PDA

View Full Version : Games That Need TruForm Won't Get It

Mystiq
11-Mar-2002, 01:42
Case in point: Warcraft 3.

There's a model viewer going around that supports truform and you can dynamically change the tessellation level. It's quite amazing to see the Tree of Life go from looking like crap to being perfectly lit even. I started a thread on Blizzard's Suggestions forum, let's hope it gets the attention it should. :)

Are there any more games that have generally low-polygon models? It seems all the games TruForm supports look just fine without it and the speed hit doesn't do it any justice. Warcraft 3 can definitely benefit and it runs great at all resolutions even with a GeForce 2.
Althornin
11-Mar-2002, 04:14
any link to the viewer? or pics? Please?
Mystiq
11-Mar-2002, 04:40
http://www.crosswinds.net/~mystiq

Or if it's just too slow:

http://rtool3.cjb.net/images/war3form.gif
http://rtool3.cjb.net/images/ghoulform.gif

Please please please try the top one first because I hate it when GeoCities takes my website offline for the rest of the hour. :)
pcchen
11-Mar-2002, 05:42
Hmm... I don't know how much the speed hit will be. However, it looks like the biggest difference between them is the specular. Thus, perhaps a specular cube map can mimic similar effect with smaller performance hit, and without some minor glitches, such as discontinuous faces, caused by N-patch.

Of course, N-patch would be much easier to apply, if those glitches can be tolerated.
Mystiq
11-Mar-2002, 06:13
The glitch on the Ghoul is caused by not having the complete specs for the model format, it's just drawing extra crap. Warcraft 3 doesn't support specular lighting so that's a wash. :)

Check out the two videos here(if you can download them :():
http://www.crosswinds.net/~mystiq/images
pcchen
11-Mar-2002, 08:26
The "glitch" I meant is some typical N-patch glitch, which can also be seen on the tree of life model. Of course, since most models are small in game, it is not really a big problem.

However, it raises a question about using N-patch on this game: will is make big difference? It is possible to see some differences when zooming in (the "horizontal" viewpoint). However, in the normal game viewpoint the difference could be minimal.

Although personnaly I'd prefer using FSAA on this game, but if they can support N-patch that would be good for at least some pretty screenshots :)
Mystiq
11-Mar-2002, 17:14
bah, this is blizzard we're talking about

you're lucky if they include anything other than basic 3D functionality

"lighting, oh no, we cant include that it runs slow unless you have a T&L unit!"
nooneyouknow
11-Mar-2002, 21:00
Can someone who is on the BETA email the Warcraft III folks and ask about Truform in Warcraft III?
Doomtrooper
11-Mar-2002, 22:59
Wohoo,

I knew it, this is the kind of Game that truform should make a big difference, DungeonSiege would be another :P
Mystiq
11-Mar-2002, 23:40
I did make a post on the Suggestions forum on Battle.Net. There are testers that have posted as well.

http://forums.battle.net/suggestions/posts/st/3216.shtml

It's falling into page 3 fast, I wish Blizzard made threads with new posts go to the top. :(