DF Retro: The Birth Of Unreal Engine On Console

[@loguerto]

DF Retro is not only awesome but also highly instructive. Great work guys, you earned my subscription.

[@dark1x]

Thanks!!

[@blurayich]

thx

[@sourfpv3096]

Thx

[@FunkyHP]

Yeah! Absolutely! Such a fantastic show!

[@ro4eva]

_DF Retro is not only awesome but also highly instructive. Great work guys, you earned my subscription._ Agreed! With an ever-growing list of entries for DF Retro, I sincerely look forward to viewing new content from them :-)

[@HypnoticSuggestion]

In 1999 I spent my entire tax return from my first year of real work, on a new gaming rig. It was Epic ;) P3 633mhz, 64MB Ram, and a Voodoo card, but I can't recall which one, I think the latest 64MB card of the time. Seeing UT run a perfect 60fps was amazing, I'll never forget the sound, and UT Faces...

[@ArabianFreedom]

Do you remember how much have you spent?

[@HypnoticSuggestion]

I think it was around $800, since it wasn't a full new build, just major upgrade. It was worth it tho, computers were still somewhat new for me, was a great experience.

[@johnconnor2402]

HypnoticSuggestion I think I built one with similar specs and got lost in Diablo 2 at the time. I still have the keyboard from that build that I use to boot into bios because it has a ps2 connector.

[@1Coin1PlayGames]

I played UT online on Dreamcast back in the day and it worked really well. Some frame-rate dips and the occasional lag, but the game was incredibly fun and had a very active community. I miss that game.

[@winlover37]

Are there any features it had that stick out in your mind? I've always been fascinated by this game's online mode, came out before my time unfortunately

[@UGRRetribution]

Quake III Arena Dreamcast vs. Quake III Revolution PlayStation 2?

[@johnconnor2402]

Oh my god, I spent many nights kicking peoples ass on UT Dreamcast using a keyboard and mouse. I only got my ass kicked by people with Broadband. I remember clans like jBi, SoS, Dbz. If only I was 10 again, damn fun times.

[@winlover37]

John Connor Damn, I really wish I was around for the UT scene.

[@acardenasjr1340]

I bought the Dreamcast with my own cash at my first job, fun times.

[@MrMario2011]

Props on capturing Dreamcast footage. I never tried it with the KB/M configuration but a friend and I tried Unreal Tournament on the Dreamcast a few years ago and stopped playing after a few minutes. Playing a FPS on a controller without a second analog stick for aiming just feels nasty now.

[@That_Handle]

MrMario2011 , If you haven't tried a better console experience of the release, get your hands around a copy(ies) of Unreal Tournament for PS2 instead, a USB mouse(mice), DualShock2(s) and USB keyboard(s) as up to all three can be utilized simultaneously (though the greatest return is realised from the DualShock2+USB mouse configuration) The keyboard, IIRC, is used for expressing preset taunts and possibly team commands. Furthermore, this all networks together quite well on 4 PS2 consoles, a Firewire hub (if more than 2 consoles) via 4-pin Firewire cabling while best shown on CRT TVs if there's room for it all. DS2+mouse also work well for PS2's Silent Scope series (Silent Scope 2 Firewire links 2 PS2 consoles as well) and, with the addition of a keyboard as a third input device, Red Faction 2 (numbers row serves well via a tap of the DS2's unused right hand grip to direct weapons-select instead of mouse wheel scrolling through a list) and Half-Life [there might be more] . _____ While on the topic, I'd be interested in hearing back regarding other titles with various natively supported hybrid controls whether DS2+mouse, mouse+keyboard or all three if you happen to know any. Hopefully I could add some value to your experience of Unreal Tournament if not with the other titles regarding native hybrid control support.

[@Renusek]

My candidate for next Retro episode: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.

[@MatthewN56736n4]

Yes, that was a great looking game for the original Xbox. Quite relieved it came out on PC later.

[@SweBeach2023]

+Sophie Sykes Not underrated, but never achieved even a small part of the credit it deserved.

