Kingdom Hearts III to be developed on Unreal Engine 4!
- Details
- Published on October 6, 2014 @ 11:22 pm
- Written by Arielle
Director Tetsuya Nomura announced in a recent interview with Famitsu that development of Kingdom Hearts III has been moved to Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 instead of Square Enix's in-house engine, Luminous Studios, due unstated reasons although right now they are having difficulties rendering with the engine. Nomura says they are working closely with Epic Games to work through any issues the development team may be having with the engine and are still on schedule with Kingdom Hearts III's development.
Back in October 2012, Square Enix made a long-term licensing deal with Epic Games for use of their Unreal Engine 3 & Unreal Engine 4. Many people believed these game engines would be used only on games developed by Eidos which is a subsidiary of Square Enix.
Thanks to Goldpanner for the translation!
---Once more, may we as about the state of development on KH3?
Nomura: It’s moving steadily along the estimated schedule. As an effect of us changing the game engine to Unreal Engine 4, which we did for several reasons, we had a lot of problems with the image creation, but we have been able to progress without incident with the collaboration of Epic Games.
Watch Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 in action below:
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Source: aibo_ac7 via Twitter
COMMENTS
Re: Kingdom Hearts 3 to run on Unreal Engine 4!
What a twist!
Re: Kingdom Hearts 3 to run on Unreal Engine 4!
Not surprised after hearing the entire Luminous team was folded into the FF15 team. Sucks that yet another attempt at an in-house engine failed though. Such a waste.
It does make sense, all things considered. I remember reading that article about SE purchasing Unreal licenses and thinking it was odd since neither they nor Eidos really uses UE3 or 4.
So what does this mean for the kingdom shader?
Re: Kingdom Hearts 3 to run on Unreal Engine 4!
Not surprised after hearing the entire Luminous team was folded into the FF15 team. Sucks that yet another attempt at an in-house engine failed though. Such a waste.
Yep. Man that's sad. Oh well.
I wonder what was giving them the problems in the first place in Luminous?
So what does this mean for the kingdom shader?
As we know so far, Kingdom Shader wasn't made with Luminous but was developed as something split from the engine altogether. They can export what they need if possible.
This a little embarrasing for Square, they develop an engine and they can't use it to develop their own games, or at least KHIII, really?.
This a little embarrasing for Square, they develop an engine and they can't use it to develop their own games, or at least KHIII, really?.
Not like this is the first time this happened (see: Crystal Tools - FF13)
I don't care what engine they use as long as the game turns out well. It's just a tad unfortunate that they spent so much time on it to abandon it in the end.
I don't care what engine they use as long as the game turns out well. It's just a tad unfortunate that they spent so much time on it to abandon it in the end.
Well it's not abandoned. Luminous will be used on FFXV and the R&D guys who worked on the engine are working with the Tabata's team to make it happen. After FFXV, though? Who knows. That was a multi-million dollar R&D project that they would be wasting money on if they didn't find a way to implement it in future games. Luminous still has some great tools in it, though, so they could possibly customize it to work with other engines and middleware and use it as a special lighting system as Luminous started as.
It is a shame, though.
Does that mean the game won't be like the trailers or something? I don't understand what this really means. Did KH1 and 2 use an in-house engine or something else?
KH3 will look and play better than the trailers.
for those who don't know how the Unreal Engine 4 works and plays:
[video=youtube;y_7awHM-pr0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_7awHM-pr0[/video]
Does that mean the game won't be like the trailers or something? I don't understand what this really means. Did KH1 and 2 use an in-house engine or something else?
The game was never going to be like the reveal trailer, and the second trailer was assets built with DirectX 11 which is not a game engine by any means.
Right now, all it means is that the game will be made with a lot more ease than they were having. How it will play and look are things we won't know until we see it but be certain it will look gorgeous and play well.
What does KH1 and KH2 have to do with anything?
Yeah Nomura said both trailers were pre rendered.
It's an impressive engine. I was super impressed by that video.
People need to stop comparing KH3 to KH1 and KH2. KH1 and 2 are similar in that they share the same engine (I believe) and reuse all the assets. The graphics are the same. This is actually true for EVERY KINGDOM HEARTS GAME BESIDES CHAIN OF MEMORIES. Yeah, even the DS games just use lower poly versions of the very same PS2 models.
