Ubisoft's Tiwak Engine.

[WhatsHisFace]

This has been bothering me for a while...

I don't know about this thing. It seems to do well enough, but in comparison to the newest version of the engine that Ubi used to use so endlessly, I don't know if it holds up.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...

Ubisoft used the Unreal Engine last generation to great effect, they produced some of the Xbox's best visuals at the times of their games releases, and the versatility of the Unreal engine made sure all the games worked as they should.

This generation, Ubisoft's internal team Tiwak, who was supposed to make "Tork" for them last gen, which I don't think ever released, has made them a new engine, which has been so far used in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and will be used in Rainbow Six Vegas and Splinter Cell Double Agent. Possibly in Assassin's Creed, but I'm not sure, they definitely didn't make the PoPs on Unreal...

But anyways, it worked really well in GRAW, don't get me wrong. It was arguably the best looking Xbox360 game at the time, and since Gears of War isn't out yet it might still be, but it didn't have the SplinterCell 1 "GOOD HEAVENS THIS IS THE BEST LOOKING XBOX GAME YET" impact that drew the attention to Ubi's suddenly good product line to begin with.

I think the engine is still in really early stages too, since it's mainly supporting the GRAW style (like how people licensed Quake to make FPSs and not RPGs). Rainbow Six Vegas looks like a Ghost Recon expansion but played in the FPV, guns visible, and the addition of rappelling. SplinterCell doesn't quite have the SplinterCell look anymore with the dramatic shadows and the ****eful eyecandy... it's like they changed it around to compliment the engine.

As a side note, Ubisoft bought the Crytek 1 engine along with the Farcry IP, which powered Farcry. I don't really know where that's going but I'll assume they can move code around to do whatever works best.

Well anyways, that's the deal. Which would you have preferred they use, Unreal or Tiwak?

Tiwak:

Unreal:

 

[THWIP*]

This has been bothering me for a while...

I don't know about this thing. It seems to do well enough, but in comparison to the newest version of the engine that Ubi used to use so endlessly, I don't know if it holds up.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...

Ubisoft used the Unreal Engine last generation to great effect, they produced some of the Xbox's best visuals at the times of their games releases, and the versatility of the Unreal engine made sure all the games worked as they should.

This generation, Ubisoft's internal team Tiwak, who was supposed to make "Tork" for them last gen, which I don't think ever released, has made them a new engine, which has been so far used in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and will be used in Rainbow Six Vegas and Splinter Cell Double Agent. Possibly in Assassin's Creed, but I'm not sure, they definitely didn't make the PoPs on Unreal...

But anyways, it worked really well in GRAW, don't get me wrong. It was arguably the best looking Xbox360 game at the time, and since Gears of War isn't out yet it might still be, but it didn't have the SplinterCell 1 "GOOD HEAVENS THIS IS THE BEST LOOKING XBOX GAME YET" impact that drew the attention to Ubi's suddenly good product line to begin with.

I think the engine is still in really early stages too, since it's mainly supporting the GRAW style (like how people licensed Quake to make FPSs and not RPGs). Rainbow Six Vegas looks like a Ghost Recon expansion but played in the FPV, guns visible, and the addition of rappelling. SplinterCell doesn't quite have the SplinterCell look anymore with the dramatic shadows and the ****eful eyecandy... it's like they changed it around to compliment the engine.

As a side note, Ubisoft bought the Crytek 1 engine along with the Farcry IP, which powered Farcry. I don't really know where that's going but I'll assume they can move code around to do whatever works best.

Well anyways, that's the deal. Which would you have preferred they use, Unreal or Tiwak?

Tiwak:

Unreal:

LAST I SAW, 'SC: DA' IS USING A MODIFIED 'SC:CT' ENGINE (UNREAL 2.0) FOR XBOX/PS2, AND A "MULTITHREADED" VERSION (UE3 ?) FOR THE '360'.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

On Xbox and PS2 it's using the Unreal Engine, naturally, but for the next generation... we're getting Tiwak. It would be funny if they downscaled the Tiwak Engine for the PS2 though.

 

[THWIP*]

On Xbox and PS2 it's using the Unreal Engine, naturally, but for the next generation... we're getting Tiwak. It would be funny if they downscaled the Tiwak Engine for the PS2 though.

