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Hero's Journey: Update on Hero Engine and Hero's Journey
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood recently sat down with the folks at Simutronics to talk about their Hero Engine (currently being used by Bioware for Star Wars: the Old Republic) and the game that started it all... Hero's Journey
While at GDC this year, we were bombarded by new and exciting pieces of technology, games, and other miscellaneous items for developers to drool over. Normally, I’m a games and neat shiny gadgets kind of person, so when I was asked to stop by the Hero Engine booth for a chat about the MMO development tool, I was a little bit daunted. I’ve never been the most technically minded person and often long talks about coding, implementation and the like leave me confused and befuddled. Needless to say, looking at an engine, the very heart of a game and being asked to write about it was an interesting concept. Fortunately, Hero Engine presents an interesting premise that even a technical moron can understand: It’s an engine that provides a toolset that covers many aspects of game development and is meant to dramatically reduce the amount of time that it takes to create the virtual worlds that we so love. Their slogan? “MMO Development at Light Speed”.
;)
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Nice article, and thanks for the update on Hero's Journey, I'm glad to hear that they still are working on it. Hopefully we'll see more updates on this title in the coming months.
I guess SW: Tor will suffice until heroes journey gets released.
Quotations Those Who make peaceful resolutions impossible, make violent resolutions inevitable. John F. Kennedy
Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
Lie to no one. If there 's somebody close to you, you'll ruin it with a lie. If they're a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them? - Willy Nelson
Finally! I think I've been waiting and waiting
. HJ was one of the games that I've been looking forward too. I still hope that they can deliver.
I have not found enough information on this engine to agree or give them much credit.On the surface from what i have read,it still seems to be decent enough.
I do remember checking this project out awhile back,i can't remember why i left it off my list,perhaps because it seemed like a project that would never come about.
Looking at the screenshots i can see it looks pretty good,i can say it is at least worth a watch .The problem i have is anytime i hear about a developer bragging about speeding up or how fast they can put the game together i realize,the effort/heart and soul will not be in the game.
I am still as an example very interested in Roger Clemens game because he is a true gamer and had a vision of what he wanted to make in a game,the scary part is that he has some ties to WOW ,,bleh.
I guess i need to find out more about who the creator is,who is the guy that came up with the game concept and what kind of game was he/she looking to build?
The guys at GT interactive did while designing the UE engine,they made a great series in the Unreal series.SO perhaps these guys can build a great game,especially since they know their own engine,that has got to help.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Since no link was provided and I hadn't heard of this title yet:
Definitely very different but sounds intriguing nonetheless.
Screenshots look great. It's just background though. Will be nice to see how the avitars look and move.
You sure you're not thinking of Curt Shilling and 38 Studios? Link is here . Also for information about the engine, it's here. I would say that's plenty of information about what the engine can do.
There is a really nice interview with Curt Schilling on G4TV about 38 Studios, his MMO project, gaming life and why he's making an MMO. Should watch it, as it quite informative and nice to know things. I'm greatly looking forward to this MMO now too...
You sure you're not thinking of Curt Shilling and 38 Studios? Link is here . Also for information about the engine, it's here. I would say that's plenty of information about what the engine can do.
Yeah I am realkly looking forward to Curt Schillings big MMO also - now he is retired and will focus on it. But 38 Studios looks to be using some combination of Unreal (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/51627) and Bigworld (http://bigworldtech.blogspot.com/2008/03/38-studios-dominates-through-bigworld.html) for the MMO part - nothing to do with Hero's Journey - or am I missing something??
This game engine looked great, 4 years ago (estimated) when they first put pictures up.
Though Bioware certainly gets your attention as a customer, as well as some other experienced MMO teams, 'developement at light speed' is just lip service until someone actually develops a game quickly using it. It hasn't happened yet.
If Bioware gives the engine two thumbs up, it's safe to say it's pretty much rock solid.
about HJ though, there's still much more to a MMO than just the engine.
I wonder if this engine can deliver a game that does not look cartoony?
I think for that fantasy setting the engine is perfect, but for a sci-fi setting like SWTOR... I am not yet fully convinced.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
This situation sounds very similar to what happened with Microforte. They developed their own MMO engine called bigworld. Which they were using to make their MMOG citizen zero. After years of developement they (Microforte) decided that it was better to sell the engine rather than another MMOG sci-fi title. Citizen zero ended up becoming a tech demo used to promote the engine.
Hero's Journey looks like it's headed the same way as citizen-zero.
Same what I heard. Shame. *sigh*
Played: Pretty much any fantasy MMO, some did not even make it to release ...
