Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Interview

[gosh]

Can people pick important points from this interview:
http://www.totalvideogames.com/arti...:_Oblivion_Feature_8066_4139_0_0_0_80_100.htm

 

[Dave Baumann]

Don't rip off so much of other peoples copyright.

 

[gosh]

Don't rip off so much of other peoples copyright.

its not ripping off if you input a link, if its against the rules , this is the only forum of the dozen i have visited who has this policy

 

[Freak'n Big Panda]

man I cannot wait for this game. Morrowind owned & this games looks to be 100x morrowind. I cannot wait. And no point stuck out in the interview IMO, not much techy stuff anyways. If you're a fan of series or want to know about this game it's a great read though.

 

[c0_re]

I like this part

Packages are basically bundles of instructions that the NPC executes under conditions we specify. The dynamic nature of the system allows us to be as specific or generic with those instructions as we want. So we can tell a guy to go shopping at a specific hour and leave it at that. So he will set off toward the shop, and any number of things could happen – he might have a conversation with a passer-by. He might browse the shop items for a while. In rare cases, he might see a friend of his under attack from a monster, and run to help. We can override any of these behaviours whenever we see fit, so it allows for a great deal of variety in their behaviours.

 

[Tap In]

The technology of Oblivion is a combination of our own tech with some really great middleware. Gamebryo is the renderer we're using, and it has been tricked out by our own graphics programmers with the help of the NDL guys to go toe-to-toe with anything out there. We've developed our own AI systems on top of that, integrated Havok physics, SpeedTree, and a bunch of special modifications to really punch up the visual capabilities.

can anyone tell me, does SpeedTree use procedural synthesis?

 

[BenQ]

The technology of Oblivion is a combination of our own tech with some really great middleware. Gamebryo is the renderer we're using, and it has been tricked out by our own graphics programmers with the help of the NDL guys to go toe-to-toe with anything out there. We've developed our own AI systems on top of that, integrated Havok physics, SpeedTree, and a bunch of special modifications to really punch up the visual capabilities.

can anyone tell me, does SpeedTree use procedural synthesis?

I believe it does.

 

[Sean*O]

Can't wait.

 

[Sovere]

If the combat system gets overhauled in a positive direction this game will be in my possession!

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I like this part

Packages are basically bundles of instructions that the NPC executes under conditions we specify. The dynamic nature of the system allows us to be as specific or generic with those instructions as we want. So we can tell a guy to go shopping at a specific hour and leave it at that. So he will set off toward the shop, and any number of things could happen – he might have a conversation with a passer-by. He might browse the shop items for a while. In rare cases, he might see a friend of his under attack from a monster, and run to help. We can override any of these behaviours whenever we see fit, so it allows for a great deal of variety in their behaviours.

I hope this is true. All my life I've seen games in development tooting amazing AI with real living worlds and intelligent NPCS, and it's ALWAYS bunk. If the above statement runs true to the usual form, what really happens is...

Guy set to go shopping.
Guy leaves for shop.
Guy gets stuck behind a fence and keeps moonwalkin gon the spot.
You meet guy and start talking with a conversation like...
"Hey. Seen any monsters round here?"
"You look like a well dressed fellow."
"Um, yeah. Like I say, any monsters?"
"The Baron runs the mine."
"That's nice. Are there any monsters round here?"
"For potions visit the alchemist."
Informative as ever, you leave the NPC who magically pops next you as the program finally fixes the trapped character, and they start following you repeating stupid burbling, before finally coming across a level 16 minotaur. You're a level 22 minotaur-masher so don't worry, but before you know it the NPC pleb has run in and is whacking the minotaur with a tiddly little hunter's knife. The game AI isn't advanced enough to have the Minotaur laughs itself to death so if whomps the NPC instead. One good hit and he's dead. Good riddance you think, as you slay the minotaur and pick up a breastplate (that ALWAYS fits, whether you're a tiny halfling or lithe eleven female or 7 foot butch Orc barbarian), but when you get back into town the town guard comes up and says something like,
"You should have protected that citizen. We're disappointed in your performance. You're fined 1000 GP and are looking at getting sacked. Buck up, kiddo!"

NPCs are idiots that just get in the way. So I REALLY hope for once a company promising fantastic living worlds has actually pulled it off for REAL, and isn't spouting the same rhetoric I've heard dozens of times over. :?

 

[jvd]

Shiffty go play a mmorpg . Alot of them are much better than this . Eq2 is a good example . They will tell u a bit about themselves in full voice script and then tell u if they can help u or not .

 

[Neeyik]

Don't rip off so much of other peoples copyright.

its not ripping off if you input a link, if its against the rules , this is the only forum of the dozen i have visited who has this policy

If think Dave was making a general warning to people to not start dragging masses of the article into this thread, especially when you had asked people to pick points from it.

 

[John Reynolds]

Shiffty go play a mmorpg . Alot of them are much better than this . Eq2 is a good example . They will tell u a bit about themselves in full voice script and then tell u if they can help u or not .

You've obviously never played Gothic 2.

 

[swaaye]

EQ2 is the ultimate milking of the masses IMHO.

As for the voice script, what's the point? It just means you are going to hear repeats of things over and over. I'd rather read. Unless it's a RPG like KOTOR or Baldur's, then voice makes sense because the situations are far more predictable and forced, and there's an actual storytelling element to the game. I think voice synthesis would be interesting... hehehhe

 

[gosh]

holy cow
pics from IGN, if old then go ahead and shoot me
http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/702/702493/imgs_1.html

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...der-scrolls-iv-oblivion-20050722033701999.jpg
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...der-scrolls-iv-oblivion-20050722033703295.jpg
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...der-scrolls-iv-oblivion-20050722033704467.jpg

Just link to the pictures when they're this big.

 

[Farid]

I'll go ahead and shoot you if you keep on posting huge pictures directly.
When the pictures are this large, just post the links.

BTW, there's already a thread about thoses screenshots, in the Games forum:
http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25191

 

[Lazy8s]

Shifty Geezer:

I hope this is true. All my life I've seen games in development tooting amazing AI with real living worlds and intelligent NPCS, and it's ALWAYS bunk.

Play Shenmue. There's a city full of NPCs going about daily routines who maintain their adjusted schedules even off-screen when delayed by player interaction and intelligently move on to new tasks without warping around, who change their behavior dynamically based on the time or weather, and who don't get permanently stuck behind objects while pathfinding.

 

[borntosoul]

ok now about mmorpgs,,, yeah theyre great but they too get boring, single player games have much better quests in my opinion. --i got to level 50 in EQ2 and then well- game was boring--raids boring, not even the prismatics got me excited and well that was that--i ended my subscription. so both game types have strong and weak points. im really looking forward to see what this new AI can do in oblivion.