APEX Engine and GZ... could the engine be the issue?

General Discussion
1

So, we’ve been on the case of the GZ Devs for quite a bit.

But I’ve been thinking since quite a long time… it might actually NOT be “their fault”.

See: the Apex Engine, and correct me if I am wrong, please, seems quite… simple… with that I mean, not really capable of dealing with certain parts of the GZ game.
This engine also seems to be quite hard to use?

This got me, while back, thinking…
What if the GZ Devs would drop the engine, and go for for example the EU4 (Unreal Engine 4) platform?
It is very easy to use
straight forward
highly adaptable
highly stable
Highly adaptable to both console brands.
highly moddable (YES, MODDABLE, I bring that up since several games such as the Elder Scrolls 3 STILL get played because of mods. Longevity of the game has tenfolded, and I can see this happen here as well).

Sure, they ask 5% revenue, but one can use it freely, it does not have to be bought or otherwise hired.
Apparently, it ALSO has bonus when you use Epic.

I truly believe, that if GZ were to be ‘redone’ on the EU4 engine, it would pay off in the long run, and much even.
Since stability and the ease of fixing things on it just makes it ideal for long term usage.

YES, I know: it will take effort and time to set the game over.
How much time, I cannot tell.
But I am fairly confident, that it would pay off in the long, hopefully even VERY long run for GZ.

That is… IF!!! the issues are indeed with the engine.

Thoughts?

2

That doesn’t happen since Apex Engine is built by Avalanche and they own the engine.

2 Likes
3

Miss…
I somewhat get that…
But if we objectively look at the state of the game, over all platforms… it’s… not that good…

At some point, one has to make a decision: euthanize the poor thing, or… give it a new heart…

I REALLY love GZ, miss, and it hurts to see what’s going on…

More and more I am getting convinced, the issues are engine related.
Even the simplest of some fixes, since virtually day one, “have not been addressed”.
I think, they WERE addressed, personally…
But the Apex Engine is not co-operating…

Now, again, this is mere theory, but IF I am right?
Well…

Thoughts?

4

Game engine change is something that you dont do. Because you pretty much will need to make the game again.

Good example is Star Citizen, 8 years and not ready.

And with the Apex engine, world size and performance of the game is good. Woould this be the case with Unreal engine 4 (horrible performance of Ark, when persistent dinos simulated)

Then the licence fees or royalty using Unreal engine vs. Apex (in house, and probably free)

1 Like
5

If you are right, then truly there is no Hope, and “band-aid patches” will serve as the only thing keeping the “boat” afloat.
I hope you are wrong.
And of course, it´s impossible to use another engine, the game would have to be remade, they can´t just copy paste…

1 Like
6

I understand…

Now, I did say: IF…
I am unsure.

But, considering all… it does not sound illogical, is it?
That would explain a LOT, I think…?

Thoughts?

7

Performance-wise, I’d say UE is pretty ****, so that’d be a con. Apex is an open-world engine first, with other aspects ‘tacked on’. UE is a linear shooter engine by design, which would limit the open-world aspect significantly; and, as far as I can tell, most games released on UE 4 have significant performance issues compared to similar-quality bespoke game engines. See Resident Evil 2, Doom 2016, Dying Light, Shadow Warrior 2 - they all have way higher performance for similar graphics. The biggest issue with Apex and the concept of GZ (at least it seems to me) is the inability to deal with persistent changes to the game world - like offering a different state to players of the vanilla game vs DLC owners. Physics ars spotty, too, but I think that’s more a lack of polish than a failing of the base tech…

4 Likes
8

Thank you sir.

So, you think it is not the engine?
Or at least, not entirely?

Also, what engine would you use, should the engine be swapped out?
Hypothetical question.

9

Hard to tell, to be honest. As far as open-world engines go, I think Ubi’s AnvilNext or Dunia are similar in scope and abilities, but they’re proprietary and I very much doubt they’d radically ‘improve’ Gen Zero. Techland’s Chrome Engine might work, but it’s more combat-oriented and gameplay pacing would be less deliberate and grounded. CryEngine in its current state would probably be a nightmare to work with, and most other engines aren’t particularly suited to open-world games with the level of detail and immersion GZ brings to the table. :thinking:

10

Thank you, good sir. :slight_smile: