Are there plans to continue to support Serious Engine or is this a permanent shift to Unreal Engine 5? If the latter, why?Adrinek:
This is a permanent transition to Unreal Engine, as we recognized the almost impossible task of bringing Serious Engine up to the quality of Unreal Engine. It would be like attempting to sprint and catch up with a train that is already far down the track and accelerating even faster. Unreal Engine has proven to be an outstanding platform that seamlessly accommodates all our game development requirements.
Were there any particular features of UE5 that helped you realize your vision for the game?
Adrinek: We fully embraced the latest and most cutting-edge features of UE5, such as Nanite, Lumen, World Partition, Virtual Texturing, Virtual Shadow Maps, and Local Exposure. These technologies have long been considered the holy grail of game development since the industry’s early days. The countless hours and effort previously dedicated to creating LODs or shadow maps are now things of the past, freeing up valuable resources and time that can be used to enhance other aspects of the game.
The lighting in The Talos Principle 2 is amazing. How did you make use of Lumen in the game’s rendition of light and water?
Hunski: With nearly three decades of game development experience under my belt, spanning 2D to 3D to virtual reality, I can confidently claim that the introduction of Unreal Engine 5 represents a game development revolution like few others I’ve witnessed. Lumen, in particular, is nothing short of astounding. While it demands some effort and comes at the cost of a fraction of your frame rate, the results are breathtaking. Every scene in the game reaps the benefits. What’s even more remarkable is that we’re fully aware we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential. Truly, it’s nothing short of amazing!
The world of The Talos Principle 2 looks massive. How did Nanite help you achieve the look and scale of the game?
Hunski: Utilizing the old rendering methods would not meet the requirements for the game to run at a decent frame rate. Fortunately, the seamless integration of Nanite into our content production pipeline made the transition to this innovative rendering path and workflow relatively smooth. More recently, our adoption of world partitioning technology has played a crucial role in breathing life into our expansive levels.
Did using Unreal Engine 5 have an impact on the depth or sort of puzzles you could include in the game? If so, how?
Hunski: While it didn’t significantly impact the development of our puzzle logic, World Partition was crucial for creating vast environments and forming the new core structure for the game without the constant concern of needing additional space or new locations. Also, it allowed us to completely forget about the limit of only one developer working on one level at a time. Additionally, it enabled us to craft the immense spaces that players will encounter later in the game. What truly stands out about UE5 is its ability to empower developers to concentrate on the game itself rather than grappling with the constraints of technology.
How do you think the game’s mechanics and philosophy has evolved since the original Talos Principle?
Hunski: While The Talos Principle was, in a sense, a focused and even considered minimalistic game, The Talos Principle 2 dwarfs its predecessor in numerous ways. It has expanded both in scale and scope, having more environments, game mechanics, space, story, and systems—essentially, more of everything. Even though the learning curve in The Talos Principle was much praised, we decided to take a daring leap by introducing a slightly different game structure. It was a bold move, but we believe it was well worth the risk.
As for the narrative, we were determined not to replicate the same formula, delving introspectively once more. Instead, we embraced another risk, introducing a vibrant society of captivating characters and further evolving the storyline to capture the cherished essence of early science fiction novels.
Source: Unreal Engine Blog