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Epic Shows Off Next-Gen Graphics With A New Unreal 4 Demo

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Epic Games has been showing off a new tech demo for its next-gen Unreal Engine 4 at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, and today it lifted embargo and released the demo. When Epic first unveiled UE4 last year, it seemed like a distant glimpse into a fancy, uncertain future. Now that the PS4 is on the horizon and Microsoft “Durango” can’t be far behind, it’s a look at what we might actually be seeing in the fall.

During the demo, the presenter showed the video running with several different filters to prove that it was rendering in real time. Things to watch for include real-time reflections, more realistic lighting, particle effects and that crazy hologram thing. This isn’t a game, but that little effect is certainly cool.

Epic also spent some time with a less cinematic tech demo showing off how easy it was to edit game worlds within the engine. Some of UE4’s most impressive work actually has nothing to do with graphics – it boasts an impressive, visual scripting program that is supposed to vastly simplify the process of coding a game. Considering AAA development costs are bound to skyrocket when we hit the next gen, any attempt to save time and money becomes vitally important.

I’m one of those people that tends to be skeptical of what can be an unhealthy fixation on graphics. But after some of the things I’ve seen from next-gen engines this week, I’m as excited as anyone to get the next wave of hardware into my living room. In other news, Epic is aiming to become the engine of an oncoming wave of virtual reality by partnering with Oculus Rift. This is great news for me, so long as nothing in those games moves all that fast.