Favorites: UO, EQ2, Vanguard, Wurm Online, Salem, ESO, Creativerse
Playing: ESO, Creativerse, Guild Wars 2
Anticipating: (sigh) ... maybe Ashes of Creation
Ill give simutronics the benefit of the doubt in this particular case. I've actually seen the product in action, quite awhile ago, they were actually quite a long ways along in the development cycle when they put it on the backburner. Id suspect around 3 months before we here anything concrete though about how developments going. Getting back on tracks a pain in the arse. Been there done that hehe.
I will NOT get excited about Hero's Journey again.
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OMG I WANNA PLAY IT
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Simutronics are the unnoficial 'Kings of Content', so I have faith that when their game -eventually- releases, it will be quite complete and very fun. Sure, the engine isn't everything, but they are a small company who like to get involved with their player base and provide a LOT of content for their players. Their text-based games have more content than any MMO on the market, I would wager.
From the interview they pretty much gave it away that they will be able to alter a game within the game and live making the possibilitys for gamers to forge the world around them by the choices they make. This is one aspect but heres what really got me interested in this engine and game...
Im told in HJ the crafters will have control over the manipulation of the finished products they produce. Giving them their own unique shapes and being able to choose from hundreds of texture palettes to give the item a custom appearence unlike any other crafters items!
In other words crafters will have a choice of model pieces that can be formed to get the make of the piece they are creating. So if someone chooses to make shoulder pads, they may have access to 4-5 separate models to from together giving it a unique look, and possibility of being able to shape the piece as if the crafter was playing with Play-Doh! Then being able to overlap a variety of colors,textures and designs to give the piece its own flair and uniqueness!
So if what Im hearing is true, this will definitely be the next gen MMO mechanic a lot of crafters and players a like have been waiting for, more community driven content! Lets hope what I have heard is true!
You sure you're not thinking of Curt Shilling and 38 Studios? Link is here . Also for information about the engine, it's here. I would say that's plenty of information about what the engine can do.
Yeah I am realkly looking forward to Curt Schillings big MMO also - now he is retired and will focus on it. But 38 Studios looks to be using some combination of Unreal (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/51627) and Bigworld (http://bigworldtech.blogspot.com/2008/03/38-studios-dominates-through-bigworld.html) for the MMO part - nothing to do with Hero's Journey - or am I missing something??
Yes i was referring to Schilling sorry for that,i often post in the middle of the night and not half awake lol.But yes it is the 38 studios and the Dc comics guy involved game.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Thank you for this.
I know a lot of people [my self included] would be very happy if HJ got back into full time development.
You sure you're not thinking of Curt Shilling and 38 Studios? Link is here . Also for information about the engine, it's here. I would say that's plenty of information about what the engine can do.
Yeah I am realkly looking forward to Curt Schillings big MMO also - now he is retired and will focus on it. But 38 Studios looks to be using some combination of Unreal (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/51627) and Bigworld (http://bigworldtech.blogspot.com/2008/03/38-studios-dominates-through-bigworld.html) for the MMO part - nothing to do with Hero's Journey - or am I missing something??
Yes i was referring to Schilling sorry for that,i often post in the middle of the night and not half awake lol.But yes it is the 38 studios and the Dc comics guy involved game.
I think you're actually thinking about his 'ties' to EverQuest II, considering they used a virtual model of him in EQII for a special event, and when someone ever beat him, he would donate $5 to ALS research. His only ties to World of Warcraft is that he is a known avid player of it, and showed up on The Instance podcast because of it, that's all.
I really hope HJ gets going, it is quite honestly the only game on the horizon that I was really even remotely interested in...
From their licencing page:
Designed for AAA teams and major publishers, this license includes everything – client, server, toolset, complete source code, a reference copy of Hero's Journey for sample code, and documentation. This license structure gives you the right to release a title in any region of the world royalty-free.
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You only do this with Tech Demo. You don't give your full game in so called development you tend to release to licencees as sample code.
This game will never be released.
But ofcourse it's good publicity for their engine to start the hype again for Hero's Journey. In a desperate attempt to find new developers to licence their engine.
As you see. It's not going so well with Simutronics and the current Economic situation isn't really helping them either.
I too once hoped this game to be released, till I noticed that line on their licencing page and learned about the situation with Simutronics itself (massive lay offs that had happened and such).
Cheers
Whether Hero's Journey ever comes out or not, Simu still did a hell of a job with the game engine. They deserve a lot of credit for developing an engine that no one else would. Even if HJ doesn't come out, Simu will still be a major reason as to why the entire MMORPG genre takes a huge step forward. I look forward to SWTOR coming out and when it does I will think about Simu and the amazing work that they did with their engine. Yes Bioware is the one developing the game but it never would have been what it is if not for Simu. Heck it may not even exist at all if Bioware had to develop their own engine or license a lesser engine to make the game. So instead of criticizing Simu for what they haven't been able to do(yet at least) let's give them credit for what they have been able to do which is develop the best MMORPG engine by far.