sequel, engine?

[TheBlueFlamingo]

So hypothetically... If a new Jedi Knight/Outcast/Academy/dont know what to call it game were to come out, which would be the best engine for it to be built with?

 

The old engine started showing their age, last year, and with 3 perdominantly new engines either out or soon to be; Doom3, CryTek, and Source, which would be best?

 

Since Lucasarts won't spend the time or money so develop or create their own unique engine for a Jedi based game, their main interest is money, and with a pre-built engine its just easy puting the characters in there as fast as they can, to get that greenback, the question arises.

 

First, lets look at the 3 contenders.

 

CryTek - Far Cry - This one would be excellent for creating amazing and massive worlds for a jedi to explore and destroy. The physics are pretty good too.

 

Doom3 - This engine seems like it was designed for smaller environments, like in Doom3, and for lighting. In my opinion this engine would be THE ONE to make amazing lightsaber battles. With the lighting and the detail in the charachter models I cant even comprehend the astonishing potential for a amazing dramatic Jedi duel. And, with a little work and modding, the engine could be expanded to work well with big outdoor environments, like LEC did with the quake engine for JO, JA.

 

Source - Half-Life - Now this one nobody knows too much about. And if you say you played the leaked beta and the physics are crappy dont discuss this thread because the game wasnt done and that wasnt a full represntation of it. Basiclly no one has relly been able to see the potential of the engine beacuse it is yet to be released. But from videos and other things, this engine might be the middle between Doom and CryTek. With the videos we have seen some amazing outdoor areas. The graphics dont seem to be as good as Doom3, but the physics seem to take the cake out of the three. And with a supposedly amazing physics system the Source engine might be one to make insane force powers with. Force throw, grip, push and all the others could be utilized to their fullest. Make them better than they seem in the movies, make it seem like the jedi are actually something special as are portrayed in the movies. With JA and JO I never really got the same impression as I do with the movies in regards to jedi. But at this point we know very little about this engine, my guess is it will live up to the hype and exceed expectations, but you never know.

 

This is a tough question, each has its appeal. I dont feel I can make a solid stand with my opinion on this untill I can play each engine. But I thought I'd throw the question out there, maybe make a decent inquisitive thread?

[Crow_Nest]

I think there was a rumor they were gonna use the U3 engine right? For the next JK game.

[_PerfectAgent_]

Originally posted by TheBlueFlamingo

Since Lucasarts won't spend the time or money so develop or create their own unique engine for a Jedi based game...

Maybe they will make a new engine again. They've done it with Dark Forces and Jedi Knight.

[Crow_Nest]

I think LC and Raven would be pretty stupid to choose the CryEngine, its not as good as the Doom 3 engine or the Source engine. And also very demanding in requirements.

 

Doom 3 and HL2's graphics are about the same, just that D3's shadows arent as good as HL2

[Tinny]

uh, i think doom 3 has better shadows than source. but i'd have to pick the source engine simply because having the havok source in a jedi game would make the telekinetic force powers ridiculously amazing.

[razorace]

Well, FYI, but Raven has always used Id software's current engine for their games. That has always been the case and I don't think that will change in the future.

 

However, in the ideal case, I think I'd like to have it on the Unreal Engine. The Unreal engine series has a proven track record, is constantly updated with the latest and greatest features, has excellent engine support (from what I've read), and most of all, runs good even on older systems.

[Crow_Nest]

Originally posted by Tinny

uh, i think doom 3 has better shadows than source. but i'd have to pick the source engine simply because having the havok source in a jedi game would make the telekinetic force powers ridiculously amazing.

 

I kinda noticed that the dyanmic lights effect on the shadows in D3 are slightly better than HL2. But both are overall good enough

[Alegis]

JK4 will be based on doom3 engine

[Crow_Nest]

Originally posted by Alegis Gensan

JK4 will be based on doom3 engine

 

How did you know that? Any links?

