News Atlus shares how Unreal Engine made SMT V possible (video + article)

[7threst]

I thought this is pretty interesting. I came across this when I was browsing Atlus' page on LinkedIn. Not sure if it has been already shared on here. However, since there are quite some people here developing their own games, it might be of interest to them. And also, it is SMT V, so I had to share



Some tidbits from the article:

Speaking on the game's much-praised stylish graphics, Atlus Lead Modeling Designer Takumi Yoshihara shared, "Our approach was to maintain the dark atmosphere of the Shin Megami Tensei series while adding new 3D depictions of hand-drawn illustrations." He added, "We took graphics with a hand-drawn look and tried layering on Unreal Engine’s signature photorealistic effects to produce a result appropriate for modern game consoles."

Atlus Lead Field Designer Kohei Onishi shared that Pivot Painter was one of his favorite UE tools. "At first, we used it to depict swaying trees and grass, but it was also really helpful when we created the [game's] mysterious objects."

On the scripting side, Atlus Lead Programmer Yoshiki Oyamada shared how helpful visual-scripting system Blueprints was to iteration. "I should say that we threw out all of our gameplay scripts from Shin Megami Tensei IV and replaced them with Blueprints."

More here: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/...developing-acclaimed-rpg-shin-megami-tensei-v

 

[Pavolink]

Beautiful game. I want to play again.

 

[Aether]

The last quote is wild, my experience with programmers and node based programming (blueprints) is, that it is easier for a new user, but limits productivity for more experienced programmers. (and thats also my take, it takes forever to get used to it and manage a graphics user interface, and is way faster writing stuff)

maybe i should look more into their take and what they do differently...

 

[Marce-chan]

Incredible!! I can't wait til it gets on sale again so I'll finally buy it.

 

[undefined]

The last quote is wild, my experience with programmers and node based programming (blueprints) is, that it is easier for a new user, but limits productivity for more experienced programmers. (and thats also my take, it takes forever to get used to it and manage a graphics user interface, and is way faster writing stuff)

maybe i should look more into their take and what they do differently...

Yep, from the little I used it in an introduction course felt like the Blueprints would become a huge mess eventually, with everything becoming interconnected nodes placed in a canvas
Ofc the industry probably follows some best practices though

 

[Koren Lesthe]

Thanks for sharing, OP !

 

[Marce-chan]

I think they will use those assets and maybe world to make another game, hopefully we get a SMT V-2.

 

[Sparkling Hootle]

Adore the game. Need to replay it at some point. Thanks for sharing!

 

[SammyJ9]

I think they will use those assets and maybe world to make another game, hopefully we get a SMT V-2.

There's quite a few demons in Soul Hackers 2 that don't appear in SMTV, so I'm assuming they could expand the roster with a lot of those, too.

If they did a more character- and plot-focused version of the game like Apocalypse (but maybe without some of the more iffy elements that introduced) I would absolutely love it.

 

[Ghostsonplanets]

There's quite a few demons in Soul Hackers 2 that don't appear in SMTV, so I'm assuming they could expand the roster with a lot of those, too.

If they did a more character- and plot-focused version of the game like Apocalypse (but maybe without some of the more iffy elements that introduced) I would absolutely love it.

I'm with you. We need a SMT V Apocalypse like yesterday.

 

[SammyJ9]

I'm with you. We need a SMT V Apocalypse like yesterday.

It'd be tougher to do with SMTV, since one of the main things that'd have to change is the overworld IMO. Not that I don't like the overworld areas in V, but exploring them again wouldn't really work in the same way that exploring some of the same areas in SMT4:A did. But we'll see!

 

[Jodast]

Well Atlus could always make an Apocalypse style game a prequel based around the war rather than a sequel. It would allow for reusing the general design of the areas but modified enough with things like the buildings still standing and the world not sandy/dusty etc.

 

[fiendcode]

UE4 worked out so well for the team. I expect Atlus 1st Production moving wholesale to Unreal in the future after their Unity work (SH2) turned out more uneven.