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Sony Online Licenses Unreal Engine for DC MMOG

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the superman-looks-super dept.

GameDaily is reporting that Sony Online Entertainment has licensed the Unreal Engine 3 for use in creating next-gen videogames. One title that is confirmed will be using the technology is their upcoming Massively Multiplayer game set in the DC comic universe. SOE has also announced a new complete version of Star Wars Galaxies, which will include Empire Divided and all of the expansions.

50 comments

  1. Heh. by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 1

    Anyone else read "A new complete version of SWG" as "A completely new version of SWG"? I actually thought for a moment, "Well, at this point, starting over from scratch is probably not the worst idea..."

    I'll be surprised if they can beat CoH/CoV with a superhero themed game though. There are things I think could be done better in CoH/V, but I don't think Sony can do 'em.

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    1. Re:Heh. by liak12345 · · Score: 0

      Don't they release a completely new SWG every couple of months already? Going from 34 to 9 professions and adding a level system is about the same thing.

  2. Completly Sucks version by nephillim · · Score: 0

    If the SWG is pre all their pathing to make the game more "fun" it is useless. Most of the people who would want to buy it already had bought the extra few addons.
    If the game is post "game enhancing" patches then is is useless because nobody WANTS to play. This seems like a waste of energy on SOE's part.
    Maybe they should pump the extra money into something like SWGEmu will have going soon so some of us could play the game it we once knew and loved.

  3. Sony... by GundamFan · · Score: 1

    That's great, 30 bucks to go play with all the whiny babies in SWG again... Thanks but I'll pass.

    The only way they could ever "save" SWG would be to find a way to make the people worth playing with outnumber those who are not worth playing with, if they could do that the state of the gameplay would be highly irrelivant.

    --
    I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
    Mark Twain
    1. Re:Sony... by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 1

      You can say the same about a lot of MMOs. I used to really like playing Planetside (now there is a use for the Unreal 3 engine), but I ended up quitting because of all the jackasses. Trying to level your command rank was like trying to herd cracked out cats with ADD.

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    2. Re:Sony... by caffeinatedOnline · · Score: 1

      Alright, a box full of shit for $30 just in time for christmas? It's like my childhood all over again!!

      All jokes aside, they just need to scrap the game and go back to the drawing board. SWG use to be a great game, engaging, etc.etc. Not going to go into the whole rant, you all have heard it before. Yet another reason why I dislike $ony, god... I am almost to the point where I dislike them more then Microsoft. (Hey, I said almost!!)

      --
      The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...
    3. Re:Sony... by GundamFan · · Score: 1

      That may be true... but the only MMOs I have heard of having this problem are SOE manged ones.

      And the pure negativity of SWG is by far the worst gameing experince I have ever had. I wish I had quit sooner.

      --
      I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
      Mark Twain
    4. Re:Sony... by tomstdenis · · Score: 1, Informative

      This will get modded down but ...

      Consider the pool you're playing in. Most online RPG players spend considerable time in their "investments" [which in and of itself isn't "bad"] and forgo the usual sociallizing that most others take part in.

      So you're basically playing with a bunch of anti-socials, who are almost certainly young and really aren't playing the game to relax or have fun. They're on a mission. So of course they'll grief and cheat to get ahead. They think they're accomplishing something when all along it's just supposed to be a minor diversion.

      I stopped caring about online games after I played SOCOM for the first time. Playing against people who would only target you even though you had 8 other people on your team and would hunt you down even if it didn't help accomplish the mission was just annoying. Specially since you know for a fact the kid plays 8 hours a day and didn't have college [and a job] to go to. I just wanted to have fun and a reasonable chance of participating and instead I was targetting because I was newbie and never given a chance to really play. Basically each round I would be alive for 30 seconds then have to wait 10 mins for the next round. After a few hours I got so frustrated that I never signed on again.

      Might sound like "whining" but many people share the same experience because it's not that hard to really make the game anti-fun. All it takes is a handful of pricks who don't get why the game exists and want to ruin it for anyone else as a sign of their l33t skillz.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    5. Re:Sony... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The problem is one you find in many MMORPGs.