KH3 is completely goddamn new. They can't reuse anything. It's some hard work, and the detail is a lot higher now, judging from the alpha models we've seen, so that's why it's taking so long. You can't gauge the game's development with patterns.
Updated the article to clarify that the dev team is currently having issues rendering with Unreal Engine 4 but are working closely with Epic Games to resolve any problems. The reasons for switching from Luminous remains unstated.
You guys just reminded me of the Deep Dive FMV. Kingdom Hearts 3 is going to look amazingly better.
KH3 is completely goddamn new. They can't reuse anything. It's some hard work, and the detail is a lot higher now, judging from the alpha models we've seen, so that's why it's taking so long. You can't gauge the game's development with patterns.
No truer a words have been spoken. Rome wasn't built in a day, and developing games certainly are like building multiple massive cities.
Not only it requiring new assets, but it also means new animations and a new approach to cutscene cinematography in order to create more dynamic scenes and ahhhh this is so exciting.
Sick! I think the Unreal Engines are the best looking game engines, personally. The Infinity Blade series is one of the nicest looking games I've ever played, and that was Unreal Engine 3 on an iOS device. I can only imagine what UE4 on a PS4 will look like. Plus, maybe it's just me, but I tend to think that cel-shaded games in HD overall look better. Just take 1.5, 2.5, Okami HD, and Wind Waker HD for example. They're not hyper-realistic, yet they're somehow more impressive looking to me than something like CoD: Advanced Warfare. Maybe it's just because they age better?
Regardless, given that KH3 will be next-gen cel-shaded on UE4, I can't wait to see the final result. Could quite possibly end up being the best graphics I've ever seen thus far, given my preference for HD cel-shading.
No truer a words have been spoken. Rome wasn't built in a day, and developing games certainly are like building multiple massive cities.
Not only it requiring new assets, but it also means new animations and a new approach to cutscene cinematography in order to create more dynamic scenes and ahhhh this is so exciting.
I didn't even think about that. The cutscenes in KH3 are going to be amazing! The pre-rendered clip from E3 2013 of Sora on the beach already looked damn good. And after seeing those Re:coded fight scenes in 2.5 all smooth and HD looking, seeing that kind of action with the new graphics and engines and animations is going to be absolutely astounding.
I'm really trying not over-hype myself for KH3, just to be safe. The track record of next-gen hype has been awful so far (Watch Dogs, Titanfall, Destiny, etc). But damn, I'm getting so excited for this.
Fine so long as Epic fixed that delayed texture loading issue that plagued UE3 games (flashbacks of ME1 on 360, *shudder*)
Lol so what would Luminous have done that the unreal engine 4 couldn't do anyway.
Well anyway..i'm guessing this is good....news?
The reason I brought up KH1 and KH2 wasn't comparing KH3 to them. I was just wondering if KH1 and KH2 used an "in-house engine" that Square-Enix made.
The reason I brought up KH1 and KH2 wasn't comparing KH3 to them. I was just wondering if KH1 and KH2 used an "in-house engine" that Square-Enix made.
It was an in-house engine, most likely. The thing is, making games for these past consoles was much different than it is now and with the strive to have more realistic real-world physics along with stunning graphics and high quality assets, you need more advanced engines with the toolsets that can do all of this already. It's meant to lower costs of development (or increase them if you are making a multi-million custom engine along with your multi-million dollar game) as well as ease the workload of developers.
Just looked at the games using UE4. If KH3 looks as good as Rime does, I'll be happy. At least it means there's a chance it will come out before 2020 then.
Wow, what an engine! It sure looks great!
I take this as good news. It's unfortunate that they had problems with Luminous but I'm glad they made the decision to go with UE4 instead of trying to wrestle with Luminous to get it to work. I also appreciate their openness about the situation. If this was the SE of 2-3 years ago they would have told us nothing and just said the same old lines "Your patience is appreciated. Please look forward to it." etc
Translation from Goldpanner!
| ---Once more, may we as about the state of development on KH3? Nomura: It’s moving steadily along the estimated schedule. As an effect of us changing the game engine to Unreal Engine 4, which we did for several reasons, we had a lot of problems with the image creation, but we have been able to progress without incident with the collaboration of Epic Games. |
So it sounds like this was a smart move and it seems like smooth sailing after asking Epic games for help.
It helps that Epic now has an office in Japan~
All this is doing is getting me more psyched! I can't wait to see the next future trailer. I'm really glad Epic is giving their helping hand as well.
