Tagged: mark rein

Epic’s Rein: “We have not abandoned PC”

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The games industry just isn’t what it used to be – many believe that developers focus only on consoles, especially big-hitters such as Epic Games, makers of Unreal Tournament and Gears of War. Many say that they have abandoned the PC platform. This put company VP Mark Rein on the defense: while speaking with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, he clarified the company’s focus:

We’ve released an update to the Unreal Development Kit every single month, with huge amounts of changes and improvements which are obviously going into our engine and making them available to customers, we’ve tested them on PC.

If you look at all the UDK games they’re PC only at this point, and we will eventually see them on other devices. But I think that’s a myth that we’ve abandoned the PC, it’s just not true. I mean, Bulletstorm is coming out on three platforms; we’ve just been in this situation where our biggest franchise has been published by a console-holder, and was a very console designed-IP.

While it is easy to point out that Epic’s recent successes have all been on consoles, it would still be too early (and too rash) to say they have abandoned the PC.

Bulletstorm, their next title, hits PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this coming February.

Epic Apologizes for Gears of War Mess

Epic has finally given us an explanation and apology for the digital certificate that expired last week, borking the original Gears of War for PC gamers.

Company VP Mark Rein said online cheat detection features in the game are based on digital signatures.

"We made an embarrassing mistake," said Rein. "We signed the executable with a certificate that expired in a way that broke the game."

"We know how much this situation sucks, and we apologize for the inconvenience," he added.

The company is currently working with Microsoft to fix the issue. Meanwhile, it is suggested that players backdate their computer clock to a date before January 28, 2009 in order to play the game.

No PS3 UT3 Demo Before Release

EuroGamer carries confirmation that there will not be a PS3 demo for Unreal Tournament 3 before its release later this year. This was revealed to them by Mark Rein, who stated that while there will be a PC demo for the game, there won’t be a PS3 demo “before the game ships,” implying that a demo might be headed for the console after the game is available in stores.

He compares the situation to that of Gears of War. “What we told Microsoft last year – they wanted a demo for Gears of War and we said ‘you’ve got a choice – you can have the demo this year or the game this year’.”

Rein cites issues of testing the full game and resources as a major reason for not creating the demo.

Mark Rein Hints at UT3 Maps as DLC

Mark Rein has posted on the Epic Games forums, clarifying the differences between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Unreal Tournament 3. The basic thing, he claims, is the disc size where the PS3 wins by leaps and bounds. It is the reason why they will not be able to cram in as many maps on the Xbox 360 version of the game. However, he doesn’t rule out those games – he hints at the possibility of those maps appearing as downloadable content, citing Gears of War as an example. However, he is still not sure about the idea and states that it is “too early to tell for sure.”

He also touches the subject of user-created mods on the Xbox 360, simply stating that they will work with Microsoft to find a way of supporting them. No definite answer was given, but he hopes that details will be announced soon.

Epic Hoping to Allow Mods on X360 Unreal Tournament 3

Epic touted mod support for the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 at Sony’s E3 press conference. However, the studio is still hoping to allow user-created content and mods in the Xbox 360 version of the game that will ship next year. The PC and PS3 versions are scheduled for release this Fall.

Microsoft is very adamant about disallowing uncertified content on the Xbox 360. “That’s part of the reason we announced we were shipping the game on PC and PS3 this Fall, but we don’t have a date for the Xbox 360 version,” said Mark Rein to CVG. “It’ll be some time after the new year. Part of that is because we haven’t been able to figure out just how we’re going to do the mods. And Microsoft’s got a very busy Christmas schedule.”

He noted that they “just couldn’t get enough attention from Microsoft” to solve the problem. However, he hopes that whenever the game is shipped for the console, it will feature an easy user-managed way of adding user content and mods.

GC Developers Conference Speakers Lineup Announced

The fifth annual GC Developers Conference was announced today, along with a full speaker list. One of Europe’s most important platform for developers, the three-day conference will feature speakers from more than 35 countries around the world. This year’s speakers include Peter Molyneaux, Mark Rein, John Smedley and many others all of whom are listed below:

  • Julian Eggebrecht (USA)
  • Peter Molyneux (UK)
  • Michael Capps, Epic Games (USA)
  • Mark Rein, Epic Games (USA)
  • Mark Morris, Introversion Software (UK)
  • Ken Ralston, Big Huge Games (USA)
  • Cathy Campos, Panache (UK)
  • Doug Whatley, Break Away (USA)
  • Michael Lewis, Cryptic Studios (USA)
  • George Bain (UK)
  • Christopher Schmitz, 10Tacle Studios (Germany)
  • Dr. Michael Wimmer, The University of Vienna (Austria
  • Alexander Fernández, Streamline Studios (The Netherlands)
  • Amir Taaki, Crystalspace (Finland)
  • Jeff Strain, ArenaNet (USA)
  • Vlad Ihora, Telia Sonora (Sweden)
  • Barbara Lippe, Avaloop (Austria)
  • Pamela Kato, The GamerX (USA)
  • Uwe Nikl, Level 3 (UK)
  • Matt Firor, Ultra Mega Games (USA)
  • Konstantin Ewald, Osborne Clark (Germany)
  • John Smedley, Sony Online Entertainment (USA)
  • Cindy Armstrong, Webzen (USA)
  • Jennifer MacLean, Comcast Interactive Media (USA)
  • Chris Mottes, Deadline Games (Denmark)
  • Jeff Hickman, EA Mythic (USA)
  • Jeffrey Steefel, Turbine, Inc. (USA)
  • Don Daglow, Stormfront Studios (USA)
  • Jason Manley, Massive Black (USA)
  • Patric Palm, Hansoft (Sweden)

Additional speakers and lectures will be announced in the weeks running up to the conference, which will take place on August 20-22.

Gears of War Coming to Mac

With the Windows version announced at E3, it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise that Epic is planning on releasing a Mac version of Gears of War, too. This announcement comes from Inside Mac Games, who quotes Mark Rein as saying in a Gametrailers video: “And don’t forget, we’re also doing Macintosh. Yes, Gears is coming to the Mac and so is UT.”

Hopefully it will feature the same level of content as the Windows version, which will receive three new multiplayer maps, a new multiplayer game type, game editor and five new campaign chapters.

Rein on Future Gears of War Update

New information on an upcoming Gears of War update was disclosed through the official forums by Epic Games’ VP Mark Rein. He revealed that the update will include new achievements for the Annex and the Hidden Fronts DLC and will improve roadie run as well as squash exploits and do some “general housekeeping”.

Epic's Rein On Intel and Episodic Gaming

Epic’s Mark Rein had a lot to say during his speech in the Develop Conference in Brighton. First up, he bashed Intel for promoting integrated graphics on the motherboard, saying that the processor company is “killing PC gaming”.

He also talked about episodic gaming, calling it a “broken business”; he believes companies should focus on working on cohesive, complete games. According to the report, these remarks were met with boos and hiss from the audience, accusing him of being a “dinosaur” and “self-serving” (referring to Unreal Engine 3).