      Usually you have your crew of players you stick to. People you can trust, people who're there for the multiplayer experience and achieving something (albeit very virtual and very "pointless") and not for the dick prostetic.

      When the number of those people starts to decline rapidly, it's time to move on yourself.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:Sony... by Jaeph · · Score: 2, Funny

      I hope you never get double-teamed in basketball. Talk about griefing.

      -Jeff

      --
      Please learn the difference between a dissenting opinion and a troll before you moderate.
    7. Re:Sony... by tomstdenis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Generally anything that is physically safe and prevents you from accomplishing your goal would be something acceptable in my books. The griefers on online games I'm talking about usually sacrifice the goals of the game to ensure that you can't participate.

      I guess you can grief in the real world except there people tend to frown on the behaviour. And since the griefer can see the negative attention they can be less likely to continue it.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    8. Re:Sony... by AuMatar · · Score: 1

      No, its every MMO. Lets face it- 90% of the people in the world are either assholes, morons, or both. MMO players fall into the same ratio.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    9. Re:Sony... by GundamFan · · Score: 1

      That is not the kind of complaining I am talking about.

      I am with you, I have little time to play and try to get maximum enjoyment from it, the whineing in SWG is of another nature... imagine if 14 of the 16 people (these being your 8 hour plus "vetrans") in that SOCOM game instead of playing sat around and repeated "this game used to be better I want it to be like it was" over and over.

      To put it another way:

      A man walks into a doctor's office and says "It hurts when I play SOE MMOs."
      The doctor after a moment of thought replys "Don't play SOE MMOs."

      --
      I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
      Mark Twain
    10. Re:Sony... by ptbarnett · · Score: 1
      Trying to level your command rank was like trying to herd cracked out cats with ADD.

      In Planetside, the trick is to get hooked up with a good outfit. Sadly, there are very few. I switched several times before I found one that I liked, and I've been with them for over a year.

      However, it may relieve your frustrations, but it won't necessarily make it faster. Good outfits have policies that set priority for who gets to lead a squad and earn CEP. It may take you a while to bubble to the top of the seniority list.

    11. Re:Sony... by niliin · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately there is little that can be done in life without someone 'greifing'. I am using that term for lack of an appropriate on. However we all learn to deal with it. While it will be interesting to see what Sony does with the Unreal engine, however the announcement of the release of a new updated "SWG Complete" is kind off expected. Now, they are trying to make more money and hook more subscribers, let's face it they have surprisingly picked up some people and have now a somewhat stable player base, granted at a lower level then before the NGE came out. In their decision to essentially make a new SWG they lost most of their hardcore crowd which is really where there money was. When some people have 3 or more accounts that quickly adds up, and I personally knew quite a few people like this just on one server, hell I even had 2. However, we deal with greifer's as part of our everyday lives, most of us work with a few. All we can really do when we find a true greifer at heart is, smile knowing that there is a reason they are like that. Usually because they 'hate' themselves, so they either share their pain or find joy in others miseries... also for the ones that only do it, let's face it how far do they get in life.

    12. Re:Sony... by Red+Alastor · · Score: 1
      The only way they could ever "save" SWG would be to find a way to make the people worth playing with outnumber those who are not worth playing with, if they could do that the state of the gameplay would be highly irrelivant.

      I wonder if there could be a technical solution for this. Maybe a kind of Bayesian filter that would let you tag peoples as "friend" or "jackass". People would be splitted into servers with people they like. And maybe we could add "unlinkable" (if both people link each other as such, they move as a unit so groups of friends and guilds would not be splitted).

      We could even have elitists servers that really care about roleplaying that would be separated from the other players. All that automatically.

      --
      Slashdot anagrams to "Sad Sloth"
    13. Re:Sony... by GundamFan · · Score: 1

      One little thing... to me the eletist buttholes are the ones I don't consider worth playing with.

