-Enix-Continues-to-Tease-Gamers-With-Final-Fantasy-VII-Remake], right?

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vrbtny

Elite Member
Sep 16, 2009
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Graphics engines Strip!! And start to sumo wrestle..

I think Unreal looks better personally.... CryEngine just looks too.... shiny.

I love the bit where he throws the cigarette at the massive machines faceplate...
 

Aisaku

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Jul 9, 2010
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All I see is pretty lights... give me shape distortion, fabric warping and then we'll talk.
 

Alpha Maeko

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Apr 14, 2010
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They're both impressive, but I like the Unreal presentation better, I guess. O:
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Does this new Unreal stuff fix the texture pop-in issue thats in every Unreal Engine game?
 

Daemascus

WAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!
Mar 6, 2010
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The good part is that Unreal Engine 3 is meant for games, unlike CryEngine 3. And the demo was pretty sweet.
 

MarsProbe

Circuitboard Seahorse
Dec 13, 2008
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Even if that demo consisted merely of the guy seemingly turning the cop to much just by landing on him, it would be worth watching, but the while thing? Damn!

If that was real time though, I'd be pleasantly surprised. :) I don't think we're quite there just yet....
 

s2dio

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May 21, 2008
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Wow... More time spent on making things pretty. Great. I'm sure these great engines will be put to good use in the next space-marine-face-shooting-multiplayer-cuz-we-have-no-story-ideas.
 

Baldr

The Noble
Jan 6, 2010
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It was render in realtime using 3 GeForce GTX 580s or something close to that. So it is no where close to being workable in a real game yet. However they released over half these of the new technology in the lasted Unreal Developer Kit today. So if you got a beefy computer you can go ahead and play around with them.
 

Waaghpowa

Needs more Dakka
Apr 13, 2010
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This looks pre rendered to me so I'm not nearly as impressed as I was with Cryengine 3, it still looks nice, no doubt about it.
 

IndianaJonny

Mysteron Display Team
Jan 6, 2011
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You are direct violation of Penal Code 1.13 Section 9. You have five seconds to comply!
 

Jumplion

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Mar 10, 2008
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j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
I think it speaks volumes about the videogame industry that a trailer designed to show off the next wave of technology does so by blatantly ripping off a comic-book super hero, sticking him in a slum ripped straight from Blade Runner, then adds in a whole load of unneccessary guns and violence to try and spice things up.

Yes, it's a lovely bit of tech Epic has created there, and if it looks even half as good in real-time, then we're in for some sweet looking games, but when is the industry going to get over this need to try and fit violence into everything. If the Unreal 3 Engine is as sweet looking as the trailer suggests, why don't we use this new found realism to try and take games into new areas: a game centred around historical drama, say, or a game that focuses on political intrigue. Hell, why not even try a rom-com? Why do we always create this dazzling new tech, then use it to simply murder pixels?
I second that sentiment, I was a bit annoyed that the guy in the trailer just went around, smashing faces, and cooly plugging a guy's head with a bullet. It's been done a million times before, it's getting annoying (that and I can't help but think "Dude, they probably had kids or a wife or soemthing!", but that's just me).

It'd be very interesting to see this engine utilized to render a, I dunno, French palace during the French Revolution and you're the king struggling to keep your nation together (I'm not good with history, so forgive me if I'm off or something). Hell, have a few street riots with violence, just try something new damnit!
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
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Apr 1, 2009
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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Im hoping it would turn out like this

that game was fucken awesome

in related news we all know that the unreal engine can be pretty but its got that weird hyper realistic look that... just looks too detailed
 

twm1709

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Nov 19, 2009
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This video reminded me of a little something I saw in Batman AS that seemed weird to me. Whenever batman would go under a waterfall or something he never got wet. Then I noticed in this video raindrops didn't seem to come in contact with any character and most surfaces, like it's raining BEHIND them the whole time.
EDIT: also, like in most games with UE the characters glisten a bit too much, looking more like plastic action figures than actual people. I overklooked this in Bioshock because the citizens of rapture were "Supposed" to look weird because of all the splicing, but again I got this impression a lot while I was playing Arkham.
 

Scrythe

Premium Gasoline
Jun 23, 2009
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Wait a minute... wasn't the Unreal 3 engine already out? I'm confused...

What the hell is powering UT3 and the GoW series?
 

Leaper

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Jun 3, 2009
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Scrythe said:
Wait a minute... wasn't the Unreal 3 engine already out? I'm confused...

What the hell is powering UT3 and the GoW series?
Yes, its out. UE3 is powering both UT3 and GoW and 99.9% of games that came out for Xbox360, though GoW 2 and most recent games use upgraded version of UE3, most people call it UE 3.5, so maybe this is something like Unreal Engine 3.75?

>.>
 

Leaper

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Jun 3, 2009
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Aisaku said:
All I see is pretty lights... give me shape distortion, fabric warping and then we'll talk.
Could you elaborate a little? Fabric warping, as I understand, is in UE3 for ages, though games rarely use that. Mirror's edge used it fairly nicely, apart from that game I've only seen it used for promotional purposes like in some maps that were designed to show off PhysX capabilities.

And shape distortion? Dont really know what that is, if you mean stuff like dynamic water surfaces that creates water waves and stuff, then yeah, at the moment it really needs that kind of stuff.