Ya know ppl have been raving about UE5 for ages.. probably because none of em never tried to actually do something with it.
I think the selling point in favor of StarEngine is that they are trying to provide a fully working world simulation with the tools to harness it's potential, right out of the box, with MMO level networking and automated optimization built in. UE5 is barebones when it comes to anything else than your most basic last-gen level-based FPS, and even that is sometimes lacking out of the box. From experience, our dev dude spent a week just trying to make an automated character editor switch out eyelashes on a character when glasses were equipped (og lashes were long and clipping through). So yes you still gotta put in the work with UE5 just like with any other engine. To me it looks like CiG is trying to make something where you have an easier time getting everything working as you imagined it would work.
On the visuals front, CIG has a ways to go still, but if they manage to get raytracing and especially that GI solution stable and cheap enough to run in more complex environments, it's already a great selling point. Almost all games I've played so far with their tacked-on raytracing have reflection and/or shadows traced, but no true light bounce with color bleed like CiG does. UE5 can do it, kinda, but I haven't seen anything take real advantage of it yet. Then there's all the volumetric effects, while almost everyone is still stuck on cheap looking screen space solutions, like UE5. Also the physics stuff like the destruction tech, the hair sim, cloth sim... all built in and supposedly working great out of the box. It's an enticing sales pitch for sure.
Now the downside of their all-encompassin turn-key solution is that it might be less flexible than a more barebones solution, but until we get to see someone else trying to create a game on this engine, we won't know.
Oh and nanite with no lods? Yeah hahahaha. No. It fucks up just like any other automated lod system. Yes we tested this, no it's not that easy as jsut chucking ina complex model and letting UE handle it all. Is it better on popping in issues? Yeah, it helps, but looking at our pre-rendered visuals, it ain't perfect either.
I've seen games with perfectly good loding before on other engines, it's not unique, but it sure makes things easier and faster to work on.
On the other hand, CiG has elevators that can kill you. I have never had that in any other game engine! hahaha
And let's not forget that they are using their own solutions of audio, face tracking and so on. Loads of neat features if you aim for let's say, making an MMO.
Now would I choose SE over something else for a game like ForzaMotorsport 19 or Worms 11 or Jump King 3? no, there's probably better options out there for such cases.
Most importantly, if they went with UE5, we might be further along in development, but would they have an engine to sell?
I doubt it, cos they would be relying way more on the built in engine features, thus being unable to call it their own and sell it as such, and I don't think Epic would be willing to sell it to them.
@Thalstan
They fully bought out cryengine (and the rest is their own code as far as I know), this was established around or after the lawsuits, they have no obligations towards anyone else when it comes to licencing. They can sell licences however they like.
I think CiG have the potential to sell this as a whole package. This has been one of their goals from the start, it was never a secret, they even talked about it in a few words here and there.
