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Xbox announces that future Halo games will be developed on Unreal Engine 5
- Thread starter HeisenbergFX4
- Start date
GHG
Member
Only something they should have done 5 years ago like I said:
www.neogaf.com
But there's reason to be cautiously optimistic, if even Bloober can pump out stellar results using UE5, there is hope.
News - Halo Infinite: The SlipSpace Engine is a ‘mystical beast’, for 343 Industries
Senior software engineer Leonard Holman offered us an interesting point of view on the SlipSpace Engine , which is the engine with which Microsoft and 343 Industries have shaped the new chapter of one of the most representative series of the Xbox lineup. “SlipSpace really is a mystical beast...
But there's reason to be cautiously optimistic, if even Bloober can pump out stellar results using UE5, there is hope.
A lot of people in here blaming the BLAM engine for supposedly being difficult to work with when it brought forth the most amazing physics/sandbox system that the franchise has ever seen.
Dont forget how Halo 3 launched in 2007 with:
a working forge mode
a working theater mode
the best physics of any halo game
plenty of DLC that got released in a timely manner - even now they have 0 issues porting over maps from Halo 4 to Halo 3 MCC (Icebox, Edge, Waterfall and more to come possibly)
Things that were completely absent as soon as 343i took over. Both Halo 5 and Infinite still don't have a working theater mode.
I'm sure BLAM has it's issues but pales in comparison with the incompotence of the actual devs. So this whole switch to another engine does sit right with me. The next game is either going to have 0 identity of the games prior or will be just as much of a buggy mess as the other 343 games.
Dont forget how Halo 3 launched in 2007 with:
a working forge mode
a working theater mode
the best physics of any halo game
plenty of DLC that got released in a timely manner - even now they have 0 issues porting over maps from Halo 4 to Halo 3 MCC (Icebox, Edge, Waterfall and more to come possibly)
Things that were completely absent as soon as 343i took over. Both Halo 5 and Infinite still don't have a working theater mode.
I'm sure BLAM has it's issues but pales in comparison with the incompotence of the actual devs. So this whole switch to another engine does sit right with me. The next game is either going to have 0 identity of the games prior or will be just as much of a buggy mess as the other 343 games.
Complistic
Member
Halo should of been on unreal years ago. Hope the new management rights the ship.
clarky
Gold Member
That was when the teams where a lot smaller and they didn't have a revolving door of contractors. Even bungie struggled with the same engine. Destiny 1 was notoriously difficult to work on.
Moving to UE should alleviate some of the issues. Whether or not it still feels like Halo is another matter.
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Radical_3d
Member
Well, then I hope 343 is unfit for the task and therefore stay TFO of open world designs.
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Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
I think that Halo Infinite's multiplayer felt entirely Halo-y, so I would think that changing engine doesn't have to equate to a different feeling game. If Microsoft are dead set on continuing with 18 month contracts for contractors working on their games (and it'll be interesting to see if that happens, one would assume that Activision and Bethesda would have fairly strong opinions on that) then using the most popular tools would make a lot of sense.
clarky
Gold Member
Infinite is on the same engine Halo has always been on thats why it feels the same.
midnightAI
Member
Oh, I agree with that, but the major issue with the open world design of Infinite was there was a severe lack of variety in the open world, whether thats the actual gameplay loop or scenery variety (biomes).
It could be made into a great open world game (or, rather, wide/open as some devs like to call it, like TLoU2, so large play area at times but little to no backtracking and not quest driven from NPC's) but I dont trust them to pull it off so a more linear experience is definitely preferred.
Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
I'm a bit confused then, I thought it was the Slipspace engine?
clarky
Gold Member
Which is just an upgrade version of Blam!
They claimed it was all new which turned out to be bullshit as per.
