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VIDEO: 3DMark creator unveils Shattered Horizon game
Futuremark announces the first release from its game studio; a zero-gravity multiplayer first person shooter
Futuremark’s 3DMark benchmarks may be very pretty, but they also have a reputation for being synthetic and not bearing any relation to real games. This is soon about to change, though, as the benchmark’s creator, Futuremark, has now unveiled the first game to come from the Futuremark Games Studio that it launched in January. It’s called Shattered Horizon, and it’s a zero-gravity multiplayer first person shooter.
The premise of the game is that you have to battle for survival among millions of asteroids in space, following a dramatic Moon mining disaster near the Earth, which has spewed billions of tons of rocks into the arena. The battlefield will include remains of the International Space Station, as well as the asteroids. Futuremark promises that the game will feature simple controls, as well as complete freedom of movement. The company also says that gamers will be rewarded for using tactics appropriate to the zero-gravity setting, which would be otherwise impossible.
Lead game designer Antti Summala explains that ‘In zero gravity the player is set free to play in new ways. Complete freedom of movement and unique level design create an experience that is at once familiar to anyone who loves the FPS style, and yet strikingly different to any game they’ve played before.’
Of course, anyone who’s run 3DMark Vantage on their system will know that it’s a hardware-hungry beast, but Futuremark claims that ‘gamers need not spend a fortune to enjoy the unique gameplay,’ while also saying that the game ‘will showcase stunning graphics on high-end PCs.’ According to Futuremark, the developer’s ‘intimate knowledge of the latest PC hardware’ has allowed the company to ‘tune the game’s engine to extract impressive visuals on a wide range of systems.’
Lead artist on Shattered Horizon, Mikael Bowellan, expanded further on the graphics, saying that ‘our stunning lighting effects create the look of real space for both the natural and man-made objects. We’ve taken existing concepts in weaponry, propulsion and spacesuit design to make the world of Shattered Horizon even more convincing and believable.’
You can see the trailer for the game on the next page, as well as a couple of screenshots below. In terms of style, it looks very similar to the New Calico test in 3DMark Vantage, which featured similar graphics, not to mention a huge asteroid field, although Futuremark hasn't mentioned which DirectX version the game will use yet.
More images for this article:
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I didn't really mean to post that three times...
Comment by derek_c at 11:00pm 22nd August 2008
A Nuclear Moon Accident? Shades of Space:1999, although at least they haven't had the Moon careering off into interstella space. All the debris is far too close to the Earth though. A genuine incident like that would spread the debris out around the current Moon orbit, not put a load of asteroid-alikes in near Earth orbit. Changing from one circular orbit to another requires two separate thrust events. All one could do is put stuff into an elliptical orbit. Finally there's the issue of what all those new asteroids would be doing. That's spinning! So the game creators themselves have a massive problem of making hunderds of objects spin at different velocities. Or end up with a totally rubbish asteroid field full of stationary rocks like Star Trek episodes had.
Comment by derek_c at 11:01am 22nd August 2008
A Nuclear Moon Accident? Shades of Space:1999, although at least they haven't had the Moon careering off into interstella space. All the debris is far too close to the Earth though. A genuine incident like that would spread the debris out around the current Moon orbit, not put a load of asteroid-alikes in near Earth orbit. Changing from one circular orbit to another requires two separate thrust events. All one could do is put stuff into an elliptical orbit. Finally there's the issue of what all those new asteroids would be doing. That's spinning! So the game creators themselves have a massive problem of making hunderds of objects spin at different velocities. Or end up with a totally rubbish asteroid field full of stationary rocks like Star Trek episodes had.
