LAIR Thread - * Rules: post #469

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here's a nice comparison shot taken from neogaf.com
headcomp.jpg

on the right is the capture from gamespot of the same build as ign

It looks like ign messed up with their capture.
 
Nice idea...except the weak particle effects of water droplets really mess up the visual impact of realistic waves! Perhaps they just wanted to bag the prize for 'best ever water effect in game' which has always been a strange sort of landmark?

Possible... regardless of platforms, different developers will allocate/prioritize resources in a way to stand out.

They also have this landscape engine developed over "many years" (probably based on the progressive mesh central theme). The waters and mountains may be generated dynamically as an integrated part of this landscape mesh ?

In the walkthrough, the presenter pointed out that things bob up and down according to the waves and there are cool (fluid dynamics) moves we can execute in certain level(s) ...probably some sort of sea battle or rescue mission. So far, the boat attack and the sea worm encounter are both highlights of the videos.

Seeing how the critics are so quick and relentless to point out flaws in Lair; I think if they don't have realistic water, F5 might get hammered even more when water is prevalent in these videos (...like Warhawk).

I thought the water particle effects look good (not as realistic but good nonetheless) in the videos. Fire needs more work because it's used everywhere. I would trade other trivial elements like the cloth/flag simulation to enhance fire.
 
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These are directions unrelated to progressive mesh though. Landing anywhere seems to be an artist and time issue. Online is game design, network code and time (again) but there may be too many update messages in such a huge game world.

Within the progressive mesh technology itself... is it related to destructible buildings (since there are some in the game) and level of details ? How does it work with streaming (what gets streamed) ?

A video explaining progressive mesh
ftp://ftp.research.microsoft.com/users/hhoppe/videos/pm.mpg
 
here's a nice comparison shot taken from neogaf.com
[dragon heads]
on the right is the capture from gamespot of the same build as ign

It looks like ign messed up with their capture.

IGN messed up a lot of things, but that's more likely simply a result of the dragon being at a different LOD at the time of capture. You have to get used to these things in games with aggressive (or progressive) LOD and Texture Streaming.
 
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:) thanks

Snowblind Studios had that on PS2 and XBox in their engine. Originally in puddles in the BG: DA game, and then in large water bodies in CON. And as I said, what's the point if precalculated meshes or other cheats look pretty similar? Seems like a lot of processing for little gain.

Still, there may be other reasons. Googling the subject, I saw suggestions of Factor 5 doing download titles. A water engine might be part of those, and so they integrate it into Lair seeing as they have it. It becomes a component, more than a feature.
I can't tell how great the gain is before having played the game or at least gotten more info.

Maybe there's a chance of it being for the bombing raids F5 has been telling about.

IGN messed up a lot of things, but that's more likely simply a result of the dragon being at a different LOD at the time of capture. You have to get used to these things in games with aggressive (or progressive) LOD and Texture Streaming.

Hmm, dunno about F5 using LOD for the main character's dragon as it's practically on screen all the time and IGNs videos show less detail than the GS interview all the time.

Maybe GS has hired someone who used to make bootlegged videos :D
 
Slightly off topic, but speaking of video compression. Sony released a near 600MB video of Little Big Planet on the PS Store this weekend.

It's the same 4min video everyone has already seen but it's at a high bit rate and 720p. They obviously really care about peoples impressions of this game and about losing any visual quality to compression.
 
Sorry for the OT, but that 600MB trailer came out at the same time on the web as the other stuff. It's only 600MB because they screwed up the encode. It's recorded at 60fps and consequently duplicates every other frame. Aside from that, yeah the compression quality of the footage is awesome.

Back on topic, I notice that the city you start in (as shown in the GameTrailers developer walkthrough) is the same one as Matthias Worch took his picture from in his GDC presentation. Given the walkthrough shows so much more to that city, it really shows the borderline mental level of detail some of the environments are given.
 
Doesn't such a claim call for an example of another more advanced console engine? :) Sorry for being anal but empty words hurt.
Empty words? My claim is based on my reactions and the reactions of those in this thread. Rogue Squadron II and III were unquestionably tour de force's with the technology they had going on. Lair's tech is good and maybe even great, but it's not unquestionably with the best of the best.


It looks like ign messed up with their capture.
With as dynamic as lighting is anymore, it's quite possible to find dramatically different lighting in different levels, angles, times of day, etc.
 
Lair's tech is good and maybe even great, but it's not unquestionably with the best of the best.

I would have agreed with you before I saw the developer walk-throughs. The game was just hit and miss with the possiblity of being great. But those most recent dev videos just seem like a completely different game.

