New Shadowrun graphical tidbits

[22psi]

Hi there. I'm responsible for a lot of the graphics technology behind Shadowrun, particularly the shaders. Shaders make the world go round, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know the specific answer to the polygons question, but I'd guestimate that each character is around 15 - 25 thousand polygons from 10 thousand vertices. Much of the character content is modeled at much higher resolution, then tools are used to extract detail from the high resolution model to the lower resolution model.

Shadowrun uses 2x multisample antialiasing on Xbox 360, and any supported level of antialiasing on PC. I can tell you that the game looks really nice with 6x MSAA on a NVidia GeForce 8800.

HDR lighting is such a relative term. It is easy to make your engine use "HDR lighting", but it's hard to make your game look freaking awesome by using HDR lighting. We just recently put the final polish on the post-processing systems, and I can tell you it is gorgeous in a very HDR way. The screen is dripping in HDR lighting. So the answer to your question is that the Shadowrun Engine not only uses HDR lighting - it basks in the glory of HDR lighting.

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I just wanted to correct one statement I made. I know the world revolves around high definition these days, but I forgot to mention that we use 4x MSAA when we're on a standard definition display. So you're either getting full HD with 2x MSAA, or standard definition with 4x MSAA.

more here:

http://forums.shadowrun.com/forums/thread/35154.aspx

 

[AlNom]

You may want to add it to this thread. It's sort of being debated at the moment:

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38777

The update part is new regarding 4xMSAA in SD, which may imply 480p.

 

[Ben-Nice]

Does the X360 version have the same features? If so. What was this guy looking at?

Dean Takahashi of the Mercury News has posted his impressions of Shadowrun, the upcoming Live Anywhere launch title from FASA Studio. He takes some time to discuss the game's story and then gets down to the nitty-gritty. He briefly mentions many of the things we've covered before: magical powers, gliding, etc. In the end though, Takahashi seems less than impressed. He notes that the graphics "aren't anything special," adding that they are more or less on par with Halo 2. He also cites the game's multiplayer focus as a risky maneuver by Microsoft, as it may only appeal to the hardcore gamer set.

 

[swaaye]

I actually saw this game running at CES. Honestly, it looked completely uninteresting at the time. It didn't strike me as graphically impressive at all. But, I've since seen some screenshots that are definitely more interesting than my first impression. So we'll just have to see how this game turns out....

 

[DegustatoR]

I can tell you that the game looks really nice with 6x MSAA on a NVidia GeForce 8800.

There is no 6x MSAA on GF8800 8)

 

[Rolf N]

There is no 6x MSAA on GF8800 8)

"6xMSAA is such a relative term. It is easy to make your engine use "6xMSAA", but it's hard to make your game look freaking awesome by using 6xMSAA. We just recently put the final polish on the post-processing systems, and I can tell you it is gorgeous in a very 6xMSAA way. The screen is dripping in 6xMSAA. So the answer to your question is that the Shadowrun Engine not only uses 6xMSAA - it basks in the glory of 6xMSAA."

 

[AlNom]

you know you want to say "6x" over and over and over really quickly.