[Rumor]

Originally posted by |GG|Crow_Nest

I kinda noticed that the dyanmic lights effect on the shadows in D3 are slightly better than HL2. But both are overall good enough

 

Are you ****ing stupid?

 

Source's graphics do not even fall into the same ballfield. Its like a tee-ball field and a mlb field. Top that with enabling the character self-shadowing, and its even better than what Square has been doing, and its real-time to top that.

 

The havok physics system is a pile of 3 year old crap. Ever played painkiller? Good game gay physics. Why do you think not only id, but epic, are creating their own physics engines? Oh, and run around in DooM³ firing rockets at the feet of any monster and you'll see good physics.

 

As for the Unreal Warfare engine, it does not run very well on lower-end systems. Epic spent a lot of time making the ut2004 revision run exponetionally better than the ut2003, and it was still very hoggish. DooM³'s engine is far beyond the scope of Unreal Warfare, not to mention its the next generation.

 

You can do a lot with the UW engine, but i've always found the fidelity and fluidity of id engines to far surpass all others.

[Obi_Kwiet]

I didn't like Far Cry's graphics. I think that the HL2 engine would be a nice engine for --->--->--->****JK3****<---<---<--- ahem.

[Master William]

Well, if they're gonna use a new engine for the next JK game it better not be one that requires a NASA computer to run

[Kurgan]

Now that Doom3 is actually available, maybe people can talk more intelligently about whether or not they really want to see a Jedi game on that engine.

 

Though, granted, given enough time and money and clever teams, they can do wonders with the engines they use...

[Obi_Kwiet]

I don't think so. It has very limited MP.

[Prime]

But that isn't due to the engine, is it? Wasn't it a consious decision by Id?

[_PerfectAgent_]

id decided to make such a limited MP. Maybe to make it like the other two? You can mod the game to have more players or make new gametypes like capture the flag.

[Alegis]

Originally posted by |GG|Crow_Nest

How did you know that? Any links?

i hate it to play mr rumout man, all i can give you is a "friend of a friend" (uncle of friend who's in LEC), supposed to be pre-prod (ideas etc). but then again, never rate this higher than a simple rumour.

 

Also makes sense though. JK uses ID engine, engine upgrades with lots lots of great coding stuff..(like in MP, change gametype? Dont need to reload map, well for stuff like ffa->ctf a bit of course me thinks). The new engine of doom3 is coded very very well. They did theirselves proud

[Emon]

Havok is not a pile of three year old crap - It's an awesome physics engine, it's in HL2, Far Cry, Deus Ex 2, Thief III and many, many others. The implementations differ from game to game. HL2's seems to be pretty awesome, Far Cry's is also great, although sometimes the bodies seem to have a low gravity effect. In DX2, shooting a body in the foot usually means the body flies way up into the air (in the demo anyways). It depends on how its used and integrated into the buyer's software. Speaking of buying, other companies make their own physics engines because it's cheaper. And if I recall correctly, Karma wasn't made by Epic, but licensed from another company (possibly modified a little or a not, I'm not sure here). GSC started with an existing physics base for STALKER, it's incredibly difficult to write a physics engine from scratch. I have no idea about Doom 3 though, and it wouldn't suprise me if id wrote it themselves. Cause like, they're awesome enough to do that...so, they can.

[Crow_Nest]

I dont think Havok was used for Far Cry (Or is it?)

 

Heres the Havok site http://www.havok.com/ they didnt say anything about Far Cry being one of their clients

[acdcfanbill]

crytek used their own physics engine i believe.

[BloodRiot]

@ Emon:

 

I can believe the Havok system is good... but plz don't say that and give Deus Ex 2 as an example... the physics in that game suck a big one. I had the Johnny Bravo Eye Brow raise look on my face when I first SLOWLY walked and TOUCHED a box on the floor... the box went flying as if I was shooting a penalty kick aiming for the stars.

 

Well but going back on topic... By the time JK4 (assuming there's gonna be one) comes out... there should already be plenty of affordable hardware that will run games using the doom3 engine with fair framerates. Since it's next gen... i'd go for that engine... but it better be modded to allow greater open spaces and better MP support.

