I'm not so sure about that.

The issue isn't so much that it's worse to use another engine, as it is that using another engine presents a double-edge sword: On one end, it's MUCH easier to churn out a game, since much of the assets are already there, and usable. The Last Remnant was made in a fraction of the time that other RPGs have used. Look at how often similar engines have been used for other RPGs already: Tales of Vesperia used Eternal Sonata's engine, and Star Ocean 4 is using Infinite Undiscovery. All of which have led to lower development times, and lower budgets, too.

On the other end, it's like developing a game on a brand new platform for that team. Your first effort will not always be the best effort. Again, look at Eternal Sonata, Oblivion/Fallout 3, and Infinite Undiscovery: Unless SO4 is abysmal, we'll have gone 3-for-3 when it comes to engine 'sequels' being vastly improved from both a game play and technical standpoint.

The same can be said about UE3 games. If a team did stick with the engine for more than 1 game (such as a Lost Odyssey 2, Mass Effect 2, TLR 2, and so on), I believe that it'd be a much better investment.

If your doing a 1-off game, using an in-house engine may be better from a gameplay standpoint. But if your planning multiple ones (such as Mass Effect), using one engine should be a much better choice. Look at Mass Effect: We may get 2 Mass Effects in the time that XIII was developed.

I'll give you another look at it, using another engine, that the company I work for makes: Torque and it's various iterations.

GarageGames built the engine from the ground up, using code from the Earthsiege/Tribes series. It's a very versatile, low-cost engine for developers. It has over 100,000 licensees that have made many games with it.

On one end, you have some pretty meh-worthy games using the engine, such as ZAP and Screwjumper, and on the other end, fully fleshed-out boxed titles such as Hinterland and Buccaneer which have won various awards. Other games include Ace of Aces, Lore: Aftermath, Marble Blast Online, Penny Arcade Adventures (Ep 1 & 2 for the 360/PC), and Fallen Empire: Legions. A decent few of the Torque titles are on InstantAction.com (the part of the company I work for), so you can easily see what Torque can do.

Depending on the abilities of the development team, and their familiarity with the engine, it's produced some pretty varied results. On one end, you have Buccaneer which is garnering tons of awards, is selling very well, and was made with a staff of just 2 people. Fallen Empire: Legions was also made with a staff of 4-6 people over a year period. All because they worked with the engine. Whereas a newer studio that had never really used it extensively, such as Hothead (Penny Arcade Adventures) or Frozen Codebase (Screwjumper) has seen a bit....Less...Success than, oh, Marble Blast Ultra on XBLA (which has outsold all 3 games - PAA 1&2 and Screwjumper) by about 2:1 or higher in terms of revenue on the XBLA charts. Guess what? MBU is made by the developers of Garage Games, and a very small staff.

Engines shouldn't just be a one-off design choice, but a focused effort on proper resource allocation. I could only wonder how good some games could be if studios kept using the same engine for 3-5 titles rather than once or twice. It's not like engines aren't versatile - they can do any genre.

On the other end, custom engines, IMO, are a total waste if your doing it for 1 game. Even if it's an uber-game. Look at Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid IV, and Grand Theft Auto IV: All mega-budget games using (mostly) 1-off engines...At least it's looking that way for KZ2. All 3 games will make money, but they could make far more if the engines were re-used.

Now, to be fair, MGS4 has MGO which most likely was made rather cheaply, using the MGS4 engine (at least I assume it was), and TL&TD expansion for GTAIV also used the GTAIV engine since it's in the same city. Both projects should make their studios decent bits of money - and with good reason. The reason the industry is making less money, IMO, is because studios are churning out too many custom-engine games, rather than take a few generic engines, and adapting them to their specific needs.

No. Most people that have played it feel it's the best JRPG the 360 has to offer, and possibly the best of all console RPGs this gen, so far.

IMHO Lost Odyssey is by far the best RPG this gen.  Almost everything about Lost Odyssey is flawless.

Except the technical side....LO wasn't the greatest for that.

Whereas Tales of Vesperia has no technical flaws. At all.

I see your point in the improvement of games using the same engine over time especially from the cost perspective. However, I also think the vast majority of custom engines aren't one shot deals. I think there's a fair chance that KZ2, mgs4 and GTAIV engines would be reused. In that case, it may be better to shoulder the initial cost of developing your own engine (if you have the money) because there are no licensing fees involved and you're more likely to have the whole thing figured out which reduces the probablility of churnning out too many bugs.

That's also a good point, Pristine. I just wonder how often games re-use the same engine(s).

Well I just checked to see how much The Last Remnant is//and its $40 at Gamestop//and $35 used//I also checked Infinite Undiscovery and it is priced the same also//lol

I might just wait a few more months and wait for a $20 or $30 price tag//Meanwhile I will try and finish Blue Dragon.