Mark Rein Interview 1/26/2007

[apoppin]

i didn't see this posted anywhere and somehow this seems suited for Video

i thought 'SW/games' ...naw

http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200701/N07.0126.1423.58507.htm?Page=1

worth a read ... comments on Vista, PR crap ... etc

GI: Unreal has always scaled really well, from low-end hardware all the way to the high end. Where do you think the sweet spot is? What do you think it takes for a rig to be able to put Unreal through all of its paces?

Rein: We always aim Unreal for systems that people don?t have yet. (laughs) Whether its UT or any Unreal game, so I think the sweet spot has yet to show up. Again, it?s 64-bit and a ton of RAM, like an NVIDIA dual 8800s and Core 2 Extreme Quad processor?you could certainly build a super rig, but UT3 with everything turned up all the way is still going to struggle on that kind of thing. A year from now, it?ll still be a game that is a showcase game for whatever hardware you happen to be getting then. That?s normal. That?s exactly the way we?ve done it every time from the original. The format hasn?t changed there. But you?re right, we try very hard to make sure it runs well on what the average gamer has. It?ll definitely be hard to reach the bottom this time, because with UT2004, we had a software renderer, so it could run on virtually anything. We?re hoping to have that capability at some point with this series, but I don?t know for sure or when.

something to look forward to
:thumbsup:

i am upgrading *next year*

 

[Avalon]

Dual 8800s will struggle on everything maxed...but we should be good to go with lesser rigs on lesser settings. The engine looks good. I'm waiting to see if the game delivers. It's about time something stressed the 8800 series

 

[Nightmare225]

Before anyone starts whining about: OMG! WHAT IS TIS? DUAlL 8800GTXS CANT RUN TIS GAME?

Here's a newer quote

Yes I think I should have made it more clear that that I was talking
about super high-resolutions (like the 2560x1600 we're seeing on 30"
monitors but we know higher resolutions are coming beyond that) with
everything turned up including AA, max texture detail, etc.



Obviously the game will run GREAT on the top-of-the-line systems you
can buy today at reasonably high settings but my point was that there's
still going to be some headroom to make this the showcase game for the
PCs you buy two years from now and that's pretty much what every new
Unreal game has been .


http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=562887&page=2

 

[imported_Truenofan]

but how much is that top of the line system, is it even worth spending 2500-3000 or in excess of that just to play one game? why not wait for better video cards to max it and spend less.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Truenofan
but how much is that top of the line system, is it even worth spending 2500-3000 or in excess of that just to play one game? why not wait for better video cards to max it and spend less.

I built a CD2 machine with an 8800 GTS for 1500 bucks in November.

/shrug

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Truenofan
but how much is that top of the line system, is it even worth spending 2500-3000 or in excess of that just to play one game? why not wait for better video cards to max it and spend less.

You can build a high-end system for considerably less, like Genx87 said. What gets you into the 2500-3000 range though is the 2nd premium video card and the massive premium on the "top-of-the-line" processor.

But it wouldn't just be for one game, the UT3 engine will spawn countless titles just as every other hyped-up engine from renowned developers/programmers. Still a vicious cycle of expensive upgrades just to stay in the game, something PC gamers are willing to deal with for now....

 

[Matthias99]

Still a vicious cycle of expensive upgrades just to stay in the game, something PC gamers are willing to deal with for now....

Only if you want to stay on the bleeding edge and play the latest games at the highest settings on high-res displays. Just going from 1920x1200 to 2560x1600 nearly doubles the amount of work the video card/cards has to do. So if you need an 8800GTX SLI to run it at 2560x1600 and fairly high settings, you can probably run it at 1600x1200 or 1920x1200 on a single 8800GTX (or forthcoming ATI equivalent). In two years, that level of hardware will be commonplace.

It's not hard to write games that will bring even the best hardware available to its knees; just use tons of geometry and put really complex pixel/vertex shaders on everything. It's extracting every ounce of performance and making the engines scalable (especially downwards) -- but without making significant sacrifices -- that is difficult.

 

[Mullzy]

With the amount of affordable 22 inch widescreen LCD's that are being sold right now I bet most people are still playing at 16 x 10 in a couple years anyway. I've put off upgrading to a nice widescreen LCD because I can't figure out if I want to bite the bullet on a monitor that will force me to game at 1920x1200. A lot of gamers are still running at 1024x768 or 1280x1024 because you can only upgrade your hardware so often. But you know what? With the eye candy effects cranked up, those resolutions actually fair pretty well with current game engines.

Back in 'the day', resolution was everything. Getting from 640x480 to 800x600 and then the massive 1024x768 (1600x1200 used to just make me cry) was what game performance was all about. With the texture, lighting and aa/af improvements that games have made recently, the resolution you game at plays a smaller role in the game experience than it used to.

