There are games on the Dreamcast that looks better than Metal Gear Solid 2?

[Hazuki Ryu]

Use art assets from 1997?

It did use its modifier volumes thing to do building shadows that move through the day, I think [edit: as in, it did the shadows, I think it was modifier volumes]. Very cool.

Things like modifier volumes and especially dot3 per pixel effects would have had a massive impact on the way DC games looked (no-one was interested back in 1999, even on the PC) but they would have taken visuals in a very different direction to the high polygon, high fillrate PS2.

Would you care to elaborate on that I'm interested in knowing more about those shadows or maybe link me to some info?

 

[Simon F]

It did use its modifier volumes thing to do building shadows that move through the day, I think [edit: as in, it did the shadows, I think it was modifier volumes].

I never saw Shemue 2, but I'm always got the feeling** that the shadows in Shenmue 1 were not done using modifier volumes. As to why it was done that way, I have no idea.

To my knowledge, the game that best showed off shadows/modifier volumes was "Toy Commander".



**There were strange anomalies that shouldn't have occurred with modifier volumes.

 

[TapamN]

Shenmue uses modifer volume's for Ryo's shadow during the day time. NPCs use those flat projected model shadows (like Model 2 fighters). During night, Ryo uses NPC style shadows, but he does produce shadows from up to two light sources.

Only the Xbox version of Shenmue II does shadows from buildings, the DC versions has some prebaked shadows on the ground near buildings. Both adjust lighting as the sun moves.

Shenmue II is the only game I know of to use the DC's normal/bump maps... on three coins. But the base texture on the coins have prebaked shadows and highlights. But at least they tried.

 

[Mobius1aic]

I know the DC had the shader capabilities, but I thought there was never any use of it what so ever. Poor Dreamcast

 

[Simon F]

During night, Ryo uses NPC style shadows, but he does produce shadows from up to two light sources.

Which is again, strange, because CLX2 could do shadows from two lights sources - one using the full featured** modifier volume and the second using a "cut down" one which only allowed the shading to be modified.


**Fully featured meant that each triangle could choose one of two totally independent texture/shading parameter sets on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

 

[Nano]

I agree that MGS2 looked great, but for me I would definitely say Shenmue looked more impressive on the whole.