JD has the best 3D camera.

[Steve Dave Part Deux]

The game design is top-notch. It's obvious that Naughty Dog built their programming model with a comprehensive knowledge of how their ideas would manifest in the hardware and how that would translate to the end-user. I just don't think their idea for J&D(though executed well) made for an exceptional gaming experience.

 

[archie4oz]

Well you have to admit, that it was probably pretty hard to come up with something new after years of developing and cultivating Crash into an icon that some will argue is comparable to Mario...

 

[Guest]

I think Insomanic did license JD engine from ND...

JD 'seamlessly' world is not what it seems, you still have to pass through a 'loading' area, to get the next stage.

 

[marconelly!]

JD 'seamlessly' world is not what it seems, you still have to pass through a 'loading' area, to get the next stage.

So what? There are no annoying loading screens, and it just feels much better the way they did it. Besides that, there are places where you cannot even say when is the loading taking place (central village hub, to the beach, your starting house, etc...)

 

[Guest]

So it is no big deal.
I just do not feel the large continous world thingy when i play JD.
The sense of scale is not that.
It is just like a typical platformer with a pesudo seamless-ness feel.

 

[marconelly!]

Well, what else can they do to make the world 'more' continuous in a game? The only imaginable way to oversee the whole world would be to fly high above it. As long as you traverse on the foot, you have to have a horizon that is blocking your view. And it is a big deal, because noone has done it before. Do you really think that it's easy to manage the rendering at 60FPS to never slow down while the data is being pulled off the disc, and contents of the memory replaced dynamicaly?

Btw, when you go to the elevator in your building, and then into your apartment, do you not feel that your appartment is the part of the world because you had to pass through the elevator shaft to get to it?

 

[TTP]

Yes and no

"JD 'seamlessly' world is not what it seems, you still have to pass through a 'loading' area, to get the next stage."

Well, yes and no. While it's clear the game loads during some transitions (ie. from the village to the misty island via the fisherman' boat) we should not forget that you can teletransport everywhere you want in a second through the portals.

That's pretty curious.

 

[mkillio]

Do you really think that it's easy to manage the rendering at 60FPS to never slow down while the data is being pulled off the disc, and contents of the memory replaced dynamicaly?

SFA seemed to do it pretty well as did LoZ: TOoT, although that was a cartridge

 

[archie4oz]

I think Insomanic did license JD engine from ND...

Not so much as engine as share technology (they're pretty buddy buddy as studios go)...

JD 'seamlessly' world is not what it seems, you still have to pass through a 'loading' area, to get the next stage.

No actually it is seamless. Geyser Rock and Misty Island withstanding, you can pretty much traverse the entire island (I don't know if the Precursor City elevator counts) without any "loading areas". The main thing that keeps you from advancing at the beginning is of course collecting Precursor Orbs and PowerCells to advance. Once that's accomplished you can go pretty much anywhere seamlessly (aside for the aforementioned exceptions)...

 

[Ozymandis]

SFA seemed to do it pretty well as did LoZ: TOoT, although that was a cartridge

Well, as far as SFA, it loads seamlessly, but it has some blank corridors to disguise the loading. It's still impressive that it never even hiccups though

 

[Tagrineth]

SFA seemed to do it pretty well as did LoZ: TOoT, although that was a cartridge

Well, as far as SFA, it loads seamlessly, but it has some blank corridors to disguise the loading. It's still impressive that it never even hiccups though

No, there are a few hiccups... the frame rate dips a little bit while leaving ThornTail Hollow to go to Moon Mountain Pass, and entering Claw Cape stutters a little... at least, IIRC.

 

[mkillio]

It never affects gameplay in the least though, it just seems like a skipped frame not a loading process.