The City Really is Beautiful
By
Carnifax,
Posted on: 2008-11-20 24:20 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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and people NPCs walking around
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Try Talos or IP.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
Agreed, there is always the ethos of 'never enough' for high-end users, but if you have never seen Paragon at its full potential because you have been low-spec then it is definately a treat when you see a game you have been playing for so long in a new light.
I remember when I first got my Geforce card 3 years ago and suddenly the top layer of water was translucent and spandex had a newfound sheen to it as I rotated around my character - I was utterly transfixed. 
And now the Devs say they have been holding back on just what the engine is capable of, maybe if they let rip with the current game-engine features It'll keep the wolves from the door for a year or two with regard to the mounting requests for an engine overhaul or redux.
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And now the Devs say they have been holding back on just what the engine is capable of, maybe if they let rip with the current game-engine features It'll keep the wolves from the door for a year or two with regard to the mounting requests for an engine overhaul or redux.
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I'm not too worried about a new graphics engine per se.... What we DO need, is better character MODELS. The current ones just... Suck.
Oh, and better faces too plx! 
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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And now the Devs say they have been holding back on just what the engine is capable of, maybe if they let rip with the current game-engine features It'll keep the wolves from the door for a year or two with regard to the mounting requests for an engine overhaul or redux.
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I'm not too worried about a new graphics engine per se.... What we DO need, is better character MODELS. The current ones just... Suck.
Oh, and better faces too plx!
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Agreed new character models please and dare i say it animated hair too 
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And now the Devs say they have been holding back on just what the engine is capable of, maybe if they let rip with the current game-engine features It'll keep the wolves from the door for a year or two with regard to the mounting requests for an engine overhaul or redux.
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not too worried about a new graphics engine per se.... What we DO need, is better character MODELS. The current ones just... Suck.
Oh, and better faces too plx!
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Agreed new character models please and dare i say it animated hair too
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Noooo. You invoked it. The Emoticoner that Should Not Be comes, all will fall beneath her winking gaze
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Noooo. You invoked it. The Emoticoner that Should Not Be comes, all will fall beneath her winking gaze
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FLEE! FLEE THE HAIRDRESSER OF DOOM! etc.
Oddly, the *most* beautiful thing I've seen in-game... was a bug.
For a few memorable days last year, the fog lifted in Dark Astoria. And underneath the blanket of evil was a wonderfully-designed, beautifully atmospheric map with rich detail, a working city... just abandoned. Really gorgeous, and much, MUCH creepier without the fog. (Think trading a grainy Romero movie for the painful sharpness of 28 Days Later...)
TBH, if I was going to ask for anything, I'd ask for a slight concept shift from the devs about DA - remove the fog, but lock it to an eternal moonlight night...
Is it time for the dance of joy yet?
Yeah new character skeleton/models over and actual engine upgrade as i think that's the biggest problem, per haps more detailed textures on the older costume options.
It'll probably be a case of diminishing returns though. It's a previous generation engine and frankly, doesn't seem to be the most efficient one going either. We start cramming on new graphical doodads and it'll shove requirements up faster than what we get for it.
Chairman of the Charity of Pain; accepting donations of blood and guts.
Prophet of the Creamy Truth; "If it's empty, fill it with cream."
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It'll probably be a case of diminishing returns though. It's a previous generation engine and frankly, doesn't seem to be the most efficient one going either. We start cramming on new graphical doodads and it'll shove requirements up faster than what we get for it.
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We've actually been told the current engine can do way more than we get, but doesn't due to worries over performance hits. Perhaps it just needs a bit of optimization...
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
[ QUOTE ]
Oddly, the *most* beautiful thing I've seen in-game... was a bug.
For a few memorable days last year, the fog lifted in Dark Astoria. And underneath the blanket of evil was a wonderfully-designed, beautifully atmospheric map with rich detail, a working city... just abandoned. Really gorgeous, and much, MUCH creepier without the fog. (Think trading a grainy Romero movie for the painful sharpness of 28 Days Later...)
TBH, if I was going to ask for anything, I'd ask for a slight concept shift from the devs about DA - remove the fog, but lock it to an eternal moonlight night...
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ooo, yes please, this is a great idea 
/signed
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We've actually been told the current engine can do way more than we get, but doesn't due to worries over performance hits. Perhaps it just needs a bit of optimization...
