News & Rumours: Playstation 4/ Orbis *spin*

Status
Not open for further replies.
Cjail said:
Yes, the Xbox One ;)

Sorry it's poor but I could not resist.
Click to expand...

Didn't you hear? MS did another 180 on their Immortality policy. Xbox Live Gold now actually makes you age faster. I think it's because all the 14 year old homophobes on Live want to be able to buy beer.
 
I guess Nitendo never consulted developers then ;)

I guess also that the Lightbar it's made to work well just with peripheral vision.
 
MrFox said:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-explains-why-dualshock-4-dropped-touchscreen/1100-6415701/


I guess it wasn't a stupid idea when we speculated about it :LOL:
Click to expand...

Well it did get dropped! ;)


It seem like a cool idea until you really think about it. why would you waste resources adding a touchscreen to a controller when the person is going to be looking at the TV the whole time & if they have to look down at the controller to see whatever is on the touchscreen it's going to take them out of the game.

A cheap LED screen on the touch pad would have been nice for showing things like heath/ ammo levels or your speed when playing a racing game so you can clear the hud from the TV screen.


led-screen-template.jpg



Cheaper , better battery life , the processing can be done on the controller, small but easily visible & it would take much time to focus on what's on the screen you could just glance at it & see the info.
 
^^^
I think the Lightbar on the DS4 will, in part, be used as an alternative to HUD.

Still in my experience devs don't really use all the options they are given.
Analogical buttons and motion controls have been underused to say the least and while haptic feedback can "substitute" HUD few or no games really did it.
I would though like to know if it is cheaper/easier for the developers to use a screen on the controller (Valve) or a LED as HUD or it's it's easier/cheaper to create/use some visual/audio cues in-game and not use HUD at all.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
onQ said:
A cheap LED screen on the touch pad would have been nice for showing things like heath/ ammo levels
Click to expand...
LEDs draw a comparatively high amount of power, so I don't think that would have been advisable in a rechargeable wireless controller. You already have the lightbar, more LEDs would be an even bigger drain.
 
Looking at the early prototypes, I'm glad they moved the light at an angle that isn't directly in your field of view, it would have been distracting for people like me who play in the dark with a projector. I really hope it's dimmable, I don't want too much light pollution on my screen. Otherwise I'll open it and place a filter over the leds to cut the luminosity. I'm all for using it in game for effect, health status and other cool ideas, but the normal state shouldn't be too bright, or it should at least configurable.
 
It's been shown polluting Killzone gameplay. Looks like a prime candidate for taping over to me. It'll serve barely any purpose in real terms. Most consoles aren't to sell without a camera so even the basic controller tracking isn't going to be targeted by devs. Better to tape it up and have a good game experience that leve it untaped hoping someone will have a decent use for it and have to put up with glowing blobs all over your screen.
 
Unless I will hold the DS4 at thorax level I won't see any reflection on the screen while playing but still it will be probably be problematic for many.
The best thing to do would be to allow us to turn the lightbar off aside for games that require motion tracking through the PS Camera.

BTW I think that Edios Montreal has found a good/interesting use for the light bar in Thief:

"For the DualShock 4, we use the light bar to reflect the light gem in the in-game UI, which indicates if Garrett is in the shadows or not. It creates a nice feeling when you play in the dark to see it illuminate or darken as you move through the environment."
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cjail said:
Unless I will hold the DS4 at thorax level I won't see any reflection on the screen while playing
Click to expand...
You're mistaken. The screen reflects a wider area than the screen itself is. Someone standing off to your side with a light in the hand will be clearly visible.

"For the DualShock 4, we use the light bar to reflect the light gem in the in-game UI, which indicates if Garrett is in the shadows or not. It creates a nice feeling when you play in the dark to see it illuminate or darken as you move through the environment."
Click to expand...
That's basically pointless though. Exactly the same result can be achieved by taking a glow texture and applying that on the screen. Using the lightbar as a reflected light showing on the screen adds nothing to what a game can render to the screen directly.
 
Shifty Geezer said:
You're mistaken. The screen reflects a wider area than the screen itself is. Someone standing off to your side with a light in the hand will be clearly visible.
Click to expand...

Sorry if I say it but I am not mistaken.
I won't be able to see the lightbar reflected in the screen and that's s because I actually verified it.
I took my iPad, tun it on, put a full blue picture on in, held it a the same level I hold the controller and pointed the screen towards my Tv and I could not see the iPad screen reflected into the screen.
I don't game like this or like the guys in the Ps4 Palyroom video.
Even my local co-op buddy DS4 won't be visible reflected in the screen unless he stands up and plays that way all the time and that's not going to happen.

That's basically pointless though. Exactly the same result can be achieved by taking a glow texture and applying that on the screen. Using the lightbar as a reflected light showing on the screen adds nothing to what a game can render to the screen directly.
Click to expand...

Well they are using a visual cue to show when you are it the darkness similar to the one used by Riddick games but the lightbar is there to give you the impression you are holding the lightgem itself in you hands winch is a nice touch in my opinion.
The lightgem is also displayed on the HUD but it's this sphere in the bottom left corner and its very intrusive and adjusting the brightness of the lightbar is in my opinion a better idea than use HUD.

Now I personally would not use the lightbar as alternative to HUD.
I would first design some neat visual and audio cues, then use the haptic feedback and as a last resource use the lightbar.
I would use the ligthtbar to enhance engagement though.
To make an example in an RPG I would make the lightbar glows when you get closer to a secret area or in proximity to certain enemies a la Bilbo's Sting.

Sorry for the long reply anyway.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cjail said:
Sorry if I say it but I am not mistaken.
I won't be able to see the lightbar reflected in the screen and that's s because I actually verified it.
Click to expand...
I don't think that's a valid test. I just tried the same with my phone - no visible reflection. Yet I know from experience the Move sphere is visible on TV. I guess for you to be wrong depends on why you think it won't be visible for you. If it's because you don't think you're viewing angle will get the reflection, you may be right depending on your setup, but you'd be very much in the minority. TV's are great at capturing reflections, hence why people adjust their living room setups to reduce reflections. If you think the light bar isn't bright enough to be visible against the light from the screen, you may be right, but the videos on the net show otherwise.
 
Ok fair point Shifty
Let's put it this way: given my setup and my tests (I made another with a flashlight) I don't think I will be able to see the lightbar directly reflected in the glass panel of my TV as log as I hold the controller as I normally do BUT but it's is possible that I am underestimating the brightness of the lightbar and in the end I will see some reflections.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top