Killzone 2 pre-release discussion thread

[patsu]

It sets a standard from the users' perspectives because the total package is incredibly well integrated. That, and they have a strong CG statement to compare to.

The art direction and art style is stunning. In the gameplay department, most testers raved about the recent beta. Technology-wise, they are able to integrate multiple technologies seamlessly and beautifully; something very rare among developers. The scale (up to 16 v 16 ?), 720p 30fps, texture quality, lighting, post-processing, animation, destructibility, streaming, no install, sound effects, AI are all demanding for resources. Coming up with an all-round eye-pleasing and convincing solution for everything is non-trivial (Just look at the grenade throwing discussion above).

My only doubt is consistency. Can they apply the same attention to details throughout the game ?

Would be interesting to compare the deferred rendering approaches in KZ2 and other games though. Even if deferred rendering has been done before; from technical perspective, how it's done in parallel with other goodies is equally interesting.

We can always find other games that outdo KZ2 in a few areas now. But they don't detract from KZ2's achievements.

Resistance 2 already surpassed KZ 2 in terms of scale (60 players competitive, 8P co-op). Dealing with so many enemies at the same time was just electrifying. But R2 does not compare with KZ2's visuals.

I was also awestrucked by MGS4 (Mind was blown in various places). Based on what I have seen so far, I think KZ2 offers another level of technical performance.

 

[bostonben]

It sets a standard from the users' perspectives because the total package is incredibly well integrated. That, and they have a strong CG statement to compare to.

The art direction and art style is stunning. In the gameplay department, most testers raved about the recent beta. Technology-wise, they are able to integrate multiple technologies seamlessly and beautifully; something very rare among developers. The scale (up to 16 v 16 ?), 720p 30fps, texture quality, lighting, post-processing, animation, destructibility, streaming, no install, sound effects, AI are all demanding for resources. Coming up with an all-round eye-pleasing and convincing solution for everything is non-trivial (Just look at the grenade throwing discussion above).

My only doubt is consistency. Can they apply the same attention to details throughout the game ?

Would be interesting to compare the deferred rendering approaches in KZ2 and other games though. Even if deferred rendering has been done before; from technical perspective, how it's done in parallel with other goodies is equally interesting.

We can always find other games that outdo KZ2 in a few areas now. But they don't detract from KZ2's achievements.

Resistance 2 already surpassed KZ 2 in terms of scale (60 players competitive, 8P co-op). Dealing with so many enemies at the same time was just electrifying. But R2 does not compare with KZ2's visuals.

I was also awestrucked by MGS4 (Mind was blown in various places). Based on what I have seen so far, I think KZ2 offers another level of technical performance.

MGS 4 didn't blow me away as much as I had hoped. The cut scenes were incredible, but in-game the tech was pretty vanilla, with little in the way of advanced shaders, or even a baked dirt/AO pass across the enviros.

KZ looks *really* good, but I think it's limited by it's tech hence the extremely dark, contained levels. The same engine applied to daytime scenes or large open areas simply wouldn't be able to do at the same level of performance. The post processing is clearly the games major advancement - I don't see anything else in there that hasn't been matched or bettered by several other AAA titles.

 

[patsu]

MGS 4 didn't blow me away as much as I had hoped. The cut scenes were incredible, but in-game the tech was pretty vanilla, with little in the way of advanced shaders, or even a baked dirt/AO pass across the enviros.

That's why I said KZ2 offers another level of technical performance.

KZ looks *really* good, but I think it's limited by it's tech hence the extremely dark, contained levels. The same engine applied to daytime scenes or large open areas simply wouldn't be able to do at the same level of performance. The post processing is clearly the games major advancement - I don't see anything else in there that hasn't been matched or bettered by several other AAA titles.

We have only seen the same one, two levels. Not enough to judge the entire game. Earlier on, people were saying KZ2 will be claustrophobic because of the advanced lighting and post-processing. That turns out to be false.

