RPGDot Network    
   

 
 
Vaishvanara
Display full image
Pic of the moment
More
pics from the gallery
 
 
Site Navigation

Main
   News
   Forums

Games
   Games Database
   Top 100
   Release List
   Support Files

Features
   Reviews
   Previews
   Interviews
   Editorials
   Diaries
   Misc

Download
   Gallery
   Music
   Screenshots
   Videos

Miscellaneous
   Staff Members
   Privacy Statement

FAQ
Members
Usergroups
G3 engine
  View previous topic :: View next topic
RPGDot Forums > Gothic 2 General

Author Thread
ghola
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 08 Oct 2002
Posts: 146
G3 engine
   

PB are presumedly shopping for a new engine to drive G3, presumedly to free up resources for content creation (which seems to imply that Piranha's programmers are also content artists).

Now there are some excellent engines on the market, but the question is, will G3 still be Gothic with any existing non-PB engine? Is there one engine that "has it all"? I'm thinking about the realistic landscape, the swordplay, the NPC scripting... etc.

What are your thoughts on the matter?
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 9:33 am
 View user's profile
Lanael
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 147
Location: lyon - France
the engine factor
   

I think the engine in 3D real-time games is really an important factor. ( as it handles movement, rendering, AI, level loading ( loading time !! ), etc... : so the most important : the control feel )

So if the G3 engine is a complete rewrite, the feel of the game would be different. ( not specially better or badder ).
But I wonder why PB don't want to make Spacer evolve ( it's a great engine IMO )

My fav. engine is the Dark Engine ( some of its features are unique even 4 years later !! ) and I'm anxious to see thief 3 ( I'm happy to see they don't really use the Unreal engine )
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:25 am
 View user's profile
Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Stranger In A Strange Land




Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia
   

I'm sure no engine has every feature but there are a number that have proven to be very flexible. The NDL Netimmerse engine has been used from Freedom Force to Star Trek: Bridge Commander to DAoC to Morrowind - if someone can see a common thread in the feel of Freedom Force vs Morrowind they're doing better than me. I think this illustrates that the engine will be far less important than the content when it comes to creating a genuine Gothic "feel" in G3.
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:55 am
 View user's profile
Lanael
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 147
Location: lyon - France
   

I'm pretty convinced that middlewares are the future. But game dev just begin to use them and there's no common achitectures for plugins so there's not so much modules... ( water, physics, etc... )
The next few years will be a strange period for gaming : no really new games, more and more details and realism, less and less PC games, more and more console games...
Disavantages : same effects and features in all games... ( maybe same feeling in engine reactions and control ??? )
Avantages : focus on textures, sound and story...

Video Game will be a mature (?) industry ( at least as mature as like the movie industry whatever it means !!! )

So what ?
Renderware for Gothic 3 !?!?!?!?!?
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 2:38 pm
 View user's profile
ghola
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 08 Oct 2002
Posts: 146
   

Well, at least I know Renderware and NetImmerse. :p I know little about the Dark Engine but since Looking Glass themselves seem to have little confidence in their own engine I would hesitate to go there. What about a PB+LGS merger and a beefed up Dark Engine?

Now what on earth is this Spacer engine/thingy???
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 3:18 pm
 View user's profile
Vash The Stampede
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 16
Location: July City
   

I would suggest using the X-Ray engine, the one used for Xenus and Stalker Oblivion Lost. Both games look great with realistic vegetation and both games are a action/RPG games , so that engine would be perfect. And would be a dream see a fantasy game using Stalker engine (!!!)
_________________
Love&Peace
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:18 pm
 View user's profile
Vash The Stampede
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 16
Location: July City
   

Spacer is the engine used to make Gothic and Gothic2
_________________
Love&Peace
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:19 pm
 View user's profile
ghola
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 08 Oct 2002
Posts: 146
   

Spacer is the engine used to make Gothic and Gothic2

I see. Well, that certainly puts Lanael's retorical question in a different light. For me, that is. :p The answer to that question seems to be that PB are trying to focus on content creation, probably for economic reasons... engine coding is highly expensive and the programmers are probably saying that they *really really really* should start from scratch again. They always say that and most of the time they're right.

But that's only speculation.
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:42 pm
 View user's profile
Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless




Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany
   

The Spacer is a tool, not the engine.
The graphics engine is called <i>ZenGin</i>. And now guess once why many console commands start with a 'z' which seems a bit out of place.
_________________
Webmaster GothicDot
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:55 pm
 View user's profile
ghola
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 08 Oct 2002
Posts: 146
   

So now Spacer has been degraded to a thingy again. This thread requires a flexible audience, that's for sure. :p

However, in English the engine name should be YenGin, because the international crowd has to type a "y" to get a "z". Geey, why not simply name it G-engine. :p
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 5:18 pm
 View user's profile
Jaz
Late Night Spook
Late Night Spook




Joined: 20 Jan 2002
Posts: 9708
Location: RPGDot
   

quote:
Originally posted by ghola
I know little about the Dark Engine but since Looking Glass themselves seem to have little confidence in their own engine I would hesitate to go there.


The Dark Engine is old and outdated now, and it's probably not up to the contemporary graphical standards. Thinking of it, none of the Dark Engine games did look good - not that I valued graphics too much, but it was the gameplay and concepts which made those games what they were, not the eye candy. In addition to that, today's gamers' standards are considerably higher. And after experimenting around with the Unreal/Havok engine for such a long time, the Dark Engine has become even older. Well, after the DX2/T3 designers made up their minds to write their own engine (save the editor), they might call the new one Dark Engine, too... who knows.
_________________
Jaz
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 7:00 pm
 View user's profile
Alistair
Guards Lieutenant
Guards Lieutenant




Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 151
Location: Cambridge, England
   

I was surprised too when I heard they were thinking of binning their current engine. Yes, other engines can probably cope with rendering the world, but Gothic is unique in the sophistication of its AI (I think) so they'd have to add this to whatever they picked up.

My own theory is that the Spacer and associated tools are just so irritating to use that even PB fancy something more user-friendly.

A.
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 7:49 pm
 View user's profile
Jaz
Late Night Spook
Late Night Spook




Joined: 20 Jan 2002
Posts: 9708
Location: RPGDot
   

quote:
Originally posted by ghola
engine coding is highly expensive


Definitely.
_________________
Jaz
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 7:52 pm
 View user's profile
ghola
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 08 Oct 2002
Posts: 146
   

Jaz, that doesn't sound well for Looking Glass. I suppose the Dark Engine is not a very feasible option then.

Alistair, my thoughts exactly on the suitability of most existing engines.
What about the UT2003 or new DOOM engines? Bots may be the closest thing to Gothic's AI...
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 8:54 pm
 View user's profile
hwfanatic
Average Fanatic
Average Fanatic




Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 2850
Location: Belgrade, Serbia
   

quote:
Originally posted by ghola
What about the UT2003 or new DOOM engines? Bots may be the closest thing to Gothic's AI...

But they are not optimized for great landscapes.. It's not all in AI..
Post Wed Jan 22, 2003 9:12 pm
 View user's profile


Goto page 1, 2  Next
All times are GMT.
The time now is Sat Apr 13, 2019 9:23 am



Powered by phpBB © 2001 phpBB Group
 
 
 
All original content of this site is copyrighted by RPGWatch. Copying or reproducing of any part of this site is strictly prohibited. Taking anything from this site without authorisation will be considered stealing and we'll be forced to visit you and jump on your legs until you give it back.