[@AmanojakuPenguin]

Got that and AODA a few weeks ago on PS3. Fantastic from what I've played.

[@deXXXXter2]

First one and a half minute, music from U1 (not UT). Best game soundtrack ever made for the best shooter ever made and one of the best games ever made.

[@gothichuman]

True, most best atmospheric soundtracks in FPS game.

[@dark1x]

Yes! Oh so yes. I absolutely love the original score of Unreal 1 (which is why I used some of that music in here along with UT). It's very atmospheric indeed.

[@bradwart]

+ola glans UT supports the VGA Box so it should.

[@satanspy]

Fun Fact: UT was completely offline on PS2, while on Dreamcast it was one of the first console online shooters (along with Quake) performing well over a 56k modem.

[@SimonChristensen]

3:07 not sure if Console, or Polygon

[@abhirao2001]

I enjoy watching DF Retro videos. Would love to see a DF Retro video on Rayman 2 and all the different versions someday.

[@danmann861]

This channel is possibly the best gaming channel going at the moment...and I'm really loving the retro stuff. Keep up the great work, Digital Foundry.

[@SuperCasalXou]

DF Retro is seriously amazing! Nostalgia meets amazing detailed reviews

[@FunkyHP]

DF Retro is the coolest retro gaming show on KZbin, thank you guys for doing such a great work! I remember myself playing it on my Dreamcast with its ultra laggy framerate, Sega's console was popular in my native Russia back in a day, but of course, after the collapse of the system PS2 took over) So I returned back to the Playstation and this console brand is still my favorite) But to be honest, I miss Dreamcast with all it's fantastic titles like Shenmue and Rez

[@Knightimex]

I beat UT on Dreamcast on inhuman setting using the face buttons as my form of movement. I'm proud of that achievement. Some can't even do it with KB&M.

[@flyingplantwhale545]

Digital Foundry sure has come a long way. Starting out with comparison videos, They have managed to inject awesome commentaries and with shows like this, make a very compelling, entertaining and informative channel as a whole. WELL DONE .

[@WillGuizzo]

Probably the best youtube channel for those who enjoy knowing more about the tech behind current or classic games. Another great df retro video

[@bamster64]

These retro videos are way more informative and interesting than modern games analysis, keep going :D

[@ShmeeGrim]

I'd love to see you guys cover Metroid Prime 2. That game was a true graphical showcase for the Game Cube.

[@winlover37]

The Grim Dealer Great game!

[@TheKrazyKat89]

Please never stop making DF Retro, those videos are incredibly interesting.

[@Gehab]

MAH BOI JOHN DID A FACE REVEAL! WOOO!

[@Dionysus878]

My first time seeing his face.

[@MrSlashStudios]

WOOOOOOOO

[@Justusiar]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@Heldawm]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@carl00s01]

One day he replied my comment with his personal youtube user and his profile pic was his face

[@SomethingNewEveryDay]

Two things made the Dreamcast version the winner back in the day. The online play was a blast and you could play it in high definition.

[@dubsdd2678]

DF Retro is building up to be one of the best ongoing things on KZbin, cheers guys

[@christianweber9089]

Don't forget, the Dreamcast releases in 1998, and playstation 2 releases in 2000. 2 years difference. For Dreamcast the compare of graphics was amazing, 2 years older. In that time, 2 years was a long time in hardware evolution.

[@FC-sg6tc]

1 year and 3 months is not 2 years

[@enrac]

These DF videos are great when doing cardio on a stationary bike!

[@DarkShadowRage]

That classic unreal 1 music

[@superbikeaborad]

Good to see ya John. These really are the best retro tech videos on the whole of KZbin.

[@oskulock]

Yet another awesome vid, these have become my favorite KZbin content lately. So yeah, nice. Half-Life next pleaaase. :D

[@dark1x]

Half-Life is coming soon!

[@Haste0250]

go watch ahoy's half life if you want something indepth.

[@dark1x]

No kidding, ahoy's videos are incredible.

