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After SWTOR it scares me that Dominus is using the Hero engine

BilboDogginsBilboDoggins Member Posts: 198

Its extremely obvious after playing SWTOR that this engine has huge problems as it wasn't a finished product. The Hero engine is also pretty "meh" as far as graphics go. Its not terrible but its nothing to write home about. In SWTOR performance drops drastically with a bunch of characters on the screen and I'm afraid this will happen in Dominus as well (where it will be far worse due to being more heavily pvp driven in Dominus)

SWTOR also had the biggest budget in gaming history and STILL couldn't optimize the Hero engine so how is a small indie company like Pitchblack going to do with it?

There is a ton to like about this game on paper, but the fact it uses the Hero engine doesnt fill me with alot of confidence

Comments

  • JostleJostle Member Posts: 63

    The version of Hero that Bioware has for ToR is not only pretty old at this point, but was HEAVILY modified by Bioware. The whole game was designed to have a lot of small instances versus a big open world. Their focus on story and voiceover allowed them to create small pocket worlds, and the game was obviously optimized with that in mind.

    Pitchblack Games have been discussing the Hero Engine a lot lately, as it has been delaying the beta a bit because there have been loads of updates. At first, some people were a little annoyed that beta phases were being delayed, but they recently had a livestream that showed off some of the polish and optimization of the issue that looked like fried gold compared to what we saw before.

    You have to remember that there are loads of other factors to consider when looking into performance. The bottom line, however, is that while both games will use the "Hero Engine" they aren't using the same engine. Make sense?

  • LizardEgyptLizardEgypt Member UncommonPosts: 333

    It's sad that the engine choice for Bioware was the reason their game is going to do poorly. Quit after my first month because although I can comfortably run any other modern game, SWTOR was unplayable and some zones were just a joke. Memory leaks everywhere, it's a shame. The game was fun, leveling was interestingly paced but way too fast. Dungeons were surprisingly challenging but just couldn't look past the awful engine.

    Currently playing - FF14ARR
    Previous games - SWG, World of Warcraft, ShadowBane, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall, Planetside Asheron's Call, Everquest, Everquest 2, Too many.

  • Mad+DogMad+Dog Member UncommonPosts: 780

    Originally posted by LizardEgypt

    It's sad that the engine choice for Bioware was the reason their game is going to do poorly. Quit after my first month because although I can comfortably run any other modern game, SWTOR was unplayable and some zones were just a joke. Memory leaks everywhere, it's a shame. The game was fun, leveling was interestingly paced but way too fast. Dungeons were surprisingly challenging but just couldn't look past the awful engine.

    Im not a Swtor player but please stop trolling. Get back on topic! This is not the Swtor forum.

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  • drbaltazardrbaltazar Member UncommonPosts: 7,856

    yep lets stay on topic!hero engine was so good the game is cancelled!and i agree nobody in their right might would take the risk of having to pour in billion of dollar to have a game engine worsty then everquest

  • JostleJostle Member Posts: 63

    Originally posted by drbaltazar

    yep lets stay on topic!hero engine was so good the game is cancelled!and i agree nobody in their right might would take the risk of having to pour in billion of dollar to have a game engine worsty then everquest

    What game is canceled using the Hero Engine?

  • ThemePorkThemePork Member Posts: 312

    I guess we'll know soon enough wether TOR's horrid performance is due to the engine or to their poor coding skills.

    I got an invite to a Dominus stress test on monday, I'll update this thread with my impressions.

    On a side note, TOR has no draw distance or particle effects sliders so of course it's going to perform like crap with alot of action on the screen. I doubt the absence of these 2 basic gfx options has anything to do with the engine and everything to do wih BWs lack of experience in MMO design. Specially when you consider that there was a draw distance slider in the beta and they removed it just before release. Go figure...

     

     

  • ShakyMoShakyMo Member CommonPosts: 7,207

    Originally posted by LizardEgypt

    It's sad that the engine choice for Bioware was the reason their game is going to do poorly. Quit after my first month because although I can comfortably run any other modern game, SWTOR was unplayable and some zones were just a joke. Memory leaks everywhere, it's a shame. The game was fun, leveling was interestingly paced but way too fast. Dungeons were surprisingly challenging but just couldn't look past the awful engine.

    Its biowares fault its a bad game.

    I keep seeing bioware fan boys blaming hero and/or mythic for that state of SWTOR.  Bioware are in charge, its their baby, its their problem

    Now if some of these people had blamed eA i could kinda see their point.

  • NilenyaNilenya Member UncommonPosts: 364

    I posted this on the Dominus website in the general forum as well.

     

    I had a lot of issues with swtor, especially since I still have a duo core. Its the fastest available one but the hero engine coupled with swtors very cpu intensive play really made my pc struggle. I had several issues with swtor, and on occasion my pc would shut down to save itself from the temps my cpu was running at.

     

    I went into the stress test fully expecting my cpu to go bonkers, and so I kept the probe running to show temp, and I was pleasently surprised to see it never go above 50C's which is amazing, considering that swtor rocketed above 75Cs on a cpu that isnt able to handle more than 72, and remain optimal.

     

    It might not be of interest to many people, but this was an important test for me in that regard.  - I am very interested in Dominus, and after the tiny peak I had last night, that interest hasnt diminished. It felt like a game with amazing potential.

     

    Also, I think gamers especially mmo enthusiasts, should consider supporting games when developed through private funding, especially when the company is set on making the game they want to make, without the preassure of major investors breathing down their backs. If we had more of these games, and if they were successfull, perhaps we would have less of the overhyped letdowns like swtor.

  • Superduper69Superduper69 Member Posts: 363

    Dominus is using a different version of Hero engine. Also Hero engine is quite flexible and can be upgraded to support dx 11.

  • CroatoanCroatoan Member UncommonPosts: 17

    I just recently purchased SWTOR and I have no problems playing the game - even on a somewhat sub-par system.

     

    That being said, I don't particularly favor the graphics in that game.  And yes there are many issues with the Warzone PVP areas that pretty much make them unplayable for everyone.  To me, this is a red flag and a sure indicator that Bioware HAD to have tinkered with the engine alot.  A company as big as Bioware would never select an engine that presented problems on that scale - unless their QC department is drinking Drain-O.

     

     

  • 77lolmac7777lolmac77 Member UncommonPosts: 492
    I dont think its the Hero Engine itself that was bad for TOR but the heavy modifications done to it. A guy posted an article a while back that was an interview with thw Hero Engine manager or something along those lines and he said the Bioware people bought an unfinished product and were
    convinced they could make it better themselves
  • ShakyMoShakyMo Member CommonPosts: 7,207

    SWTOR being so heavily instanced - its because Bioware want it that way, they don't want you bumping into hundreds of players as it would detract from them telling their story at you.

    I don't think its because the engine can't cope, i think its a conscious design choice.

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