Street Fighter 4

[Shifty Geezer]

If the game engine is 2D, then the 3D engine makes perfect sense. You can animate the 2D sprites far more fluently and with more variety than prebaked animations, unless you want artists to hand draw 60 fps animated combat moves! What more could be done in sprite-based 2D that hasn't been done?

 

[archangelmorph]

You can animate the 2D sprites far more fluently and with more variety than prebaked animations, unless you want artists to hand draw 60 fps animated combat moves!

At 1080p...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

But if it looks the same, and the 3D sprites animate more smoothly and with more variety, isn't that the better option?

 

[AlNom]

Maybe they could try out that silhouette stuff you mentioned in another thread.

 

[DeadlyNinja]

If the game engine is 2D, then the 3D engine makes perfect sense. You can animate the 2D sprites far more fluently and with more variety than prebaked animations, unless you want artists to hand draw 60 fps animated combat moves! What more could be done in sprite-based 2D that hasn't been done?

Well for one thing, 2D hasn't reached the point where it captures the look of a cartoon. Without going into a long winded explanation, just go watch a cartoon that occasionally uses 3D cel-shading in it. The experience is very distracting and feels completely out of place compared to the rest of the show.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That's because CG rendered cartoons are much smoother. Drop the frame-rate to 12 fps and it'd look the same! That doesn't work for SF though as that was static sprites only changing occasionally. If you stick with that look, what's the point in going HD, apart from some crisp visuals? It'll be fundamentally the same as the 20 year old original. Alternatively you could have the artists create anime/cartoon style 12 fps animations for moves, but then you could do the same with the game handling animation and just update it 12 fps while having the game engine run 60. But I doubt gamers would be happy with a traditional low frame-rate animation for their gameplay! So then you could have artists create 60 fps animations for really smooth animation, at considerable work, and then the result wouldn't look like a TV cartoon. Which the original games didn't do either.

 

[V3]

Ryu shading looks alright could be alot better though. His model doesn't look good though, need to go through several corrections/revisions. They should start using blendshape, at least for the arms in fighters.

His gi is a tad too small in that pose. Also there is no sense of thickness. I reckon they should age Ryu abit more and make him bulkier, though not hulk looking like the cover.

Background is awful. I hope they redo the background. Characters on the background should at least use the same shading style as Ryu.

This game supposedly developed on Taito X2 according to rumour, so its using Radeon 9600 ?

 

[AlNom]

hm.. I was kind of hoping they would be collaborating with the crew in charge of the SSF2T HD Remix in terms of character art/design. Ryu just doesn't look like Ryu (at this angle or even in the magazine cover), but then I haven't played the latest iterations of the game. The model looks quite good otherwise...

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/2451/me00008182162tm3.jpg

 

[V3]

More images ?

http://www.destructoid.com/rumor-new-info-and-pictures-from-street-fighter-iv-leaked-58045.phtml

 

[Megadrive1988]

interesting.

 

[vazel]

Damn so they went 3D after all...

 

[archangelmorph]

I cant find the link now but I read a report/rumor that the game is up and running within Capcom and is indeed 2D, although the graphics are claimed to trounce SF3.

I hope it's 2D, myself.

Not so reliable afterall..

 

[Diamond.G]

They need to make the environment look like the characters. Otherwise the characters stand out.

 

[Gradthrawn]

Some details from IGN:

Four Street Fighter favorites - Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Dhalsim – will return, and new moves, locations and gameplay elements are in the works. The game will be rendered in 3D and played in the classic Street Fighter 2D perspective with additional 3D camera elements. The traditional six-button controls for the game will return alongside some new input features.

 

[archangelmorph]

They need to make the environment look like the characters. Otherwise the characters stand out.

I think that's the whole point..

Anyways I like the contrast between the characters & the environments.. It reminds me somewhat of Naruto: Rise of the Ninja on the 360.. Another very beautiful 3D (trying to look like a cartoon) rendering setup..

