Epic Games has unveiled that PC exclusive Fortnite, the sandbox, co-op building, base defence game, will be the first to utilise the 4th iteration of the Unreal Engine.
Initially shown off in a teaser trailer back in December of last year, Fortnite is a game based around scavenging and survival. We were shown the cut scene characters blowing up a section of a building in order to collect materials from the remains. These are then used to shore up the defences on the player character's base. During San Diego Comic Con, more details were unveiled for the game, including the fact that players can build and edit walls using a 3x3 grid mechanic. They can also add stairs, meaning multiple stories of building are possible. Doors, roofs and windows are also able to be constructed, though if you want to change anything you can simply tear it down with a hammer and start again, recovering the original materials used to create it in the first place.
The idea behind creating such a sturdy fortification? To keep out the night time critters. While only some imp like, undead looking creatures (that bear a stylistic resemblance to Overlord's minions) have appeared so far, chances are there will be a wide variety during the actual gameplay.
Due to the cartoony look of the game, some have expressed incredulity at the use of the next generation Unreal Engine. However, some of the screenshots released since have shown surprising levels of detail, especially in shadowing. Ultimately it will come down to how the animation works, as in a game with this sort of feel, smoothness is key. Hopefully there's the potential for lots of enemies on screen at once too.
Oh yea, it's going to be a PC exclusive. Though it has been hinted that it could be added to other platforms later. Design director at Epic, Cliff Blezinski tweeted that: "To be clear - Fortnite is PC primary and first, but we wouldn't rule out the possibility of other platforms later."