I THINK THEY CONFUSED ALOT OF PEOPLE WITH THIS GAME. DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LOOK, YOU MIGHT GET 3 DIFFERENT STORIES ON EACH OF THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS, WHAT ENGINE(S) ARE BEING USED, AND WHAT FEATURES ARE INCLUDED ON EACH.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I think the 360 version just might explode.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

... Denton's the only person I can have this discussion with.

 

[Fenrir]

Rainbow Six Vegas is using Unreal Engine 3.0.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Rainbow Six Vegas is using Unreal Engine 3.0.

Go here: http://egm.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3148877

In literal terms, that bright future means you can expect a graphics engine rivaling the best we've seen on any console. We've only seen bits and pieces of this engine, but if the quality can be maintained from what we've seen (and in the first screenshots of the game) throughout the entire game, it's safe to say the developers are onto something special here. The Vegas team is keeping its technology secrets close to its chest, however, only opening its bulletproof vest long enough to tell us that it is a new in-house engine, and not the one used for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfigher.

They then say it's not the GRAW engine, but I know it is. Maybe just updated.

 

[Fenrir]

Go here: http://egm.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3148877

They then say it's not the GRAW engine, but I know it is. Maybe just updated.

I was arguing with Danalys about it a couple of days ago and a TeamXBox developer interview dated April 20th 2006 (that 1up article is a month older than that) laid it out bare and straight:

What can you tell us about the game’s engine? What visual improvements can gamers expect to see? Are you running on a made-from-scratch engine or are you developing upon an existing technology?

Maxime Béland: We are using the Unreal Engine 3. As for the physics, Novodex was our choice. So expect something very impressive technology wise, as we are making great achievements with this engine.

Also it’s a great engine for Multiplayer needs.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Well if it's right from the developer's mouth, I've got to listen to him over ****ty 1up.

 

[Fenrir]

Well if it's right from the developer's mouth, I've got to listen to him over ****ty 1up.

What's with those guys anyway? They can't seem to get anything right these days...

 

[BanjoKazooie]

I was arguing with Danalys...

My condolences




Anyways, Tiwak would be better, even though this thread is the very first time I've ever heard of it. While UE3.0 is an engine built for PCs primarily and then ported over, the Ubi Soft engine would have been built with their core business (that is, console games) in mind. And they'd probably be able to better customize it, have more support for it, etc. And the Ubi Soft guys have shown that they aren't slouches when it comes to stuff like this anyways, they've made some of the smoothest running, best looking games out there for the past 5 or 6 years now.

 

[Fenrir]

My condolences

And she got pwned.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Anyways, Tiwak would be better, even though this thread is the very first time I've ever heard of it. While UE3.0 is an engine built for PCs primarily and then ported over, the Ubi Soft engine would have been built with their core business (that is, console games) in mind. And they'd probably be able to better customize it, have more support for it, etc. And the Ubi Soft guys have shown that they aren't slouches when it comes to stuff like this anyways, they've made some of the smoothest running, best looking games out there for the past 5 or 6 years now.

You bring up a good point. Tiwak being Ubis allows Ubi to make changes to their engine very easily. They don't need to buy rights and licenses in order to put something in...

 

[BanjoKazooie]

And also, I believe they have CryTek under their umbrella anyways, don't they? Crysis > Gears of War graphically, by a mile. I'd rather they just use that.

 

[THWIP*]

And also, I believe they have CryTek under their umbrella anyways, don't they? Crysis > Gears of War graphically, by a mile. I'd rather they just use that.

NO, 'UBI' BOUGHT THE RIGHTS TO THE ORIGINAL 'CRY-ENGINE' FROM THEM........THEY CAN MODIFY IT TO DEATH, BUT NOTHING WILL LOOK MUCH BETTER THAN 'FC:I' WITH IT. 'EA' HAS BEEN TRYING TO BUY 'CRYTEK', SO THEY CAN RAPE THAT ENGINE, LIKE THEY DID 'RENDERWARE'.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

And also, I believe they have CryTek under their umbrella anyways, don't they? Crysis > Gears of War graphically, by a mile. I'd rather they just use that.

Look at the new shots.

 

[BanjoKazooie]

Of what, Crysis or Gears? I've seen the new Gears shots. I hope you don't mean Crysis has been downgraded

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Crysis has been downgraded. The ground texture and the tanks have been uglified.

Anyways, THWIP*, if Ubisoft stays on top of things, they could modify the CryEngine 1 to look as good as they want. They probably won't, though.