Cube maxed out???

[Bohdy]

CUBE: Now that you've managed to get so much extra performance out of the Gamecube, is there anywhere else to go?

JE: Honestly, I don't think so. Maybe with lots and lots of pain there are a few more percent to be squeezed out but Rebel Strike is pretty much it.
We've utilised every bit of the machine with every bit of knowledge of a developer who has even worked on the paper specs of the hardware (Factor 5 were involved in the design of the machine -CUBE).
At Factor 5 our motto has always been to give it a pretty good shot for the first-generation title and max the machine out with the second-generation - that's what we did on the N64 with Rouge Squadron as our first-gen and Indiana Jones and Battle for Naboo as the second-gen titles.

What do you think? I think if anyone can do it then Factor 5 can.

If its true then it really demonstrates how easy to develop the cube really is, yet if that's true, why aren't more develpers getting the kind of returns Factor 5 obviously is?

This also brings up the question that if Cube is maxed out, how are the other two consoles doing? Can PS2 possibly still have any unused power?? Will Halo 2 also max out the Xbox?

Oh, and personally, I always thought that Rare did the best job of maxing out the N64 though...

 

[Grall]

Maybe it maxes out the cube the way F5 uses it, but what if a new programming technique is discovered? Just look at the demo scene of the Atari ST for example, ALL that machine had was a 8MHz 68000 to move around graphics with, and it still managed some rather incredible effects!

A paradigm-shift in the way the Cube's programmed will open up more headroom, but it's not likely we'll see that exploited within the machine's active life-time. Game dev-times are so long these days, three or four years to make a triple-A title... There's not much room to explore every nook and cranny of the hardware. Not even easily exploitable features are used in most games, such as the TEV for example.

Damn, today's programmers are just way too lazy!


*G*

 

[jvd]

its funny . Having actually played this game i can tell u that no this does not come any where close to maxing out the gc . That be like me polling if Brittanys dance beat maxed out the ps2.

 

[Paul]

Gamecube games always amaze me. IMO Rogue leader was the best looking launch game out of any of the 3 consoles, PS2, Xbox, GC.

 

[Deepak]

its funny . Having actually played this game i can tell u that no this does not come any where close to maxing out the gc . That be like me polling if Brittanys dance beat maxed out the ps2.

IMO, only IQ cannot determined whether a console has been maxed out....becse IQ depends on the vastness of game....

 

[Bohdy]

Just a note, assuming that F5 will max out the cube technically, it hardly means that games won't look any better that RS3, because then it will come down to pure art style.

I shudder to think what Retro could do with such an engine (if they havent already made one just as capable), their artists are phenominal!

So again, what do you think about the other consoles being maxed out?

Oh, and jvd, that is hardly a appropriate analogy....

 

[PC-Engine]

Yes I think RS3 will max out the GCN, but only in that genre of game. I think another game that will max out the GCN is RE4.

 

[Grall]

Metroid Prime 2... droooooooooool

I expect that to max the lil cube out even more than rogue leader 2. YUM!


*G*
[/b]

 

[schmuck]

Maxed out is a pretty dumb concept since it excludes artistic merits and such..But anyway gamecube will never ever be "maxed out", atleast not in the way ps2 will and ps got. If they had every developer under the sun like those two consoles do/did with unparalelled budgets it would, in about 2-3 years.

 

[Cyborg]

Of course maxing out is subjective to what type of games you're making, but RS3 will be one of the top games maxing out gamecube, for sure.

I've read an 8 page article with new screenshots of RS3 in a cube magazine, and its mind boggling how Factor5 managed to do what they did on gamecube.

- Entirely new lighting engine
- Light scathering
- Pixel shaded water + water physics that even recognize depth, not just surface
- More polygons on ALL ships, including star destroyers (that was already crazy..)
- Streaming engine thats constantly fetching from the disc
- constant 60fps, never drops no matter the ammount of action (thats what they claim)


And of course old stuffs we've known from past articles. More detailed terrains, better explosions and debris, higher count of enemy fighters, totally revamped AI. Incorporating on foot and flight in levels alone is quite a challenge, making the ground look good and detailed on foot and also while flying is no small feat.

There will be a video included in that mag's DVD next month, that will show the light scathering on a planet while you're in space, they say it looks gorgeous.

