MMO Engines and Graphics Assets

bhuma

I dont understand why some smart software development company doesnt develop a robust and flexible game engine, as well as modifiable graphics assets, specifically designed for MMOs, which it could then turn around and licence to prospective game developers. I know Unreal does this, at least in part, with their engine, but I dont think it was specifically designed with MMOs in mind, and it therefore has some important limitations.

This would not only generate a nice income for the software developer, but it would also allow  the MMO developers to devote their time and energy into developing rich 'gameplay content' rather than using up all their resources on creating a new engine, revamping an old one, or focussing so much on new 'state of the art' graphics. The graphics of such games as AoC, Lotro, and Vanguard are quite sufficient to create a believable world. If the engine and graphics assets were modifyable and licensable, and could be easily adapted to fit a particular type of game and game world, the costs of producing an MMO would be drastically reduced, thus allowing for more creativity in the development of niche games by smaller gaming houses. If and when this happens, we will see a renaissance of the genre, with many more choices available to players. I just dont get it why someone doesnt do this.

 

 

Death1942

there are a few MMO ones out there....they just suck quite badly.

 

the thing about Unreal is it was made to a high standard and is easy to manipulate.  i'd like you to name 1 other engine that has featured in more than 2 different companies and their games.   i doubt you could.

 

you are right though we need a decent engine

suske

Originally posted by bhuma


I dont understand why some smart software development company doesnt develop a robust and flexible game engine, as well as modifiable graphics assets, specifically designed for MMOs, which it could then turn around and licence to prospective game developers. I know Unreal does this, at least in part, with their engine, but I dont think it was specifically designed with MMOs in mind, and it therefore has some important limitations.
This would not only generate a nice income for the software developer, but it would also allow  the MMO developers to devote their time and energy into developing rich 'gameplay content' rather than using up all their resources on creating a new engine, revamping an old one, or focussing so much on new 'state of the art' graphics. The graphics of such games as AoC, Lotro, and Vanguard are quite sufficient to create a believable world. If the engine and graphics assets were modifyable and licensable, and could be easily adapted to fit a particular type of game and game world, the costs of producing an MMO would be drastically reduced, thus allowing for more creativity in the development of niche games by smaller gaming houses. If and when this happens, we will see a renaissance of the genre, with many more choices available to players. I just dont get it why someone doesnt do this.
 
 

 

it has been done!

 

www.youtube.com/watch

bhuma

The Icarus solution is pretty much what I was talking about. Thanks for the link. Now it just needs to be done very, very well, so that games created using such a platform dont look like freeware crap, and so that there is a sophisticated and substantial library of animations, features, and graphics assets. Looks like a decent beginning. I suspect that in five years other very sophisticated and robust platforms will become available.

paulscott

big world, used by profession devs stargate worlds included.

Umbral

Bhuma

Take a look ...

http://www.heroengine.com/

 

 

 

.....

bhuma

Thanks Umbral. Now that is sweet. Its been done!

tvalentine

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DCzDKj3hjOE 

Another vid:  http://youtube.com/watch?v=aCQgSBne0jg&feature=related dont let the title fool you, its just a video replying to a eve video ... its the same engine.

Jixx

They exist but they are expensive. 

 

As a Indie MMO developers I would rather have a cheap source of high quality art and model assets than a engine.

 

 

CaesarsGhost

Originally posted by Death1942


there are a few MMO ones out there....they just suck quite badly.
 
the thing about Unreal is it was made to a high standard and is easy to manipulate.  i'd like you to name 1 other engine that has featured in more than 2 different companies and their games.   i doubt you could.
 
you are right though we need a decent engine

 

I can.  GameBryo.

DAoC, Oblivion, Civilization 3 and 4.  Project Entropia/Universe.  WAR.  Dragon Empires for those who remember... that list goes on and on and on.  In fact, it has a better track record then Unreal.

I don't know 1 programmer who would say "I'd prefer Unreal"... it's always about the artist when it comes to that shithole of an engine.

earl_miller

The world is going nowhere

Forgrimm

Interesting necro.

nurso

CaesarsGhost said:

I don't know 1 programmer who would say "I'd prefer Unreal"... it's always about the artist when it comes to that shithole of an engine.

Care to explain? I always thought it was easy to code in UE.

BLNX

nurso said:

CaesarsGhost said:

I don't know 1 programmer who would say "I'd prefer Unreal"... it's always about the artist when it comes to that shithole of an engine.

Care to explain? I always thought it was easy to code in UE.

I hope he finally comes here and answers that decade+ post that's not certainly based on a different time in programming and the industry in general.

@CaesarsGhost your decade long tyrannical post is coming to an end!

nurso

Crap, I summoned the dead.

Freedance

If everyone created their games from scratch without the help of great game development engines, creating games would take longer and be more difficult. Many large companies and even independent teams are still building their proprietary engine. This requires application interfaces such as DirectX, OpenGL, and XNA and commercial and open-source libraries containing physics, scene graphs, and GUI libraries. Creating a game engine is not easy, but sometimes it is necessary if the game is so different that no existing engine will work. In these cases, I use https://www.zaptest.com/api-testing-automation; it makes my job easier. I can test several games a day.

Tiller

What is it about this thread that is causing bots to necro the s*** out of it?

LuisFuture

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Vicky31

bhuma said:

I dont understand why some smart software development company doesnt develop a robust and flexible game engine, as well as modifiable graphics assets, specifically designed for MMOs, which it could then turn around and licence to prospective game developers. I know Unreal does this, at least in part, with their engine, but I dont think it was specifically designed with MMOs in mind, and it therefore has some important limitations.

This would not only generate a nice income for the software developer, but it would also allow  the MMO developers to devote their time and energy into developing rich 'gameplay content' rather than using up all their resources on creating a new engine, revamping an old one, or focussing so much on new 'state of the art' graphics. The graphics of such games as AoC, Lotro, and Vanguard are quite sufficient to create a believable world. If the engine and graphics assets were modifyable and licensable, and could be easily adapted to fit a particular type of game and game world, the costs of producing an MMO would be drastically reduced, thus allowing for more creativity in the development of niche games by smaller gaming houses. If and when this happens, we will see a renaissance of the genre, with many more choices available to players. I just dont get it why someone doesnt do this.

 

 

It's a valid point you've raised about the potential benefits of a dedicated MMO-focused game engine and modifiable graphics assets from a software development company. While Unreal Engine has made strides in this direction, there's indeed room for a specialized solution. Perhaps the challenge lies in the complexity of designing a system that caters specifically to the unique demands of MMOs. Nonetheless, the idea of reducing development costs and empowering smaller gaming houses with customizable tools could lead to an exciting renaissance in the genre, providing players with a diverse array of creative and immersive worlds to explore.