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Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
Ah
Ah right, either way I don't feel worried about them changing engine - I'm not convinced that an engine has a "feel" if I'm honest - I assume that feel is a lot to do with speed, rotation, jump and ttk. I'd also say that the Halo games don't all feel the same - infinite feels like Halo should to me, but it does play differently to other titles. Nonetheless, this news is all positive for me, I'm pleased to hear about a new game being announced, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with it. Who knows, maybe using a more well known set of tools will lead to them delivering the game on schedule!
Ah right, either way I don't feel worried about them changing engine - I'm not convinced that an engine has a "feel" if I'm honest - I assume that feel is a lot to do with speed, rotation, jump and ttk. I'd also say that the Halo games don't all feel the same - infinite feels like Halo should to me, but it does play differently to other titles. Nonetheless, this news is all positive for me, I'm pleased to hear about a new game being announced, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with it. Who knows, maybe using a more well known set of tools will lead to them delivering the game on schedule!
clarky
Gold Member
Yeah me too.
Hopefully they can bring the funky ass physics with them. That was the most fun, just goofing around trying to break the game.
Contractors aren’t immune to steep learning curves.
Going with proprietary engines that are difficult to use can also stifle innovation, creativity and turnaround time for content and support.
When you’re spending a ton of time wrangling the tools, that’s time taken from actual creating stuff.
Gaiff
SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Haven’t seen it running on UE5. So far, every single game on this engine has subpar performance. The last thing Halo needs is a game that stutters, has huge frame time spikes, and kills performance.
DeltaPolarBear
Member
That is not Halo's priority. Halo's priority is making a game that is worthy of its legacy. High performance, believe it or not, is not what makes a good game. It is window dressing. Halo's problem isn't to actually run well, it is to actually be a fun game people want to buy and play.
Black Myth Wukong has pretty bad performance, but people are willing to accept that to play the game. Too bad that it indirectly made it not able to run well on Series S.
Gaiff
SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
High performance is what makes a game play well, especially a multiplayer shooter. If Halo starts running like shit, there will be hell to pay.
Something like 80% of the sales are on PC and the PS5 version received poor reviews. Furthermore, it’s a single player game. Halo’s bread and butter is its multiplayer. If the game starts stuttering and running poorly on PC and Xbox, good luck with the reception. This isn’t 2008 anymore. Gamers now overwhelmingly prefer 60fps because it plays better.
Klosshufvud
Member
Of course proprietary engines put devs and publishers to the test. They require a consistent programmer staff that isn't rotated out by the month and in ideal circumstances are custom written to play to the strengths of what the game is intended for. The use of licensed engines is just a symptom of an underlying illness - that this industry can't preserve its workforce. Instead everything is on a contractual basis and outsourcing is prevalent now. Does anyone truly think a game like Ghost of Tsushima could look and run as well as it does if it was on UE5? Nobody believes that because it wouldn't be possible.
What the hell? It's absolutely part of Halo's identity to look well and run smoothly. Series S is also another good argument why moving to UE5 is going to cause a lot of downgrades.
DeltaPolarBear
Member
We both know this upcoming Halo title is not being released on Xbox Series. There is physically no time for that. By the time the game is released in minimum 5 years the Series hardware would have been retired.
GoldenEye98
posts news as their odd job
All Halo games ran at 30fps before MCC/Halo 5
clarky
Gold Member
Well observed, but that's relevant how?
And referred to as the Dark Ages.
30 FPS for a shooter in 2024 would be criminal. And DOA.
ResilientBanana
Member
Because they most likely didn't spend resources on Mocap for that demo animation.
OverHeat
« generous god »
YeulEmeralda
Linux User
All the more reason what contractor wants to learn a useless skill that they can't transfer to a different job?
A Japanese developer called Falcom uses their own engine but they keep their staff for decades.
GoldenEye98
posts news as their odd job
Yeah but this some of the conundrum that Halo as a franchise faces imo. It's was built in a different time than the expectations for a shooter today.
A Halo built from the ground up to be a modern FPS would probably feel like a Halo skin on a different game.