[@Haste0250]

His look back in Quake made me forget 50 whole minutes had passed. It was that engaging. We like you too John. ;)

[@DaMedicDemonow]

+John Linneman ValveTime soon? That is when HL3 releases? :P

[@Xpert74]

Thanks for another great video! I find it interesting how the Dreamcast version was noticeably lesser in many ways, yet did have the online play that the PS2 version lacked.

[@nconstant]

This is already my favorite youtube channel. Keep it on guys!!!

[@EposVox]

These videos are fantastic, keep it up, guys. I wonder if someone could take the .ini files from UT PS2, change the resolution option, then run it in an emulator/modded console and make it run at 720p or something. Performance would tank, but it'd be interesting. OMG that '90s shot of CliffyB. Looool

[@dark1x]

I'll probably fiddle with it. I think 720p is impossible due to memory limitations but maybe lowering the res could improve performance?

[@EposVox]

Ah, possibly! That would be neat. I wouldn't rule 720p impossible - my modded PS2 can *try* to force some games to run at 1080i. Sorta works. Sometimes. lol

[@xan1242]

Nope, just nope. Do you even understand what those numbers actually are? They change the rendering resolution, there is no absolute way it would even run at anything higher than what it is now, maybe 640x480 but even then it wouldn't run well. Besides, changing the ResX and ResY in the settings doesn't do anything. The renderer for the PS2 UE1 is quite ass anyway, though perhaps with the leaked source codes it could be possible to make a new one. I'm sure Epic wouldn't give a crap if someone made stuff for PS2, but knowing their attitude towards other platforms they didn't even allow for Unreal 227 PPC port so it's a bit questionable.

[@EposVox]

"changing the ResX and ResY in the settings doesn't do anything." It had with other UE games. And yes, it'd change the rendering resolution - making it likely run like crap. But still worth a fun experiment.

[@xan1242]

EposVox I meant that for UE on PS2 exclusively. Besides highest you can go on a PS2 is like 640x512 anyway so you can't do much.

[@max03tube]

DF is stepping up the game. Great video. Love this documentary

[@Rain41862]

09:41 VoiceCrack, also, good video. I like so much this series, to revisit some Retro Games 😁, the nostalgia is strong !!!

[@rich3827]

please keep it up with these videos. love it considering the dry spell of games going on this summer, you guys continue to work hard to make sure good content is pushed out.

[@review_stooge]

Very informative as I always wanted to compare these console versions of UT. Keep up the good work!

[@nebulapuppy]

Just discovered this series. Absolutely LOVE THIS.

[@ffx5846]

I had so much fun with the Dreamcast version when i didnt even know what frames where jajajaja.

[@Night__Mail]

An excellent update - very interesting about the different ways the two consoles handled texture files. Keep up the good work.

[@05DonnieB]

I like how DF breaks down technical terminology for the lesser adept individual, while at the same time speaking clearly to those who are familiar with tech. As a game developer myself this channel actually encourages others in the industry to up their game or you end up looking not so great.(yes I'm talking about you Bro Force, Lynchdom Battle Mage)

[@dark1x]

Thanks! That's always the challenging thing here - it's easy to assume everyone understands the terminology but it's really not true and it can quickly turn people away. It's difficult to find a balance but I really try hard to produce videos and articles that lay things out in a way that everyone can enjoy while still presenting the facts. I'm glad you noticed!!

[@That_Handle]

John Linneman , Appreciated here as well - what was once new, unfamiliar and sometimes underappreciated terms and concepts have become my capable communications and inquiries via your videos which has gone on to spark more fruitful searches toward better understanding on my own paths. Thank you.

[@MickLMZR]

Absolutely fascinating video! Thank you for taking the time to make it cannot wait for the following DF Retro video :)

[@Azziee]

Retro series is pure gold.

[@Gorkab]

Yeah you're giving DF Retro more space, that is truly awesome guys :)

[@frankjohansen3132]

DigitalFoundry just rocks, no coolness, but just plain down to earth informative brilliance in action.

[@kwakka]

DF Retro is the best thing that happened to KZbin since Ahoy.