Comment by derek_c at 11:01am 22nd August 2008
would likely be tribes, which through the use of jetpacks required that third dimension to be figured in to your tactics
Comment by NewParadigm at 1:56pm 22nd August 2008
ok I'll stand corrected on the asteroids theme then, so its going to be like countless other FPS games, so stil nothing to get too excited about then ;)
Comment by nobodys_inn at 10:59am 22nd August 2008
A Nuclear Moon Accident? Shades of Space:1999, although at least they haven't had the Moon careering off into interstella space. All the debris is far too close to the Earth though. A genuine incident like that would spread the debris out around the current Moon orbit, not put a load of asteroid-alikes in near Earth orbit. Changing from one circular orbit to another requires two separate thrust events. All one could do is put stuff into an elliptical orbit. Finally there's the issue of what all those new asteroids would be doing. That's spinning! So the game creators themselves have a massive problem of making hunderds of objects spin at different velocities. Or end up with a totally rubbish asteroid field full of stationary rocks like Star Trek episodes had.
Comment by derek_c at 11:01am 22nd August 2008
ok I'll stand corrected on the asteroids theme then, so its going to be like countless other FPS games, so stil nothing to get too excited about then ;)
Comment by nobodys_inn at 10:59am 22nd August 2008
Ed sorry I was being facetious when I said what did the term mean. I know what it meant, what I was getting at was that the original Asteroids used the concept of zero gravity, and this game sounds like a prettier version of asteroids so far. Altho I'm more than happy to be proven wrong :)
Comment by nobodys_inn at 10:48am 22nd August 2008
Did any one else read this section and think of the training room in "Enders Game"? "The company also says that gamers will be rewarded for using tactics appropriate to the zero-gravity setting, which would be otherwise impossible." I feel sorry for EdArch he must be to young to have experienced the early days of video games. The days when friends would meet at the store that had the hottest game. Stacking Quarters on the console to take on the winner of last game. It was a social event not just a game. Today Asteroids may seem lame but thats because it's missing the ambiance. It was a unique and wonderful time.
Comment by duroncrush1 at 6:58pm 21st August 2008
and it won't be an updated ateroids... asteroids had you shooting mindless bits of rock, this is multiplayer FPS, so you are shooting other human opponents... just like BF1942 and it's countless clones.
Comment by NewParadigm at 5:17pm 21st August 2008
why wouldn't a moon buggy do anything... there would still be some friction between the wheels moving and the surface, becuase they are moving in the same plane and not wholly reliant on the downward force of gravity (like gently pulling once piece of sandpaper over another)... it may not go far before floating off the ground though
Comment by NewParadigm at 5:14pm 21st August 2008
well its like having....no gravity at all. Think about what gravity is, it's a force that makes us stick to big rocky things called planets, or keeps planets revolving and travelling around big bright things called stars...now think about that...now think about having alot less of it...no less then that...less then that, much less...yeh you got it! it does sound quite interesting. I did play asteroids once and i do find the concept of it interesting but didn't think much of it so I do hope this will be alot more fun :) oh the irony of sprint-floating towards a moon buggy only to find it doesn't do a bloody thing apart from make a revving noise! but hey, if it's a nice revving noise it'll be worth the effort...
Comment by EdArch at 3:02pm 21st August 2008
am I missing somethere here, but from what I've read its going to be an updated version of Asteroids, with more pleasing graphics. I'm sure there will be added features but I wouldnt say it was particularly original from a story line. "Futuremark promises that the game will feature simple controls, as well as complete freedom of movement." same as Asteroids then. As for zero gravity well it sounds good but what does it actually mean. Again in the original Asteroids, once you used your thrusters to move on the screen, to stop you had to fire your thrusters, hence I would class this a very simple zero gravity scenario. It doesnt sound like anything to get too excited about, although it may be worth a look when its released
Comment by nobodys_inn at 3:05pm 20th August 2008
That's another one in the eye for in game ray-tracing.
Comment by DudQuitter at 3:10pm 20th August 2008
What a shame they never showed any actual gameplay... i wonder what they are hiding ! Anyway i like the premise for the storyline, so i will keep an eye on this games development me thinks.
Comment by davelister at 2:37pm 20th August 2008
You have to hand it to them... The story is original, though zero gravity has been used in a number of games but not to the extent of this. Lets hope they optimize it well.
Comment by CPC_RedDawn at 1:37pm 20th August 2008
Sorry, Custom PC comments are now closed.
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