MMOFPS Graphics, and the future...

[MindTrigger]

Considering the size and scale of the game, the graphics in Planetside are just about as good as they can be and support a wide range of hardware. The gameplay will be mind blowing even if the graphics aren't the best in the world.

I am hopefull that the next generation of MMOFPS games like this will have graphics meeting the standard that STALKER is setting. STALKER will be throwing out 2 million polys per frame (last I read DOOM 3 was doing around 1 million per frame), and is able to do so with HUGE outdoor maps. In fact, STALKER will actually be one large map. 16km X 16km I think, and I have yet to see a game that looks more real.

Sample Screens:

http://www.stalker-game.com/download/gallery/screenshots/big/sb_xray_35.jpg

http://www.stalker-game.com/download/gallery/screenshots/big/sb_xray_34.jpg

http://www.stalker-game.com/download/gallery/screenshots/big/sb_xray_27.jpg

http://www.stalker-game.com/download/gallery/screenshots/big/sb_xray_15.jpg

http://www.stalker-game.com/download/gallery/screenshots/big/sb_xray_08.jpg

Those are some of my favorite STALKER screens, and my brain rattles just looking at them. The game will revolutionize the single player fps genre, and should have some damn cool multiplayer too.

I think we will be able to see graphics like this in the next generation of MMOFPS games, but I don't believe the lack of such graphics will hurt PlanetSide at all. Both Tribes games had to sacrifice extreme detail for larger scale as well. PlanetSide has taken the graphics up a few notches while making the largest game map (world) I have ever heard of. Congrats to SOE and their dev team for this accomplishment.

There are only 3 games I am looking forward to this year:

PlanetSide
STALKER
Deus Ex 2

Yeah, DOOM3 will be neat for about an hour, then it will be like every other FPS I have played. The 3 I have listed here kick the arse.

Comments?

[Pilgrim]

Stalker stuff looks pretty Kewl

Planetside will live or die on the gameplay and world, and less on the graphics IMO

Looking forward to all of the above!

:)

[quiet]

Those are some gorgeous STALKER screenies.

I think PS has more than adequate grahix since supporting battles with a 100+ players with good framerate is a lot to ask.

I don't really like the general look of PS though. The bright empire colors and some of the designs make me it feel like a 80's cartoon (transformers, gi joe).

[MindTrigger]

Yeah, I was talking about that a couple days ago. I dont understand some of the elements of the game. They could have done something more camo looking, and had colorfull logos at least. Not make everything purple or blue and gold...or whatever.

I'm also pissed off there is no prone in the game. Who the hell made that decision and why???

[Moloch]

What is stalker about? and why does the AK have a grenade launcher? Damn nice graphix though, but I betcha need a 4 ghz or sumthing to run it. I've never heard of that game, though.

[Nightmare]

:jawdrop: Holy shmokes, that's the best looking sky and hand I've ever seen in a game. I've never heard of the game though, what's it about? Looks kinda WW2ish, but I have no clue.

[Hamma]

:eek:

[Moloch]

I thought ww2 from the background, but then I noticed the m16 and AK, and I thought no, and then I saw the guy wearing the suit with the air tanks, and thought maybe a post-apocalyptic thing, but the guys in the fp pics wern't wearing hazard suits, so I'm confuzzled.

[MindTrigger]

STALKER is a first person shooter / RPG. Read the story below. The game has many revolutionary aspects to it, I encourage you to check out the website. Also, they have a couple videos of in game footage that verify the detail from the shots above. Also keep in mind that the game isn't due out until Xmas, and they have a lot more fine tuning to do, which is hard to believe looking at those shots.

----------------------------------------


April 12, 2006, 02:33 p.m.
Chernobyl zone was lit by an intolerably bright light. The clouds were evaporating in the silver bright sky with a thunder and earthquake to follow. People fell on the ground facedown closing their bleeding eyes and ears. The glow spread over an immense territory which was subsequently called the Zone. People ran away saving their lives. It looked like a radioactive explosion at the nuclear plant occurred. The army sealed off the Zone...