      Is it in turn eletist to say that I only really want to play with people who are fun to play with not the "full timers" who tend to suck the fun out of everything.

      --
      I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
      Mark Twain
    14. Re:Sony... by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

      yeah I know what you mean, team sports are the worst for greifing :P
      I remember the first time I played nose tackle on football team and got triple teamed by 3 O-Linemen cause they wanted to QB sneak. . . To this day I still can't feel some parts of my left leg.

      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    15. Re:Sony... by Burlap · · Score: 1

      i dissagree... CoH/V is very moron free after just 10 levels. I usually play pick-ups and would say that the ratio of nimrods to good players is 10%, not 90%. the lack of loot, and that you need to actually put a little thought into you costume insted of just using whatever artwork the devs decided to put on that new piece of armor you spend 3 days camping for keeps a LOT of the immature, morons away... or atleast they get frustrated with the fact that their lvl 30 is just as powerfull as your lvl 30.

  4. Speed reading bad... by Zab+UvWxy · · Score: 2

    Maybe it was just me, but did anyone else see the headline and think, "wow, they're making a MMORPG for Dreamcast??!?!?!?"

    --
    "I don't get it." -- ObviousGuy
    1. Re:Speed reading bad... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No

    2. Re:Speed reading bad... by Psx29 · · Score: 1

      yup that's what I thought as well

    3. Re:Speed reading bad... by szembek · · Score: 1

      That isn't what it means?

      --
      nothing
    4. Re:Speed reading bad... by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      You're not alone. But I read that as "Direct Current MMORPG"... I need coffee.

    5. Re:Speed reading bad... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      Me, I was wondering how they were going to make a MMORPG about the District of Columbia work...I mean, sure, it's my home town and all, but still...

      Chris Mattern

  5. "DC?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought for a moment they meant a Dreamcast MMORPG.

    1. Re:"DC?" by Kadin2048 · · Score: 1

      That's better than what I thought -- I thought they were making a Washington, DC based MMO.

      I mean, they have to set the Grand Theft Auto MMOG somewhere, right? Where better than our own little slice of Baghdad?

      PS - I say this as a resident of the area. Personally I'd love to see a GTA-style shooter set here, because anything that brings more attention to the problem is good at this point.

      --
      "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  6. How not to market an MMO: by dlc3007 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Put the word "Sony" on the front of the box.

    Seriously, they've done such a bad job with their MMOs that they should seriously think about changing their name. The only way they could sell fewer games would be to sell them with free anthrax.

    1. Re:How not to market an MMO: by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      I think Sony should change its name to Sirius. That way they can call their robotics department the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    2. Re:How not to market an MMO: by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      A QRIO with GPP? Great!

    3. Re:How not to market an MMO: by Faylone · · Score: 1

      I dunno, anthrax might manage to boost sales, until the US govenrment jailed everybody involved at Sony.

  7. Good Luck! by Ricken · · Score: 1

    Hope it's something good this time, Sony isn't exactly famous for good quality MMO games (Yes I'm not an SWG fan).
    Although it's really nice to see some MMO's being made in extreme (read: good) graphics engines. Good luck!

  8. Unreal 3 engine seems popular by dave562 · · Score: 1
    The first game that I heard of using the Unreal 3 engine for an MMORPG was APB. It's a "cops and robbers" type of game that is the brainchild of the original creator of GTA. The game isn't due out until 2007-2008, but it looks like it will be some good stuff.

    I don't know about the rest of you folks, but that is finally getting gaming to the point where I've wanted it to be since the original GTA. A completely real-time, modern day world that you can run around in from a first person point of view has some allure to it.

    1. Re:Unreal 3 engine seems popular by Wind_Walker · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Pssst. See that door that leads "outside"? Use it.

      ...pause for laughter...