 

[archangelmorph]

Look at this screenshot & the first brings to mind a few things..

Ryu's pose shows him resting on the ball of his back foot with his toes naturally placed leading me to believe the characters will have a very large degree of articulation.. This may not mean much to most but it's definitely something that I've always hoped to see in a 3D fighter to add a greater sense of believability to the animations and make their movements visually much more dynamic..

If this game can really bring highly detailed, articulate & stylish animations at a full 60fps then i'm sure it has the potential to look even more stunning in motion than SFIII..

I'm hopeful to say the least..

 

[JacksBleedingEyes]

You hit it right on the nail. That's exactly what I have against 3D fighters these days. The total lack of detail when it comes to the animations. They feel extremely plastic, all of them. VF5, Tekken, DOA, all of them.

This is something that can be done with 2D to a greater extent then 3D currently. This attention to detail. If SF4 can be at the level SF3 is but in 3D then we might take a step forward in regards to graphics in fighters.

Speaking of detail to animations in 3D, I think that the new Bowser from SMG is extremely well animated.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

This is something that can be done with 2D to a greater extent then 3D currently.

I disagree with that. If the 3D animations were treated like stop-motion animations with the artists modelling every frame with no computerised tweening, the animation will be a perfect equal, only in 3D-o-vision. I suppose the major difference is special FX like trails, which aren't really animation, but if you're wanting those over-the-top swooshes and whizzes, they certainly won't translate well to 3D.

Although thinking about it, you could probably write an FX engine that renders the characters in different passes to add trails based on camera viewpoint. As the game is simple, the full processing power of the consoles could be thrown into true motion blurs and the like. I'm sure if someone really went for it, a 3D fighter with the feel of a 2D would be doable.

 

[Crayon]

They are shaking things up for SF4.

Please consider that even someone who considers themselves familiar to Street Fighter can underestimate the way SF3 was a vastly different game than 2. Really.

Despite countless revisions, there are really only three "Street Fighter" games. "SF2" "Alpha/Zero" and "Three". Alpha and Three both were seriously different and risky when they came out. Three was so unfamiliar that it led to the decline of SF Pupularity.

Ever since the teaser, I've suspected a game that will seem like a shocking departure from what most gamers think of as "Street Fighter."

These pictures, along with the revolutionary SMG, and my views on the evolution of SF, make me believe that SF4 could set the world on fire. And it will get your attention by clearly being different from any fighting game we've played. Possibly better, too.

 

[V3]

Despite countless revisions, there are really only three "Street Fighter" games. "SF2" "Alpha/Zero" and "Three". Alpha and Three both were seriously different and risky when they came out. Three was so unfamiliar that it led to the decline of SF Pupularity.

Plus SF EXs and SF the Movie.

Well in SF4, there seems to be two major new systems. One they call 'Saving' (sound stupid, call it something else please) and the other 'Ultras' (Again please think of something else).

Edit: Saving is replacing parries and alpha counters. The way they envision it currently can make the character invincible and attack unblockable. It makes use of the new 'Revenge' gauge. This saving, player can choose the attacks given by holding the buttons for unblockable or cancel it with a dash and follow it up with your own attacks. You can follow it with series of EX attacks since these EX attacks can be cancelled with a dash. What happend if both characters uses the saving system, I have no clue, probably cancel or knock each other out.

Ultras are well you know Ultra Combo from KI. Camera will swing and show this in dramatic fashion. Used up the full Super gauge and a fourth of Revenge gauge.

Overall I am not too please with what they described. They are going for lapsed SF2 player more than the hardcore players that still play the game competitively. Graphics aren't mind blowing, I still think they can be mind blowing if they try harder. Gameplay seems to be the good old SF2 style, tweak here and there. I really don't know where they are going with this.

With most cast of SF2 back, they should have just call it Ultra Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo EX4. Anticipation went down from 10 to 2 on a 0 to 10 scale. I don't think even good animation can save that gameplay system. Should have spend the money and make the HD version of SF3:3rd strike.