Killzone 2 pre-release discussion thread

[DrJay24]

"Ok, this is the deal: If Killzone 2 detects a TV that is set to 1080p or 1080i and cannot switch to 720p (our preferred resolution, for if your TV supports it), then it will render in 960x1080 and horizontally scale that to 1080i/p.

The advantage of doing this (over rendering 720p and then upscaling it to 1080i/p) is that you don't have *any* vertical scaling, and analog TV's don't even have a horizontal resolution. The result is a much clearer picture with much less artifacts for those who have a 1080i/p only set.

Killzone's adviced resolution is 720p, we just made sure that if you have a 1080i/p only set, it looks much better than the 'naive' implementation of upscaling 720p"



Seb Downie - QA Manager - Guerrilla Games

Grabbed that from Gaf.

 

[patsu]

Cool ! Can't wait to see it in action.

 

[Strange]

Doesn't make any sense.
A 1080i native (whatever that means) game requires at least as much resources as 1080p@30 native game.

I recall that 1080i native is what they did on Uncharted.
They changed the way they rendered...

Oh yeah, beta code and completely paid preorder done on my end
Ready to see some goodness, if it lives up to my expectations (which I'm pretty sure it will).

 

[ShadowRunner]

Grabbed that from Gaf.

Hmmm i wonder what would look better, if you have a set capable of 720p and 1080p.

Oviously the TV would be upscaling 720p to 1080 anyway, so would scaling either 960x1080 or 1280x720 to 1080p look better? i would suggest the former as at least the vertical res would be native and the horizontal res would scale easily by doubling each pixel.

Its odd to me that they reccommend 720p if your tv can accept it, unless rendering at 960x1080 affects other things like framerate.

 

[Carl B]

Since they recommend playing it at 720p, we might as well take them at face value on that. Anyway the scaling thing is not unique to Guerilla - from two years ago: http://www.beyond3d.com/content/articles/16/1

 

[patsu]

Since they recommend playing it at 720p, we might as well take them at face value on that. Anyway the scaling thing is not unique to Guerilla - from two years ago: http://www.beyond3d.com/content/articles/16/1

Yup, I believe NaughtyDog did it as an afterthought in Uncharted. Not sure if GG has the time to optimize for 960x1080 thoroughly in KZ2 (since it has more pixels than 720p).

Anyway, what I really want to say is...
[size=-2]Slackers ! Where is my next B3D article ? I have been waiting...[/size]

 

[Carl B]

[size=-2]Slackers ! Where is my next B3D article ? I have been waiting...[/size]

I forget what the embarrassed emoticon code is, but yeah, consider that as being here!

 

[Scott_Arm]

Question ... on the PS3 you can set the resolutions your display accepts under Display settings. I have it set for 720p and 1080p. Would the game automatically choose 720p because I have it set as an accepted resolution, or is there some way to set which resolution a particular game would run at?

 

[patsu]

According to DrJay's quoted post, default resolution is 720p. KZ2 will switch to 960x1080 if 720p is not available/set. I'll see if the demo has said behaviour.

xbd, the emoticon is : oops :
It's not your day job, so I understand the situation.... but GDC is coming in March, and GG has 2 presentations there

 

[DrJay24]

Question ... on the PS3 you can set the resolutions your display accepts under Display settings. I have it set for 720p and 1080p. Would the game automatically choose 720p because I have it set as an accepted resolution, or is there some way to set which resolution a particular game would run at?

The game developer gets to chose the priority. Typically a 720P game will output at 720P unless 720P is unchecked. An example of a screw-up is Ninja Gaiden Sigma which would use the 1080P scaled image first and only use 720P if you unchecked 1080i/p.

 

[Carl B]

but GDC is coming in March, and GG has 2 presentations there

I hear ya. I'm actually going to be in Burbank for a wedding the weekend GDC closes out, which is a lot closer than my usual DC location. Suffice to say though that I'm going to try and be adding value to the trip in any which way I can.

 

[Dregun]

Sorry for the odd question but...

During MP do you see the enemy as Helghast and do they see you as Helghast? I remember playing Americas Army and you and your teammates always looked like an American Soldier but your enemy always saw you as the terrorist. Since from what I have read it seems as though the classes and weapons are so similar that this would work the same way.

I didn't much care for other games having you choose if you want to be the "bad" guys or the "good" guys and usually someone always got stuck playing on the opposite side they wanted.

Thanks,


Dregun

 

[Arwin]

I just heard a colleague mention that the next game he will buy on PS3 will be Killzone 2. This is a guy who bought his PS3 so he didn't have to wait for the PC version to play Assassin's Creed ... So it seems that the game is getting a lot of attention. (He's currently playing through MGS4, a game which he bought after he tried the MGS4 demo that was released not long ago.) It's interesting to see how marketing reaches such people.

 

[patsu]

Sorry for the odd question but...