I think the developers mentioned they will have different environment (and weather effects).

I have already seen KZ2 beta matching or surpassing other titles in the final output. Whether it is matched or bettered by other titles in specific areas isn't interesting. That will always be the case. But it's the total package that will seal the deal.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

KZ looks *really* good, but I think it's limited by it's tech hence the extremely dark, contained levels. The same engine applied to daytime scenes or large open areas simply wouldn't be able to do at the same level of performance.

That's true of any engine though! At least any highly effective engine that's fine-tuned for the game it's powering. An engine that's great at huge open daytime scenes won't be as effective rendering indoor scenes as an engine designed just for that. Also don't confuse artistry with technical limts. There's no reason ot think the engine can't handle lighter scenes - sense would tell us it can. The setting is a dark and moody warzone, which is why it's all dark!

What KZ2 is doing fantastically well is, apart from the whole package as patsu says, some fantastic effects. The lingering smoke and subtle lights, and lots of particles in with the fluid camera. It looks extremely visceral and involving, with that je ne sais quois that makes it stand out. Setting a new graphical standard is IMO a stupid topic of conversation. It's unlikely any single game can be taken as redefining standards. All the best looking games do something different, achieve different goals. LBP's engine won't scale to anything other than it's 2.5D, but it looks spectacular, unlike anything else, within those confines. So rather than selecting one titles as the top of the tree, we should just recognize the achievements of the best developers who have had the chance to push the systems and produce some incredible results.

 

[the ignoramus]

Campaign textures from the preview build of Corinth River and Blood Meridian.











Also, it seems as if the the AI issues from the earlier builds have been addressed. I would have been hugely let down if the AI wasnt fun to fight, so this is good news to me.

the AI is already great on the normal settings. MUCH better than early codes led to believe.

Besides, every confrontation plays differently every time you replay it thanks to the totally unscripted AI. It's really awesome how the game still feels fresh every time you play it again. I mean, before every confrontation you are like "let's see what the HGHs will come up with this time". And indeed something different happens.

 

[morlock]

Also, it seems as if the the AI issues from the earlier builds have been addressed. I would have been hugely let down if the AI wasnt fun to fight, so this is good news to me.

It will be fun to test the AI when filling up an offline game with AI-Bots.

 

[Antan]

Anyone else excited about the big info blowout tommorow?

 

[Arwin]

Nope. But I reserve the right to be excited afterwards.

 

[GarretASUS]

I've been checking out a lot of the beta videos and while the game looks technically very good, I am hesitant to say that it sets some kind of new graphical standard. There is a distinct lack of dynamic shadows under objects in the rooms (tables, chairs etc) and the deferred rendering thing has been done by several other titles recently (Dead Space being a good example). The main thing KZ seems to do better than most game is the overall IQ, AA and motion blur which give a convincing representation of CGI.

I think it is fair to say not to judge this game until it is released. KillZone 2 has constantly been changing visually as they work. The beta out there even isn't representative of what the final game will be.

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

Tons of SP video preview clips on Gamersyde.

 

[macabre]

Tons of SP video preview clips on Gamersyde.

Thanks,watched 2 of em they look totally awesome. Love the tank part in Welcome part 4.

 

[Malibu]

[gt]43374[/gt]

 

[patsu]

Incredible

I love the atmosphere and the smoke/fog.

 

[Nesh]

Oh


My



God

 

[Malibu]

IGN Preview

On top of this, Arjan pointed out, lighting and motion blur effects within the game are performed as a full screen pass to blend all of these effects together. Arjan stressed that the game's engine was so detailed that, "each pixel has velocity. It's not just a special effect, but this is used for particles, it's used for explosions, and it's used for motion blurring for character movement, which adds an extra sense of depth."

