The Game Technology discussion thread *Read first post before posting*

[Rangers]

Yes there are almost no 360 games that require HDD. Certainly no relevant or recent ones.

I believe there was one European soccer sim a long time ago that supposedly did..I think mostly for stat tracking.

It's MS policy to not allow that, obviously since they push the Arcade SKU..

 

[catisfit]

Football Manager 2006 IIRC

 

[I.S.T.]

Also FFXI, which, really, makes perfect sense given it's an MMORPG.

 

[Mobius1aic]

Also FFXI, which, really, makes perfect sense given it's an MMORPG.

I wonder if the HDD streaming is really necessary for the 360 version considering parts of the game have to load as you go from one area to another, and considering the lack of better textures or what not (just better shadowing, HD output support, shaders are the same as the PC ones I bet) I bet the game could just be streamed off the DVD without too much hassle. Maybe recoding the game to do so would've been too much for a hassle for it be considered and implemented?

 

[TheWretched]

I guess the patching and whatnot make installing mandatory... since the game changes all the time, just like WoW does... basically, the original code and filebase of WoW is nonexistant, when using a completely patched version (you download several GBs worth of data when you patch the 1.0 version).

 

[Mobius1aic]

I guess the patching and whatnot make installing mandatory... since the game changes all the time, just like WoW does... basically, the original code and filebase of WoW is nonexistant, when using a completely patched version (you download several GBs worth of data when you patch the 1.0 version).

I remember patching WoW 2 years agod when I got it and played it for a couple months. I swear it was over half a gig of patching, if not more. I guess it makes sense as far as having an HDD but how are normal DVD streaming 360 games patched with DVD and HDD based data intermixed? I assume the game during initial loading looks into the HDD for "overriding data", loading that code, and/or skipping fully code off the DVD. Why couldn't FFXI do this, or is everything so mixed up and crucially so that the HDD really just becomes necessary since a large percentage of DVD data would become possibly irrelevant?

 

[betan]

Guys, HDD requirement does not imply HDD is used for streaming or any kind of asset storage, temporary or otherwise.
Hence, it's not the 360 games that require HDD but the ones that require installation or HDD caching are relevant to the dvd+hdd streaming discussion.

 

[Aeoniss]

Ok this may sound stupid to a good many of you (and I apologize in advance)

But the recently announced Aliens vs. Predator game (love the movies and series btw) looks stupidly good looking.

Especially if the screens they're showing off now comes from the 360. I would assume it would be that version, given that the PS3\PC versions usually either come later or don't enjoy as much attention due to the larger market and developer focus that the 360 enjoys.


What engine is this game using? It looks like UE3, but if it is then Rebellion might have just beaten Epic at their own little game with their own engine. How can the detail be that extreme?

http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/143/14322168/imgs_1.html

(courtesy of IGN).


-individual images I've picked out-

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...6263/aliens-vs-predator-20090525035320631.jpg


http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...6263/aliens-vs-predator-20090525035340271.jpg

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360...6263/aliens-vs-predator-20090525035335740.jpg



I mean just look at the dudes hair! and the Predators dreads! Good lord! So is this really from the console version? Or is the fact that it's in full HD (these screens) prove that it's from the PC???

 

[RudeCurve]

Looks pretty average to me.

 

[_phil_]

same to me.Looks like they tweaked the mip map bias to make more detailled screenshots.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

But the recently announced Aliens vs. Predator game (love the movies and series btw) looks stupidly good looking....

If you want to talk about this game here, you need to exaplin your points on a technical level! What looks so good about it that it invites technical awe?

It looks like UE3 to me. (caveat )

 

[Arwin]

I agree, it looks textbook UE3. I have to agree that it doesn't look very special also. As far as I can tell: not much Geometry, no HDR, no impressive lighting, the usual UE3 limited aliasing with lots of pixellation, no great art, same big guys as Epic's own games, etc. etc. I don't even think it looks as good as Epic's own games at all, but that's partly taste of course.

 

[Neb]

... no HDR, no impressive lighting...

Well IMO doesn't look bad at all regarding light. And no HDR doesn't mean it is bad, I mean KZ2 doesn't do HDR either but some people like the lighting.

 

[Aeoniss]

The texture detail is what renders me so impressed, and I can see the background environments also are aren't exactly oozing with geometry..

But the character models are what's leaving me so impressed.

 

[brain_stew]

The texture detail is what renders me so impressed, and I can see the background environments also are aren't exactly oozing with geometry..

But the character models are what's leaving me so impressed.

I think that's simply because these are PC screens tbh, the 1080p resolution nods to that as well.

 

[Arwin]

Well IMO doesn't look bad at all regarding light. And no HDR doesn't mean it is bad, I mean KZ2 doesn't do HDR either but some people like the lighting.

Yeah, but that's why I said both "no HDR" and "no impressive lighting". Killzone has no real HDR but some very cool and unique lighting effects. This game doesn't give evidence of either.

 

[L. Scofield]

no HDR

It's pretty clear that it does feature HDR.

 

[Aeoniss]

It's pretty clear that it does feature HDR.

? How can you tell?

 

[scently]

Eurogamer.net has an article on Crackdown. Very enlightening read on the technology behind it.Like how it managed to use deferred rendering or deferred lightening to have over 3000 light sources.It is also at Digital Foundry.It is intriguing because i thought the tech was very hard to accomplish on xbox360.

 

[AlNom]

Eurogamer.net has an article on Crackdown. Very enlightening read on the technology behind it.Like how it managed to use deferred rendering or deferred lightening to have over 3000 light sources.It is also at Digital Foundry.It is intriguing because i thought the tech was very hard to accomplish on xbox360.

It's not a traditional deferred lighting G-Buffer setup, but it gets the job done.