      Of course I know what you really mean by that, but still. I'm not necessarily looking forward to games like that because I'm not a fan of the whole "sandbox" style of gameplay which has become so prevalent in the recent years. To me, games are about the story, about becoming the character and living vicariously through them. GTA3+ did this well, by giving a storyline but still providing the ability to just cruise around

      What really drew me to your comment was the mention of APB. It conjured up memories of one of my favorite old-school arcade games, coincidentally also called APB. You're a cop in a cop car, munching donuts for extra time and using the siren to pull over litterbugs, pot smokers, and "boss" criminals. It was incredibly fun.

    2. Re:Unreal 3 engine seems popular by Zeussy · · Score: 1

      Well seeing that Unreal3 is like an industry standard for games. Just go to unreal engines's site and look at all the games that have been made over the years. And the ones that have been announced, and probably a lot more that havnt been, or are not listed on the site.

      Basically almost all games are made on a handful of engines now. Unreal, Quake(Doom), Renderware are the main players (Almost every EA Game is on Renderware). Not a huge ammount of companies roll their own anymore and if they do, its with the idea that they will sell/license it out. This is going to get worse with time to come. As hardware gets more and more levels and complexity to it. It is too costly and lengthy to even think about writing your own game engine.

      Its not just writing the renderer, you have the implement the sound engine, network interfaces, physics implentations, AI (theres lots of AI api's on the market now). As well as getting all that to work, you need exporters for 3d artist tools (Max etc), level editors, package makers etc.

      --
      Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game
  9. Bet. by babbling · · Score: 1

    $10 says this game project:
    - Doesn't get finished, or
    - Ends up not using the Unreal 3 engine, or
    - Ends up not being a MMOG.

    1. Re:Bet. by F_Scentura · · Score: 1

      "$10 says this game project:
      - Doesn't get finished, or
      - Ends up not using the Unreal 3 engine, or
      - Ends up not being a MMOG."

      Do you have any reasoning behind this, or are you just trashing SOE?

      I say this not in defense of SOE, but I'm curious if there are any good reasons that I'm not already aware of?

    2. Re:Bet. by babbling · · Score: 1

      I reckon they'll probably have trouble adapting the Unreal 3 engine into a MMOG.

    3. Re:Bet. by SCPRedMage · · Score: 1

      Guess again; Sigil is using the Unreal 2.5 engine for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, with plans to upgrade to version 3 in the future. Seeing as the game is already in beta, I'm assuming they've been successful.

      --
      My sig can beat up your sig.
  10. DC? by edmicman · · Score: 1

    The Dreamcast is coming back? Sweet!

  11. It's pretty telling... by nops · · Score: 1

    when SWG is just a footnote in news about a game that hasn't yet been released.

  12. Oh yeah, big time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want to know i they are really including the original game and the hologrind, as the "complete SWG Experience" just would not be complete without it.

  13. Uh, right by MattW · · Score: 1

    If you were a comic fan, why not play City of Heroes? It has 2 years of maturity, massive amounts of content, has been kept graphically up to date and is gorgeous (and can put a 7900GTX through the paces, I can add)... I guess we'll have to see what it's like, but I don't see how DC translates into an MMO anyhow. I guess I'll wait to see the features, but I remain incredibly skeptical they can overcome what CoH has done in 6.5+ years in total development.

    As for SWG... isn't it dead yet?

    1. Re:Uh, right by Bieeanda · · Score: 1

      The reason why CoX can put cutting-edge video hardware 'through its paces' is because it's excruciatingly CPU-bound and its geometry was assembled with no eye toward efficiency.

    2. Re:Uh, right by Pearson · · Score: 1

      I admit I had the same reaction, namely "Comic book MMO? Been there, done that." But in reality, that's like saying that UO or EQ were the end all be all of fantasy MMOs. You can make another MMO in the same genre and still make a compelling, yet different, experience.

      It will be interesting to see how it turns out, and whether it's any good, but I certainly hope it's a lot better than CoH, simply so that I have something else that's fun to play.

      --
      I...I'm attacking the darkness!
  14. Is that you, Jack? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is only one thing they got right, kept (barring some mostly fixed bugs) right, and that has benefited from those 2 years of maturity, and that is the costume generator.