During MP do you see the enemy as Helghast and do they see you as Helghast? I remember playing Americas Army and you and your teammates always looked like an American Soldier but your enemy always saw you as the terrorist. Since from what I have read it seems as though the classes and weapons are so similar that this would work the same way.

I didn't much care for other games having you choose if you want to be the "bad" guys or the "good" guys and usually someone always got stuck playing on the opposite side they wanted.

In this MP video, the player was a Helghast engineer:

You can see that his weapon and the sentry he set up are different from an ISA engineer's.

EDIT: If you look carefully, his teammates are all Helghast too.

To top that, the sound will also follow the player's perspective (i.e., it will rotate as the player turns).

 

[patsu]

Q & A with GG

http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=killzone2&thread.id=117645

AND WE ARE BACK! Just one month till release and the reviews are starting to drip in and so far so good. Things are now getting very exciting. So to start with the thread that was collecting questions.

1) Throughout your testing and community testing did you reach complete balance between classes and their weapons? I hate playing a game where 1 weapon can really be the only thing you need to use to win.

I think we managed that, yes. We have spent a good year and a half playing online internally followed by some Sony internal Alpha testing which resulted in a heck of a lot of balancing, followed by three phases of the beta. So I think we've pretty much nailed it. if something does come up post-release, we should be able to patch it up though.

2) Follow up to previous question. If balancing issues occur, will Guerilla support the game with patches?

Ah yes. Depends on the severity of course and whether it is considered a real issue or not. Some people might just get pissed off about catching rockets with their faces and start moaning "boohoo the rockets kill me all the time" when in fact they suck a bit. We'll watch the game carefully post release.

3) Did the issue with kills not being recorded right away when you kill someone, found in the beta, get fixed completely?

Should be yes.

4) If glitches and/or cheats start to surface in KZ2, then how extensive of support can we expect from Guerilla to not only fix the problems, but deal with those who abuse them to help them win in games?

See 2). There will also be online moderation and banning taking place if the user agreement is broken. There is also kick voting.

5) If there are some reviews that talk nasty things about the AI, are you thinking of improving it or you won't touch the singleplayer campaign again?

I dont think it is an issue.

6) Can you set a way to increase damage, something like COD4 Hardcore mode, where one or two shots kill you?

We jhve 4 levels of difficulty for people to play the campaign in. 'Elite' will give you what you need in that regard.

7) The D-Pad is used for Badge abilites is there a way to leave one of the buttons for quick chat commands (like MEDIC!, SORRY!, ENEMY OVER HERE!)?

Voice-activated comms.

8) Can you record at the moment? are you thinking of implementing that?

Not on release. Something we might look into.

9) in the LOADING screens, can we get a mini trivia game with the Killzone history perhaps? or some Helghan / UCN propaganda?

Erm... no. There are plenty of loading screens with useful info though.

10) why did they decide to not focus so much attention on accurate, reliable, aiming down the sights shooting and instead make un-sighted shooting more reliable?

We did? I think we balanced the game in such a way to allow for both. I personally stop, crouch, zoom and shoot myself a lot. Time permitting anyway.

11) Clans INGAME Blogs with playstation EYE support and HDD import images in a future DLC?

Something to look into later. Benifit vs cost and time, etc.

12) Are you thinking of implementing a way to respawn near EACH of your Squad members, not just your leader?

No, the spawn-select screen would be a mess and it could unbalance the game too much. You of course have spawn-grenades and the Capture and Hold points to spawn on.

13) Will there be an option for dedicated servers? If no, could we maybe have them implimented later for things like clan matches to help even the keel?

Sure

14) What penalties are in place for people quitting out on your team or say a host quitting a game out right as the opposing team is to win?

If it is a clan game for valour say, the game would default to the remaining team. If a session master leaves, then a new one is picked. This should be a non-issue.

15) With features does it have the current Clan system, beside the valour points?

You get your own clan page where you can post news, challange rivals and manage your clan in-game and also plenty of functionality on www.killzone.com that links back into the game.

16) What are the kinds of options you can customize to your likings in a Private match? Like running speed, jump height?

Not so much the basic mechanics, but more options such as limiting weapons, the points scored, timings of the modes and so on.

17) What is your take with the idea of bringing Killzone franchise to a RTS future game?

I'd prefer a text-based adventure game myself. There are no plans for it currently, but hypothetically speaking, I could see how it would work.

18) Is it possible that we see in a future DLC a huge map with transport vehicles, futuristic choppers and that type of vehicles?

Anything is possible. More on DLC post-release. (naturally)

19) Use the PSP (if available) as a way to access the INGAME blog and matchmaking features (book a match, register to a tournament)?

Interesting idea. Currently there are no links to the PSP.

20) Does Killzone 2 support the ability to unlock anything if you were to connect your psp to your PS3 with Killzone Liberation?

See above.