The explosion epicenter was a kilometre away from the nuclear plant. Obviously, some tests had been held there and they caused the disaster. Presumably, the entire personnel died within seconds, but still there was a probability of survivals among the staff. It appeared impossible to arrange a rescue operation, as the Zone was characterized by strange energy disturbances posing mortal danger to the explorers. Attempts to use robots were unavailing. Several months after the accident the crisis situation peaked when the Zone abruptly grew five kilometres bigger. People from nearby towns and villages were urgently evacuated, and the peril of a difficult-to-imagine scope loomed over the world.

Year 2008
The Zone exploded, radioactive clouds covered vast territories. A dreadful amount of people, animals and forests perished. Thirty kilometres of the area got cordoned off by the army, scientists failed to explain what had happened. The Zone grew, various death-bearing anomalies were spotted inside. Some invisible force tore living beings apart, inflicted awful blood-sputtering wounds. Expeditions faced mutant animals, unlikely to have appeared in the Zone through natural course of evolution. The catastrophe, mutants, anomalies, contamination� Everything appeared to be a consequence of some eerie phenomenon�

Year 2010
First expeditions can enter the Zone several kilometers deep without mortal danger . Amateur researchers, marauders and poachers, called stalkers, show up. They move around the Zone searching for various anomalous formations, i.e. artifacts, they would sell to various organizations.

[MindTrigger]

The reason you might not have heard about it is because they have not picked up a publisher yet, and they are a foreign game developer.

[Zatrais]

Heres the thing tho, PS is a MASSIVE multiplayer online first person shooter. You can't use the best models, most details etc simply because battles will be on a massive scale and you have to keep the game playable whit manny people for the average computer to get the most players and most monthly income.

[MindTrigger]

Zatrais

Judging by your post, I'm gonna guess you didn't read the entirety of my original post, cause I covered those reasons. This thread was designed more to talk about the future of MMORPG graphics. Thanks for the reply though :)

[Zatrais]

I read the entire post, guess i just formulated the reply in a bad manner, shouldn't have used tho heh... basically i agree that MMOFPS's can't use the newest stuff due to hardware and engine limitations.

English isn't my native language, so sometimes i mess up hehe.

[Arshune]

Why do all FPS games have a gun perspective as if you were perched on the character's left shoulder? If you've ever held a gun, or even if you hold something like a meter stick against your shoulder, it does not look like it's going inward towards the center of your view, it's straight ahead and on the right by a very little bit (assuming you're right handed and have it up in an aiming position). I think more games should try to model that accurately if they're going for that true to life feel, as this game seems to be with it's obscene amount of detail.

I think that'd be cool, but it'd probably take up a huge chunk of screen real-estate.

[Echo419]

accuatly my friend, i beliave the Cry Engine blows that out of the water. It is being made for the game FarCry and the graphics are just fucking mine blowing. check it out here: http://crytek.com/screenshots/index.php?sx=xisle

Almost all shots taken are from ingame, not rendered, just amazing...

[NARF]

ARE THEY SHITTING ME?

: What requirements S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will have?
A: The minimal specifications for the game are:
P3-600 MHz/Athlon, 128 Mb RAM, GeForce 2 64 Mb (or analog).

Recommended specifications:
P3-1 GHz/Athlon, 256 Mb RAM, GeForce 3 64 Mb (or analog).


AH!

Also, Crytek is good, but not QUITE as good as this, in my opinion. They each have advantages over one another, but in the end, I think I may end up liking far cry better, because of the editor, its got THE SUPREME terrain editor...

[Moloch]

I think they are, 1 gz for that great graphics! NO FrIGGIN WAY! Also, Far Cry's gfx have a more "perfect" look to them than stalker, so stalker's look more realistic. farcry's look like DOAEBV.

[Hecubus]

These specs are probably 1-2 years old.

"The more powerful computer and video board the player has, the greater detailing and more eye candy he can get. But in both of the options, no gameplay differences are imposed."

"The minimum guaranteed is 200.000 polygons. The maximum is 3.000.000"(probably on a p3-600 w/Geforce2 and a p4-3ghz w/GeforceFX)

But sure if you want the best performance you must have a good Directx9 card like a Radeon9700 or GeforceFX.

