Loading Human goes UE4, Morpheus-approved

Game2k
Friday, May 9, 2014 | 6:14 PM
13 comments

Trailer PC PS4

The Kickstarted game Loading Human has switched development from Unity to Unreal Engine 4 has announced the developer. The virtual reality title is being developped for Oculus Rift but could also hit PS4 since Sony has approved the concept for development on the Project Morpheus VR system. Jump inside to get more details and a new glimpse at the "Eternal Sunshine meets Monkey Island" title.

LOADING HUMAN MOVES TO UNREAL ENGINE 4 AND IS CONCEPT APPROVED FOR PS4 “PROJECT MORPHEUS” VR SYSTEM

VR title switches development to Unreal Engine 4, is concept approved for PlayStation 4’s “Project Morpheus”, now features a new gameplay storyline and launches Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/37135808/load...

7 May 2014 – Rome, Italy/… Untold Games has revealed that Loading Human, the award-winning and critically-acclaimed virtual reality game, has transferred development to the cutting-edge Unreal Engine 4, and has now had its concept approved for PlayStation4’s “Project Morpheus” virtual reality system. The news coincides with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund the completion of the first playable chapter of the Loading Human project.

Loading Human, virtual reality adventure game powered by groundbreaking controls and set in a thrilling sci-fi world, also has an all-new storyline replacing the one previously shown in the proof of concept demo earlier this year. The new storyline, set in the year 2185, will immerse players in the memory fragments of young adventurer and scientist, Prometheus. The action starts at his father's North Pole research base where Prometheus will begin his training that will see him guide the spaceship Origin toward the Quintessence – a dark energy source found within the distant Eagle Nebula.

Flavio Parenti, CEO of Untold Games, said:

“After such a positive response to the early Loading Human proof of concept, we felt that to truly realise the game’s potential we had to go back to the drawing board. So we have completely rewritten the storyline as well as adopting a true next-generation development engine.

“It is exciting for us to finally be able to introduce the world to the complicated love story of Prometheus and Alice, as well as transfer development to the new Unreal Engine 4. We hope that gamers will support our Loading Human Kickstarter campaign and join us on Prometheus’ journey, exploring the new potential on offer with VR gaming and Unreal Engine 4.”

Developed from the ground up for VR and motion control devices like Oculus Rift and Sixense Stem System, players will be able to interact with objects within the environment to solve puzzles and uncover the secrets of Loading Human’s story-driven gameplay.

The Kickstarter campaign launched today has an initial target of $30,000, which will fund the completion of the first Act of the three chapter saga, planned on PC and Mac during Q1 2015. The approximate gameplay experience of this episode will be about 3-4 hours minimum, encompassing the scientific base, North Pole, spaceship, underwater lab and the Greenhouse.

For the latest developments, sign up for the Loading Human newsletter.

Loading Human won two awards of the Selected Projects awards during Game Connection America 2014, and will be released on Windows and Mac OS for compatible VR devices during Q1 2015.

UE4 screens

Unreal and Unity comparisons

Concept Artworks

High quality stream and download

Kickstarter Campaign

spacemanjupiter

Commented on 2014-05-09 20:39:33

I see some bullshittery in those before and after pictures. Couple things are obvious there. One is that there are extra light sources creating more dynamic lighting and shadowing. There also seems to be a post processing filter to soften the image. So are they saying these things couldn't be added with Unity and that you have to have UE4 for some additional lights and some post processing? lol. I also see some assets that are more artistic leverage than a superior engine. So I can't make rocks with more geometry than that in Unity? I can't make water look more realistic than that in Unity?

I'm not going to try and compare Unity to UE4 overall, but those shots are kinda ridiculous. I know that Unity can produce a closer quality image than that and it's obvious how you could do it with some simple changes.

In reply to

radsy

Commented on 2014-05-09 21:14:02

like the art style

digi_matrix

Commented on 2014-05-09 22:01:01

Looking forward to these VR-mostly games. Heard about a couple of others in the newest EDGE magazine. Once there's enough of an install base for VR customers, there are going to be some radical games being made where the inferior experience would be the one with just a TV screen and controller. That's where Oculus wants to go, to replace the TV.

ChrisB

Commented on 2014-05-09 22:17:56 In reply to spacemanjupiter

So you're saying you won't be interested in the game because of an engine change, that has obviously improved its believability and realism? You do realize these are all just"Video Games".

MrWhite

Commented on 2014-05-09 23:27:52 In reply to spacemanjupiter

Have you tried playing the UE4 tech demo's for yourself? If you had, then you'd notice straight away the benefits of the engine, not just in it's renderer, but other stuff like how it applies post effects to bump the IQ level. Not only this, but the material properties in UE4 are properly next generation in that they are all physically based and can give off indirect lighting properties. That alone is worth the switch, and as you can see, the same light source in a scene in both engines reacts so much more dramatically and realistically, not because the lighting was changed, but because it is due to the properties of the materials in UE4.

