Silicon Knights has been ordered to “recall and destroy” all unsold copies of its games built on Unreal Engine 3. According to a recent ruling by the North Carolina District Court, Silicon Knights shall “cease producing or distributing” and “recall and destroy” all unsold copies of Too Human, The Box/Ritualyst, The Sandman, X-Men: Destiny and Siren in the Maelstrom at its own expense.
A judge also ruled that Silicon Knights must now pay Epic an additional $278,000 in court costs, $2.09 million in attorney fees and $2.3 million in pre-judgment interest. Joined with the previous ruling that Silicon Knights owes Epic $4.45 million, Epic is now owed approximately $9 million.
"Epic Games appreciates the court's careful consideration of the motions and is gratified by the order," an Epic spokesperson told IGN.
The ruling comes more than five years after Silicon Knights sued Epic, alleging that Unreal Engine did not work as it was supposed to. Epic later counter-sued and the case went to trial earlier this year. While Epic eventually won, a judge ruled that even if Silicon Knights had proved victorious, they could only earn $1.
Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.
Square Enix has signed a new deal with Epic Games for use of the Unreal Engine. As Epic announced this morning, Square Enix has licensed Unreal Engine 3 and 4 for a long-term deal that will span multiple titles and “provides Square Enix developers with full access to Unreal Engine 3 and Unreal Engine 4 technology across its studios.” The deal was signed with Epic Games Japan, who will provide local support to Square Enix and “will supplement Square Enix's proprietary software and ensure the studio is armed with the most powerful game development tools and technologies available across all major platforms.”
“Epic has a strong relationship with Square Enix, and it’s an honor to provide their creative and technical talent with the best game technology available for licensing,” said Epic Japan territory manager Taka Kawasaki. “We look forward to supporting their developers with world-class tools for years to come.”
Square Enix first licensed Unreal Engine 3 back in 2007 and renewed its agreement late last year. Previous Square-published titles using the engine include The Last Remnant in 2008 and Demon’s Score on iOS earlier this year. Square Enix showed off its own Luminous engine at E3 though it hasn’t announced which engine will be its primary focus for next-gen titles.
Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.
Markus "Notch" Persson has finally revealed early footage of his next game. While it's very, very early, it does show some of what he's attempting with the lighting engine, as well as show his character bouncing around a ship and interacting with computers. This is the first big piece of news we've heard since the game's initial announcement, where Persson described it as a ship game where, "Each ship has a generator capable of producing a fixed wattage, and everything you connect to it drains wattage. A cloaking field, for example, might require almost all the power from the generator, forcing you to turn off all computers and dim all lights in order to successfully cloak."
Don't judge it too harshly. This isn't the next game from Mojang, but, as I understand it, Persson's next personal project. The plan is to release it in an early state and then offer updates to early adopters for free, just like he did with Minecraft.
Anthony Gallegos is an Editor on IGN's PC team. He enjoys scaring the crap out of himself with horror games and then releasing some steam in shooters like Blacklight and Tribes. You can follow him on @Chufmoney on Twitter and on at Ant-IGN on IGN.
Markus "Notch" Persson has finally revealed early footage of his next game. While it's very, very early, it does show some of what he's attempting with the lighting engine, as well as show his character bouncing around a ship and interacting with computers. This is the first big piece of news we've heard since the game's initial announcement, where Persson described it as a ship game where, "Each ship has a generator capable of producing a fixed wattage, and everything you connect to it drains wattage. A cloaking field, for example, might require almost all the power from the generator, forcing you to turn off all computers and dim all lights in order to successfully cloak."
Don't judge it too harshly. This isn't the next game from Mojang, but, as I understand it, Persson's next personal project. The plan is to release it in an early state and then offer updates to early adopters for free, just like he did with Minecraft.
Anthony Gallegos is an Editor on IGN's PC team. He enjoys scaring the crap out of himself with horror games and then releasing some steam in shooters like Blacklight and Tribes. You can follow him on @Chufmoney on Twitter and on at Ant-IGN on IGN.
