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Thread: APB - Graphics Engine Upgrade

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    Default APB - Graphics Engine Upgrade

    http://apbreloaded.gamersfirst.com/2...d-getting.html

    Our massive "Secret Engine Upgrade Mission"

    Due to the vintage of the engine, we keep bumping up against performance limitations, and also severe limitations in our product development speed. Because we use many custom systems in the game, it takes a very long time for our team to make material changes to the game, resulting in a lot of features being shelved or delayed.

    An upgraded engine would let us tackle important things like min-spec system performance, lighting system improvements, net code improvements and new graphic card optimizations and it would likely lead to a faster content creation pipeline by taking advantage of new systems available in the updated engine.

    The team performed small upgrade tests throughout 2012 and then Johann "Aphadon" took a serious stab at the task in April 2013 to test if we may be able to fix just 'some' of the older rendering code that causes some of the frame stutter (for example with some particle effects that have been shown to have some serious performance problems). But taking that approach turned out to cause other big follow-on problems when fixed in isolation. So to combat the overall problem, the drastic decision was then made to let a part of the team go off and map out what it would take to upgrade "everything." And with that, we really do mean "everything"

    July 17, 2013 marked the kick off of the massive engine upgrade to move the engine forward in time by 5 years, from the early 2008 version of the engine to the 2013 version of the engine, which is the version that contains all the improvements Epic created for Gears of War 3, plus 2 additional years of engine refinements after those changes and optimizations. Clearly Epic has worked very hard in recent years to allow really small targets (even targets as small as cellphones as evidenced with the release of Infinity Blade for iOS/Android using a modified Unreal Engine)

    The upgrade timeline, and opening the door to next gen options
    Aphadon (our lead developer on this task) will pen a more detailed technical post about the upgrade in the next month or so when we are getting closer to something that's actually testable. Also, as we get closer to launch we should be able to predict the performance (and optimization) characteristics of the upgraded engine.

    The current roadmap puts a full 'upgraded APB engine' sometime at the end of Q1, 2014, but as with all roadmaps, that could potentially change. The team is clearly working insanely hard on this particular task, and we think it will finally allow us to also unleash a lot of potential that has remained locked away in the custom code the game has been saddled with. As an added bonus, by upgrading the engine, we also open some interesting possibilities, including a path to launch on other platforms in the future.


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    You know, I've been wondering...Has APB gotten any better, or is the current publisher still insisting on putting all the stuff behind timed paywalls?

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    Meh.. The game is rather lacking in content.. I agree. There still are only 2 main districts (Financial and Waterfront) that you can openly go to with anyone and any rank. The others are primarily for high ranks and/or PVP only. I wish they'd open up some other districts, or link them and make like an entirely huge world. That'd be nice, but would probably never happen.

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    Well its all Viney said and the fact that when a new hack pops up it takes them forever to actually try and fix it, making PvP a freaking joke in the long run.

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    If they manage to optimize the game properly, i'm sure a lot of players who couldn't play it will try again.

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    I can run games like guild wars 2 but couldn't run this well....

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    poorly optimized just like marvel heroes ...


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    very poorly optimized, also, latency is a huge huge problem in this game.
    You can be waiting around a corner for someone and then all of a sudden get shot to death by that same person still running around that corner on your screen, while on theirs they've already made it around the corner and killed you.
    LeagueofLegends-ChuckleButt


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    i could enjoy an open world GTA style multiplayer like APB Reloaded, if it is done right.

    but then i watched a video of GTA multiplayer, and these car driing and shooting games just devolve into a whole lot of boring driving, running and gun shooting scenes. That's it. It's a very limited universe in the final outcome.

    I suspect it needs a deeper overarching mission - like maybe a persistent RvR faction mode. I suggest 3 factions :-
    Cops
    Robbers
    Merchants (citizens with business u can rob)
    then u can have RvR faction wars!

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    Quote Originally Posted by markca View Post
    very poorly optimized, also, latency is a huge huge problem in this game.
    You can be waiting around a corner for someone and then all of a sudden get shot to death by that same person still running around that corner on your screen, while on theirs they've already made it around the corner and killed you.
    yes this plus the shooting mechanics should be better

  11. #11
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    Posted by: Markca: very poorly optimized, also, latency is a huge huge problem in this game.
    You can be waiting around a corner for someone and then all of a sudden get shot to death by that same person still running around that corner on your screen, while on theirs they've already made it around the corner and killed you.
    That is pretty much true, but with this new graphics engine comes a whole new load of servers, that they've already been tweaking to perform optimally.
    Pretty much if you don't talk with the developers, or members of the community like myself, you really don't know anything going on behind the scenes, such as the entirely new parkour version of APB which lost funding and was canceled, but still looked pretty bad ass
    My $2500 was built after the game, so yeah, I am a fanboy of APB, and a very avid one at that. I've spent enough on Armas in the past going on 3 1/2 years to know that even if you do have a unique armas gun that MANY will shout to call P2W, which I haven't seen much of lately, and I still get wrecked by the people who only use their unlocks and mods that they earned. People need to give the game a chance instead of playing a few missions and raging. Take into consideration that BOTH factions are fighting to earn experience and to win the mission, so as with any PVP game, YOU WILL NOT WIN THEM ALL, and I can't stress this point enough!

    yes this plus the shooting mechanics should be better
    So realistic recoil is too much for you to handle? pfft, LOL

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jermatoo View Post
    Well its all Viney said and the fact that when a new hack pops up it takes them forever to actually try and fix it, making PvP a freaking joke in the long run.
    Except that most hacks called out, are in reality just re-rolls who know what they're doing already and just lack the rating level to show for it. And not only that, but the fact that PUNKBUSTER does the banning and server sweeps, so once again, misinformed and didn't give the game an actual chance. It's pretty sad to see all of these people literally passing up the seriously unlimited amount of customization, I mean, you can LITERALLY be YOURSELF, with that being said too, you won't find another outfit similar to mine on TacticalNinja Joker Na-East, and I LOVE that I can stand out because I don't lack creativity within the studio designers

    EDIT: Figured I'd show everyone what I meant...

  13. #13
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    APB has always been a crappy game with above average customization. I sadly have around 800 hours played.

    Customization:
    If you pay, you can get very detailed with your characters and vehicles. However "symbols" are low rez and poorly projected which often leads to less than prefect presentation. Customization is also size restricted. If you use too many or too complex customization you will max out your customization bar.

    Gameplay:
    Have you ever played around with the Unreal 3? I have. The combat system in APB offers nothing more than the base U3 combat system. Keep in mind that the U3 stock engine is intended to be used as a FPS engine. Basically they moved the camera but did not change other things needed to make a decent TPS. Such as movement, bullet origin, and how cover is handled. APB is also poorly optimized in kost ways from gfx to connection.

    Community:
    Has on of the worst F2P communities around. The majority of players are douches who will troll legit players without fear of punishment. There are lots of hackers and they can take weeks to be banned. If they are banned they can reroll and get free gun trials.

    It's not a good game.

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