2007-05-30 00:10:50 Epic: UT3 is Gears on Crack, Cover is for Wimps

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/13602/Epic-UT3-is-Ge...

The latest issue of OXM features a six-page article on Unreal Tournament 3. More important, the preview contains the first details regarding the Xbox 360 version of the game, which both the developers and the magazine editors confirmed it is looking in its current state better than Gears of War.

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mess with the best die the like rest

2007-05-30 00:19:56

2 player split screen co-op, im sold. although is the compaign going to be a fully fleshed out story, or just some half assed plot that revolves around arena based deathmatches (like unreal champ 2)

2007-05-30 01:29:33

They had some really stupid comments to make about Halo in the OXM article. But they're right, cover is for wimps!

2007-05-30 02:28:31 In reply to KORNdog (2007-05-30 00:19:56)

2007-05-30 02:30:10 In reply to LEBATO (2007-05-30 02:28:31)

2007-05-30 02:45:12

You thought UT3 was going to be a single player game? I'm surprised there's a co-op mode at all frankly. Strictly for the console crowd I guess.. not that it won't be in the PC version, just that it's an extra to appeal to a different audience.

2007-05-30 02:53:57 In reply to GriftGFX (2007-05-30 02:45:12)

2007-05-30 02:56:39 In reply to Broadbandit (2007-05-30 02:53:57)

2007-05-30 02:59:04 In reply to Broadbandit (2007-05-30 02:53:57)

2007-05-30 03:21:35

I cant wait for this game. The stuff about the controller being better than kb/m sounds sketchy but who knows. I doubt I will have a good enough PC when this comes around so this is my only option.

2007-05-30 03:27:34 In reply to TheBeagle (2007-05-30 03:21:35)

2007-05-30 04:13:35 In reply to GriftGFX (2007-05-30 03:27:34)

2007-05-30 04:16:05 In reply to TheBeagle (2007-05-30 04:13:35)

2007-05-30 04:18:05

Yeah me neither. Sounds like they are trying to big up the console version. Saying the gfx are better than gow and this...

2007-05-30 04:20:24

I figure the graphics probably are a bit better than Gears.. they've had more time with the 360 now, and the PC version definitely does. That part wouldn't surprise me so much.

2007-05-30 04:23:43

I dont doubt it . It just seems like this is the double wammy to get console folks excited.

2007-05-30 06:22:56

is UT3 still on track for the September release? I was at first planning on getting both PC & 360 versions(don't ask). But now, If I recall, the PS3 version will have KB/M support. So I will probably just get that version and call it a day. Can't wait till the game is released, needs me a new UT fix :(

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I believe in Harvey Dent too

2007-05-30 06:28:41 In reply to kenshin2418 (2007-05-30 06:22:56)

2007-05-30 06:34:19

Because my PC can't run the F'in game. I'll just get the PS3 version, thanks.

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I believe in Harvey Dent too

2007-05-30 08:42:47 In reply to Broadbandit (2007-05-30 06:28:41)

2007-05-30 10:06:22

Why is the 360 version superior to the ps3 because of the engine ?
Do you mean they've had time with the 360 hardware ? i thought the ps3 version was on development for quite a long time. I even remember reading articles about the game running at a really high fps ( http://ps3.qj.net/Unreal-Tournament-2007-Hands-On/... I think I read something higher than that last year), though I don't really believe it, the journalist was probably high on something !

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2007-05-30 12:51:47

Here's a post copy, with a German interview, translated to English.
If you've seen it, hooray for you, if you haven't, hooray for you too.

It's about the PC version.

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The Unreal Engine 3 is a multi-platfom engine which supports Direct X 9 and Direct X 10 on the PC-side.