Not to mention that, its quite a technical feat if they pull off the RS2 levels, with the updated lighting engine, constant 60fps and in split screen, having to render everything twice.

Its not just an "RS2" update, this bitchslaps RS2 in everything technically.

 

[Blade]

If they pull it off at a constant, F-Zero level framerate.. that'll be the greatest accomplishment.

 

[Cyborg]

Yea, constant 60fps would be perfect, i hated the slowdowns during epic battles

Im more curious about their light scathering though, i've never seen that in a game before.

Here's the direct quote from the article.

Cube: What features of the game are you most impressed with?

JE: Two main things stand out the most to me: The new atmospheric lighting engine which simulates the distribution of light in a more or less physically correct way in real-time, and the ammount of streaming we are doing. We maxed out the memory restrictions of the gamecube with rogue leader so it was essential to get a very agressive streaming engine going for rebel strike to circumvent the small 24MB memory footprint. We ended up streaming everything constantly - so even as you approach buildings and landscape details, even the textures are fetched in from the disk while you make it through the level.

Other quotes

"You'll be pleased to hear that the framerate is now a constant 60fps, no matter how much action is going on. The explosions too have been souped up, with plumes of flaming debris flying across the sky when you blow something up. Another little extra comes in the form of the debris itself - instead of water thin squares, realisting looking ship innards come flying towards you"

"There are reflections everywhere in the death star level, and lighting plays a big part. Because all the lighting is real-time, you can shoot out the lights and put the corridor in total darkness (aside from glowing circuits)"

 

[PC-Engine]

I'm really looking forward to this game 8)

 

[Bohdy]

...

Cube: What features of the game are you most impressed with?

JE: Two main things stand out the most to me: The new atmospheric lighting engine which simulates the distribution of light in a more or less physically correct way in real-time, and the ammount of streaming we are doing. We maxed out the memory restrictions of the gamecube with rogue leader so it was essential to get a very agressive streaming engine going for rebel strike to circumvent the small 24MB memory footprint. We ended up streaming everything constantly - so even as you approach buildings and landscape details, even the textures are fetched in from the disk while you make it through the level.

OMG!!!11 Its just liek teh HARD DRIVE CACHING!!!1!1! But I fought that were teh Xbox Xclusive!!1!!!

 

[Megadrive1988]

having a constant 60fps framerate that never drops no matter, that alone makes it a must purchase, cant wait!

 

[Grall]

Just imagine teh furor on this board once someone on this board pops the disc in their cube and discovers the first dropped frame...

I'm gonna have to take at least two weeks' vacation until the...shall we say, gamecube sceptics have tired of ranting over Julian's promise of no slowdown.


*G*

 

[cybamerc]

Framerate comment was made the Cube editor. Of course, certain individuals never let a Julian E. bashing opportunity go by... even when it's fabricated.

 

[Jabjabs]

- constant 60fps, never drops no matter the ammount of action (thats what they claim)

Let's just hope that they don't rush a few extra features in before launch we don't want another RS2.

OMG!!!11 Its just liek teh HARD DRIVE CACHING!!!1!1! But I fought that were teh Xbox Xclusive!!1!!!

Hehehe, bohdy... you idiot!

Oh and for your comment about Halo 2 on xbox, maybe. Yes they have assembly but the Bungie team have never been the best of programmers, so it's a maybe.

 

[jvd]

I feel out of xbox , gc and ps2 its the gamecube that is the least maxed out. If you ask me nicely i will share my opinon with ya .

 

[London Geezer]

I feel out of xbox , gc and ps2 its the gamecube that is the least maxed out. If you ask me nicely i will share my opinon with ya .

[i'm going]

go on, jvd, why do u think?

personally i think none of them will EVER be maxed out, since the very word "maxing out" is pretty much meaningless. there will always be different or better ways to improve performance...

i think PS2 will be the one that will ultimately come farthest from maxing out, if only for the fact that it's the most "open" architecture.

i think the Xbox will be the one coming closest to be "maxed out" since it is after all the most PC-friendly console out now, meaning pretty much everything about the hardware is known.

the GC might be maxed out MAYBE by factor5. i am skeptical, and personally i dont see the GC being maxed out for the simple fact that the interest might not be there at all.