[PS3] Killzone 3

[patsu]

Well, people upgrade their HDD along the way (to have better load time), sound system (to listen to more pristine audio), HDTV (from SDTV). We can upgrade slowly over the years, and you get to play the game longer, under different modes. If I can't find a good 3D monitor, I will certainly play through it on my HDTV first.

I'm less interested in Move for this game, unless it has similar gameplay strategy and tactical requirements to MAG.

 

[Svensk Viking]

That's old and on another platform though. I wonder how the numbers look like on PS3 today.

I doubt that 1 year have doubled the amount of 360s being played on HDTVs, and the 360 and PS3 were both being marketed as "HD consoles", so I still think that the 360 consoles being played on a SDTV can be representable of the PS3's adopt rate

Could be likely that we with SDTVs go directly to 3D TV tho, and skip HDTV completely...I still doubt that those who have upgraded to HDTV will feel tempted to upgrade once again tho

 

[patsu]

It's not just the 1 year difference even though the uptake recently is more ferocious than a year ago due to price drop and additional features.

PS3 was not so friendly on SDTVs in the early days (No auto scaling for games). Upscaling of video was only added last 1 or 2 years. Plus, it is the main driver for Blu-ray since launch. 60% of new comers buy it for Blu-ray today. In its early adopter and expensive SKU phase, we should see a higher proportion of HD customers. So I expect it to have a higher concentration of HD folks compared to other devices.

Could be likely that we with SDTVs go directly to 3D TV tho, and skip HDTV completely...I still doubt that those who have upgraded to HDTV will feel tempted to upgrade once again tho

3D Monitor !
[size=-2]... if I can find one.[/size]

 

[BoardBonobo]

I doubt that 1 year have doubled the amount of 360s being played on HDTVs, and the 360 and PS3 were both being marketed as "HD consoles", so I still think that the 360 consoles being played on a SDTV can be representable of the PS3's adopt rate

Could be likely that we with SDTVs go directly to 3D TV tho, and skip HDTV completely...I still doubt that those who have upgraded to HDTV will feel tempted to upgrade once again tho

But how many PS3 are used to watch Blu-rays? That was the main reason I bought a HDTV when I got my PS3. I didn't bother with the 360 as there was no need. I think you'll find the uptake of HD is higher on the PS3 than the 360 simply because it does more in HD straight out of the box.

 

[Arwin]

I doubt that 1 year have doubled the amount of 360s being played on HDTVs, and the 360 and PS3 were both being marketed as "HD consoles", so I still think that the 360 consoles being played on a SDTV can be representable of the PS3's adopt rate

First of all I think it is important to realise that the companies working on 3D technology right now are not complete idiots. They are planning ahead. They know that whatever new feature they can introduce that entices even a relatively small percentage of TV owners to replace their TV before it actually dies on them brings in a lot more money than banking on the 'natural' replacement cycle. In recent times, there have been a lot of new features that have enthused TV owners to get a new TV, such as:

- Progressive Scan / Digital
- widescreen
- 100/120 hz
- flatness (very important one often underestimated by tech people )
- Digital Image enhancers and filters
- HD
- (Built-in) Digital Decoders

Before that, we've basically had the b/w to color transition, remote control, support for more channels and SCART type inputs that allowed some kind of linking to your VCR or a little bit better picture quality. Apart from color, nothing really spectacular and spread over a much, much larger range.

Particularly the change to being flat and being HD has helped sell a lot of extra televisions. I don't know if you noticed, but stores have a tonne more models available than they ever did before (I remember!)

Now we're getting Google TV like apps (integrated Youtube) and of course 3D. I think that 3D is going to be considered much more like the b/w (I owned one!) to color transition than any of the other advancements. Sure, it probably won't reach more than 50% mass penetration before it can do without glasses, but it's just starting, and five years is a long time - five years ago almost no-one had an HDtv.