    Sure, there's massive amounts of content. Massive amounts of randomly laid out "warehouses", "office buildings", and "labs" stocked with thugs that just stand around waiting for you to fight them. The combat is the most fun of any MMO I've ever played, but the volume and variety of content is not very impressive.

    The fact that the game can put a 7900GTX through the paces isn't a good thing either. It's just the result of some crappy fire effects and the really, really laggy Arachnos maps. I've upgraded my system twice, and when Issue 6 came out, it broke SLI support. I contacted the Cryptic dev in charge of hardware compatibility, just to ask if it was still supported, and got no response despite him responding publicly to another hardware issue that very same day. Note that NVIDIA no longer lists City of Heroes on its list of supported games. I can barely tell the graphical difference between the day it was released and how it looks now, yet the performance impact was very large. I wish they'd spent all that time and money on adding content instead, the release graphics would satisfy me for several more years before I'd even notice them being dated.

    I could go on, but suffice it to say that I've been playing CoH since it was in beta, and let me tell you, the only reason I'm still playing it is because it's the only superhero game in town.

    Don't get me wrong, I love CoH. I love it like a beaten woman on COPS loves her abusive husband/boyfriend-- it's all I've got, so I wouldn't want it taken away from me, but I pray for the day something better comes along to kick its ass and treat me with some respect.

    1. Re:Is that you, Jack? by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      I agree with you on some points. CoH/CoV is definately the most repetitive MMO out there. It's a good thing the combat is a lot of fun, because well that's almost all there is (except the costume creator). Somehow I keep coming back to CoH - I've reactivated my account 3 times usually after stints on more complicated MMOs. It can be a relief to play an MMO where you can just jump in and start playing right away, either solo or on a team. Most other MMOs have a lot of other crap to juggle such as making money or forced grouping for difficult quests/raids. That stuff can be fun too, but sometimes you just want to get in game and beat the crap out of something.
      As far as the graphics go, the view distance blurring, bloom and ragdoll physics are about the only additions I've noticed since launch. They do make the game look a bit nicer. If I look at my old screenshots from 2004 it is noticable if not exactly dramatic. As far as video cards stress, you can turn down the particle effects and number of effects shown. I typically do this if I'm in a 8 man team doing missions set on high difficulty (especially if you have 4 or 5 Masterminds in the group). Otherwise I don't really have a problem running it on a 6800GT at 1280x1024 with AA. I do notice that Grandville is pretty damn laggy.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    2. Re:Is that you, Jack? by MattW · · Score: 1

      Sure, there's massive amounts of content. Massive amounts of randomly laid out "warehouses", "office buildings", and "labs" stocked with thugs that just stand around waiting for you to fight them. The combat is the most fun of any MMO I've ever played, but the volume and variety of content is not very impressive.


      Very astute. Definitely the worst thing; but CoV helped. The maps are still a bit redundant, but the storylines are VASTLY improved. Far less Kill-X, far less random, "SaveX", and a lot more story. Some of which is actually touching (in a bad way; the westin phipps arcs/missions are downright freaky because he is so *evil*).

      And yeah, I'm engaging in a bit of fanboiism. But yeah, for me, the MMO play is about two things: (1) The character, and (2) the fighting. And CoX has, by far, the best character creation. By FAR. And then the combat - a bit dull solo, but 8-team CoX > 5 member WoW any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. The chaos, the variety... it's awesome.
  15. SOE can not write stable code by Jestor+Rodo · · Score: 1

    this was the only wise move they have made is over a year. I may have to sneak back in to take a peek of an unreal3 engine in the hands of these MMO FooLs! Love that Jestor! http://www.myspace.com/lovethatjestor

  16. Why SOE? by vrar · · Score: 0

    Last i heard the comic book giants were upset that they weren't making enough money going through 3rd party companies to produce content other that comic books. (i.e.: movies, etc) And even if they do, why SOE? Are there no other competitors out there? And what could Sony bring to the table to convince them to butcher their MMORPG?

    --
    "What a depressingly stupid machine." - Marvin the Paranoid Android.