Ultra Engine noob feedback thread

[Josh]

I'm very curious to hear your thoughts, hopes, dreams, impressions, and such.

What do you think of Ultra so far?

[Meric]

From the pictures I've seen on the forum and from the release notes I can see that the ultra engine is a really powerful and good engine. But why is such a good engine designed to make mostly singleplayer 3d First-Person Shooter games? Even the leadwerks engine has VR and multiplayer, but I didn't see on the documentation page and in the release notes that the ultra engine has VR and multiplayer. Why is there a limit to what can be done on such an engine? Also, I see the same physics engine (newton dynamics) used in leadwerks in the ultra engine. From my experience with leadwerks, it has a really buggy physics engine. For example, you can squeeze small objects that can be grabbed and make them go into the wall easily, or if you grab an object and drop it right on top of your character, you can see the object bouncing on your head all the time. One of the reasons why I started using the Leadwerks engine was because it has a level design interface like in the valve hammer editor. Before I started using Leadwerks, I used to make cs 1.6 maps. When I started using Leadwerks, I improved myself on this engine to spend my time better. And now all I want is for ultra engine to be successful.

[diedir]

Well, i feel very noob when i want to create a simple box, selecting object panel then primitives and box but no button 'create' to click exists

and a click in the scene don't create it either (i did it once but can't reproduce it)

so a bit deconcerted for now.

[Andy90]

2 hours ago, Meric said:

From the pictures I've seen on the forum and from the release notes I can see that the ultra engine is a really powerful and good engine. But why is such a good engine designed to make mostly singleplayer 3d First-Person Shooter games? Even the leadwerks engine has VR and multiplayer, but I didn't see on the documentation page and in the release notes that the ultra engine has VR and multiplayer. Why is there a limit to what can be done on such an engine? Also, I see the same physics engine (newton dynamics) used in leadwerks in the ultra engine. From my experience with leadwerks, it has a really buggy physics engine. For example, you can squeeze small objects that can be grabbed and make them go into the wall easily, or if you grab an object and drop it right on top of your character, you can see the object bouncing on your head all the time. One of the reasons why I started using the Leadwerks engine was because it has a level design interface like in the valve hammer editor. Before I started using Leadwerks, I used to make cs 1.6 maps. When I started using Leadwerks, I improved myself on this engine to spend my time better. And now all I want is for ultra engine to be successful.

Well when it comes to multiplayer you can create a own service. Since you can use c++ scripts. And you can also do some bigger projects if you have a look at my project.

I think @Josh is creating guides for FPS games because its more easy for beginners.

[Josh]

Regarding multiplayer, I recommend using the Steam peer-to-peer networking system:
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/multiplayer/networking

I did not bother including the old ENet-based stuff because it's not really useful with modern networks. It was only in Leadwerks because that's how the Lua debugger communicated with the game.

[Dreikblack]

3 hours ago, Meric said:

But why is such a good engine designed to make mostly singleplayer 3d First-Person Shooter games?

You can make game in any genre with Ultra. I'm working on turn based tactic game for example:

It's currently on pause because i have to wait for release in Steam to be able to buy it and continue development. Had access when it had subscription system and i bought it for few months with payment for Quake Sacrifice league

 

[Josh]

1 hour ago, diedir said:

Well, i feel very noob when i want to create a simple box, selecting object panel then primitives and box but no button 'create' to click exists

and a click in the scene don't create it either (i did it once but can't reproduce it)

so a bit deconcerted for now.

It's like Leadwerks, if you just click the mouse and start dragging it will create the brush.

[diedir]

oh ! so easy ! i feel so dumb ! Thank you Josh

[Josh]

4 hours ago, Meric said:

Even the leadwerks engine has VR

VR will be implemented after the initial release. It's high priority, but I figure people will be busy learning the new engine at first so it can wait for now.

