Quake 3 physics in Unreal Engine 4
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10 Nov 2014, 18:31
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Journals
Just want to confirm that yes, it's possible, and it's beautiful. Unreal Engine 4 with Q3 physics at solid framerates plays like the real deal. Buttery smooth and no input lag. Strafe and circle jumps just like you would expect. It's better in a way because it's not framerate dependent (of course that could be ported too, but why would I).
Of course I knew it was possible since UE4 provides full engine source, but in the end it was less complicated than I expected and I didn't even have to touch engine code.
This is a big deal to me, because UE4 is an absolute god-sent for indie developers. The terms are amazing and you can't find a more solid or more capable engine for FPS games really. My only concern was whether it would be possible to make it feel as smooth and awesome as idTech3, so with that out of the way, I am super excited to see what the future will bring in terms of competitive indie FPS. Personally I think that's a much more interesting space to watch than to hope that AAA will ever go back to its roots and make games focused on gameplay and competition over immersion and mainstream appeal. This also gives me more hope for the UE4 port of Urban Terror, that maybe they will not completely butcher it up.
My own plan as a new indie dev (about two years now, one game released on Steam, soon on mobile) is to create an "abstract competitive multiplayer FPS", which combines the best elements of the games I used to love but which are now slowly dying. Mainly this means relatively fast and free movement with low TTK hitscan weapons and objective-focused, fast-paced teamplay with classes (or an equivalent mechanic). It's an ambitious project, but considering how much Unreal Engine already provides out of the box, and that graphics are strictly secondary, I don't see any major roadblocks.
This project feels like I'm coming full circle, not just because of my experience with competitive FPS of this nature (mainly Action Quake 2, Urban Terror, and of course ET), but also because I used to do quite a bit of modding back then, a good bit of it for Unreal Engine.
Now I need to get back to work on that other game and finally bring it to a close, but I'm really looking forward to start on this proper and hopefully you will hear more about this soon. In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you what you think of all this, and what you miss the most (if anything) about old-school shooters. I have a lot of thoughts about that as well of course, but that's for another time.
TL/DR: Can do!
Of course I knew it was possible since UE4 provides full engine source, but in the end it was less complicated than I expected and I didn't even have to touch engine code.
This is a big deal to me, because UE4 is an absolute god-sent for indie developers. The terms are amazing and you can't find a more solid or more capable engine for FPS games really. My only concern was whether it would be possible to make it feel as smooth and awesome as idTech3, so with that out of the way, I am super excited to see what the future will bring in terms of competitive indie FPS. Personally I think that's a much more interesting space to watch than to hope that AAA will ever go back to its roots and make games focused on gameplay and competition over immersion and mainstream appeal. This also gives me more hope for the UE4 port of Urban Terror, that maybe they will not completely butcher it up.
My own plan as a new indie dev (about two years now, one game released on Steam, soon on mobile) is to create an "abstract competitive multiplayer FPS", which combines the best elements of the games I used to love but which are now slowly dying. Mainly this means relatively fast and free movement with low TTK hitscan weapons and objective-focused, fast-paced teamplay with classes (or an equivalent mechanic). It's an ambitious project, but considering how much Unreal Engine already provides out of the box, and that graphics are strictly secondary, I don't see any major roadblocks.
This project feels like I'm coming full circle, not just because of my experience with competitive FPS of this nature (mainly Action Quake 2, Urban Terror, and of course ET), but also because I used to do quite a bit of modding back then, a good bit of it for Unreal Engine.
Now I need to get back to work on that other game and finally bring it to a close, but I'm really looking forward to start on this proper and hopefully you will hear more about this soon. In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you what you think of all this, and what you miss the most (if anything) about old-school shooters. I have a lot of thoughts about that as well of course, but that's for another time.
TL/DR: Can do!
FF started as a payed-for job for me, so it wasn't my concept and wouldn't have been my first choice of project. It took much longer than expected and was pretty messy, but I think it turned out alright in the end. I'm now the only dev on the project though, because my partner left to dedicate his life to God (true story). ^^
Must be a great thing to work in though(as in game industry), even if you are alone :p
But seriously, the whole point of this is to go back to the roots of competitive multiplayer FPS. Inspirations are games like RTCW, CPMA, perhaps even Counter-Strike. But not CoD, Halo, or Battlefield.
I'll write more about the concept once it is a bit more fleshed out.
But every new game is the same, it's just more and more shit while offering less, unless you pay more $$$.
All the futuristic bullshit, modern/new era games, so fucking boring, it's everywhere...
Wish there would be a time agian they would create WW II based games, but not some fucking crippled game like Wolfenstien or Über Soldier with superpowers and shit... ET/RTCW/CoD/MoH.... :(
Back then we almost made GameStar give ET as a free game. I know its far future, but maybe you could give demo version to some big magazines and kids could try it. :)
gl keep your head up