Comments on: …Must…Use…Available…Polygons… http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/ Random babblings from a few digitally inclined people Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:56:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: fraz http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1904 Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:41:00 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1904 i have to say that there is nothing wrong with increasing the levels of detail textures etc in a game it is all eye candy and in the case of gaming on ps's you always have the option to reduce detail hence you dont need to worry about over kill. i think that iv reached the end of my gaming streak as when i see games today graphics are one of the last things i take into consideration (hance i ordered a ds lite). for me a game is about its storyline and how you play the game the places you visit and the characters you meet-nowadays a game is mainly about how shiny are the bolts on your gun or how high is the resolution on the shadows or how well the textures are on the foot thats about to kick your player in the arse. i find this well annoying to say the least i mean dont get me wrong iv got a 7800gt card and new games always intrigue me into how they are going to make it look good but deep down the novelty faids quickly as looking at something doesnt interest me i want to interact with it in a realistic way. because of this i say yes games should improve on graphics as they are esentially upgrades which are never bad but i say that we should stop thinking about how well an environment looks but concentrate more on how you play the game its settings and levels of imagination-by the way i find ut does this just read the stories to the arenas you are going to play in deserter space stations etc i want to see more if theres a games developer reading this please make a game that has some though into it rather than just how well its going to look...please i have to say that there is nothing wrong with increasing the levels of detail textures etc in a game it is all eye candy and in the case of gaming on ps’s you always have the option to reduce detail hence you dont need to worry about over kill.
i think that iv reached the end of my gaming streak as when i see games today graphics are one of the last things i take into consideration (hance i ordered a ds lite). for me a game is about its storyline and how you play the game the places you visit and the characters you meet-nowadays a game is mainly about how shiny are the bolts on your gun or how high is the resolution on the shadows or how well the textures are on the foot thats about to kick your player in the arse. i find this well annoying to say the least
i mean dont get me wrong iv got a 7800gt card and new games always intrigue me into how they are going to make it look good but deep down the novelty faids quickly as looking at something doesnt interest me i want to interact with it in a realistic way. because of this i say yes games should improve on graphics as they are esentially upgrades which are never bad but i say that we should stop thinking about how well an environment looks but concentrate more on how you play the game its settings and levels of imagination-by the way i find ut does this just read the stories to the arenas you are going to play in deserter space stations etc i want to see more
if theres a games developer reading this please make a game that has some though into it rather than just how well its going to look…please

]]> by: Kelmon http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1889 Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:18:57 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1889 From my perspective I can see both good and bad in this topic. On the good side, having access to higher performing hardware and game engines must make developing in-game models much simpler. While polygon limits still exist the constriction that they apply on creativity must surely be reduced these days such that it is simpler to add to the game what you had in mind to begin with; detail did not have to shaved off to reduce the poly count. This, I presume, should save some time in development since reducing detail has got to be problematic (incidentally, where's Blade when we need him?) and time consuming. On the bad side, however, there's the potential to go nuts and just keep adding detail when it's not necessary. As noted in the article itself, what's the point of creating highly details character models in a game that's designed to run at breakneck speed and consequently no one will get the opportunity to see the detail? In this respect the time required to add this detail is surely time added to the duration of the project and (slipping into software project management speak) simply represents "gold plating". When this happens you are paying more money in labour and not receiving back any return such that you are harming the financial viability of the project. Graphics in a game are important. That we can create better looking games today is great but I am convinced that there has to come a point where the line is drawn and someone has the sense to say "Gee, this looks great and all, but is it really necessary?" With development costs continuing to rise to stupid amounts of money and development studios closing it seems ridiculous to spend money on "gold plating" in an industry that simply cannot afford to do so. Oddly, I currently blame the likes of Microsoft and Sony. Their continued desire to dominate the market by making the most powerful consoles means that the time/money required to develop a next-gen title increases but the quality of what is delivered is not increasing as fast. I don't believe that this is a good thing... From my perspective I can see both good and bad in this topic.

