Unreal 3 engine Wii.

[ninzel]

So it's basically been confirmed(Mark Rein a second time in an interview) that some unknown dev has taken up the challenge. I guess my obvious reaction should "Great!" but I'm really wondering why bother?If this engine is so far beyond what the Wii can do,why not just stick with getting the most out of Unreal 2? With there actually be some benefits over Unreal 2,even after engine is dramaticaly scaled back for the Wii?

 

[Arwin]

Yes. I think the biggest benefits would be the support for art creation and such being (at least that's what I've heard) far superior for UE3. So that would be a big reason, I suppose. Also, if you're a multiplatform supporter, then it's easier to maintain codebases and knowhow I suppose if all your devs work on the same version.

 

[ninzel]

Thanks.
Will effects that they manage to get running,run more efficiently on Unreal 3 than they would have on Unreal 2, in the end netting them either a greater or more stable FPS or more on screen goodies?

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I suppose that depends on how much time and money the spend on it. Unreal 3 is pretty much build to do things Wii hardware cant do so it depends on how far they are willing (and can go?) on modifying everything for wii hardware.

 

[Jedi2016]

I think it would just be a matter of dumbing it down a bit. Reduce some effects to a level that the system can push, and simply remove the ones that it can't. Should be interesting to see how it comes out. Although I don't have a Wii yet, it's on my "I'll pick up one eventually" list.

 

[KnicksRIP]

Interesting challenge. I have yet to see a Wii game that has impressed me graphically, and I think ventures like this are just the sort of thing to get those in the development community charged up and ready to unleash a "Donkey Kong Country on SNES hardware" sooner rather than later.

 

[Mobius1aic]

I remember playing Rainbow Six Vegas on my 360 and saying how cool it would be to have this game on the Wii. Not to sure if Vegas was UE3 or 2.5, but either way, I think the game is quite viable on the system, and judging from the "real" Wii games like Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy that actually use the systems various rendering features/capabilities, I'm sure that concessions could be made to make the game work well on the Wii without comprimizing how good the 360 and PS3 versions are.

Oh and can someone confirm for me which version of Unreal tech the game used? I always thought it was using Unreal 3 but I've heard alot about it using 2.5. Also if you know it's 360 CPU core and thread usage, that would be helpful to know.

 

[ninzel]

Unreal 3 costs more to license than Unreal2 I assume?

 

[Turok]

Aside from being a mostly useless port of the engine, this is going to get blown out of proportion.

 

[Arwin]

Unreal 3 costs more to license than Unreal2 I assume?

Presumably not so much to the devs who have already licenced it for their other platforms.

 

[ninzel]

Presumably not so much to the devs who have already licenced it for their other platforms.

I see,so you're suggesting the reason they might be using 3 over 2 is simply a case of saving money? If they already have lisenced 3 why pay again for 2. Makes sense.

 

[Arwin]

I see,so you're suggesting the reason they might be using 3 over 2 is simply a case of saving money? If they already have lisenced 3 why pay again for 2. Makes sense.

That's not precisely what I'm saying. I'm thinking more along the terms that the UE3 offers the benefits I mentioned before (devs all work with same UE3, same benefits in the art creation and management aspects of the game that UE3 brings to the table), AND that UE3' cost doesn't stop them because they are already licencing the engine for their other platforms anyway. I doubt they would pay more for using UE2 purely in terms of licencing costs, just not that much less either.

 

[Hazuki Ryu]

I remember playing Rainbow Six Vegas on my 360 and saying how cool it would be to have this game on the Wii. Not to sure if Vegas was UE3 or 2.5, but either way, I think the game is quite viable on the system, and judging from the "real" Wii games like Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy that actually use the systems various rendering features/capabilities, I'm sure that concessions could be made to make the game work well on the Wii without comprimizing how good the 360 and PS3 versions are.

Oh and can someone confirm for me which version of Unreal tech the game used? I always thought it was using Unreal 3 but I've heard alot about it using 2.5. Also if you know it's 360 CPU core and thread usage, that would be helpful to know.

I'm pretty sure vegas uses UE3, as for the wii i really think its a waste of UE3 lol.

 

[Mobius1aic]

I'm pretty sure vegas uses UE3, as for the wii i really think its a waste of UE3 lol.

Well if multiplatforming becomes more apparent between the next gen consoles with Wii included and PS2 - Wii porting ends, I think making Unreal 3 a reality for the Wii would be a great thing.

Maybe it's not necessarily an Unreal 3 for Wii these companies have in mind, but a built-for-Wii Unreal Engine. And I think that's a good thing. Develop it, build it with pre-made "Wii shaders" to make shaders easy to produce and implement for games, and license it out. Only thing I would fear is so many games looking the same like what has happened with Unreal 3 licensing. But good looking games is better than crappy looking ones, right? Honestly I think Crytek should look into the Wii, it's the potential for them to become a household name overnight if they can make a great version of CryEngine for Wii and make games with it. Also Crytek knows how to make efficient engines that really maximize the capabilities with the system. It's just too bad that proper CryEngine tuning wasn't made with Far Cry: Vengence.

Just think if Epic, Crytek, and even Valve jumped on board with specific Wii development...........it would be awesome!

 

[fearsomepirate]

Crytek has already made an engine for Gamecube. No one licensed it, though.

I doubt that any effects running on a Wii version of UE3 would run more efficiently than they would in UE2, since they'd have to be implemented in nearly identical ways. Since Wii doesn't have programmable shaders, the implementations would have nothing in common with the current-gen versions of the engine. You also wouldn't see any of the unique current-gen shaders, because the Wii just plain doesn't have the power.

 

[Skrying]

Are we sure this isn't more about a developer adapting the UE3 tools to work with UE2 for the Wii? Otherwise it makes no sense.

 

[fearsomepirate]

If the UE3 data structures aren't really related with UE2, then it's probably a bit more than that. Perhaps it also involves writing some sort of conversion utility to convert certain shader effects to similar-looking effects on Wii.

 

[Color me Dan]

Wii is in a position where no one expects it to be the best looking of all consoles graphically, so will devs strive to squeeze performance out of it like they did PS2? It's a bit off topic, but i think coding a new engine from scratch and tailoring it for the Wiis strenghts would be a better way to go. But then perhaps the tools is what is the point in this discussion?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Wii is in a position where no one expects it to be the best looking of all consoles graphically, so will devs strive to squeeze performance out of it like they did PS2?

Sure, as they're competing with either titles on the same system, and regardless of overall power, better graphics is still going to help sell your game. Having just seen a clip of Raving Rabbids 2 with it's live-action overlay, I think good looking games by Wii's standards will have a sales advantage over less attractive games, when the uniqueness of control has become the norm. ie. When FPSes all use MP3's/COD's (reportedly) excellent controls, what will get buyers of those games to buy the next 3 years worth of FPSes? Better visuals for one!

However, the engine port is likely for a tool-chain thing it seems. Much of the graphical zing-pop of UE3 isn't going to work well on Wii. It'll be down to devs to work their artwork and cleverness to make better looking titles. I do wonder if we'll see much improvement over Wii's life though. It started as a known quantity with known tools. How much room for improvement can there be? Time for the devs to get clever!

 

[ninzel]

Looking at the revised release date list for Wii,there are a number of games that could be candidates for this rumoured game. Black(net gen) Alien FPS(Sega), R6V:2.There's also a number of third person action-adventure games that could be it.
http://wii.ign.com/index/release.html

Take your guess.