Best decision in a long time. Luminous seems to be another disaster for SE.
Honestly, I wish Square Enix would just give up their ambition to have the prettiest graphics in town and spend more time and effort on making good games, Not that they're not making good games right now, but they take forever and we get so few because they spend way too much time making sure they look like movies.
Consider the fact most want good animations and graphics, I rather it be pretty and worry about controls later. Don't ask.
Getting agitated over this since I have no idea what it means exactly for the game's visuals and development.
So what does this mean for the kingdom shader?
Nothing. The Kingdom Shader was never an engine component. It's just an umbrella term for the effect Nomura will use on the main cast when visiting various worlds.
People need to stop comparing KH3 to KH1 and KH2. KH1 and 2 are similar in that they share the same engine (I believe) and reuse all the assets. The graphics are the same. This is actually true for EVERY KINGDOM HEARTS GAME BESIDES CHAIN OF MEMORIES. Yeah, even the DS games just use lower poly versions of the very same PS2 models.
So much misinformation in 4 sentences. Of course they are different engines, with some of them being improved versions of others.
Sick! I think the Unreal Engines are the best looking game engines, personally. The Infinity Blade series is one of the nicest looking games I've ever played, and that was Unreal Engine 3 on an iOS device. I can only imagine what UE4 on a PS4 will look like. Plus, maybe it's just me, but I tend to think that cel-shaded games in HD overall look better. Just take 1.5, 2.5, Okami HD, and Wind Waker HD for example. They're not hyper-realistic, yet they're somehow more impressive looking to me than something like CoD: Advanced Warfare. Maybe it's just because they age better?
Regardless, given that KH3 will be next-gen cel-shaded on UE4, I can't wait to see the final result. Could quite possibly end up being the best graphics I've ever seen thus far, given my preference for HD cel-shading.
Only Okami + Wind Waker are cel-shaded. KH has never been.
I just remind you people that the Batman "Arkham" series was made on UE3 and it looks awesome so don't worry, KHIII is gonna look EPIC (no pun intended).
It's just an umbrella term for the effect Nomura will use on the main cast when visiting various worlds.
Yeah, a lot of people have blown this out of proportion. It basically means 'we're using lighting now to avoid dissonance between characters and locations'.
So much misinformation in 4 sentences. Of course they are different engines, with some of them being improved versions of others.
5 sentences. I'm assuming they all run on the same graphic engine, not stating they're exactly the same. And yes, all the assets are reused in KH games. Don't know what you're talking about.
I do agree that UE4 look really freaking beautiful.
But correct me if I'm wrong, but would the development time increase even more, since they have to transfer all the work the have done up to this point from their current enige, to UE4?
I mean I'm happy that they made the dicision to switch engins to speed up the development, but wouldn't there only be more time added now they have to tranfer. Only wondering, that's all...
5 sentences. I'm assuming they all run on the same graphic engine, not stating they're exactly the same. And yes, all the assets are reused in KH games. Don't know what you're talking about.
The fact that they look similar doesn't mean they used the same engine to create them - unless you are talking about the HD cinematics or something like that which I guess might be the case.
| How much was reused between Kingdom Hearts I and Kingdom Hearts II? As a director, what’s exciting about melding the two game universes? Nomura: For the first question, although there are many similar elements, we actually recreated the game engine [for Kingdom Hearts II] from scratch, so we didn’t import any data from Kingdom Hearts I. It’s 100% new. Although it’s the same world, it’s completely new. Kingdom Hearts II Interview (IGN) - Kingdom Hearts Ultimania |
Even KH1 + 2 don't use the same engine, BBS uses the engine from Crisis Core etc. Obviously, with that many titles on different systems and different years of release, a variety of engines were used.
I do agree that UE4 look really freaking beautiful.
But correct me if I'm wrong, but would the development time increase even more, since they have to transfer all the work the have done up to this point from their current enige, to UE4?
I mean I'm happy that they made the dicision to switch engins to speed up the development, but wouldn't there only be more time added now they have to tranfer. Only wondering, that's all...
Depends on how much work they have done with Luminous. It will be worth it though if Luminous is a constant fight with the engine, which by the sound of it, it is.
Depends on how much work they have done with Luminous. It will be worth it though if Luminous is a constant fight with the engine, which by the sound of it, it is.
From what we know, they never really start working on Luminous at all.