[@newton_lod]

best series of this channel. Thanks and please continue with the great work

[@EKGProductions7]

These Retro Vids are fascinating and by far my favorite.

[@brandonisweird7000]

I'm curious to see Halo since it changed up Console shooters. You guys are literally my favorite channel to watch.

[@Aristowi]

Do more of this DF retro, it was very unteresting, by the time Unreal hit consoles I wasn't into PC building yet and didn't uderstand the tech, it's nice to visit these past games I played with some modern tech knowledge. Good work.

[@samdovakin2977]

john can you please do an explanation for the ps3 and the cell processors and how they work and why it was hard to develop for it. IBM throw alot of money to develop it and there are not alot information on it

[@zedsdeadbaby]

no it wasn't, not even close. too much kutaragi kool-aid even ten years on.

[@OtavioFesoares]

The Cell was not really that great to begin with. It was based off of IBM and Apple's current generation (at the time) G5 processor, only being found in desktop machines. They decided to go on with that particular architecture and modify it to a point where they could call it "different" and "more efficient". The thing is though, the Cell sports SPUs instead of actual physical cores, having only one core and 7 SPUs (think of them as some logical cores of some sort. But a bit more underpowered). So, most people would say that the Cell sports 7 cores, that statement would be rather untrue. This whole "deal" lead to a processor that was extremelly difficult to develop for, with an almost completely foreign architecture. And that is why most games that were mostly CPU-bound ran better on the Xbox 360 than on the PS3. Cell was rather inefficient and underpowered. Now let's talk about the 360's processor, shall we? Because the Xenos and the Cell were not all that different to be honest. The Xenos found in thr Xbox 360 was based off of the SAME G5 CPU! But instead of having a foreign architecture, Microsoft decided to take that G5 CPU found on the PowerMac G5 and iMac G5 and make it a tri-core processor. So it had 3 physical cores and was easier to work with. Especially for those who had developed for the PowerPC before. The thing is, as I mentioned before, the G5 was only found on Desktop computers, and by the time that the Xbox 360 hit the market, Apple switched over to intel's x86 architecture. So... What happened? Well, apparently, the G5 processor was VERY power inefficient and tended to overheat a lot. That is why we never saw a "PowerBook G5". IBM was not able to make the chip small enough to fit it inside a notebook. Does that ring you a bell? It should. That was the main reason why the Xbox 360 and PS3 had just so many thermal issues. Especially the Xbox 360, as it had almost a one by one copy of the G5 inside. I almost wrote an entire essay here, but I hope this cleared some things up.

[@madmax2069]

+pushpopLoC909 actually the Cell processor was faster then the 360s CPU especially when it was utilized properly (usually only by first party developer's). most multi platform games didn't use the cell processor correctly (as in it mainly just used the single PPE and none of the SPUs) which is why most multi platform games ran better on 360 then on PS3.

[@FazedInferno]

+DrearierSpider1 gta v looks pretty turd on last gen compared to most first party games if you ask me lol

[@OtavioFesoares]

+Unversed [XI's old channel] Well, GTA V may not be the best looking game last gen, true. But it was the most CPU intensive, as it was a huge open world game and was very pretty looking. And the Xbox 360 ran it a tad bit better, despite the fact that Sony and Rockstar were in bed during its development. The thing with first party developers is that they DON'T need to focus on different hardwares. They have all the time to optimize their games for the system that they are being developed for. A game like Uncharted 3 would look just as pretty on the 360. Just as Halo 4 would, if it were a PS3 exclusive.

[@screamsfromthegrave3324]

Great work guys, love your channel. (Bonus points for including the music of the Unreal "Dawn Horizon" track in the beginning :D )

[@MannequinSmiles]

Way hyped how much work you guys put into these.

[@douglasharris4295]

Thank you for the supremely in-depth technical analysis, DF!!!

[@SianaGearz]

DF, do you know what game flies in the face of your hypothesis that Unreal Tournament is too fast paced for consoles? Outtrigger for Dreamcast! You NEED to check it out. Well the trick was, instead of making movement slower... they made it faster. But they made the guns bigger. Much bigger. And it plays just great!