21) Could we possibly hope to get more Killzone 2 themes,wallpapers,avatar pictures to customize our PS3 with?

Of course you can!

22) Can we get the video "Ballet of Death" on the PSN Store?

I am not sure. Something to look into I suppose.

23) Are we going to see any Real life AD videos like Liberation got?

You'll be getting better than that.

24) Have you seen Metal Gear Solid 4 DATABASE, release on the PSN Store? Could we have something like that for Killzone?

I have not seen it. I am a bit of a MGS idiot, so can't really comment on this. There will be tons of stats and so on on www.killzone.com if that is what you are refering to. Big changes coming there.

25) Can we get CGI videos explaining the whole killzone history?

Wow that would be expensive to do right. No, sorry.

26) The Bravia settings thread got a lot of notice, could you give us more TV settings?

As I said before, I only had those settings for that TV. it is not something I can provide for more TVs. If I get more, I'll post them of course.

27) Will killzone 2 still provide high quality VOIP with other headsets like it does with the offical sony headset?

I hope the comms are good enough for everyone.

28) What sound settings would you recommend for KZ2? Please be detail as much as possible

Uff, I don't know. Just make sure you set up your PS3 properly to whatever sound system you have attached. Lots of people neglect to do that from the outset.

29) What about a Killzone Movie? I heard that Devs are fans of Paul Verhoeven, maybe he could make the film! Besides that, wht do you think: real actors or just a CGI thing like Resident Evil last film?

Haha, this is not something I can officially comment on, but it is a topic we often talk about in the pub after work. Who would direct, who would play who, etc. Verhoeven would of course be high on our imaginary lists .

30) Can we have another INSIDE THE DEVS STUDIO interview like the one of gamekings? http://www.gamekings.tv/index/videos/minidocu-the-company-behind-killzone-2-full-version-subbed/

There is a lot of media attention right now and we have a lot of visitors coming to interview us. We have a special relationship with the Gamekings, so they get more access to us and the project.

31) how do you/gg feel about kz2 being dubbed as the halo killer?

*rasberry noise* Does anyone still call it that? I thought these days we were the 'Gears/COD/Me and My Horse/Tetris/Chess/Soduku/Thumb-wrestling-killer' (delete as appropriate).

32) With the hype of killzone 2, any plans on expanding your team? perhaps outside killzone?

No comment

33) Will the demo on the 5th be Single Player only?

It will be SP, yes.

 

[Arwin]

Nice list. I love the answer on 17 though!

 

[patsu]

How did voice-activated comms (Answer #7) work in KZ2 beta ?

EDIT: Thanks to AlStrong for bolding all the questions above

 

[Strange]

Had the same question when I was watching through. Typically I found voice-chats work so bad in any multiplayer-kill-each-other game that they give way to crucifying your teammates over coordinating.

At least that's what I've experienced in COD4 and 5 (due to the dependence on sheer instant reaction and the uselessness of cooperation), but hopefully Killzone 2 comes out to be something more like Resistance 2's co-op, where people with headsets that don't produce a racket (which are terribly distracting) or produce their own vocal/instrumental noise (even more distracting) give proper requests and commands.

Something more close to End war might work, but sometimes I do prefer voice chatting, especially with friends.
Sad thing is that I usually have to revert to using Teamspeak or skype to commnicate with close friends and mute the rest. Hope they have a good solution in Killzone.

 

[Heinrich4]

Good news ! GG -> K2 looks good on 1080P flat panels.

http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/game-types/first-person-shooters/killzone-2-will-look-great-on-1080p-hdtvs-too-$1264431.htm

" Killzone 2 will look great on 1080p HDTVs too
Wednesday, 28 Jan 2009 15:46

Killzone 2
Are you lucky enough to have a 1080p HDTV? Killzone 2 will support you with more than just upscaling.

For those that own a television that supports 1080i but not 720p, or even those with 1080p televisions, Guerilla Games will support you with a native rendering resolution of 960by1080.

You might already know this fact, but Seb Downie of GG explains why they went in this direction and the advantages this resolution brings:

"Ok, this is the deal: If Killzone 2 detects a TV that is set to 1080p or 1080i and cannot switch to 720p (our preferred resolution, for if your TV supports it), then it will render in 960x1080 and horizontally scale that to 1080i/p.

"The advantage of doing this (over rendering 720p and then upscaling it to 1080i/p) is that you don't have *any* vertical scaling, and analog TV's don't even have a horizontal resolution. The result is a much clearer picture with much less artifacts for those who have a 1080i/p only set.

"Killzone's advised resolution is 720p, we just made sure that if you have a 1080i/p only set, it looks much better than the 'naive' implementation of upscaling 720p"

Good to know that Killzone 2 will look great on all TV's - apart from that 1950's 14" Black&White tele you've failed to discard."

(so native rendering is 960x1080P?)

 

[Tap In]

Eurogamer review is up 9/10

IGN 9.4