Write it down!

[wco81]

The first hype of the next generation?

Robbie Edwards (Ubisoft): With the Xbox 360, developers will be given power that they have never considered before. All the ideas we've dismissed in the past as being too resource-intensive or too limited now become possible. Greatly improved graphics and better physics will be some of the first improvements to be seen. However, once developers start becoming more comfortable with the technology we'll start seeing new AI routines and other complex graphics features that have been only dreams thus far. A good analogy is to think about the CG-generated movies from about 3 years ago and realize that with the Xbox 360, the quality of those movies can now be done in real time.

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3140492

Not quite on par with Lucas saying Episode 1 could have been done in real time with the PS2 but only because Robbie Edwards isn't as well known as George Lucas?

But Edwards should have a better idea of what's technically possible than Lucas, no? He's described as a producer, which may mean he's not necessarily a tech guy. But he at least work with game developers daily so he should have a better idea of what's possible than a starstruck Lucas.

 

[pegisys]

maybe he's talking about cgi from games cutscenes witch is believable

 

[Pozer]

As long as it's able to synthesize real human emotions and guide an ICBM I want one.

Just kidding. It really depends the quality of CG. I don't forsee any console rendering full detail, full scene, final fantasy movie at 30 fps. I think ps1 era CG maybe possible. I think we may see games that look like CG but there are so many factors like the size of the enviroments, and whether the game comes out in 2005 or 2009.

 

[Xeno]

As long as it's able to synthesize real human emotions and guide an ICBM I want one.

Just kidding. It really depends the quality of CG. I don't forsee any console rendering full detail, full scene, final fantasy movie at 30 fps. I think ps1 era CG maybe possible. I think we may see games that look like CG but there are so many factors like the size of the enviroments, and whether the game comes out in 2005 or 2009.

*Reported to homeland security*

If games look CG or close to it won't this be a problem for gameplay mechanics like destructible objects? Say if you destroy a wooden crate to pieces will every splint of wood look CG when they scatter around? I can't imagine how long games will take to develop if you factor in all these minute details.. If you bash in someones head in a game will CG looking brains poor out of the skull along with CG looking blood etc. See what I'm getting at :?

 

[Acert93]

Robbie Edwards (Ubisoft):

1. He works for a game company 2. he is being interviews. That means he is either a big wig (and knows nothing) or a project leader and should know better.

With the Xbox 360, developers will be given power that they have never considered before. All the ideas we've dismissed in the past as being too resource-intensive or too limited now become possible. Greatly improved graphics and better physics will be some of the first improvements to be seen.

True so far. 3 cores, 6 threads, 115GFLOPs, top of the line GPU, 512MB of fast memory, 10MB frame buffer, HDD, DVD--all standard in a closed box. Current top end PC does not even compare all around (and PC developers do not create games for the high end systems to begin with). So all very true so far.

However, once developers start becoming more comfortable with the technology we'll start seeing new AI routines and other complex graphics features that have been only dreams thus far.

Hmmm this is where he gets bubbly.

A good analogy is to think about the CG-generated movies from about 3 years ago and realize that with the Xbox 360, the quality of those movies can now be done in real time.

:? What does he mean by ANALOGY. Usually that is a comparison, like "X is to Y as A is to B".

So is he saying the jump from 1st gen games (mentioned first) will be so significant by the time they get comfortable with the tools that it will be like... like what? 3yo CGI (game CGI? Movie CGI?) to having that quality in real time? And what does he mean by quality?

I mean, Gears is CGI quality in my opinion. Sure, it uses a billion tricks like Normal Maps to fake CGI, but it is CGI quality (give or take). In that respect, if he is talking about Game CGI, I think we WILL see that similar quality (not the same).

Before I crucify him I would want to know more about what he means... what CGI... obviously he is smart enough to know that the Xbox 360 is not doing it the same way an offline renderer is, but I would want to know what analogy he was trying to draw. I do not see an analogy really...

Sounds more like hype... but maybe good hype. He is a game maker and wants his games to sell, and if they do not look CGI quality people will remember that. Lucas is, well, Lucas and has nothing directly to do with games and was overstating by massive degrees of magnitude things that the PS3 wont even be able to do. We will never know what Edwards meant (analogy?), but there is some truth to what he is saying if the CGI he had in mind is the low quality stuff in some games. PGR3, GR3, and GOW, especially with the AA and high rez, already look good enough to be a current gen low-end CGI cut scene.

Oh well, everyone crucify MS for something some guy at Ubisoft said! 8)

 

[Ruined]

My question is, at what point will the hardware capabilities become so great that it becomes unprofitable to take full graphical advantage of the hardware for all but the biggest studios? I think we are getting close to this point.

 

[jvd]

My question is, at what point will the hardware capabilities become so great that it becomes unprofitable to take full graphical advantage of the hardware for all but the biggest studios? I think we are getting close to this point.

whats going to happen is instead of every company making thier own engines for every game you will see a few companys make engines and continue to upgrade those engines for other companys to use .


You can see this with the unreal engine 3

 

[Acert93]

You can see this with the unreal engine 3

Yep aAnd Source and Doom 3 and the Reality Engine (now sold) and CryTek and the other guys. And it is not all bad, let the good engine makers make good engines and make it competitive market so they are more feature rich. Some games, like BF2, will always need a special engine because they try to do different things (e.g. lots of players, big seemless world), but I see that even becoming less of an issue over time.

Middleware solutions, including game engines, are going to be part of that solution. Epic seems to have really won in this regards seeing as how many people are signing on (even MGS did!). After seeing Gears who can argue? The fact Epic is focusing on letting artists have more control on shaders and mappers have more control on scripting should really help increase the quality and productivity in these areas.

 

[jvd]

Right if the engines are taken out of the price then there is more in the current bugets for art work which will make a really big diffrence and level designs

 

[Fox5]

Well, if he's making an analogy, I'd say it's this:
He feels that the Xbox 360's graphics are already CGI quality. He says look at the jump in graphics, and that's the jump in AI and other features we'll see as well(physics?).

 

[Acert93]

Well, if he's making an analogy, I'd say it's this:
He feels that the Xbox 360's graphics are already CGI quality. He says look at the jump in graphics, and that's the jump in AI and other features we'll see as well(physics?).

Maybe. Your guess is as good as any.

BUT, he should be given credit: He does note that developers will need to get a good foothold on the system. He is not promising pie in the sky (just some form of CGI quality, which is attainable to a level) and is up front about expectations: Time is needed to really get a handle on these beasts.