On the good side, having access to higher performing hardware and game engines must make developing in-game models much simpler. While polygon limits still exist the constriction that they apply on creativity must surely be reduced these days such that it is simpler to add to the game what you had in mind to begin with; detail did not have to shaved off to reduce the poly count. This, I presume, should save some time in development since reducing detail has got to be problematic (incidentally, where’s Blade when we need him?) and time consuming.

On the bad side, however, there’s the potential to go nuts and just keep adding detail when it’s not necessary. As noted in the article itself, what’s the point of creating highly details character models in a game that’s designed to run at breakneck speed and consequently no one will get the opportunity to see the detail? In this respect the time required to add this detail is surely time added to the duration of the project and (slipping into software project management speak) simply represents “gold plating”. When this happens you are paying more money in labour and not receiving back any return such that you are harming the financial viability of the project.

Graphics in a game are important. That we can create better looking games today is great but I am convinced that there has to come a point where the line is drawn and someone has the sense to say “Gee, this looks great and all, but is it really necessary?” With development costs continuing to rise to stupid amounts of money and development studios closing it seems ridiculous to spend money on “gold plating” in an industry that simply cannot afford to do so. Oddly, I currently blame the likes of Microsoft and Sony. Their continued desire to dominate the market by making the most powerful consoles means that the time/money required to develop a next-gen title increases but the quality of what is delivered is not increasing as fast. I don’t believe that this is a good thing…

]]> by: Cyrris http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1888 Sat, 15 Apr 2006 04:10:10 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1888 I think I edited it to how you planned, [P]. The "cite" attribute is just <i>who</i> you are quoting. Not the quote itself. That goes in between the blockquote start and end tags. I think I edited it to how you planned, [P]. The “cite” attribute is just who you are quoting. Not the quote itself. That goes in between the blockquote start and end tags.

]]> by: [P]aradox http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1887 Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:14:00 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1887 Yeah alright, your blockquote tag is fucked. I was quoting Holliday's bit about the trees in Oblivion. Yeah alright, your blockquote tag is fucked. I was quoting Holliday’s bit about the trees in Oblivion.

]]> by: [P]aradox http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1886 Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:13:27 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2006/04/%e2%80%a6must%e2%80%a6use%e2%80%a6available%e2%80%a6polygons%e2%80%a6/#comment-1886 <blockquote cite="Holliday">They have a “tree builder” program which allows artists to create a vast array of different trees with a very simple interface but amazingly life-life results. I don’t see why this kind of software can be applied to other games and we have a sort of “next gen teamwork” going with devs all learning off each other.</blockquote> Actually Bethesda licensed the SpeedTree tech to do this. It really can be applied to other games; in fact, I've got it in 3ds max myself. The way of the future is third party plugins coming together in the framework the developer has created so they can focus on the original assets they need. Re: the topic. This emphasis on crazy amounts of detail is just a fad. I remember seeing screenshots when bump mapping first starting coming into realtime engines, and everything looked bumpy as hell. When normal mapping stops being the new thing, developers will put it back into the kit with the rest of their tools and employ it sensibly. Then some other new tech will come out and we'll complain about how it's overused.

They have a “tree builder” program which allows artists to create a vast array of different trees with a very simple interface but amazingly life-life results. I don’t see why this kind of software can be applied to other games and we have a sort of “next gen teamwork” going with devs all learning off each other.

Actually Bethesda licensed the SpeedTree tech to do this. It really can be applied to other games; in fact, I’ve got it in 3ds max myself. The way of the future is third party plugins coming together in the framework the developer has created so they can focus on the original assets they need.

Re: the topic. This emphasis on crazy amounts of detail is just a fad. I remember seeing screenshots when bump mapping first starting coming into realtime engines, and everything looked bumpy as hell. When normal mapping stops being the new thing, developers will put it back into the kit with the rest of their tools and employ it sensibly. Then some other new tech will come out and we’ll complain about how it’s overused.

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