[Josh]

This also looks interesting. Apparently it can run without Steam?:
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/GameNetworkingSockets

[Null]

It looks amazing from what i've seen so far, i do wonder how the engine does things like skyboxes and whatnot (i'm guessing you don't need to seal the whole map like in source) but i think my biggest concern is mostly wondering what i'll be able to pull off with my current programming ability, since even though i have some "experience" with Languages like Python/C i'm not that great at it, and i don't really enjoy programming especially when it feels like a chore i have to get through. But we'll see i guess.

[khotan]

So far Ultra Engine is cool and it has potential for sure but I don't have testing yet to see this powerful... So I can't say much of that sorry.

Ultra Engine more powerful than Leadwerks ? Yes !  and I keep an eye on it when it will be released and it keeps to expand more in future as update so yes Josh you can stay safe your new engine

One question ? Is Ultra Engine c++ can make as Lua as well for support ?

Thanks and happy coding !

[klepto2]

49 minutes ago, khotan said:

One question ? Is Ultra Engine c++ can make as Lua as well for support ?

Like Leadwerks, the Standard-Edition will support Lua, while the professional Edition will also support C++. 

The Lua integration is much more advanced than in Leadwerks, More or less everything which is publicity available by the cpp api is also available in LUA. As a bonus point the Editor has a plugin system which allows simple or advanced lua scripts and cpp (dll) plugins to add functionality to the editor. 

[khotan]

Great ! Thank you for your info

[Alienhead]

It would be really cool and helpful to have say like 3 to 4 different 'very short' game simulations to demonstrate the flexibility of the engine, this thread is not the first time, or the first place for that matter, I've heard people discuss Ultra as a first person shooter engine ala gameguru.  Even Leadwerks was deemed as a 1st person shooter engine but as we all know that is far from the truth.

1) 3rd person  template

2) 1st person shooter

3) tow-down click and go template.

4) perhaps a driving sim.

etc..etc..

I understand this is not part of the engine's duties but when you unveil the release it sure would help the masses on deciding which engine to go with since there are literally dozens of AAA game engines available at this time and for free.  In most cases you only get one shot at showing off the power of Ultra engine before the potential customer drifts elsewhere. 

Times are quite a bit different than when Leadwerks was released.  All this wasn't really required back then - however the market was just starting and options were limited. 

You've put a TON of work into ULTRA, and that's just in the past 2 years I've been hanging around here. Ultra deserves to have the same  validity as other 'team-based' developed engines have/had.

 

 

[Genebris]

How much photorealism can we get without being rendering engineers? I think every modern renderer does linear color space + HDR + ACES color grading.

I understand there's no lightmapped or realtime GI at the moment, but you do have reflection probes. What are our options to do aimbient occlusion, which is essential for photorealism? I assume shader uses AO map for a model, any other way we can have AO on the environment?

If I drop a bunch of Megascans models, how close do I get to this render ?

[Josh]

2 minutes ago, Genebris said:

What are our options to do aimbient occlusion, which is essential for photorealism? I assume shader uses AO map for a model, any other way we can have AO on the environment?

If I drop a bunch of Megascans models, how close do I get to this render ?

1. Ambient occlusion maps are supported in materials, and in the glTF format. SSAO can also be used.

2. I would expect it to look exactly the same in Ultra. 3D scanned models always look good.

[WazMeister]

On 10/25/2023 at 3:35 PM, Alienhead said:

It would be really cool and helpful to have say like 3 to 4 different 'very short' game simulations to demonstrate the flexibility of the engine, this thread is not the first time, or the first place for that matter, I've heard people discuss Ultra as a first person shooter engine ala gameguru.  Even Leadwerks was deemed as a 1st person shooter engine but as we all know that is far from the truth.

1) 3rd person  template

2) 1st person shooter

3) tow-down click and go template.

4) perhaps a driving sim.

etc..etc..

I understand this is not part of the engine's duties but when you unveil the release it sure would help the masses on deciding which engine to go with since there are literally dozens of AAA game engines available at this time and for free.  In most cases you only get one shot at showing off the power of Ultra engine before the potential customer drifts elsewhere. 