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There are two important rules of optimisation in the software industry. These are:
1. Don't do it.
2. Don't do it yet.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
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We've actually been told the current engine can do way more than we get, but doesn't due to worries over performance hits. Perhaps it just needs a bit of optimization...
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There are two important rules of optimisation in the software industry. These are:
1. Don't do it.
2. Don't do it yet.
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Why's that then?
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We've actually been told the current engine can do way more than we get, but doesn't due to worries over performance hits. Perhaps it just needs a bit of optimization...
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There are two important rules of optimisation in the software industry. These are:
1. Don't do it.
2. Don't do it yet.
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Why's that then?
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It's basically an old hacker adage. Optimising code generally results in it becoming impossible to maintain, plus, to be frank, humans suck at it. Modern compilers are almost infinitely better at optimising code than the programmer writing it is.
So, your first try at 'optimising' something should be to not even bother trying, because it's pretty likely you'll just turn the code into unreadable rubbish for a 0.000001% improvement in overall performance.
If there really is a problem, then you should try manual optimisation, but it should be left as the absolutely last option.
And with modern graphics systems, pipelining, multiprocessing, etc, those old adages are even more true then they were back in the day.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
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We've actually been told the current engine can do way more than we get, but doesn't due to worries over performance hits. Perhaps it just needs a bit of optimization...
[/ QUOTE ]
There are two important rules of optimisation in the software industry. These are:
1. Don't do it.
2. Don't do it yet.
[/ QUOTE ]
Why's that then?
[/ QUOTE ]
It's basically an old hacker adage. Optimising code generally results in it becoming impossible to maintain, plus, to be frank, humans suck at it. Modern compilers are almost infinitely better at optimising code than the programmer writing it is.
So, your first try at 'optimising' something should be to not even bother trying, because it's pretty likely you'll just turn the code into unreadable rubbish for a 0.000001% improvement in overall performance.
If there really is a problem, then you should try manual optimisation, but it should be left as the absolutely last option.
And with modern graphics systems, pipelining, multiprocessing, etc, those old adages are even more true then they were back in the day.
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Oh right, cheers for that. So would upgrading this engine be more trouble than it's worth as well, in your opinion?
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Oh right, cheers for that. So would upgrading this engine be more trouble than it's worth as well, in your opinion?
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Potentially. People may whinge about the odd thing, but this game has had several years with many, many bugs being stamped out of it. Going back to start with fresh, "optimized" code means you'll have all the fun of bug hunting all over again.
*dink*
...ooh, cool, we can all get the badge! Let's do it, heyho let's go!
Is it time for the dance of joy yet?
I have no clue, really. Games tend to be heavily tied into what their graphics engine can do, AFAIK. It would be a lot of work, and it might be easier if they just produced a new game, with a new engine.
Theoretically, the character data should be transferable if the game concepts were kept essentially the same. I wonder whether people would go with a new iteration of the game if they could move their old characters over. Some would obviously prefer to level their toon from scratch anyway, taking into account new features, but some might like their characters enough to want to keep them.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
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I have no clue, really. Games tend to be heavily tied into what their graphics engine can do, AFAIK. It would be a lot of work, and it might be easier if they just produced a new game, with a new engine.
Theoretically, the character data should be transferable if the game concepts were kept essentially the same. I wonder whether people would go with a new iteration of the game if they could move their old characters over. Some would obviously prefer to level their toon from scratch anyway, taking into account new features, but some might like their characters enough to want to keep them.
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I would be more likely to change to a v2 if i could take my chars with me.
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Oddly, the *most* beautiful thing I've seen in-game... was a bug.
For a few memorable days last year, the fog lifted in Dark Astoria. And underneath the blanket of evil was a wonderfully-designed, beautifully atmospheric map with rich detail, a working city... just abandoned. Really gorgeous, and much, MUCH creepier without the fog. (Think trading a grainy Romero movie for the painful sharpness of 28 Days Later...)
TBH, if I was going to ask for anything, I'd ask for a slight concept shift from the devs about DA - remove the fog, but lock it to an eternal moonlight night...
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ooo, yes please, this is a great idea
/signed
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At the risk of turning this into a wishlist thread;
I would like to see the grey gloom lifted from DA and proper Volumetric fog put in there, the engine is capable of it as can be seen with the Steamy Mist and Lightning Cloud powers, so I'd love to see proper fog in DA and proper clouds up in the sky.
To see a Rikti Mothership or Nemesis Zepplin emerging from the clouds would be awesome.
[EDIT]: actually, what I would really like (and what I have been noticing more and more recently for some bizarre reason)... is this ambient humming drone as background noise in all zones, its like a constant bass drone, a plateau for all the other ambient noises to sit upon i think is its supposed basis... whatever it is, it is really annoying and in my opinion unnecessary, anyone else notice this noise?
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Agreed, there is always the ethos of 'never enough' for high-end users, but if you have never seen Paragon at its full potential because you have been low-spec then it is definately a treat when you see a game you have been playing for so long in a new light.
I remember when I first got my Geforce card 3 years ago and suddenly the top layer of water was translucent and spandex had a newfound sheen to it as I rotated around my character - I was utterly transfixed.
And now the Devs say they have been holding back on just what the engine is capable of, maybe if they let rip with the current game-engine features It'll keep the wolves from the door for a year or two with regard to the mounting requests for an engine overhaul or redux.
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Totally agree as my friends on game will testify to, from hearing me on ts... Had a 4 year old machine and was like playing in monochrome then the machine went bang!! Have now got a machine that was made by a friend and generously sold to myself (thanks ) Now I have all the graphics set at high...WOW
Would take me ages to get to a mission, just standing under a tree watching the leaves fall...Quietly saying leaves, leaves, leaves... 
The city does look a whole lot better than I first played on my 4 year old monochrome machine. 
Two words. St Martial.
The glow from the Golden Giza pyramid and the lights of the city can be seen from miles away and it's, I think, one of the most wonderful areas in the game.
Though, I have to say, Cimerora is beautiful. You don't need the glowing neon lights of casinos to appreciate the breathtaking views on offer there. I spent ages exploring it, if only as an excuse to take in the views as much as possible.
Characters:
The Heroic Mary Grace (50)
The Mystical Thunderspark (50)
The Candy-loving Little Jenny (50)
I too was suprised when at Omega Sektor with some of the echelonians (hours before its closure, which had nothing to do with me but I did see Mr Nice smirking as we left) as to just how nice it looks with everything turned up 11. My Fire blaster looked fantastic bouncing around with flames galore.
In some respects I wish I'd never seen it looking that nice as it now looks even worse on my tired old machine 
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I was going to ask for anything, I'd ask for a slight concept shift from the devs about DA - remove the fog, but lock it to an eternal moonlight night...
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I'd forgotten all about that, yes bring back unfoggy DA, it looked miles better
Kneeling girls! Statues driving cars! What's going on? Ten years ago a man was arrested in the area for driving statues around in a car. Was it him?
@Ted Maul - The Echelon
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[EDIT]: actually, what I would really like (and what I have been noticing more and more recently for some bizarre reason)... is this ambient humming drone as background noise in all zones, its like a constant bass drone, a plateau for all the other ambient noises to sit upon i think is its supposed basis... whatever it is, it is really annoying and in my opinion unnecessary, anyone else notice this noise?
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i do, i hear it all the time around atlas park when i have the IG sound at full, maybe it's a sound bug in the system.
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[EDIT]: actually, what I would really like (and what I have been noticing more and more recently for some bizarre reason)... is this ambient humming drone as background noise in all zones, its like a constant bass drone, a plateau for all the other ambient noises to sit upon i think is its supposed basis... whatever it is, it is really annoying and in my opinion unnecessary, anyone else notice this noise?
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i do, i hear it all the time around atlas park when i have the IG sound at full, maybe it's a sound bug in the system.
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Just a random thought (and probably entirely wrong) but - warwall's ?
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[EDIT]: actually, what I would really like (and what I have been noticing more and more recently for some bizarre reason)... is this ambient humming drone as background noise in all zones, its like a constant bass drone, a plateau for all the other ambient noises to sit upon i think is its supposed basis... whatever it is, it is really annoying and in my opinion unnecessary, anyone else notice this noise?
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i do, i hear it all the time around atlas park when i have the IG sound at full, maybe it's a sound bug in the system.
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Just a random thought (and probably entirely wrong) but - warwall's ?
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Hmm... I do think something in the sound changes when a raid starts. Could be the walls. That adds a whole new irritating aspect to their existence.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
It may be because I have recently been spending a few hours capturing various views of the city zones, but until now I never really appreciated how good it looks with the graphics turned up to max and the skyscrapers misty images in the distance.
(Admittedly there could be more traffic on the street and people NPCs walking around, but thats a whole other thread in the backwaters of the suggestions section.)