In an interview with OXM, game design director David Vondehaar explained that modifications had been made to ensure the game ran robustly, and admitted he was baffled that anyone would criticise the title's technical performance.
“
To me, it's like I never really understood. It runs at 60 and it's gorgeous. What exactly is there to be upset about with the engine?
"Anybody who comes at the engine needs to remember it's the 60 frames they love in the first place," he asserted. "And we can make it beautiful - that's through years and years of working with the engine, improving upon it and improving the pipeline and improving our approach, our lighting rendering.
"People like to talk about the engine, but the truth of the matter is that this isn't like something that was invented six years ago. At this point that engine doesn't resemble anything like any engine - we've ripped out the UI system, the rendering and the lighting are all new, the core gameplay systems are all new.
"To me, it's like I never really understood," Vondehaar concluded. "It runs at 60 and it's gorgeous. What exactly is there to be upset about with the engine?"
The IW Engine has been used by both Infinity Ward and Treyarch for the companies' work on the Call of Duty games. It was first used for Call of Duty 2 back in 2005, and the exact engine being used for Black Ops II is a modified version of the IW 3.0 engine that was used for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, as well as the original Black Ops. The PC version of the game is also confirmed to take advantage of DirectX 11 video cards.
Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and a meleeing ninja when it comes to COD. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.
BioWare has announced Dragon Age 3: Inquisition. Set to arrive in late 2013, Dragon Age 3 will be built on a new RPG engine "underpinned" by DICE's Frostbite 2 technology.
“The Dragon Age team has been working on Dragon Age 3: Inquisition for almost two years now,” said BioWare Edmonton and Montreal general manager Aaryn Flynn. “We’ve been poring over player feedback from past games and connecting directly with our fans. They haven’t held back, so we’re not either. With Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, we want to give fans what they’re asking for – a great story with choices that matter, a massive world to explore, deep customization and combat that is both tactical and visceral.”
“At the same time,” Flynn added, “we know we need new technology to truly make this vision become fully realized. And we’ve been working with DICE to make Frostbite 2 the foundation for the engine that is going to power Dragon Age 3.”
The title appears to confirm a leaked questionnaire that emerged last month, with details suggesting that “The empire of Orlais is riven by civil war; the Chantry is divided; the Templar order has broken away; the Mage circles have rebelled. Some unseen force is manipulating events, bringing about disorder and destruction. Out of this confusion emerges The Inquisition.” According to that leak, players will take the role as the leader of the Inquisition and can make their player “a rogue, warrior or mage and set up your crew from up to ten complex companions to lead them against those who attack you by systematically spying on, revealing and destroying them."
Google has entered the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon fray, creating an algorithm that allows you to play the cult game using the search engine.
The idea of Six Degrees is to connect one actor to another using the least amount of films, so for example Marilyn Monroe has a ‘Bacon Number’ of two, because she starred with Jack Lemon in Some Like It Hot, and Jack Lemon starred in JFK with… Kevin Bacon.
Google has now made it super-easy to play the game – simply type the word ‘Bacon Number’ followed by the name of the actor you want to test, and voila, the search engine spews forth said celeb’s Bacon number as well as the films that connect them.
We’ve had a play in the office, and have found it extremely difficult to find an actor with a Bacon Number that’s higher than three. For example Charlie Chaplin and Muhammad Ali are both twos, while Lulu and Suggs from Madness are both threes.
So check it out for yourselves, and let us know if you can find a four or above in the comments below.
Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and was surprised to discover that Tommy Cannon - of 1980s comedy duo Cannon & Ball - has a Bacon Number of three. You can follow Chris, not Tommy, on both Twitter and MyIGN.
Ubisoft has announced Rayman: Jungle Run for iOS and Android. Jungle Run is built on the same UbiArt framework engine that powered Rayman Origins on consoles and features new worlds, new unlockable powers and new controls enhanced for touch screens.