It's not down to "if" or "can you not" get detail to match up to the after pictures in UE4. I'm sure with a bit more time and effort you could, but it would probably be just that: taking more time and effort, and add in the additional things like UE4 potentially being more efficient overall for what you want to achieve, and it's a no brainer.

lilmarkuk

Commented on 2014-05-10 00:52:20

looks good hey check this link to this other game thats going to be on oculus and probebly morpheus its called THE HUM and its set few weeks after alien invasion looks pretty good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIO6xtjIt20

huanbeidl

Commented on 2014-05-10 01:11:20

lol.....Oculus Rift is connect and Graphics downgrade......Good Bye Oculus and low res game(s).......i wait for the PS4 Glasses......

Facebook buy it and destroy it.......too bad Oculus.....too bad......

bubble2020

Commented on 2014-05-10 01:48:58

The past looks so much clearer than the future.

MordeaniisChaos

Commented on 2014-05-10 03:05:28 In reply to spacemanjupiter

Posted by spacemanjupiter

You could get some of those effects, sure. But most of it is easier and better done with UE4, and there are other benefits that are probably hard to see in these shots that Unity can't really accomplish nearly as well, at least yet (we'll see where that fancy new version goes).
It's also not bullshit, it's progress. And... Where did they say definitively that UE4 was the engine to end all engines? It's easy to use and it's what they wanted to use. Who gives a fuck beyond that?
A lot of the assets you're talking about btw were probably added because of the effects they could achieve with them in UE4 vs Unity. The "soften" filter you are seeing is just softer lighting with more indirect lighting going on.
The materials also look markedly better, they just suck at their post processing so they've completely ruined the image with completely fucked levels of bloom.

[quote=spacemanjupiter]I see some bullshittery in those before and after pictures. Couple things are obvious there. One is that there are extra light sources creating more dynamic lighting and shadowing. There also seems to be a post processing filter to soften the image. So are they saying these things couldn't be added with Unity and that you have to have UE4 for some additional lights and some post processing? lol. I also see some assets that are more artistic leverage than a superior engine. So I can't make rocks with more geometry than that in Unity? I can't make water look more realistic than that in Unity?

I'm not going to try and compare Unity to UE4 overall, but those shots are kinda ridiculous. I know that Unity can produce a closer quality image than that and it's obvious how you could do it with some simple changes.[/quote]
You could get some of those effects, sure. But most of it is easier and better done with UE4, and there are other benefits that are probably hard to see in these shots that Unity can't really accomplish nearly as well, at least yet (we'll see where that fancy new version goes).
It's also not bullshit, it's progress. And... Where did they say definitively that UE4 was the engine to end all engines? It's easy to use and it's what they wanted to use. Who gives a fuck beyond that?
A lot of the assets you're talking about btw were probably added because of the effects they could achieve with them in UE4 vs Unity. The "soften" filter you are seeing is just softer lighting with more indirect lighting going on.
The materials also look markedly better, they just suck at their post processing so they've completely ruined the image with completely fucked levels of bloom.

Commented on 2014-05-10 05:47:15 In reply to MordeaniisChaos

Posted by MordeaniisChaos

I don't doubt things are done quicker and easier in UE4 or that it's the better engine, but no one can tell me that a couple more light sources couldn't have been added just as easily in Unity, and the modeling on those rocks has nothing to do with the engine and wouldn't have been any easier. I'm just saying the stark contrast is misleading and a little more artistry and a couple of easy changes in the scene would have narrowed the gap here. I stand by that.

[quote=MordeaniisChaos]
You could get some of those effects, sure. But most of it is easier and better done with UE4, and there are other benefits that are probably hard to see in these shots that Unity can't really accomplish nearly as well, at least yet (we'll see where that fancy new version goes).
It's also not bullshit, it's progress. And... Where did they say definitively that UE4 was the engine to end all engines? It's easy to use and it's what they wanted to use. Who gives a fuck beyond that?
A lot of the assets you're talking about btw were probably added because of the effects they could achieve with them in UE4 vs Unity. The "soften" filter you are seeing is just softer lighting with more indirect lighting going on.
The materials also look markedly better, they just suck at their post processing so they've completely ruined the image with completely fucked levels of bloom.[/quote]
 
I don't doubt things are done quicker and easier in UE4 or that it's the better engine, but no one can tell me that a couple more light sources couldn't have been added just as easily in Unity, and the modeling on those rocks has nothing to do with the engine and wouldn't have been any easier. I'm just saying the stark contrast is misleading and a little more artistry and a couple of easy changes in the scene would have narrowed the gap here. I stand by that.

generate01

Commented on 2014-05-10 12:53:04 In reply to spacemanjupiter

I can't argue with that but if you had more powerful tools wouldn't you make cosmetic changes? It's an overall improvement. I can bet my last dollar that a ps4 remake of something like final fantasy 7 will have some very obvious cosmetic changes, although I do see your point.

BooMMooB

Commented on 2014-05-10 13:14:45

lol, at comparison shots. As a developer myself I can see a lot more work and changes went into the UE4 screens - Going UE4 is not just a miracle with one-press- of-a-button. AND you could easily do the same quality in Unity - Maybe out of the box UE4 has an advantage, but that advantage is quickly lost in expandability & when you have to pay Epic a percentage of your revenue.