You can get the latest trailer(Nov 2002) at:
http://www.3dgamers.com/dl/games/oblivionlost/stalker_engine_large.avi.html

[MindTrigger]

FarCry's engine looks very nice, but I think it looks cartoony compared to stalker. From a few paces back from your screen you can easily mistake Stalkers shots as photos, expecially if the gun and GUI elements aren't there. Thanks for pointing out FarCray though, I have never seen it.

[Echo419]

i must than thank you for pointing out stalker, i had not seen that before and here i thought the only competitors where farcry and doom iii... im going to have to look out for stalker...

[Bluegold]

I'm also pissed off there is no prone in the game. Who the hell made that decision and why???


We've been around and around on this issue. It's simply because snipers would become way too powerful with it - and beta now is full of snipers anyway so we don't want the game to be absolutely saturated with them. You can still kneel and be decently camouflaged behind obstacles/plants, etc. And one-shot kills have been outlawed as well.

[Hamma]

It would become a game of MMO hide and seek.


Not my idea of fun.

[Marlboro Man!!]

hey man hide n seek was fun!!:D


















when i was 5!!;)

[MindTrigger]

I don't think prone would make it a "hide and seek" game. People love sniper weapons, this is true, but after many of them screw around with it, they get bored and move on to other things. Real life (tm) snipers are supposed to be hard to see, I don't understand why the game should be different in that way. Besides, snipers will likely utilize the stealth armor anyway.

I guess after all these years I am tired of having to dodge back and forth to avoid fire, rather than being able to dive to the ground and have a fighting chance. I don't think PlanetSide (from what I have seen) has enough ground cover (shrubs, ditches, medium/small sized trees) where simply kneeling is going to be very useful. I wouldn't even complain much about the lack of prone if there were more camoflage.

On the otherhand, I hated the "beam" sniper weapon in Tribes because they basicaly draw a trail to you, leading the enemy right to your position. If I have to work with kneeling instead of prone, but get to have a projectile sniper weapon, I will be happy enough.

[Hellsfire123]

Yeah, DOOM3 will be neat for about an hour, then it will be like every other FPS I have played. The 3 I have listed here kick the arse.

You didnt play the leak did you? You guys think AvP and Resident Evil can scare you? You have no idea how terriffing it is to watch the shadow of an imp slowly get closer to the corner you are watching. We played this on a top end system(im talking duel 2.6 with hyperthreading, 1.5 gig or DDR ram, and the highest geforce4 out there) and we where still only getting between 20 and 40 fps(depending on movement and action on screen). I dont want to even think about doubling the poly count.

Am i the only one that likes the PS graphics? Look at the art they have with so little polygons per model. Its amazingly detailed. And if graphics were all that mattered why do i still have TFC, CS classic, and starcraft installed on my computer?

[Moloch]

first if all, the bolt driver is a projectile weapon. second, crouching will be fine because snipers will be far away if they want to be effective with the one shot reload bolt-driver, so density of cover doesn't matter. 3 trees will do. 3rd, stealth armor can only use pistols.

[MindTrigger]

Moloch,

Not much of a reader, are you? I know the Bolt Driver is a projectile weapon, and I said so in my post. The Beam sniper weapon I was referring to was in Tribes games.

As far as "trees will do", that is your opinion and I am in total disagreement with it. Trees will have to do beause that's basically all there is.

What do you have to say about the bright colors being used instead of a little camo?

[simba]

Originally posted by Echo419
accuatly my friend, i beliave the Cry Engine blows that out of the water. It is being made for the game FarCry and the graphics are just fucking mine blowing. check it out here: http://crytek.com/screenshots/index.php?sx=xisle

Almost all shots taken are from ingame, not rendered, just amazing...


:lol: :lol: best one ive heard today! haha, thanks for the good laugh but stalker and doomIII will blow that shit pretty far.
AND WTF is wrong with my comptuer!? IT TAKES LIKE 2 hours to load all smileys!!!!!!!!! (well 20 seconds) Wot tha heck is wrong? I couldent even see the stalker image, only 1/5th of it which looked pretty good,
ive heard about it once but didnt checked the link out coz I didnt knew it was going to be that great.
When I remember doomIII pictures and see stalker I have no idea how peps can prefer PS2 (playstation2) over computer with that graphics!

[simba]

now ive checked the pictures at 3dgamers, I must say, im dissapointed :( . DoomIII looks so much cooler.... tho the sunset were one of the best, and yes very detailed.

[Moloch]

I am a reader but your poor sentence structure doesn't make it easy.If I have to work with kneeling instead of prone, but get to have a projectile sniper weapon, I will be happy enough. you didn't really say you were aware of it, just that you should have one. "but since we get to have..." would have been more specific.
I hate the colors too, but if they did camo, they would have to change the camo per continent, and have 3 variations of the same terrain camo, and from a distance, it is hard to determine 1 type of arctic flage from another. darker colors would be nice though.

[Daleon]

Ok cpl things -

Stalker = OMFG f/x's. But not just that, the video linked to earlier everyone should check out. Its obvious this game is by a Euro company as no American studio would have the balls to make something this realistic. It will make SOF look like Disney. I really hope whoever picks this game up to publish it doesn't screw it up. The blood and body parts all over are insane. Its like imaging PS and see'ing a MAX literally rip apart a Standard and see'ing the guys head and arms flying apart and his insides hitting the ground. The vehicle models are top notch, that sky is the shizzle, and the geometry looks excellent.

FarCry - Lots of dynamic color blended real time blah blah blah lighting. Yea its pretty but its kind of a cheap gimmick to make a game seem WoW. The character models are extremely sharp, about the best I've seen so far. The game play looks very smooth and with Ubi as their publisher I think this will be a pretty big console hit.

As for PS - the developers had a clear idea what kind of graphics they were shooting for. They've steadily improved them without changing to much since the start. I think there fine. Yea maybe a PS type game with more emphasis on real world fighting style would be cool. But thats not PS. I'm happy to have PS and later on maybe get the other.

[MindTrigger]

Moloch,

You are right. That was a pretty pathetic sentence. haha.

That's what I get for posting at nearly 2am when I had 3 hours of sleep the night before.

I see your point about the camo having to be different, but all we are really talking about are skins anyway. Just a little more art. I'm sure the game will be fun without the camo, and god knows good gamers will simply adapt and overcome.

[Meshuggah]

Originally posted by Moloch
I thought ww2 from the background, but then I noticed the m16 and AK

That's a LR-300, not M16 :p

(not that it matters :D )

[Subliminal]

As for PS - the developers had a clear idea what kind of graphics they were shooting for. They've steadily improved them without changing to much since the start.

Actually have you seen early screen shots? I saw some in a pc gamer like 1-2 years ago of a buggy and a soldier and they were nothing like the Planetside of today. The game has been in development for a while and theyve updated the game to suit todays computers. To see what games turn out like when they dont upgrade their technology check out freelancer. :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Daleon]

I know I've seen every shot of PS since the first day it was ever announced. I never remember seeing human skins and real world like buggys. I may just not remember though. From the begining the game has had a Tribes style from what I can remember and the old shots that I can remember were a little hokey by todays standards but they've updated them and look much better now. But games are taking soooo long these days to make. Hell I was in prolly in High School when DNF and TF2 were annouced and will prolly be close to retirement by the time they come out.

Oh and Freelancer, sorry have you actually played it? Yea the graphics are a little dated, but this game seriously kicks butt. Everyone I know who has tried it loves it, all the review sites give it great props for gameplay, etc. So if every game that came out had only good graphics and TOP notch gameplay instead of incredible cutting edge graphics and crap gameplay I would be fine with that.

[MindTrigger]

Yeah, look at Unreal 2. What a joke. $50 for the most linear, predictable, cliche game I have seen in years. Not even multiplayer. All we can hope is someone builds an expansion pack for it that actually lives up to the original Unreal's legacy.

[Moloch]

I figure the camo will work like T2, you don't really miss it. the ONLY game that I have played where camo actually helps is the Vietcong multiplayer-demo. Sometimes it is really hard to see a US soldier crounching in front of a bush, even if he is only partially concealed in it.
Question: Will PS be like tribes where you can se your feet if you look down and it obstructs your vision when you look down, or will it be like goldeneye, whooting through your feet?
Deus Ex had pretty bad graphics (at least character-animation wise, shudder) for the time I think, and it was an awesome game.