On iOS, Jungle Run will support multiple cloud saves and GameCenter leaderboards, as well as graphics enhanced for the Retina Display. Players will also be able to unlock exclusive wallpapers.
Jungle Run is set to hit iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android on September 20th.
Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.
Madden NFL 13 is an excellent football game. You could point to the gameplay improvements, the new physics engine or even the adlibbing commentators as to why the game works so well, but the truth behind the success comes down to the sum of the parts. Madden NFL 13 looks, feels and sounds like what we all watch on Sunday, and I can't stop playing it.
From the moment you hit start, Madden NFL 13 is a different beast. Rather than get dropped into mountains of disconnected menus, you're put directed to one hub screen that shows you how many players are online at that moment, gives you one-click access to your communities, and leaves your careers at your fingertips. There are different modes to Madden, but they all stem from the same place; Madden's identity crisis is over. The pop music and rappers are gone and in their place is an instrumental score driving home that this is the NFL and it's time to play football.
“
Madden NFL 13 does something the Madden franchise hasn't done in years: it makes me want to keep playing.
Luckily, playing football in Madden NFL is a blast. Every time I put down the controller, I want to pick it back up and head out on the field. Madden NFL 13 is challenging this year with receiver icons that change depending on if the player is looking for the ball and defenses that aren't afraid to call me on my lack of a running game -- but I'm all about the struggle. I'm fighting for each and every yard I gain or keep from an opponent, and I'm relishing actually having to think on the field.
See, EA tweaked a whole bunch of gameplay mechanics in Madden NFL 13. If you want to be the jaded gamer and say "It looks just like last year," go ahead, but know that you're wrong. Yes, the graphics look as good as last year -- actually they're a bit better when you include the new TV graphics and the lush shade of a good Sunday afternoon game -- but there's plenty of under the hood enhancements that evolve the gameplay we all know.
There are 25 new pass trajectories so you can put the ball out in front or just above the receiver. Defensive backs have to see the ball to make a play on it so there are no more psychic swats. You can abort play action after the snap. At a glance, Madden NFL 13 might just look like Madden, but in your hands, it feels polished.
Now, a big part of that feeling is the much-touted Infinity Engine. Basically, this adds physics to Madden for the first time. Whereas a corner and a wideout would bump into each other in the air and then come down in the same spot they leapt from last year, Madden NFL 13 allows for helicopter hits and tumbles out of bounds. Contact matters and changes plays.
It sounds exciting -- and spearing a receiver out of the air so that the trainers come out to check on him definitely is -- but I wasn't impressed at first. In fact, the place I saw the physics the most were when plays were blown dead and linemen stumbled over one another or receivers' legs got tangled with defenders. Expect jankiness to stand out, but don’t let it stop you from playing. The benefit of the Infinity Engine isn't the big plays; it's the fact that the small plays don't all look the same.
In past Maddens, there were only so many tackle animations and ways a player could go down. After a while, it was easy to feel like you had seen it all. The Infinity Engine makes every hit a little bit different. Angles, weight and more matter. Watching a halfback break free of a shoddy tackle or a wideout come down just in bounds before stumbling over really amplifies how the game looks and feels. Sure, there are still wonky tackles and handoff animations, but the good outweighs the bad by a long shot -- especially if EA continues to refine the formula and deliver animations that aren't canned.
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima will show off the Fox Engine next month. In an interview on the PlayStation Blog, Kojima commented that “although the Fox Engine is not finished we are ready to show what it can do… on August 30th in Japan to be more specific.”
Kojima commented that the engine is “nearly finished, but the only way to be sure it works is to create a game at the same time and improve the engine with our tools as we go along.” The original plan was for that game to be Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, “but a lot happened along the way and instead it is being made with the engine they have at Platinum Games.”
For now, only the engine is confirmed to be making an appearance rather than an actual new game, though with rumors about Metal Gear Solid 5 swirling, anything is possible. Check back to IGN next month for full details on the Fox Engine presentation.
Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.