Incidentally I read that PS3's BluRay capability was quoted as the biggest reason to buy a PS3 in the Netherlands among those who don't have one yet at 65%, with the recent price-cut at 63% (The Nielsen Company), and the exclusive games third (and while no specific game was mentioned as killer app, God of War 3 was mentioned most often as an example)

 

[patsu]

new interview
http://www.vg247.com/2010/05/25/world-first-killzone-3s-hermen-hulst-on-going-above-and-beyond/

OH I like that.

Why OH Why didn't the reviewer ask about the destructability and micro-load time of KZ3.

Another thing you showed off quite a lot in there was your “brutal melee system”. Can you explain some of the thinking behind including something that’s clearly so very violent in the game? What was the general thinking about including the system? The level of violence will obviously be questioned.Hermen

Hulst: I think brutal melee is just another part of us striving for a very cinematic war experience. As our movies have shown, it’s really cinematic, and particularly that slo-mo. I think that’s the essence of it. It’s a cinematic war experience, and it’s in no way intended to be a real-life experience.

It looks as though it’s QTE-based, and it looks as though it’s quite similar to Heavy Rain. Did you take any cues from Heavy Rain when you were creating the system?

Hermen Hulst: No, even though I know those guys very well, I don’t think there’s been any exchange of specific mechanics or technology with Quantic Dream. As much as I love what they’ve created, there weren’t any triggers from that.

Probably inspired by God of War III ? I don't like QTE in an FPS. I want to melee the AI Helghasts free style, even for the bosses !

 

[Svensk Viking]

Sure, it probably won't reach more than 50% mass penetration before it can do without glasses, but it's just starting

Well, I can see what you mean when reading all that

But this is one thing Nintendo is doing right with their 3DS, allowing the "gimmick" to be used without buying any additional hardware

 

[patsu]

I expected many portable devices to have autostereoscopic display soon.

For multi-viewer systems like home TV, 3D glasses is the way to go now unfortunately. It will give the developers and content providers enough incentives to prove their business model and horn their 3D skills. Those fresh undergraduates will have new and more challenging jobs. ^_^

When multi-viewer autostereoscopic displays are available to mass consumers one day, we don't have to wait for the content providers anymore. We would already have a library to start with. The 3D format they use are independent of the display tech. By then, may be I am already onto my second 3DTV, or at least it may be time to replace my imaginary 3D monitor now.

When used incorrectly, 3D can be a gimmick. But I believe it is genuinely useful in some games/applications. Unfortunately, 2% or more may not be able to see 3D properly.

 

[Arwin]

But this is one thing Nintendo is doing right with their 3DS, allowing the "gimmick" to be used without buying any additional hardware

You mean that you are buying an all-in package? After all, it's a completely new device with built-in screen. You're buying all additional hardware in one package. The current consoles, PS3 ahead of the pack, are all supporting 3D without any hardware upgrades other than the TV. That's just replacing one component, where with the 3DS you're replacing the complete setup.

Note that if the 3DS is successful, that's another feather in the cap of mass 3D acceptance, next to 3D cinema. But if it works really, really well then people may start getting curious about glassesless regular TV as well, and it'll be a race of quality between the two technologies.

EDIT: patsu, that may be up to 20% who cannot see 3D properly, or need to be able to customise eye-distance to be able to see it comfortably. If it ends up being 2% on the long run, then that's below the number of people who couldn't see color - 10% of men are color-blind.

 

[patsu]

I stand corrected !

 

[dskneo]

3D games might be true 3D, unlike cinema.
You see, the movies are still filmed with cameras who can only focus one thing at a time.

This is a no-no for true 3D. Case in point, Avatar and every movie shot up to today.

They put leaves and tree trunks in front of the action. But they are filmed out of focus. You try and try, but always fail. You can not focus that thing. And so, 3D fails. Because in real life everything is sharp. It's your eye that chooses what to focus.