There's much more to the Killzone 2 engine than deferred rendering and screen passes; in fact, Arjan mentioned that every composite that is rendered within the game is placed solely upon the SPUs to lock in the framerate at a solid 30 FPS. During small battles, one or two SPUs will pick up a majority of the action, but during heavy firefights with large explosions and numerous characters onscreen, all six SPUs will pick up the load and balance everything accurately. Surprisingly, even within the heaviest firefight onscreen, Arjan pointed out that the largest load on each one of the SPUs didn't exceed 60%, which ensured that the framerate remained consistent throughout the game. On top of this, Arjan pointed out everything from light bloom and internal lens reflection effects to true geometric particles that fly from walls and collide with the ground realistically based on the direction of an explosion.

What's more, each light that's shown in a level, whether it's the individual lights on an ISA outfit or from the Helghast goggles, are true lights that will illuminate their environment. This means that as the Helghast move, for example, their glowing faces will actually cast beams of light that will fall on the walls and other objects around them. On one map, he indicated more than 200 individual light sources that behaved as true lights along with the other finer details, rendering and screen passes from before. Arjan also pointed out that "every single polygon within the game as a texture id, so when it's shot in the game, it responds accurately to the particular bullet." That includes ray tracing of every bullet hole, but it also includes loads of detail that might be easily missed by players as they run and gun their way through these battles like dynamically burning cloth, swelling and flowing water, and dust and smoke particles.

 

[Antan]

im only reading (still dloading everything from gamekyo) but it sounds like a technical masterpiece!!!! I did see a thread on Neogaf with a side by side comparision of the 2007 trailer and this preview build and the differences are striking. Character models/faces have seen a noticalbe bump in detail and now look much better, especially the faces, though i read lip sync is still iffy, still time to fix which is a good sign.

 

[Love_In_Rio]

Well guys, now there are contact shadows everywhere!!!!!

Now the engine has everything, period.

 

[ultragpu]

INCREDIBLE! Didn't think it's possible to improve upon the E3 07 footage but they did!

 

[BoardBonobo]

Wonder if this engine will be licensed out to other PS3 devs? Will this become the UE3 for Sony?

 

[DieH@rd]

http://media3.playscope.com/medias/Jeux-Video/PS3/8/9/8981/Screens/0325.jpg
http://i37.tinypic.com/2hobm90.jpg
http://media4.playscope.com/medias/Jeux-Video/PS3/8/9/8981/Screens/0386.jpg
http://i37.tinypic.com/2gsit6v.png

/waiting for mods to remove img tags... again...



[edit]
This text was sent to everyone who recieved Singleplayer code:

Known Issues

As Killzone2 is work-in-progress and still needs to go through Quality Assurance, the
Killzone 2 Single Player Preview Code does not accurately represent the final retail copy
of Killzone 2. These elements will be remedied for the final Game. Game elements which
are still under development may have been omitted or included in an un-optimized,
placeholder state. These include the following elements:

- Game Intro cinematic, in which the backstory is further explained, is not yet
available.
- Front/end menu designs are placeholder and will be replaced.
- Loading screen content missing. This will display various elements such as
gameplay tactics as well as background on the main cast.
- Dialog / Voice acting - The voice samples for both the Buddies and Helghast are
place holder.
- Cut-scenes have not gone through final polish in visual effects, sound effect,
facial animations and syncing voices
- Several Character Animation glitches can be spotted, most noticeably during
transitions.
- In some rare cases enemies or buddies can create progression issues. Try
Restart Checkpoint from the Pause menu to continue.
- Pay attention to the buddy and objectives in cases where the Direction finder (dpad UP) system isn't implemented correctly yet.
- Volume balancing for sound effects, music and voices has not been completed
for this version, resulting in louder than normal speech or sound effects as well
as audio cutting out. Suggested setting in the Options / Sound menu:
music=100%, speech=80%, sound effects=70%
- Brightness settings are not yet balanced for all screens - The option menu has a
brightness setting that can be adjusted to overcome overly dark areas.
- Ragdoll issues might occur when many explosions are triggered.
- The Lighting setup of the Suljeva Village mission is unfinished.