Bungie article/presentation

[BirdMadBoy]

http://www.unlimitedlives.com/special_reports/ul_spec_halo2-1.html

Adrian Perez from Bungie talks about halo development, the mistakes and problems because of the tough schedule to release it in time, and they talk about what they´re doing in halo 2. They talk about using "photon mapping" ( an extension of ray tracing ) instead of radiosity. So i would like to read your impressions and what can we expect from that.

 

[London Geezer]

http://www.unlimitedlives.com/special_reports/ul_spec_halo2-1.html

Adrian Perez from Bungie talks about halo development, the mistakes and problems because of the tough schedule to release it in time, and they talk about what they´re doing in halo 2. They talk about using "photon mapping" ( an extension of ray tracing ) instead of radiosity. So i would like to read your impressions and what can we expect from that.

ANYONE CARE TO sum it up in a few words for lazy english people like me who can't be bothered to go through it all?
some games on the Xbox really tempt me to get the thing, but i'll resist, and only the fact that i wouldnt be able to appreciate them in Pro-scan just makes me angry...

 

[Teasy]

This isn't what was asked. But I just wanted to comment on this bit from the article:

Regardless, the fact that such a conservatively sized group of people was behind one of the most well-known videogames of this generation is impressive; that said game was developed for Xbox in just a little over six months is even more so.

For one thing, it caused the game world to appear slightly monotonous in design.

But how could that 6 months time table effect level design? Bungie might have put the game on XBox in 6 months. But they actually started the game (for the PC) in 1998 or 1999 didn't they?

 

[London Geezer]

This isn't what was asked. But I just wanted to comment on this bit from the article:

Regardless, the fact that such a conservatively sized group of people was behind one of the most well-known videogames of this generation is impressive; that said game was developed for Xbox in just a little over six months is even more so.

For one thing, it caused the game world to appear slightly monotonous in design.

But how could that 6 months time table effect level design? Bungie might have put the game on XBox in 6 months. But they actually started the game (for the PC) in 1998 or 1999 didn't they?

yes the original project was MUCH older than 6 months old...

saying that they just made Halo up in 6 months is plain ridiculous...

 

[wazoo]

It was interesting to read.

I regret even more that the only devs to talk tech are the western guys.

 

[Johnny Rotten]

yes the original project was MUCH older than 6 months old...

saying that they just made Halo up in 6 months is plain ridiculous...

Not entirely. Halo in its xbox incarnation, ie a singleplayer fps, was probably done in about 6 months. But thats undoubtedly seperating the game content from the engine work (bungie typically does the engine first, then multiplayer, then the singleplayer). Remember that Halo's design changed fairly radically a couple of times over the course of its development. Hell, originally it was going to be a RTS game in the vein of their Myth games...

 

[cybamerc]

Teasy:

> But they actually started the game (for the PC) in 1998 or 1999 didn't
> they?

1997... don't listen to that 6 month nonsense.



Johnny Rotten:

> Halo in its xbox incarnation, ie a singleplayer fps, was probably done in
> about 6 months.

Halo was designed as a single player game from the very beginning. The switch to FPS happened before the acquisition by M$ which was announced mid-2000.

 

[tuna]

Parts of the game engine that are being overhauled are its shadowing and lighting systems, in addition to consumer expected tweaks that Perez begrudgingly refers to as "keeping up with the Jones'." Thanks in part to designers such as John Carmack and Shigeru Miyamoto, expect the now industry-standardized effects of lens flares and heat-/flame-related visual distortion, sure. But pay more attention to the overhauled shadowing and lighting, which sound to be on track with meeting and possibly exceeding the amazing lighting of Splinter Cell. To begin with, all surfaces are going to have accurate lighting and shadowing-- something that is perhaps readily apparent by the teaser trailer we've seen for Halo 2.

Does anyone get what he is trying to say by mentioning Miyamoto?

 

[cybamerc]

tuna:

> Does anyone get what he is trying to say by mentioning Miyamoto?

He's just throwing in a couple of familiar names. Mentioning Carmack in relation to those particular effects makes no sense either.

 

[wazoo]

Does anyone get what he is trying to say by mentioning Miyamoto?

He is refering to effects found in Doom3 and Miyamoto games (Zelda and SMS, I presume). It seems the Halo team is quite impressed by Nintendo graphical efforts despite what the hordes of xbots have to say about those games

 

[BirdMadBoy]

Teasy:

> But they actually started the game (for the PC) in 1998 or 1999 didn't
> they?

1997... don't listen to that 6 month nonsense.



Johnny Rotten:

> Halo in its xbox incarnation, ie a singleplayer fps, was probably done in
> about 6 months.

Halo was designed as a single player game from the very beginning. The switch to FPS happened before the acquisition by M$ which was announced mid-2000.

from the article presentation

Does anyone get what he is trying to say by mentioning Miyamoto?

i suppose they are talking about the heat/flame, blur effects in wind waker, and that they will become a standard?. Didn´t play wind waker yet, here is released in may, and i´m gonna get a platinum gamecube pack with zelda.

 

[DeathKnight]

Heat waves and blur effects are already being done in other games, not just Zelda (and some before Zelda even came out).

 

[BirdMadBoy]

yes, that´s why i have said "i suppose". they mention miyamoto and i´ve read in reviews that those effects are impresive, maybe they are refering to the way they are used or implemented ( like the cell shading ), and not that its the first time.

 

[Phil]

If Halo 2 does not run at least a 60 fps most of the time, I just won't be impressed. IMO, a first-person-shooter just needs to have this framerate - they better have the framerate instead of "shiny graphics" at subpar framerates.

 

[cybamerc]

BirdMadBoy:

> from the article presentation

From the press release:

"The epic single-player game is complemented by a role-based, cooperative multiplayer team game."

 

[Tagrineth]

Heat waves and blur effects are already being done in other games, not just Zelda (and some before Zelda even came out).

Wind Waker uses them. Look at the flaming torches. I noticed it last night while swinging on them in the second pirate ship timed mini-game thingy (to get the bombs).

 

[London Geezer]

THOSE effects really are nothing new... J&D used them and thats like more than one year old... and i'm sure that wasn't the first game to use such effects...

 

[3dcgi]

But how could that 6 months time table effect level design? Bungie might have put the game on XBox in 6 months. But they actually started the game (for the PC) in 1998 or 1999 didn't they?

The limited memory available on xbox compared to a PC could have had some affect on the level design. So while the basic design might have been done earlier it's possible that things needed to change.

 

[DeathKnight]

If Halo 2 does not run at least a 60 fps most of the time, I just won't be impressed. IMO, a first-person-shooter just needs to have this framerate - they better have the framerate instead of "shiny graphics" at subpar framerates.

It certainly does not need to be 60fps. 30fps LOCKED is more than enough.

Believe it or not 30fps actually gives a much better cinematic feel to a game (like a movie which actually runs at 24fps). 60fps completely robs a game of that kind of feel.

The much faster paced FPS's do benefit from a higher framerate.

 

[zurich]

I'll take Halo's 30fps graphics over TimeSplitter 2's 60fps graphics ANY day of the week.