Overview of the most important rendering features:

- multi-threaded renderer (4+ threads)
- 16 Bit per componenent HDR-Pipeline
- runs on 64 Bit operating systems
- (confirmed) performance advantages through SLI (most likely Crossfire as well)
- post-processing effects (some examples): motion blur, depth-of-field blur, bloom
- deferred shading
- physics: Ageia PhysX engine
- 300 - 1.000 visible objects per scene
- huge scenes typically consist of 500.000 to 1.500.000 triangles
- normal maps and texture maps usually have a resolution of 2.048 x 2.048


Important questions, answered by Tim Sweeny, lead developer at Epic Games:

PCGH: Is there a possibility to make deferred shading and edge-smoothing work at the same time on DX9 graphics cards?
Epic: Unreal Engine 3 uses deferred shading to speed up the calculation of
dynamical lighting and shadows. Integrating this feature together with
multi-sampling requires control of the edge-smoothing at a much deeper level than the DX9 interface can provide. So, on the PC, multi-sampling will only be
supported under DX10.

PCGH: How do the general hardware requirements look like?
Epic: Since optimization work is still ongoing, these details may change every
day. Generally speaking, the game runs quite smooth with DX9 hardware released by NVidia and Ati since 2006. On high-end cards, including the DX10 models, UT3 runs incredibly smooth already. Additionally, we also support shader 2.0 graphics hardware, with only a few technical limitations.

PCGH: Will SLI and Crossfire provide significant advantages?
Epic: We're testing SLI configurations on a regular basis. Their positive
influence can be felt significantly, especially at higher resolutions. So, if one
wants to have full details at very high resolutions, a SLI-system would be the
ideal way to secure optimal performance. We had no opportunity to test crossfire systems yet, but we are expecting similar results.

PCGH: How exacly are you utilizing the functions of Direct X 10?
Epic: Unreal Tournament 3 will ship with full DX10 support, with multi-sampling
being the biggest visible benefit of the new graphics interface. Additionally,
with DX10 under Vista we have the possibility to use the video memory more
efficently, to be able to display textures with a higher grade of detail as it
would be possible with the DX9 path of Vista. Most effects of UT3 are more bound to the fillrate than to basic features like geometry processing. That's why DX10 has a great impact on performance, while we mostly forgo the integration of new features.

PCGH: Will UT3 players be able to benefit from a 64 Bit environment and is there a 64 Bit version anyway?
Epic: To assure compatibility, we tested UT3 with Vista x64 as well. Nonetheless, we're planning to wait and see first, until the OS and its applications will have ripened, before we'll be taking further steps in the 64 Bit direction. With UT2004 we were one of the first developers who ported a title for Windows XP x64. We would've liked to do this with UT3 and Vista x64 as well as shifting all the PCs we're currently developing on to the 64 Bit version of Vista. Unfortunately, full software and driver compatibility isn't there. The basic OS runs stable and it's fun to work with it isolated. But as soon as you want to print something or want to run Maya or 3DSMax together with some third-party plugins you'll get massive problems. But I am sure those can be fixed via service packs and software updates, so PCs with 4 to 8 gigs of ram can establish themselves during the next 12 months.

PCGH: What is the maximun number of threads that can be calculated separately? Will there be a performance-boost if a quad-core system will be used?
Epic: We're able to scale the thread-structure pretty well. There is a primary
thread for the gameplay and a second one for rendering. On systems with more than 2 cores we run additional threads to speed up various calculation-tasks, including physics and data-decompression. So the overall performance benefits greatly from a quad-core processor. Although we haven't looked into the matter yet, I expect an even further performance increase through CPUs with more than 4 cores in future UE-based games.

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Hold on tight to the leather couch

2007-05-30 14:41:40

*rollseyes*

For all the crap-talk about people wanting a cover system in Halo like Gears of War, Epic themselves come out and say "cover is for wimps."

*rollseyes again*

Anywho, should look pretty good. But I'll stick to finishing the fight thanks.

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Ignorance is the true enemy of all things.

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2007-05-30 16:45:31 In reply to RC_Master (2007-05-30 14:41:40)

2007-05-30 17:20:37

SP and cover in UT, yeah that will be the day, LOL!!!

UT is all about hardcore MP DM, I couldn't care less if it doesn't have SP etc.. UT3 is a must buy for me since I occasionally still play UT2004 DM and Instagib with my PC gaming friends, we cannot wait for the next installment..

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