I have a feeling after FFXV Luminous is never going to be used again. Isn't that what happened with Crystal Tools?
I have a feeling after FFXV Luminous is never going to be used again. Isn't that what happened with Crystal Tools?
Crystal Tools was used on XIII-2 and LRFF.
Crystal Tools was used on XIII-2 and LRFF.
Oh I forgot about that.
I wonder when they switched to Unreal engine 4? I imagine it must have been sometime this year.
From what we know, they never really start working on Luminous at all.
True, since the previews were essentially CGI videos or something similar.
I wonder when they switched to Unreal engine 4? I imagine it must have been sometime this year.
They did say though that the game was being worked on Luminous - last year. So that doesn't leave out much. :P
It was an in-house engine, most likely. The thing is, making games for these past consoles was much different than it is now and with the strive to have more realistic real-world physics along with stunning graphics and high quality assets, you need more advanced engines with the toolsets that can do all of this already. It's meant to lower costs of development (or increase them if you are making a multi-million custom engine along with your multi-million dollar game) as well as ease the workload of developers.
Well I don't know anything about game engines and all of that. However I read that the UE III engine was used in the Batman Arkham games, and those were amazing. So I'm going to assume that UE IV engine will be even better. I was just upset by the fact that they weren't using the in-house engine anymore, it made me think that KH was losing something original to themselves.
I assume that the reason that they had such trouble with their own engine was the fact that they haven't worked on next gen systems. Anyway, whatever gets KH III done well is fine with me.
Well I don't know anything about game engines and all of that. However I read that the UE III engine was used in the Batman Arkham games, and those were amazing. So I'm going to assume that UE IV engine will be even better. I was just upset by the fact that they weren't using the in-house engine anymore, it made me think that KH was losing something original to themselves.
I assume that the reason that they had such trouble with their own engine was the fact that they haven't worked on next gen systems. Anyway, whatever gets KH III done well is fine with me.
Of course it wouldn't. If anything, they will probably have an easier time reaching their vision of how the game will look with UE4. It's a very versatile engine. It does not mean the game will suddenly become hyper-realistic and brown/gray and stuff. Games like Rime and Abzu are being made on UE4 and those two games have such a unique charm to them.
Trust me, this is not a bad thing.
That isn't the problem with Luminous. They had an entire R&D comprised of programmers recruited from around the world working on it that had experience working with PCs and consoles. The issue is much more deeper than "they haven't worked on next gen systems before" because if that were true you'd see many other companies struggling like this. There are a lot of problems, but it boils down to ambition vs reality.
I was kind of expecting this ever since they stated that they were having complications with the engine. Still, it's kind of a shame that they had to abandon the in-house engine that they had, but ah well.
If Luminous is causing more trouble than it's worth, I'm glad they made the decision to switch gears now while KH3 is still in pre-production.
Should be interesting to see KH3 at its next showing, in any case~
Could Jump Festa be considered too early to show off the new engine?
Could Jump Festa be considered too early to show off the new engine?
Something like the D23 Japan Expo video? Maybe. Depends on how long they have been working on the engine.
I'd say we have a higher chance of seeing Sora & Riku's new clothes before we see anything in-engine this year.
Yeah if there's anything shown at jump festa or e3 it's going to be i artwork, and or trailers similar to the e3 2014 trailer.
Something like the D23 Japan Expo video? Maybe. Depends on how long they have been working on the engine.
I'd say we have a higher chance of seeing Sora & Riku's new clothes before we see anything in-engine this year.
Yeah if there's anything shown at jump festa or e3 it's going to be i artwork, and or trailers similar to the e3 2014 trailer.
Sounds fair enough. Nomura did state that the E3 2013 trailer was released far too soon, so even without the change in engines, they might not have released too much.
Worlds like Port Royal will look far too realistic under the Unreal Engine 4 engine. I wonder if Square will use Maleficent's movie new design for Kingdom Hearts III.
Worlds like Port Royal will look far too realistic under the Unreal Engine 4 engine. I wonder if Square will use Maleficent's movie new design for Kingdom Hearts III.
No and no.
Unless we are talking about a pretty old engine, an engine doesn't dictate the look of the game. It affects how the game is created, how assets are handled, it affects game performance etc. Gaf has great examples of Unreal games with different looks
NeoGAF - View Single Post - Kingdom Hearts 3 is now using Unreal Engine 4
rokudamia2
October 7, 2014 @ 03:25 amOffline