[@cmelft2463]

I still play this game today (on pc). nothing like loading up a quick bot match unlike all the new games. Great vid as always +1 thumbs up

[@jonzeye]

Really enjoying these new format vids...keep up the good work guys!!!

[@RowanSomething]

I think it would be interesting to do a video on the Xbox versions of Half Life 2, Far Cry and Doom 3, as they are all interesting versions of their respective games that must have been really hard to pull off.

[@DethThrasher1]

pull off used loosely lol

[@Macho_Fantastico]

This was awesome, hope you do more retro look backs.

[@michaelwhite5641]

DF Retro is easily my favourite DF content Also I'm going to need to request that John changes his face, he looks nothing like I imagined

[@redhotbbqfries4L]

Ive been waiting for a video like this for a while. Thanks guys

[@Polygonien]

Great video as always! I still remember how we used to play the Dreamcast version in 4-player-splitscreen on a tiny 17inch TV xD Would love to see a comparison video of Bioware's wonderful MDK2 which was released for PC, DC, PS2 and in a more recent "HD" upgrade.

[@shobbs72]

Cool video, brings back memories of some random info nobody's asked for:PS2 didn't actually do mip-maps correctly, it could only select a single mip-map per polygon and the programmer had to manually set some values in various registers in the GPU to get roughly the right effect rather than the hardware doing it automatically per-pixel which is the correct way that the Dreamcast does it.PS2 also couldn't natively do the coloured lighting you see in these games, because it didn't have the required blending mode. I believe Epic ended up having to render the entire scene 4 times, once to do the textures and then once more each for the separate red, green and blue lighting passes. They also had to do some crazy stuff with treating the previous pass as a texture map and using it to do a lookup into a colour palette with all the shades of red, green or blue in it. I don't remember the exact details but it's only because the PS2 had an enormous amount of fill rate that it was able to handle this at all.

[@nanopulga098]

Oh, I like so much DF Retro and this technical information, thanks John

[@mcrazza]

Great work putting this video together!

[@billybangbang9180]

I learned how to be a real first person shooter...on deck 16, in unreal tournament...with the soundtrack of... Mission landing... playing loud and proud in the background !!!

[@xmaverickhunterkx]

First time I see this one. Good stuff. Miss the old days. Less stress and anger, and pure love of gaming.

[@Aaronmac404]

Freaking awesome video! Unreal Tournament is probably my favorite shooter of all time, and it's always cool to learn stuff about it that I didn't know before :)

[@hmbrz]

I used to play on the dreamcast with up to 4 players, ouch, I didn't notice at the time but it was probably that great 10 FPS experience, like Goldeneye on split screen.... the PS2 overall is a clear win, apart from online multiplayer... during early 2000s the quake 3 engine was more successful I think, so perhaps a quake 3 arena comparison?

[@unfa00]

I would love to see an in-depth video focusing on Unreal and the Unreal Engine 1 era of the Epic Games technology.

[@qwertNickqwert]

Just great! Very informative and entertaining! Now waiting for next episode)

[@jaimegriffith6196]

Keep doing these, guys. GREAT series!

[@Pruflas-Watts]

Oh wow! I was driving to work a few days ago and was just thinking about the PS2 version of unreal tournament. it was pretty polished and the menus and character selection, load screens, and portrait felt more polished than PC did. I had more memories fighting Xan Kregor.

[@ThePimbax]

Can we have this every week? I absolutely love this articles! Thanks John! :D

[@Ultimagicarus]

you guys are getting better, at least we can understand more not just counting of framerate.

[@evilzinabyssranger5695]

Unreal Tournament is GORGEOUS! What a SoundTrack, Maps are cool the gameplay is awsome and got high skill ceeling. It was also very easy to open an server to play with friends. The Game had it all. TEAM play and DUEL.

