Phil Elliott
19:38 (BST)
20/02/2008
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GDC: Unreal developments detailed
Epic's Mike Capps introduces the improvements to the popular engine
During the Microsoft keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Epic Games president Mike Capps showed off some of the developments that have been made to the Unreal engine in the past 18 months, while the session ended with a teaser trailer for Gears of War 2.
Demonstrating the latest version running on the Xbox 360 platform, the audience was treated to a number of tech demonstrations in a Gears of War environment, chief among them more sophisticated technology that allows for dynamic shadows and other lighting elements.
Additionally there is now support for certain Ageia physics elements and the potential for destructible environments - a section of wooden fencing was his example.
Tim Sweeney, Epic's answer to John Carmack, was also on stage to explain some of the developments: "We've done significant work on the character pipeline," he said. "There's much greater contrast in the shadows, much greater specular lighting...much more detail on the character overall."
The demonstration then went on to show over 100 of the Locust enemy character models running around on-screen, as well as some of the enhancements that the company has made to water splashes and rolling waves.
The keynote session ended with a short trailer announcing the existence of Gears of War 2, and a brief appearance from Cliff Bleszinski, brandishing a chainsaw bayonet.
"Gears 2 is going to be bigger, better and far more badass than the first one," he proclaimed, adding that it was slated for release in November this year.
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