An interesting article regarding the delayed release of Unreal from the Adrenaline Vault site.
Simply Unreal
Written by: David
On Nov. 4th, GT Interactive announced the delay of Epic MegaGames' highly anticipated 3D action game Unreal. Many had believed the gaming world was close to witnessing first-hand the magic Epic and Digital Extremes had been diligently creating. It was not to be. The news spread across the Internet like lightning, and the responses from shocked gamers were equally swift. Most supported Epic's decision, while others spewed forth creative combinations of spicy words none had thought of before. This is an examination of the reactions, and an analysis of the arguments condemning the delay. Epic spokesman Mark Rein also joins in with his perspective on why Unreal remains undistributed.
Unrealistic Expectations
In light of the delay, it is interesting to note that one of the first major announcements regarding Unreal was posted in the newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action on Nov. 9th, 1995. In that infamous message, Epic vice-president Mark Rein optimistically wrote, "Unreal will be out in 1996." He also mentioned that the development team had seen Quake, saying, "We know our game will kick its ass!"
While some claim Epic simply underestimated the length of time it would take to develop the game, a more accommodating theory suggests that the game has matured over the years from a simple Quake clone to something much more significant. Hardware technology has evolved and improved at nearly a geometric rate during the Unreal development cycle, and the team has been keeping pace, integrating these changes into the engine. The design is also highly ambitious. Despite what many naysayers claim, Epic is attempting things that have never been done in a 3D game before, including highly advanced artificial intelligence and outdoor environments.
Matt Tagliaferri, who wrote a level design book for Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, and will be writing the handbook for the Unreal editor, was recently granted a first-hand look at the game. After his visit to Digital Extremes, he posted an enthusiastic message on the game's official message board that read, "It kicked my butt all over the
place. Unreal is better than Quake, better than Quake 2, better than any other game in this genre. And not just a bit better, either. I'm talking way cooler!"
I can almost hear you scoffing, yet these statements are part of the requisite hype that new games generate. It's a tradition that started years ago with John Romero's ramblings about Quake, and more often than not create an insane level of player expectations. (With regard to Unreal, however, there may be more truth to these statements than hype.) The blame in part belongs to gamers, whose constant demands for news and information regarding games in progress can be very taxing on developers. Developers must balance the need to promote a game and stir up expectations with an obligation to work and keep many aspects of the technology and design hush-hush. It's a peculiar dance made all the more complicated by the Internet. When id Software developed Doom, it is unlikely they devoted much time to answering e-mail, updating web pages, writing .plan files, and so on. They focused on one thing -- making a great game.
After announcing the delay of the game, Epic was inundated with a flood of messages from the already massive Unreal community, and the newsgroups were filled with declarations of both loyalty and scathing denunciation. One newsgroup message titled "Bye, Bye Epic" read, "For the last year, me and many other gamers have been eagerly awaiting for Unreal to be released, yet Epic has let us down by failing to provide more than a few movie files and endless screenshots. I am sorry Epic, but if it isn't completely done by the time Quake 2 hits the streets, forget it. Sorry, but you lose." Other messages were more forgiving and supportive. "The fact that they pushed back the release date actually makes me more interested in buying it," one person wrote. "If they put forth the effort, it deserves the attention." Another expressed his disappointment with the delay, but commented, "I respect Epic's decision to delay the game until they feel it's ready."
Allow me to be forthright. I share your frustration, but do not accept many of the criticisms that are currently being leveled at Epic. Unreal is not the first game with a slipped shipping date. Their announcement is a mirror image of id Software's delay of Quake near the end of 1995. Any casual gamer could easily list a dozen games they were eagerly anticipating that experienced numerous delays. Other people have questioned whether or not Unreal will be outdated technology by next year. Folks, what are fans of 3D games going to be playing in 1998? Quake-engine games, and lots of them. The next significant leap in 3D technology remains on the distant horizon; in the meantime, we will be playing a lot of games that look, sound, feel, and taste a lot like Quake. While many of these games, including Sin, Daikatana, and Duke Nukem Forever are enhancing the Quake engine with 16-bit color and other improvements, the basic recipe remains the same. You can put some mighty tasty icing on the cake, but underneath, it's still the same cake. Besides, even though cutting-edge technology is important, gameplay is equally vital and can give a game that is technologically deficient a fighting chance. Shadow Warrior uses an engine outdated by over a year, yet it continues to fly off store shelves. Unreal, however, promises to look, feel, and play differently than the true Quake clones, and will hardly be technologically inapt. It will most likely bridge the gap between Quake technology and the next generation, much like Duke Nukem 3D served as a dazzling swan song for Doom-style technology prior to the arrival of Quake.
Under Construction
Still, Unreal has been in development for over three years (whoever said "anticipation is half the fun" obviously didn't play computer games), and a fair question remains unanswered: Why is it taking so long? According to Rein, the answer is both simple, and complex.
"We were hoping the game would be out in time for Christmas, and our goal was to keep working as hard as we could with that expectation in mind," Rein said. "But it just plain isn't finished yet. To successfully make Christmas, it would have to be ready to gold master within a week. Developing software, especially a game, is not an exact science. Much of what makes a great game happens when developers take the time and care to tweak it as much as possible."
When asked if Epic and GTI were concerned about missing Christmas, Rein responded with a firm "No."
"We feel Unreal is strong enough to stand on its own no matter when it comes out," Rein contended.
"Unreal, more than any other 3D game yet released, truly pushes the limits of the technology. We know what we've got, and what the competition doesn't have. People who come see the real game, not what we show in public, go home amazed."
So what is the current status of Unreal? According to a recent message board post by Rein, the levels are approximately 80 percent complete, with much of the remaining work being placement of enemies and objects, optimization of geometry, and programming of special AI situations. He claims there is a very impressive variety to the levels, due to the outstanding work of the level designers and texture artists. All of the weapons are in the game, though some placeholder projectiles and weapon effects still need to be tweaked, and the highly detailed creatures are working smoothly. The music is done, as are most of the weapon and environmental sounds, though work remains on several creature sounds. Significant work also remains with engine optimization and networking. The Unreal server is up and running, though work continues on refining the network code, optimizing the game for 28.8 modems, and creating a front-end for network play.
"We're very appreciative of the support we're receiving from many within the Unreal community," Rein enthused. "We can't believe how much devotion there is to a game that isn't even finished yet. Sometimes it scares us. There's no question it has made us work harder to deliver something that won't disappoint. If no one were making such a big fuss about Unreal, we probably would have felt a lot more pressure to ship it for Christmas. But with so many people so devoted, it becomes much more important to make sure we get it right the first time. We're working as hard as we can, and we really think it's going to pay off when people finally see what we've accomplished."
The delay does take some wind out of the sails of hype. That loss is negligible. You can be assured that Epic is busy creating a thunderous masterpiece that will take the gaming world by storm. You will download it, I will download it. We will play it, we will buy it, and it will rock. Epic promises the game will be done when it is done. We can't expect, hope for, or ask for anything more.
Cheers
Bill |