Directors still want to make that choice for me. "hey, look at here, I want you to look at here". The Egotistical pricks.

 

[Svensk Viking]

You mean that you are buying an all-in package? After all, it's a completely new device with built-in screen. You're buying all additional hardware in one package.

Guess it's called an all-in-one package then
The point is, the game for the 3DS using 3D, will be playable in 3D for all the 3DS owners, without needing to buy anything extra

The current consoles, PS3 ahead of the pack, are all supporting 3D without any hardware upgrades other than the TV. That's just replacing one component, where with the 3DS you're replacing the complete setup.

"without any hardware upgrades other than the TV" is a pretty expensive component to switch out tho...Kinda like saying you only need two get two additional monitors to get Eyefinity if you have a HD5000 card, and while that is true, I doubt that many "average" gamers would like the cost

We don't yet know the price of the 3DS, but a PS3 + a 3DTV is likely a lot more expensive


I hope that they won't "downgrade" the 2D experience just because Sony wants to push 3D

 

[ultragpu]

Another hands on from gamereactor
http://www.gamereactor.eu/articles/3822/Hands-on+with+Killzone+3/
They mentioned the 3d mode appeared to render at a lower resolution but GG will somehow fix it by launch. Well, guess the 2d version is safe and uncompromised at least.
Also graphics are improved at least in scale, lighting and performance.

They've tweaked the graphics in Killzone 3 quite a bit, and the brilliant use of lighting we saw in the second game in the series looks even more real and esthetically pleasing this time around. During my interview I do ask if we're going to feel less overwhelmed this time, considering that Killzone 2 was released for a brand new console.

- Sure, we don't have any new hardware, but we've become a lot better at handling the Playstation 3, Van Beek tells me. Last time we used about 60 - 70 percent of what the machine can handle, this time we're aiming for 90 - 95 percent. The Killzone 3 engine is about 50 percent faster than the one in the first game.

 

[Svensk Viking]

Another hands on from gamereactor
http://www.gamereactor.eu/articles/3822/Hands-on+with+Killzone+3/
They mentioned the 3d mode appeared to render at a lower resolution but GG will somehow fix it by launch. Well, guess the 2d version is safe and compromised at least.
Also graphics are improved at least in scale, lighting and performance.

I hope the framerate is more stable this time around tho

 

[patsu]

I hope that they won't "downgrade" the 2D experience just because Sony wants to push 3D

They have finite time, so in a sense, they will get less time to work on regular 3D titles. Then again, with the improved engine working on stereoscopic 3D content, they can also work a little harder to get co-op or split screen working.

I personally prefer them to drop the res to support split screen and co-op, but GG may have different ideas.

I also wonder whether developers and publishers get extra $$$ from 3DTV market development funds for pushing 3DTV. The movie guys get millions for 3D movies exclusive to branded manufacturers.

More $$$ hopefully means bigger budget and resources for development.

 

[Cornsnake]

If they need to drop the resolution for 3D, couldn't they use that same resolution for co-op? You wouldn't be able to play co-op in 3D, but since co-op requires a performance compromise to support, that should allow them to do co-op a bit easier.

 

[patsu]

Yea... that's exactly what I was thinking/dreaming.

EDIT: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/killzone-3-has-no-gratuitous-swearing

Guerrilla Games' Steven Ter Heide has told a relieved Eurogamer that swearing has been curtailed for Killzone 3.

Not completely, but the contrast to Killzone 2 will be dramatic.

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

I hope the framerate is more stable this time around tho

The framerate was unstable? I thought only the level change areas dropped worth anything framerate-wise.

 

[djskribbles]

From what I remember, I didn't experience any slowdowns.

 

[oramay]

Yea... that's exactly what I was thinking/dreaming.

EDIT: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/killzone-3-has-no-gratuitous-swearing

Less excessive swearing is the best news of all for me, unless I somehow have access to a 3D screen by then. :smile: