Rate the KotOR game engine

[dufflover]

Efficiency = amount of graphics power required for a particular quality

A lot of people seem to want to make sure that KotOR 3 has a new engine - something I'm sure will happen regardless simply cos it needs to keep up with the times. I did find it strange that some people said the graphics look poor and stuff like that. Now I know it's a not a Half-Life 2 (which wasn't out), but I found the whole effects with hair, non-wooden lip-syncing, and fast open areas great. When I played KotOR 1, I was suprised it ran as well as it did on my old GeForce4 440.

 

Personally, I voted G/G. The graphics looked good, as good as No One Lives Forever 2, which was made I think a year before, which is why I didn't give it the revolutionary vote. Back then decent lip-sync games where much less common (heh, Jedi Academy puppet mouths).

[Meresin]

I've always liked the graphics.

[DSLuke]

Graphics were normal, but I've seen better game engines that use less PC power.

[Petay]

Graphics were normal, but I've seen better game engines that use less PC power.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree.

both kotor1 and 2 were a bit choppy on my machine, but it was acceptable because 0f gameplay

[Guest Fishboot]

I think the engine makes for good, stylized realism and good talking heads for conversations, and the combat graphics pretty attractive for a crypto- turn based game.

 

I think they could easily use a better engine yet come out looking worse since a large part of the game is just a frame around a talking head - and most head and face art only gets worse the more photo-realistic the graphics get.

 

The game could certainly use a lot of sprucing up - more dynamic camera movements, more dynamic animations (Anyone annoyed that there's no way to transition a character from sitting to standing or vice-versa? That first and only conversation with Visas in K2 is so long that I could actually feel the Exile's calves getting tired from standing for the face-to-face five feet away ritual of KoTOR conversation), some light ragdoll, some limited physics (which could be used creatively with force powers). Conjoined animations would also be a big plus, and wouldn't be wasted like they would be in a pure fantasy game since the vast majority of your opponents are humanoid and can use the same animation skeleton.

[11XHooah]

I think the graphics were pretty good. I hope that they don't use a really advanced game engine for the third one. My video card sucks ass. But everything else is top of the line.

[GhostofAnakin]

Good & Good for me.

[metadigital]

The engine was actually quite a blast when it first appeared: the turn based with pause in third person "almost first-person follow cam".

 

I have no real problem with the engine, per se, except that all the buggy implementation is corrected (can you say "PC combat action queues" with me, boys and girls?).

 

I miss the overhead shot; in my ideal engine I would like to see an "infinite" zoom, so I can take an overhead shot and zoom into the serrated edge of a flesh wound or the purple of a contusion ...

[Gabrielle]

I like it, it's pretty good. If they made a 3rd Kotor they should go for a new one though with something like the Source engine..

[Stargate: 2000]

I am really surprised to find this many people who like KOTOR's engine/graphics, I would have figured more than is shown in the poll would have wanted a new engine for the thrid installment of the franchise. But sadly it seems that the vast majority like it the way it is, I just it hope its not "fanboy-ism" thats voting (by that I mean "well the last two games used the same engine so, so should the thrid one new technology be dambed!") because if that was the case they/you should maybe take a step back and ask yourself how long do you think the franchise/series is going to last if every game uses this tired old engine? and before you say "well they should use it for this next game, AND then move on to bigger and better things", well think about it if your wanting it to stay the same this time around its likely that someone else will not want it to change the next time either and then as the sales go down (because of lack of eye candy, which does tend to sell games to the general gammer) we will be left with no more "good" star wars games to play.

 

So I say scrap the old engine its served its time and now it's time to move onto bigger and better things, and with the first of the new consoles hitting the market in a few months or so it would only seem reasonable to do so since this current engine would only serve to hinder the chances of a KOTOR 4 - 9,000,000 being made.

[11XHooah]

Do you think there will be a KOTOR 4 though? I think that "The KOTOR Trilogy" has a better ring to it IMO. And I don't see how they could keep the story going. It seems that KOTOR 3 will be the one that will answer all our questions and end the series.

[Stargate: 2000]

If they would just abandon the whole "Story of Revan" plot line and start original, then yes there could very well be KOTOR 4, 5, 6... 100. The main thing is (as almost everyone here will attest) having a story that will draw in the player, mind you the second most important thing is for the game to work properly and too be finished even if we have to wait three years between games I am sure it would be worth it in the end.

 

Anyway back to my first point here they should really give up on telling revans story atleast for a while since its going no where, if K3 follows either Revan or the Exile to the unknown regions then its more than likely that they will die at some point in the game and that will piss off more people than just leaving their story on the back burnner for a couple games and maybe bringing them back in future titles to maybe gather a force to hold off the "true sith". The only other possible solution to following revan and the exile to the unknown regions is that it would end in a draw, and since the "true sith" have a much stronger connection to the force and force powers that neither revan nore the exile have ever seen it would seem unlikely that two "children" would even hold a candle to the power that a single "true sith" would weild.