 

My 2 cents.

[Kurgan]

Currently we know NOTHING about any future Jedi games (except the Episode III based "Darth Vader" game that lets you play as Anakin and Obi-Wan, which only has a press release on LucasArts.com).

 

We have NO reason to believe that JK4 will use the Doom3 engine other than pure speculation.

 

It's POSSIBLE, that Raven Software, fresh from doing Quake IV (on the Doom3 engine) and given their past tendancy to use Id software created engines to make their games MIGHT be brought on to do another JK game (if one is made) and MIGHT then use the Doom3 engine.

 

Really though, what makes the Doom3 engine so special when it comes to a JK game, other than the fact that it has high system requirments?

 

Obviously the gameplay of a JK game would be completely different than Doom3, and while if Raven is given the reins, it would seem likely, I wouldn't consider it a given.

 

After all, LucasArts has developed engines in house before, with the original Dark Forces, and JK/MotS. They are working on an FPS called Republic Commando that uses Unreal tech. So who knows...

 

Raven does a good job, but they didn't get to do Elite Force II for example, so with a liscensed property we can't really assume that JK4 will be "their's" just because they did JK2/JA.

 

Frankly, I'd rather see a few games come out with the Doom3 engine before JK4, if it does indeed end up on that engine, so that developers can have time to learn it and break the ice.

 

Though by that time people will say the game "looks dated" and such. ; )

 

That's the computer game industry for you I guess!

 

 

The quality of the game will depend greatly on the team that does it and the amount of time/money/freedom they are allowed on the project. Being that it's Star Wars, they will be limited in what they can do freedom wise. The rest is up to LucasArts, who would be overseeing the project in some fashion, as they have for past SW titles.

 

Even if an engine has fantastic features, that doesn't guarentee that those features will be USED to full effect in the game.

 

I know we'd all love to see a game that has the best graphics, coolest physics engine, smoothest multiplayer, easiest editing, etc etc, but those are wishes, making it happen is another matter...

[Tyler_Durden]

Now that Luca$art$ has released 31 of their developers and has said that they will concentrate on fewer games, does this mean they have kicked Raven to the curb? I know that they released the people that were developing KOTOR 3. Also with the departure of Kenn Hoekstra from Raven i wonder if LA will go with another developer of the next Jedi game, if there's gonna be another one, that is.

 

From an engine standpoint i think that the HL2 engine would be best as it's possible to have more wide open areas with multiple NPC's whereas with Doom 3, it's a lot more claustrophobic than past Dooms. I wonder if that was more a design decision or could the engine really handle a lot of NPC's and open areas? I would have to say no as the requirements are already high as hell just to play Doom itself. Same thing goes for HL2 but i think it can do a bit more in terms of environments and such with those resources. This is just observation from what i've seen.

 

If they don't opt for either, i think the unreal engine is a great source. The republic commando game is coming along nicely. It looks pretty photorealistic and i think would be awesome for lighting effects with the sabers and lasers and special effects.

[ninjaofthenorth]

Of course there is going to be another JKA/JK3 game. It was one of the best sellers for multiple weeks. Not to mention it is still one of the top 20 games played via gamespy (which really dosent mean much). But, on the other hand, it would be suicide for Lucasarts to release another game while the episode 3 game was being released.

 

So in my opinion, they either need to release the game next week, or wait untill a couple months after the episode 3 game.

[Kurgan]

Personally, if they're not going to use the Q3 engine, I'd love to see Unreal tech used.

 

That would lower the system requirements, and the game could still be flash bang awesome in the graphics and physics department and there's already a good developer and mod maker base for it, unlike Doom3, which is just starting out.

 

Half Life 2 is vaporware, as far as I'm concerned. The industry insiders may know something I don't (I'm sure they do), but until we see what the game can really do and how it performs (not just some demo at a trade show or some illegally ripped up code), how do we know it's a better choice for a Jedi game?