They are jaw dropping and I've not seen any other game come even close to what is being achieved there.
 
Saw the developer videos and it is the same graphics as the other videos except that in the dev video the player FOV covers more of the landscape. Yet still same fire/smoke effects, water effects, billboard trees, and geometry detail.
 
They are jaw dropping and I've not seen any other game come even close to what is being achieved there.

That would depend on what games you have seen (and thoose ignored) of all the games with great graphics. Best for PS3, looks so, best over xbox360/PC games, not by a longshot.
 
Empty words? My claim is based on my reactions and the reactions of those in this thread. Rogue Squadron II and III were unquestionably tour de force's with the technology they had going on. Lair's tech is good and maybe even great, but it's not unquestionably with the best of the best.
Well, they have much harsher competition on PS3 than they had on Gamecube.
 
That would depend on what games you have seen (and thoose ignored) of all the games with great graphics. Best for PS3, looks so, best over xbox360/PC games, not by a longshot.

I think I'm pretty familiar with the graphical tour de forces on the consoles (I'm hesitant to include PC since that's a moving plaform) - unless there is some absolutely mindblowing game that no-one has every mentioned on any forum.

You're free to cite examples though.
 
Lair has the more impressive visual overall. I mean, draw distance, physics, number of the elments on the screen and level of detail. The realtime cutscenes are so CGish and more impressive than any other realtime game cutscene so far. But in terms of gfx only, Crysis and Uncharted are more impressive.
 
Lair has the more impressive visual overall. I mean, draw distance, physics, number of the elments on the screen and level of detail. The realtime cutscenes are so CGish and more impressive than any other realtime game cutscene so far. But in terms of gfx only, Crysis and Uncharted are more impressive.

Crysis looks crazy.

As far as consoles go I'm waiting for actual footage of Uncharted - but I think you're right that could potentially take the crown.
 
I think I'm pretty familiar with the graphical tour de forces on the consoles (I'm hesitant to include PC since that's a moving plaform) - unless there is some absolutely mindblowing game that no-one has every mentioned on any forum.

You're free to cite examples though.

I admit the dev videos look good, but dont forget the heavy use of LOD to be able to display such amount of buildings/objects. It's quite near the player FOV. Still good, very good.

Unless there is some absolutely mindblowing game that no-one has every mentioned on any forum.

I think this forum has all games covered so... but perhaps Lost Planet for xbox360?
http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/761/761580/img_4443118.html
 
Lair has the more impressive visual overall. I mean, draw distance, physics, number of the elments on the screen and level of detail. The realtime cutscenes are so CGish and more impressive than any other realtime game cutscene so far. But in terms of gfx only, Crysis and Uncharted are more impressive.

Draw distance is great when taking into account the draw distance vs detail displayed at distance (100km view distance of a empty desert is nothing impressive as an example).
Didn't count the amount of dragons in view but there where wuite some of em. Ground troops there are a lot of but they stand still untill you come cloose enough (the other videos).
The CGish cutscenes are well done hands down.
 
Was over at GAF and someone posted these developer walkthrough:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?type=wmv&id=18581
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?type=wmv&id=18586

I am somewhat taken aback by the scale of the game.
[Hurry back to gametrailers to re-watch videos]

EDIT:
[Thinking to myself, "Sh*t ! No wonder people love F5"]
Please fix the broken pieces mentioned in the Wired article and the control issue, and you will have a customer here.

I'm already sold. I don't care if the game is crap now... I'll buy it as a $60 tech demo. :oops:

My two points of criticism:

- right now the ripples caused by the explosion of a ship actually break the illusion, because they look much less realistic than the rest.
- the one on one fights with the dragons also break the illusion. They are weird transitions from a huge world to a weird virtua fighter or dragon ball like arena devoid of space and time.

The latter is more serious. I guess I'll have to try it and see if it is fun, but just based on looks I'm not buying it.

However, that's it. This looks amazing, just ... wow. When he stops the game and moves that camera ... :oops:

Can I say it? Can I?

BluRay vindicated ... ? ;)
 
Empty words? My claim is based on my reactions and the reactions of those in this thread. Rogue Squadron II and III were unquestionably tour de force's with the technology they had going on. Lair's tech is good and maybe even great, but it's not unquestionably with the best of the best.

Yet you can't mention a better console engine, I bet you would have if you could.
What is it other engines does which the Lair engine doesn't? Where is it outperformed?


With as dynamic as lighting is anymore, it's quite possible to find dramatically different lighting in different levels, angles, times of day, etc.

But there's the fact that the parts the GS and GT videos share with the IGN videos the IGN videos look worse.
 
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