OPM's Lair and Factor 5 article

[Danalys]

i think the getaway had all of good in it aswell. sure it was no GTA but it was still a good game. i haven't checked out black monday tho so i'm not sure of how they have progressed the series so far.

 

[Farid]

Heavenly sword looked like crap in its original form ,judging from the screenshots they had released and everybody was laughing with it.

In what world people were laughing at stuff like that or like this?

 

[Farid]

Folks, enough with the confrontational tone and the "fan-person" name calling.
Trying to discuss a videogame related topic doesn't mean antagonizing everybody on this board (We don't care what "happens" in other board), and reduce them, into a simplistic unit of a corporate loving faction.
People should learn that over-generalizations and disrespect of other member opinions are not conducive to any form of discussions. Any forms of intelligent discussions, that is.

If people want to discuss about "fan-persons", "Consoles, Consumer Electronic products or any Kitchen Appliances, such as microwave oven manufacturer alliengence", then do it elsewhere, on a Blog or on a Forum that welcomes these kind of "important" existential debates.
We're on a technical forum, let's not forget this.

 

["Nerve-Damage"]

More article:

A little more from the article........

The Rise of Lair

Making the jump from the GameCube to the PlayStation 3 is about as drastic as it gets. While the GameCube is a powerful machine in its own right (as shown by Factor 5's work on Rogue Squadron II and Rogue Squadron III), its power was tapped fairly early in the console's life cycle. The PlayStation 3 is a different beast in that it will take some time to first get to know the system and then to max out its power - a challenge perfectly suited for Factor 5. But the developer had some opportunities to prepare along the way. "We were using the Xbox for a while as a transition to the new consoles, because the Xbox had some featuers that the GameCube didn't have because of the Nvidia card," says Eggebrecht. "We knew what the next generation was going to be about, and as a member of the development community, we were expecting the worst, but the dream came true. [The capabilities are] exactly what we were prophesying."

From there, Factor 5 went back to what it has been about since the beginning. Instead of waiting, the team goes ahead and starts learning about new hardware on its own before it is even really revealed. This more than likely has come in handy during the development of Factor 5's PlayStation 3 launch game, Lair. But there's more to making a launch game than just being first. It's an opportunity to make a statement as a developer - a statement Factor 5 is more than prepared to make. "The gameplay has to be very intuitive and accessible. Yes, we have a certain emphasis on graphics, but graphics alone won't do it." says Eggebrecht. "Also, you have to find a balance between physics and gameplay, so you need to choose your battles wisely. That's the thing bout launch titles - if you don't pick you battles right, [then you will encounter problems]."

Can Factor 5 upstage itself and bring a whole new level of visual quality to consoles? The answer is simple. The shift from the hard lines and metallic surfaces of Star Wars to the organic look and feel of the dragons from the Lair demo presents the team with all-new opportunities to reveal levels of detail that were previously unattainable on consoles. "It comes down to subject matter. There's a reason why [Lair] is what it is,"Eggebrecht adds. "that's where the jump in graphics is going to happen."

 

[Cuthbert]

There was a game years ago on the PC, which I remember playing around 1990-91, which had simple 3D graphics, and was a game of riding dragons, and fighting on them. It was an awesome game, and it gave a wonderful feeling of riding a dragon into battle. The perspective was from behind the dragon. Anyone know this game?

DragonStrike (SSI/Westwood): http://www.mobygames.com/game/dragonstrike

 

[mckmas8808]

Because it is published by Sony that's why.Silicon knights have a way better history as developers than most of these "newly acquired" sony teams but don't dare mention that cause some people will go crazy.Guerrila+NT+Factor 5 is where it's at.

My son. *shakes head* You will soon see the light. Just wait until about 2007 you'll see.

 

[AlNom]

In what world people were laughing at stuff like that or like this?

That second image reminds me of Frankie from Bungie Studios.

 

[ban25]

You mean HS over Too Human? Why? Right now I ave to say that the info is quite lacking on those games to make desicions as to which one i better...

How long has Too Human been making the rounds, now?

 

[EndR]

How long has Too Human been making the rounds, now?

It was a PSX game, supposed to have come out before FFVII..

 

[mckmas8808]

It was a PSX game, supposed to have come out before FFVII..

WHAT?!?! Well how knows when that game is coming out.

 

[EndR]

WHAT?!?! Well how knows when that game is coming out.

Well, maybe it wasn´t exactly true..
Strange.. I remember an interview with SK were they said that it was a 4 disc game, it was the first of them.. and then FFVII came out..

but now I found this..

Orginally Too Human was going to be released in 2000 as a single game on Playstation 1. Development for that version most likely started in 1997 or 1998.

http://toohuman.net/faq.htm

 

[DigitalSoul]

Whenever I see Factor 5, Turrican is what comes to mind. I've never played or been interested in their Star Wars games( not a big SW fan). I haven't been following Lair so I can't say that it really interest me.

 

[Eagle-Vision]

GOW features individual drops of rain running down characters, tress, splashing in puddles.

Have we? I remember seeing water running down trees but individual drops? I don't remember seeing anything like this:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y83/radicalnsx/01a.gif

 

[scooby_dooby]

"Outdoors in the rain, there were some nice little touches that enhanced the game's visual believability. For one, the water off to one side appeared to be getting impacted by individual rain drops. "

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/gearsofwar/news.html?sid=6135064&mode=all

 

[scooby_dooby]

WHAT?!?! Well how knows when that game is coming out.

This game is coming out late 06, or early 07, and is first in a trilogy of games.

Silicon Knights are established developers with a pretty good track record, and deserve as much OR MORE hype than any other 1st party developer around.

 

[Eagle-Vision]

"Outdoors in the rain, there were some nice little touches that enhanced the game's visual believability. For one, the water off to one side appeared to be getting impacted by individual rain drops. "

There's a lot of difference between impacting and running down

 

[ihamoitc2005]

impact

Have we? I remember seeing water running down trees but individual drops? I don't remember seeing anything like this:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y83/radicalnsx/01a.gif

In GOW video I have seen (maybe there is another one, I do not know) water drop effect is not so impressive. Tree has nice wet look of water "running down" and there is puddle splash but nothing is dynamic, all fixed and precomputed type. Look at "dynamic" objects and it is clear.

 

[Avon_Implosion]

gee, this is an incredibly significant conversation.

 

[Farid]

Silicon Knights are established developers with a pretty good track record, and deserve as much OR MORE hype than any other 1st party developer around.

This is a technological board, not the place to "hype" anything other than latest technology.
Actually, when I say "hype" I mean discuss Consoles related technologies.

Also, this thread is about Factor 5's Lair, not about which developers, of a specific platform, should receive more attention from people than others.

If someone want to talk about Denis Dyack's studio, start a new thread.