AmuroChan
Member
Square-Enix comes to mind. FFVII Rebirth was made in UE, as will the upcoming Dragon Quest XII and Kingdom Hearts 4.
clarky
Gold Member
They need to spin off like ODST or a flood horror game. Remake CE for a new audience and go from there.
Halo as it exists today is done for. I like it but im' 50 years old. The slow floaty gameplay with massive TTK has no place with kids of today.
clarky
Gold Member
Halo 6 is already out mate.
What's the biggest ue map yet? I think we may learn a lot from it, I could be wrong but is it star citizen?
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clarky
Gold Member
I'd like something like Infinite but with proper missions built into the map that you start like in Destiny. I think they where onto something with Infinite but ultimately fell short. I'd like that idea expanded upon.
proandrad
Member
Where is it, because I’ve haven’t seen it.
clarky
Gold Member
Infinite is Halo 6. It came after Halo 5.
diffusionx
Gold Member
Remasters don't get an IP back on track. I'm glad Silent Hill 2 is good but it doesn't mean anything in terms of Konami or Bloober or anyone else being competent enough to make an actual new game that is good. Same with this. Just because "Halo Studios" can remake an old ass game (again) doesn't mean they can actually make a good game.
These pictures they showed are venturing into "Microsoft HIRED THAT MAN" territory. They look nice but UE5 stills often can look nice. I remember that happening when the stills for Shitfinite came out too.
FoxMcChief
Gold Member
Fortnite looks and runs great. Most may not like the art direction, but it’s still a visual/performance knockout.
clarky
Gold Member
SportsFan581
Member
The old engine just wasn't up the level of most modern games graphically, seems like this could only be good news.
diffusionx
Gold Member
I am thinking of when it was revealed, not those shitty 2020 pictures that led to the delayNever forget.
Microsoft teases Halo Infinite at E3 2018
Short trailer shows off newly announced “Slipspace Engine.”…
arstechnica.com
clarky
Gold Member
Yeah the "reveal but not" was awesome, if only they could deliver something along those lines, Halo might be back.I am thinking of when it was revealed, not those shitty 2020 pictures that led to the delay
Microsoft teases Halo Infinite at E3 2018
Short trailer shows off newly announced “Slipspace Engine.”…
proandrad
Member
No that is halo infinite, just like Halo Reach wasn’t Halo 4.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
clarky
Gold Member
What? it follows on from 5 mate, Even if they ignore some of the events.
Halo Infinite is the latest release in the franchise. It takes place after the events of Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Wars 2. The Banished are the game's main enemies, with Infinite taking place right after they wiped out most UNSC forces on Zeta Halo.
Halo Reach was a prequel to CE.
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Spiral1407
Neo Member
720p30 incoming
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Ribi
Member
proandrad
Member
The time when the game takes place doesn’t matter, for example Metal Gear Solid 3 takes place before Metal Gear Solid. Halo Infinite changes the formula to an open world game so it wasn’t named as a number sequel to the series.
clarky
Gold Member
Some mental gymnastics there. The story is a direct sequel to 5 and got released after 5. I don't know what more to say.
Are you telling me Metal Gear Solid 5 isn't 5 because its open world?
It is the sixth mainline installment in the Halo series, following Halo 5: Guardians (2015). The game's campaign follows the human supersoldier Master Chief and his fight against a mercenary organization, known as the Banished, on the Forerunner ringworld Zeta Halo.
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FoxMcChief
Gold Member
I get the concern. But maybe using a third party engine means they can focus less on an engine only they know how it works, and focus more on the gameplay loop. With a third party engine, I imagine you can outsource some work a little easier. Then again, I have no idea what I’m talking about.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Schreier's 2023 report specifically name-called the Splispace engine as being a problem that was causing issues in creating content.
Moving to a more mainstream engine that seems to put our good, reliable, results is probably the smartest thing they could do.
CDPR ditched their own in-house Red Tech for Unreal 5 for all future projects as well, afterall.