Is FMV still useful?

[demalion]

I voted no. Movie sequences in games is just disturbing IMO. A game that needs to stop the action for playing a movie sequence is a game I wont play.

But there are natural pauses where it is useful and not intrusive...so they don't necessarily need to stop the action...

Though, I'm hoping the PC version of the second LotR title uses it as well as it seems the console version does...

 

[Simon F]

I think Dungeon Seige could have benefited with some FMV as a 'reward'.

Agreed.
Unless I missed something, DS had the greatest anti-climax for an ending. "Battle Ultimate Villian. Pick up treasure". The NPCs don't even acknowledge the win.

 

[bystander]

I think Dungeon Seige could have benefited with some FMV as a 'reward'.

Agreed.
Unless I missed something, DS had the greatest anti-climax for an ending. "Battle Ultimate Villian. Pick up treasure". The NPCs don't even acknowledge the win.

If I can remember correctly Eye of the Beholder 2 had a rather terrible ending. Beat the hideously difficult beholder, and get a dos prompt message saying congratulations... :?

 

[Goragoth]

I think FMV has a place in certain situations but the trend is to do as much in game as possible. Some of the in game cut scenes in C&C:G were really fantastic (especially those involving the MiGs IMO) but I agree that some FMVs would have been nice for briefings and the such.

I just finished playing Unreal2 and I think its great what they have done with cut scenes using the game engine but one big problem with all first person games was highlighted: facial animation (well, the lack of it really). There is some basic mouth movement and then nothing else. The models are detailed enough that they would look really good, on par with most pre-rendered 3d movies even, if only they had some proper facial animation. That same thing always annoys me in Morrowind too.

 

[rwolf]

I would like to see 3D applications with FMV as textures within the 3D Scene.

Imagine a bladerunner type city with large video screens in the 3D scene with FMV.

I wonder if the 9700 can render full motion video like any other texture?

Now that would make an interesting benchmark.

 

[rwolf]

Another implemention of FMV as textures would be video toaster like effects. That would be great for editing video.

 

[RAnta]

Voted Yes

What Babel said can´t play diablo2 or FF series without FMV´s

 

[Tagrineth]

I would like to see 3D applications with FMV as textures within the 3D Scene.

PSX can do it. Have you played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater?

 

[Luminescent]

Why fmv texture when you can have real-time, procedural textures.

 

[rwolf]

I was thinking real time video wrapped around a 3D object. A procedural texture wouldn't help you there.

 

[demalion]

That's a bit of old news, isn't it? I think progress will be in doing more of the decoding on the GPU from now on.

 

[Colourless]

Oddly enough, the DirectX 9 SDK has 2 DirectShow examples that use Direct3D to wrap a movie around a 3D object (a hollow cylinder). One example uses D3D8 the other uses D3D9. D3D9 contains a few changes that should make things slightly faster, IF the drivers support it (Dynamic textures).

 

[rwolf]

That's a bit of old news, isn't it? I think progress will be in doing more of the decoding on the GPU from now on.

Wow, that's cool. Now do you know if anyone is writing applications to take advantage of this feature...