Anyway... why did I get off on this tangent. Oh yeah... the 2560x1600 references got me juiced up. That's a resolution which will still be out of most people's reach in 5 years. Thankfully it won't be *required* for a while yet.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Truenofan
but how much is that top of the line system, is it even worth spending 2500-3000 or in excess of that just to play one game? why not wait for better video cards to max it and spend less.

so when is this game out anyway ... Q2?

i'm certain my x1950p will play it satisfactorily at 10x7 and by the time i upgrade next year to [at least] G81/R680, a single GPU will play all the U3 Engine games superbly

it's all timing

 

[CP5670]

It's primarily a multiplayer FPS anyway. I don't pay any attention to graphics in multiplayer games. I'll probably run it with most of the settings turned down to get a constant 100+fps.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: CP5670
It's primarily a multiplayer FPS anyway. I don't pay any attention to graphics in multiplayer games. I'll probably run it with most of the settings turned down to get a constant 100+fps.

that isn't the point at all

this ENGINE is gonna power MANY of the next-gen games ... starting ... well ... pretty soon

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
It's primarily a multiplayer FPS anyway. I don't pay any attention to graphics in multiplayer games. I'll probably run it with most of the settings turned down to get a constant 100+fps.

that isn't the point at all

this ENGINE is gonna power MANY of the next-gen games ... starting ... well ... pretty soon

Actually, since a few months ago.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
It's primarily a multiplayer FPS anyway. I don't pay any attention to graphics in multiplayer games. I'll probably run it with most of the settings turned down to get a constant 100+fps.

that isn't the point at all

this ENGINE is gonna power MANY of the next-gen games ... starting ... well ... pretty soon

Actually, since a few months ago.

what really good Unreal3 games are out that are not xbox ports?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
It's primarily a multiplayer FPS anyway. I don't pay any attention to graphics in multiplayer games. I'll probably run it with most of the settings turned down to get a constant 100+fps.

that isn't the point at all

this ENGINE is gonna power MANY of the next-gen games ... starting ... well ... pretty soon

Actually, since a few months ago.

what really good Unreal3 games are out that are not xbox ports?

None for the PC yet, but some for Xbox. My bad.

 

[JPB]

Inquirer quote:

Unreal Tournament 2007, has now been renamed to Unreal Tournament 3 and is expected to be delayed until the second half of this year, along with a conversion to the Xbox 360.

 

[Nelsieus]

Originally posted by: Nightmare225
Before anyone starts whining about: OMG! WHAT IS TIS? DUAlL 8800GTXS CANT RUN TIS GAME?

Here's a newer quote

Yes I think I should have made it more clear that that I was talking
about super high-resolutions (like the 2560x1600 we're seeing on 30"
monitors but we know higher resolutions are coming beyond that) with
everything turned up including AA, max texture detail, etc.



Obviously the game will run GREAT on the top-of-the-line systems you
can buy today at reasonably high settings but my point was that there's
still going to be some headroom to make this the showcase game for the
PCs you buy two years from now and that's pretty much what every new
Unreal game has been .


http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=562887&page=2

Of course the OP seems to conveniantly omit that.

Anywho, I'm really looking forward to this game.

Nelsieus

 

[apoppin]

Nelsieus ... i deliberately "ommitted" all the *details* in the title and first post ... rather, i simply posted a sample *tease* of the article and the link to the article for everyone to read for themselves.

i suggested everyone read it as it had *more* than what tidbit i quoted

and my whole point for posting this was in my first comment: *something to look forward to*

which intention you appear to have *missed* although you are also looking forward to it

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
It's primarily a multiplayer FPS anyway. I don't pay any attention to graphics in multiplayer games. I'll probably run it with most of the settings turned down to get a constant 100+fps.

that isn't the point at all

this ENGINE is gonna power MANY of the next-gen games ... starting ... well ... pretty soon

Yes, but most of the preceding posts were about UT3 itself. In any case, the Unreal engines have generally had an excellent record of running well on a wide variety of hardware. I think Epic might be one of the few PC developers that can still make efficient engines, just going by GOW's framerates compared to those of many other 360 games.

 

[secretanchitman]

as long as it runs at 1280x1024, 1680x1050, or 1920x1200 with "high" details...im fine. i dont need uber high 16xAA/32xAF to play a game.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: CP5670

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: CP5670
It's primarily a multiplayer FPS anyway. I don't pay any attention to graphics in multiplayer games. I'll probably run it with most of the settings turned down to get a constant 100+fps.

that isn't the point at all

this ENGINE is gonna power MANY of the next-gen games ... starting ... well ... pretty soon

Yes, but most of the preceding posts were about UT3 itself. In any case, the Unreal engines have generally had an excellent record of running well on a wide variety of hardware. I think Epic might be one of the few PC developers that can still make efficient engines, just going by GOW's framerates compared to those of many other 360 games.

UT3 "itself" will be the flagship for the new Unreal engine

what we can expect from the game itself, we can also expect from decently executed games based on that engine ... and they will only get more complex

i am certain that UT3 will *run* on a 6600gt ... they stated that a long time ago as the *minimum*

BUT

this is the FIRST time we get to find out that for *maximum* it will challenge the SLI'd 8800GTXes ... they will *struggle* ... and next year the new chips will STILL be *challenged* by the engine [and it's increasing capabilities and complexities]

and that IS *good news* ... no matter how you look at it
[unless you have an old rig and don't want progress]