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JWestfall

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Posts posted by JWestfall

  1. I dunno. :sweat: :sweat: I don't remember this feeling in the IE games, but it's been a while since I've replayed them (soon!).

     

    My guess is that your eyes are subconsciously trying to force objects into a perspective view (where parallel lines converge in the distance), but the image has been rendered in orthographic view. That's why at first glance it may look like the lake is higher up in the back, even though it is supposed to be level. The lower angle may exacerbate this disconnect.

     

    I'm sure the devs will find the sweet spot on the camera angle, but in the end it will probably take a bit of getting used to from us players who have been trained to see video games & realistic style scenery in perspective view over the years. Also, it will likely help when there are moving character models, shadows, and other visual cues.

    • Like 2
  2. Comparing completely different types of games. Might as well ask if Project Eternity will have high quality racing vehicle simulation or realistic voxel fluid mechanics.

     

    The models will likely be low poly - this doesn't mean they will necessarily be "ugly", just that there is no reason to push a 500,000 triangle mesh to the video card for a character object that is relatively small on the screen.

    • Like 1
  3. Looks great, my only concern is for animation. Often with they type of system you're proposing to use animations such as water and wind are left out, or at best are scripted without any enviromental interaction (Such as tossing a baddy into the water doesn't create ripple effects...)

     

    Any insight into whether the environment will be more interactive?

     

    FWIW, a couple quotes:

     

    From the Kickstarter comments (through the wonderful summary post by Ink Blot):

    Question: I know you're using effects for things like water splashing on rocks, but can I assume the waterfall itself, and the river below will also have animated flowing water? How far will you take it? Animated grass from the wind? Swaying trees? Too early to say?

    Feargus: We are going to try to get as much as we can animating - at some point it will start causing memory and performance issues, so we will work to have the stuff that should really, really animate moving first and then work our way down from there.

     

    From a post by Sawyer earlier today in the Update #20 Announcement thread:

    We're trying out various animation solutions for the waterfall, spray, and the pool/river. They will definitely be animated, but we want to leave our options open to support a wide range of hardware without making the area art files even larger.

  4. Don't think so, all characters do it weather they have swords, spears, staves, or whatever. They probably did it because it was cheaper and they didn't have to make animations for each side.

     

    Yep, (I think that was about the time video cards started supporting flipping & rotation of 2D sprites on the card, too, so may have saved on actual art assets as well).

     

    This definitely will not be the case in PE, though, since the characters are all going to be true 3D textured models. Animation of these models will happen in real time, as opposed to pre-rendered, and the models themselves can be rotated, sized, re-textured, deformed, etc. as needed during gameplay.

  5. stuff

    Aw, bite me. I think it would be a great slap in the face to the folks who didn't LIKE Obsidian on facebook. lol Ooon the other hand, Tale probably has it right with the whole idea that it would require people to go through an optional area to get to a place that's going to take up a *lot* of resources.

     

    I vaguely recall a supplement or module for AD&D (1st ed I think) where you explore a vast underground cavern system, and one of the areas was an entire town that had long ago fallen into a giant sinkhole, and generations of people living in the dark had made them blind. Or something like that - it is from a loooong time ago.

     

    The point to my rambling is that in all seriousness a city/ruins/village/something would definitely be cool (just no same-old-underdark-Drow-city please).

     

    Back to the Big City: It would sure be a shame if we hit just shy (3.4) of the mark. Which is why we can't let that happen!

    • Like 1
  6. Meh, it looks too cartoony, I knew they should have went with Cryengine :devil:

     

    Serious Time: Holy ****, that looks fantastic! I'd download that for my art collection even if it was just non-game render - I can't wait to see these in game together with all of the animation and character models. A lot of animation and trickery can be done with just a little clever use of shaders and particle systems (which Unity3D provides a wonderful interface for).

     

    That entrance, with the statues, exudes a feeling of ancient menace. I can't wait to see what lies inside...

  7. Here's a novel idea for everybody who doesn't trust Obsidian to deliver the game in a manner which they find acceptable, don't pledge. I don't even mean that in some snarky, butthurt way -- This whole Kickstarter thing is entirely voluntary, and you should only back a company/idea you really believe in.

     

    I agree with the logic here, but I have a feeling that at least some who post these types of things are looking for genuine reassurance from the community, or as personal justification for donating.

     

    For the OP, as has been said many times, Obsidian has a proven track record, and they are especially experienced in this particular genre. This would be one of the least of my worries in backing this project.

  8. Great stuff in this update, excited to see what GZ can bring to the table. Chanters sound kewl - I foresee a true dilemma in choosing a starting class, which is a good thing methinks.

     

    But most importantly - New Mouse Pad! Finally, I can retire my Max Payne pad I got with the original game back in circa 2001 (yes, I'm serious) - 'member those good ol' days, when games came in a box that was actually substantial enough to contain an entire mouse pad?

     

    Also, I almost feel for you Obsidian guys - all the pressure from the great expectations of us frothing fans must be... intense :grin:

  9. I am still unsure of how I would vote between the two options, however. I suppose it depends on how much resources would need to be diverted into opening up the scripting side (as opposed to just data side). While I loved mucking around with NWN, and I'm a hobbyist programmer, I'm leaning towards wanting a fully fleshed out game with lots of content this time around, as opposed to what NWN had on release.

  10. Flexible engine option

     

    Requirements:

    • more algorithms
    • more data structures
    • more, better and cleaner coding
    • at least an API or even open sourced portions of the engine
    • no limitations on content creation whatsoever (maps, NPCs, bitmaps, sounds, items even some event providers that can be plugged-in)
    • dedicated website where content is uploaded and retrieved from, with voting system much like Steam's Workshop

     

    While the poll may be useful as a theoretical discussion, it has already been said that they are using Unity3D as their engine, which likely rules out some or most of these bullet points.

     

    Unity3D is a toolset + engine combo, and it uses C# (or a form of Javascript) as its API, which would not be exposed in a built and packaged game. Also, Unity3D is closed source (unless you pay $$$ and can convince them to give you the source code).

     

    I'm not positive, but I imagine that certain assets could be exposed externally, however, which may make modding easier - but I wouldn't count on there be any toolset or scripting.

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