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Pixel Perfect

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Blog Comments posted by Pixel Perfect

    Josh

    Posted

    His STALKER inspired map/mod 'Lab X2' is actually using the crytek engine but I never really believed STALKER was really about the graphics but much more about the immersion and the game play ... it just happened to have some pretty nice graphics for its time too!

    Josh

    Posted

    Yeah, thanks for the advanced communication; it is nice to know what's in the pipeline. Good news on both items. Would be really nice to see some improvement on the texture layer limit in the next bout of development though if possible.

    diedir

    Posted

    I completely agree with you Rick. My intension is to get my engine to a point where I can demo an hours worth of game play using placeholder art in order to raise interest in the engine. If no interest follows then that's probably as far as I will ever take it as it would need either financial support to purchase the services of professional artists or direct collaboration from Artists/Modellers/Animators to complete it. It is beyond most individuals to complete a sizable modern day game title.

    diedir

    Posted

    I find myself in a similar position to you, full time job, family commitments and so on and the learning curve when trying to put a game together on your own is so great and time consuming. So any thing that helps speed this up, like this video, is always greatly appreciated by people. Well done, I'm sure many will thank you for this.

    Josh

    Posted

    I couldn't agree less. The first is one of my favourite games of all time despite its bugs and its failure to deliver on its original promise; as once you got beyond that it was one of the most immersive games I've ever played and also one of the best first person shooting experiences I'd ever had. I remember an intense battle in the Garbage area where I lost an entire hour and a half in continuous fire fights with bandits. I played the original release through completely un-modded and that was really challenging as they dumbed the combat down a bit with the first series of patches due to complaints that it was too hard and too realistic from the arm chair brigade of virtual combatants :D For about three weeks my life became the Zone and I considered it a landmark in fps evolution.

     

    The sequel Clear Sky was a poor and almost inexcusable release full of the same bugs that tainted the first and with almost no concern to maintaining the look and feel of the original level design. With most of the latter part of the game feeling like a typical closed corridor type game rather than an open exploration type. Despite that, it still had some magic moments.

     

    I've been playing Call Of Pripyat now for a week since its release over here and I have to say this is a much more polished offering with little to no bugs and much improved areas of the game bringing a more satisfying experience. It's definitely back to the feel of the original with much larger levels and that open play feel again. My only criticism so far is the poor terrain graphics and bad level design on the opening level where the hard coded vegetation layer draw distance is set so short and the contrast of the vegetation so high with the bland terrain texture that the 'popping' effect of vegetation constantly coming into view in front of you detracts from the illusion of the virtual world. But despite that and the now aging looking graphics (oh how much nicer this would look in Leadwerks) it's still capable of delivering some stunning landscape scenes that take your breath away in that typical bleak STALKER style; and the God Rays are the best I have ever seen in a game.

     

    On top of this, it's one of the cheapest 'new release' games I've seen so thanks GSC and the publishers for that!

     

    So it's a big 'thumbs up' from me. Sorry no more time for idle chit chat, the Zone is calling and I heed its cry ;)

    Rekindled Phoenix

    Posted

    Anything is acceptable if it works for your game but the reasons for using navmesh over anything else seem quite compelling. If I were starting out at the beginning with the hindsight I now have I'd be using a navmesh system from the word go. However, I have implemented an abstraction layer in my AI allowing me to swap fairly painlessly in the future should I need to.

    AggrorJorn

    Posted

    Having a grounding in both is really useful as it aids communication when working in teams however, in the end, you will normally have a leaning towards one or the other and concentrating on that will probably benefit you more. Both Rick and Niosop offered good advice but I think Niosop touched on the two key things ... you need to have a fairly analytical mind to make a good programmer with good problem solving skills and it's almost certain that you need to find it enjoyable as if you don't you will never put the work in that's required. Good luck with whatever direction you chose to go. I fully understand as I'm a programmer but feel drawn towards the level design/modelling side too as it appeals to my creative side :D

    Marcus

    Posted

    I am quite happy to pay for significant upgrades from time to time but do not in anyway agree with the inference that chargeable upgrades will necessarily bring about better upgrades. I personally have little need for LUA but have had to upgrade in order to not be left stuck with a static unsupported version.

     

    I agree with Michael that a plug-in type system for anything other than core API upgrades would be a fairer system with people purchasing on a 'as needs' basis. A 'bolt on' LE augmentation system would be a great way to go!

    Marleys Ghost

    Posted

    Grant me patience lord .... but hurry up!!

    Haha... thats the funniest expression I've heard in a while.

     

    With regard to your game language decision, its possibly too late to offer my advise as you seem to have already decided but, I'd advocate sticking with C++ as although it may be harder to learn initially in the end I believe it pays dividends as it's game industry standard (which if your going to put the time in to learn something you might as well get some recognition for it). It also has better support for OOP than BlitzMax. In addition to this, some of the best game oriented code libraries in the world are coded in C/C++. From my current understanding you will have slightly less linkage with LUA at the moment by going down the C++ route but despite the undoubted advantages of using LUA for some things writing an entire game engine in LUA seems pointless and really isn't playing to its strengths. No one does this in the commercial games industry and it's worth spending a little time to ask yourself why!

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