Times are quite a bit different than when Leadwerks was released.  All this wasn't really required back then - however the market was just starting and options were limited. 

You've put a TON of work into ULTRA, and that's just in the past 2 years I've been hanging around here. Ultra deserves to have the same  validity as other 'team-based' developed engines have/had.

100% This. I quit on leadWerks,  i came in far too late with alot of content dead and gone...  But learning from a newbie perspective was a challenge.  No real templates, we dont want hand holding but certainly it needs something to kick start it a basic foundation layer that gets people started with first person, third or  top down... and then allows new users to get on with level creating, adding bought custom models etc..   Have some pre-script entities for Ai etc.  I don't know.... just Leadwerks and reading thus far Ultra so not new user friendly.... not sure how you tend to grow the fan base if its not a nice welcome mat at the entrance.

[Yue]

 

From the photos and videos I must note that the work that exists behind the creation of an engine is really incredible, I have never considered myself a programmer as such, an engine user that is something else, but I am very impressed by what you can do as a developer and how you put in our hands a simple solution for people like me, we can create a particle system, cast a shadow etc, if you really know what happens behind curtains and focus on the dream of creating a video game. 

It should be noted that when it is available on Steam and at an affordable price for my currency I will buy it with great pleasure. 

And surely like any tool, with time you will improve it, you will expand it, and therefore I wish you success with this new engine, which surely like Leadwerks for me will be a school of continuous and exciting learning.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[Yue]

23 hours ago, WazMeister said:

100% Esto. Renuncié a leadWerks, llegué demasiado tarde con mucho contenido muerto y desaparecido...  Pero aprender desde una perspectiva de novato fue un desafío.  No hay plantillas reales, no queremos sostener la mano, pero ciertamente necesita algo para poner en marcha una capa básica que haga que las personas comiencen con primera persona, tercera o de arriba hacia abajo... y luego permite a los nuevos usuarios continuar con la creación de niveles, agregando modelos personalizados comprados, etc..   Tener algunas entidades pre-script para Ai, etc.  No sé.... Solo Leadwerks y leer hasta ahora Ultra así que no es nuevo fácil de usar.... no estoy seguro de cómo tiende a hacer crecer la base de fans si no es una bonita alfombra de bienvenida en la entrada.

 

As I understand it, Ultra Engine vs LE is based not so much on the idea of it being easy for novice users, it focuses more on people who know very well what they can and cannot do, taking advantage of the engine's potential and therefore overcoming its weaknesses.

 

 

[Null]

Actually, one question i wanted to ask was in regards to the visual flowgraph editor. Is it still around? haven't seen you talk about it much.

[reepblue]

It's in the works.

[Null]

6 minutes ago, reepblue said:

It's in the works.

ah ok nice

[Leag]

 

Hello,

I have a few questions regarding Ultra Engine:

1.Will Ultra Engine have a game launcher like Leadwerks?

2.Are there plans to support C# in the future?

3.When Ultra Engine is released on Steam, will it include workshop support for user-created assets?

4.Are there going to be any plugin supports?

Thanks for any insights you can provide!

 

[Josh]

1 minute ago, Leag said:

Hello,

I have a few questions regarding Ultra Engine:

1.Will Ultra Engine have a game launcher like Leadwerks?

2.Are there plans to support C# in the future?

3.When Ultra Engine is released on Steam, will it include workshop support for user-created assets?

4.Are there going to be any plugin supports?

Thanks for any insights you can provide!

1. No. Steam Direct allows anyone to publish on Steam, and this is a better path for developers.

2. Yes!

3. I don't plan on integrating Steam Workshop for a few reasons.

• Ultra is offered both on Steam and as a standalone, whereas Leadwerks was Steam exclusive.
• Steam Workshop has never worked very well for me, and has always been slow-loading.
• I'm trying to focus on making the import pipeline the best it can be. Instead of trying to build up a repository of 3D models, I would rather just make it easy to import models from an existing site like Sketchfab. Maybe a Sketchfab browser will be integrated in the future.

4. Plugins and editor extensions are supported now.