[@gtabro1337]

This 1999-2003 music is so defining, I still blast NFS 5's OST every once in a whole

[@russmawson6744]

loving these videos. I'm clueless to how games work but these give great insight as well as being very entertaining

[@Ben256MB]

I have always said it that ps2 , game cube and xbox has introduced a lot of graphical features such as alpha blending which is such a blessing.

[@Forcy1989]

I can only imagine the work hours and passion behind such video..

[@brandonkylemarks]

Are you going to keep putting out unreal engine retrospectives? Wouldn't mind another look at UT ps3, got me through some of that consoles dark days would love to see how it held up

[@Spacecoke]

I got my first proper gaming PC around the time of this game. Was playing it in 1024x768 60fps on max settings with detailed textures turned turned on and it totaly blew my mind. It was around the time I turned my back on consoles as a primary gaming system. Now I just game on console very very casualy. Thank you 3DFX voodoo for opening my eyes :)

[@rafraf2490]

Please make more of such videos, other ideas engine graphics race, specs info and demos of consoles like ps2 xbox and their battle, all such stuff with examples of games is really cool to watch and interesting

[@_J2C]

DF Retro is the best. Keep'em coming!

[@dunnono00]

The UT ports were generally received well by gaming mags, if I remember correctly. A lot of PC ports of FPS were coming out around that time like Quake 3 Arena, Half-Life, Soldier of Fortune, KISS Psycho Circus, etc. Well, in any case, my only Unreal experience was UT on the PC and half the fun was putting all sorts of mods and mutators in the game. The sequels were alright, but I'm really looking forward to the new one because it seems like it's closest to UT99.

[@perfectshave85]

Very cool guys. Quake III for Dreamcast/PS2 would be very cool too. Even a video comparing Gamecube/original XBOX/PS2's composite output to their component output(and Dreamcasts composite output to its VGA output) would be awesome. Quake II on PS1 and N64 for good measure :P

[@1lichfield]

I'm loving this series more and more, I loved my Sega consoles and remember all these technical achievements, and ports to other consoles etc. This series is just reminding me why I love games and the tech that's behind them. Hopefully we're getting a Halo retro look and the reasons why it was groundbreaking.

[@SlobboVideo]

Damn, your really did some research for this. Kudos to you good sir, great video!

[@godzilla7391]

Nice info. Very informative review. Dreamcast is my favorite console. It's obvious it has the lesser hardware, but the amount of good games on that console, in its short time was, and still is very impressive.

[@monbou13]

Liking for John's face reveal!

[@danielpaul2695]

woo-hoo! more DF retro please! I eagerly await each new episode!

[@SplittingOfPrides]

I love Unreal Tournament Can't wait for the new Unreal Tournament!!!

[@alarak2159]

"Better understand the past to better appreciate the future" This, 1000x. I wish this was reverberated throughout modern games society. Many a publisher forbid it since unless they can make more money from it; they aren't interested. Having said that, a generation now exists whom deem F2P mobile games as a benchmark for what stands as a good game...

[@khorinis2137]

It kinda sucks that you didn't mention the scrapped PSX version of Unreal.

[@retroboy-fh1ji]

QuakeGuy2002 and the cancelled N64 version

[@metfan4l]

Lovin' these videos! :D

[@Petersorg]

So now every sunday there will be a new DF Retro video? Sweeeeet!

[@mosestall4276]

Please keep the DF Retro videos coming. They're awesome! Could you look at some Nintendo games? PSP would be interesting too!

[@andrew11ds41]

shenmue 2!!!! xbox and dreamcast version

[@RetroTechSelect]

Fantastic video. Love everything from Foundry but DF Retro is the best by far.

[@City17]

Love these retro videos

[@JamieRobert_]

Lol that face reveal

[@felman87]

Are we going to get more history of engines? Maybe my memory is fading but I remember the Unreal Engine only gaining popularity during the PS360 gen. During the PS2/Xbox/Cube era, it was more Renderware (on consoles, at least). I know some Sonic games used that engine but so did GTA. On PC, however, I noticed a ton using id's Quake engine (both 1, 2 and 3) until Unreal Engine 3 debuted.