If that is the case than is the game coming out in fall 08? I thought Sony would not even consider p drops until at least 08.
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If that is the case than is the game coming out in fall 08? I thought Sony would not even consider p drops until at least 08.
inefficient
Veteran
From examining this video:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20070309/gdc_s02.zip
Things that are nailed down to something, do react on all 3 axises because of of the physics simulation.
Cloth simulations like the Lion head dress
The little pink flowers and leaves that react correctly when the characters brush against them.
The dangling jet packs on the tree.
Flag hanging in front of gate as it falls down.
But the stuff not nailed down does seem to be constrained somehow so that they do not move/fall off the screen and out of the play area.
But I swear, at the very end, it appears the skate board rotates on it's X-axis just after the characters jump off of it. So I'm not convinced that there isn't a full 3D simulation running on even the Z "fixed" objects.
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20070309/gdc_s02.zip
Things that are nailed down to something, do react on all 3 axises because of of the physics simulation.
Cloth simulations like the Lion head dress
The little pink flowers and leaves that react correctly when the characters brush against them.
The dangling jet packs on the tree.
Flag hanging in front of gate as it falls down.
But the stuff not nailed down does seem to be constrained somehow so that they do not move/fall off the screen and out of the play area.
But I swear, at the very end, it appears the skate board rotates on it's X-axis just after the characters jump off of it. So I'm not convinced that there isn't a full 3D simulation running on even the Z "fixed" objects.
"Evans said that another large part of the studio's success at getting from nothing to a major reveal was simply the decision to stay single platform. Starting with an early PS3 dev kit, the company decided not to work up a 3D PC prototype, instead focusing on the most difficult part of the PS3, the Cell processor, and embracing it.
"We went multiprocessor from the beginning, went multicore, and not having legacy code to hamper that code was such a blessing," said Evans."
I guess that throws out any hope for a PC port
. I wonder if they made it dual core only if it would port ok? Or even quad core? There should be a few around by the time this launches.Ah well, wishfull thinking, its never going to happen. I guess I'll just be banking on some serious price drops for the PS3. I ain't getting a £400 system for one game no matter how amazing it is though so they will have to be some major price cuts or some equally good exclusive games!
inefficient
Veteran
From the Phil Harrison interview it seems the tentative plan is to release a "Lite" version of the game first that will be download only this fall. Just the basic functionality and probably not many professionally created levels or assets. But it will let the community grow it.
Later next year, they will release a fuller version of the game on BR disc. And that version will include the highest ranking user community created levels as well. So the retail disc will be an even bigger game thanks to the hardcore early adopter community.
Look at the stars-on-springs stuck on the brown bean bag guy. How do you animate those with a 2D physics engine?
I think it's a full 3D physics with situational constraints to keep gameplay on a plane.
Phat
It's not a strict plane, thankfully. There's depth of field, but it's minimal and they've automated the handling of it, except when putting in content, seemingly.
Dunno about full 3D. That'd still be a waste. Perhaps they created a 2D engine (which are very efficient, and that's why you'd use one! 3D collision tests when you're constrained to a plane along 3D objects is a terrible waste) and added 3D physics in the animation and colliisions for scenery, as Inefficient points out?
Watching it some more, there's clearly 3D collision in places, and none in other places (flags clipping through flagpoles). I guess they're fight about a 2D engine in a 3D world was how much 3D to add.
From what I could gather is that the game will be released as a beta download later this year and then the full release on BR next year. The word on the street is that Sony will use the best of user created content during the beta period as content on the BR disc when the game is released.
I think scripting would be valuable for that and could have it's place, although it's out of sync with the design philosophy. However I don't agree that it'd be one obstacle course after another. This is 'play' in it's most primitive form : learning about the world by messing about in it; seeing what you can do; and doing new things when they find them. There'll be a load of just 'play' potential for a lot of people, especially those with kids where even if you don't get a buzz from messing about, you can share your kids' excitement and interest. Then you go on to just be creative.
One thing I really want to try is putting on plays. Deck out the Munchkins in Shakespearean costumes and produce a 5 minute Romeo and Juliet, say with iconic balcony scene. Or recreate the perennial favourite StarWars. Then upload the movies to share with people. I'm looking at these things as more like puppets than game characters.
And then there's basic puzzles to. Create a system where the characters have to do the things in the right order to get the prize. Rather than a run-and-jump fest, it becomes a cerebral challenge. Or a control-finesse challenge of the player's gymnastic skills.
A while back my mates and I got together round a friend's house who had just had wooden flooring put in to his large living room. We've had tiny (1") iRacer remote control cars for a while, and this was the first ideal place to really try them out. First we just raced them around the open floor, and control was very hard. Then we created a course with DVD cases making walls. Even just a figure-of-8 was a challenge, and very entertaining. As skills improved, we laid out the DVD cases flat to make a wiggly road with the cars on top, and with no room to steer, accelerator control had to be very fine. Fantastic fun! Definitely among the best multiplayer gaming I've ever had. And the experience grew by us learning the abilities of our toys, and grabbing what was available from our environment to add to the experience and challenge each other. There were no points, and no Fatalities. There was only 'can anyone beat this course' followed by 'everyone's managed it but you' encouragement and excitement as we hoped everyone could rise to the challenge. LBP offers exactly that kind of play experience.
Well they better let users freely trade the levels. If they try to exact some transaction fee for each user-level download, that will stall whatever momentum the game may generate.
Of course, with USB flash drives, you could just copy it from the PS3 HDD and upload it to another site like that PS3 downloads site and distribute it that way, bypass any attempts to collect a tax.
Oh and they do need more than just navigating obstacle courses. Maybe throw in some mini games which are full 3D. Going through levels you created isn't going to be as interesting as being surprised by novel ideas (they have to have a huge variety of objects) created by others. That is why the ability to freely exchange levels is key.
From the presentation, new items are collected by completing levels in game, a la LocoRoco. I expect a proper game in there too, though probably not the biggest game of all. It'd be very nice if they offered lots of different styles of props too for the different regions you get in games.
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