Mabinogi's Eternity Project Unreal Engine 5 Overhaul Picks Up Steam

mmorpg.com:

Mabinogi, the long-running MMORPG that celebrated its 19^th year recently, has recently dropped more details about their transformative leap with the Mabinogi Eternity Project. The project, as described by game director Min Kyung-hoon, is an ambitious endeavor to rejuvenate the game while retaining its classic essence. The team aims to communicate regularly with the Millesians (the game's community), sharing the challenges and advancements they encounter during this extensive overhaul.

A key slogan for the project, «Classic but Classy,» encapsulates the vision of merging Mabinogi's traditional elements with the modern aesthetics and technology provided by Unreal Engine 5. The team intends to strike a balance between preserving the game's core identity while infusing it with technical upgrades that will aid in revitalizing the game's fundamental “fantasy life” experience.

The project is currently in the «prototyping» phase, which involves a comprehensive redesign of the server architecture, game mechanics, and content, all adapted to the new engine. This process is complex, given the need to migrate and improve existing data, scripts, and in-game elements. There team has also requested new creative proposals and has even gone so far as to hire on new team members to fulfill their vision of the project.

The project involves moving beyond the limitations of the old Pleione engine, addressing issues likephysics on outfits, texture customization, and light reflections. Despite these technical advancements, the team is mindful of retaining the «Mabinogi style» – which is their own unique anime-like visual representation, which is an evolution of what the game has been known for over the past 19 years.

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