 

I think the main misstake that was made in K2 was allowing it too interfeer with the set story of K1 (by making revan take off to the unknown regions [not sure who it was who thought it was a good idea at the time, but they were wrong]). They should have left well enough alone, because come on the galaxy is a very big place and while they could have mentioned Revan in convos and still had the metting of past characters in the game it would have been possible to do all that without taking revan

and now the exile

out of known space.

 

But honestly I think that there will be atleast 6 KOTOR series games simply to copy the movies then its likely that LA will move on to another time period and repeat the process until either they (developers and LA) run out of ideas or the games stop selling.

[jodo kast 5]

If they would just abandon the whole "Story of Revan" plot line and start original, then yes there could very well be KOTOR 4, 5, 6... 100. The main thing is (as almost everyone here will attest) having a story that will draw in the player, mind you the second most important thing is for the game to work properly and too be finished even if we have to wait three years between games I am sure it would be worth it in the end.

 

Anyway back to my first point here they should really give up on telling revans story atleast for a while since its going no where, if K3 follows either Revan or the Exile to the unknown regions then its more than likely that they will die at some point in the game and that will piss off more people than just leaving their story on the back burnner for a couple games and maybe bringing them back in future titles to maybe gather a force to hold off the "true sith". The only other possible solution to following revan and the exile to the unknown regions is that it would end in a draw, and since the "true sith" have a much stronger connection to the force and force powers that neither revan nore the exile have ever seen it would seem unlikely that two "children" would even hold a candle to the power that a single "true sith" would weild.

 

I think the main misstake that was made in K2 was allowing it too interfeer with the set story of K1 (by making revan take off to the unknown regions [not sure who it was who thought it was a good idea at the time, but they were wrong]). They should have left well enough alone, because come on the galaxy is a very big place and while they could have mentioned Revan in convos and still had the metting of past characters in the game it would have been possible to do all that without taking revan

and now the exile

out of known space.

 

But honestly I think that there will be atleast 6 KOTOR series games simply to copy the movies then its likely that LA will move on to another time period and repeat the process until either they (developers and LA)  run out of ideas or the games stop selling.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i really hope they do that but dont rush on them like kotor2.

[Haitoku]

I voted for "Good Graphics, s#%& Efficiency."

 

Reason :

 

I thought the graphics were perfect for this kind of the game. They were not over the top, but that hardly ever matters in an RPG. Also, I thought the way it worked was great too (dialogue, battle wise).

 

However, I hated the fact the performance was not stable. Kotor1/2 ran like crap on anything but a high end system... and even on a high end system, FPS could drop like crazy at some moments for no real reason. What I saw on screen didn't justify that kind of drop.

 

If it was tuned up a bit more, I really wouldn't mind seeing it again.

[dufflover]

I am really surprised to find this many people who like KOTOR's engine/graphics, I would have figured more than is shown in the poll would have wanted a new engine for the thrid installment of the franchise. But sadly it seems that the vast majority like it the way it is, I just it hope its not "fanboy-ism" thats voting (by that I mean "well the last two games used the same engine so, so should the thrid one new technology be dambed!")

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just because people tihnk the engine is good doesn't mean they want it used again. You're drawing too many conlcusions. It's not implied that Good is the same as Good enough.

[Stargate: 2000]

I am really surprised to find this many people who like KOTOR's engine/graphics, I would have figured more than is shown in the poll would have wanted a new engine for the thrid installment of the franchise. But sadly it seems that the vast majority like it the way it is, I just it hope its not "fanboy-ism" thats voting (by that I mean "well the last two games used the same engine so, so should the thrid one new technology be dambed!")

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just because people tihnk the engine is good doesn't mean they want it used again. You're drawing too many conlcusions. It's not implied that Good is the same as Good enough.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your right I was making a general assumution there! and for that I do appologise. But to be fair in past topics of this sort the vast majority used that very reason as to why the liked and wanted to keep the original engine.

 

Though I personally think they should get rid of this current engine and start from scratch on a new one I find it doubtful that they will invest the time and money needed to do so. Its seems more likely that K3 and K4 (since it seems likely we will only get two per console life span) will arrive using a modified version of someone elses engine just like K1 and K2 did. Now this in it;s self isn't a bad thing in fact it can be a very good thing but only if it is handled correctly (or in other words LA backing off and letting the developer take the time needed to finish the game or conversely giving them the time needed to finish the game properly rather than a rather impossible 18 months).

[GhostofAnakin]

I am really surprised to find this many people who like KOTOR's engine/graphics, I would have figured more than is shown in the poll would have wanted a new engine for the thrid installment of the franchise. But sadly it seems that the vast majority like it the way it is, I just it hope its not "fanboy-ism" thats voting (by that I mean "well the last two games used the same engine so, so should the thrid one new technology be dambed!")

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just because people tihnk the engine is good doesn't mean they want it used again. You're drawing too many conlcusions. It's not implied that Good is the same as Good enough.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What he said.

 

I was satisfied with the graphics, and I personally didn't have any slowdowns or performance issues thus I gave it a "good & good" vote. Sure the graphics could be better, but if that were the case I would have given it an awesome vote.