|
|
#1
11-21-2003, 03:32 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Q for Admin RE:Demo Graphics
Ive played the demo and I'm a bit puzzled by a few things.i wont go into gameplay issues as loads of other people have covered that. However I'm shocked by the poorness of the graphics, both artistically and technically. Some of these points are quite important, others minor things that would be a bonus if they could be tweaked.
Main issues technically speaking: Where are the bump maps? this was a major reported feature but I couldnt find any in use in the demo even while I was playing about with the torch. edit : hopefully we'll get near universal bump mappingin the final version. Why is the texture detail so low? This mainly seems to be because 'detail textures' are absent or not used very well. Detail textures were present in DX1 so it seems very odd to leave them out in DX2. edit : again hopefully these will be working in the final version. Are textures on highest sizes in the demo? Low polycounts all round. would be acceptable if bump maps were working (doom3). Terrible performance considering Poly count and texture detail : How can an Unreal based game run so slowly? There barely seems to be any multitexturing present either. Surely the physics and Real time lightin systems cant cause *that* much of a strain on the graphics. What exactly does 'bloom' do? All I can work out is that it applies some kind of full screen blurring which makes everything look very fuzzy. Even when turned of the whole game seems to have some kind of blur to it... very odd. Also what does multisampling do? Is this an in game anti-aliasing setting or is it something else? I couldnt work out any noticable effect on speed or graphical quality. Might be a problem my end because my card is set to force 2xaa rather than application selected. Why doesnt the torch cast a real lightsource? All it seems to do is the same as 1998's half-life by gamma boosting anything within its radius, I may have been wrong but I didnt notice any kind of shadow casting... edit: actually im wrong on this, however there is still something very unconvincing about the torch. Artistic Issues : Bad facial modelling/animating/texturing. Eyes seem too big and dont blink, minimal animation. Obviously too late to fix any of this apart from possibly eye size? (particularly on alex D!) Font Size : I can see how you'd need a big font size to read on a TV but it looks like a fisherprice game. OPTIONS. Font Design : Ugly. Would prefer something traditional and crisp. OPTIONS. Font AA : Doesnt seem to be working properly - edges are not properly smoothed. HUD Opacity : Some parts unaffected by opacity changes HUD Colour : Errm, any chance we can adjust the saturation of the colour used or even use more than one colour? I surely cant be the only one to want to use either a grey, a 2 tone or a gradient HUD? Can we have control over full RGB values? HUD AA : Again the HUD isnt AA'd properly - jagged and ugly edges. Particularly noticable around health and bio. Bad gradients : Again health and bio gradients arent faded properly - minor but does detract overall. No Viewbob : mentioned elsewhere but very true, it makes you feel like you're gliding everywhere and although it doesnt seem like much it doesnt help immersion. Poor loading screens. It looks like someones resized an image in paint so it hasnt smoothed itself properly. Options for more (nicer) crosshairs. I might be wrong on this but if I remember correctly : 'Pop-up' hud elements such as npc's health bars and frames around usable objects dont seem to have an opacity attached to them, any chance we can change that? Overall point : Generally bad graphic design in a lot of areas, mostly 2D images, loading screens and artwork. Looks immature and 'fisherpricey' PLEASE can someone give me some answers to these issues? If no one can answer me then can you please tell me who I can email these issues to? Also can we expect any of these problems to be resolved before game release? Last edited by Koif; 11-25-2003 at 09:06 AM. 
|
|
#3
11-24-2003, 12:39 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I agree with all of these points. Definately unacceptable by my standards.
Sorry DEVs, but it looks like your finished product is far from being finished. Also, I'm puzzled by why they dumbed down the controls AND the general interface. Compared to DX, DXIW has almost no computer involvement. What happened to the login screens on the computers, for example? In DX we could sit and guess on the user/pass if we wanted... now it's either hack it with a tool or leave it alone. I'm sorry, but some of the CORE ELEMENTS of DX have been suprisingly overlooked!
|
|
#4
11-24-2003, 12:45 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#7
11-24-2003, 05:17 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#8
11-24-2003, 05:54 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Log ins
Yeah, I read that there are no more log ins or key pads where you can type in the code. I actually liked that from the original because it made those things seem more interactive - seem more like a real object than just something pasted on the wall. Remember the water fountains from the DX1 and how water would squirt out when u used it and you would gain 1 HP. To me, this new system would be like having the water fountain still give you health, yet without animation of any kind. Everything is still functional but less immersive for me. The only reason i found typing the passwords immersive was because the Log in screens looked like a log-in screen and they behaved like a log-in screen. Same with the keypads. Same thing about not having a nanokey to unlock doors. I'm real big on attention to detail because to me, after a good strong design, it's the details that tie everything together to make a cohesive product. Everyone has their own opinion on these things and I value everyone's opinions on all the subjects talked about here and this is merely mine.
|
|
#10
11-25-2003, 01:12 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hey Koif, could you edit in what your system specs are? Can't tell if these remarks are from someone with a Ti 4200 (DX8.1) or a 9800XT (top-of-the-line DX9).
Also, did you do the recommended tweaks and did it make much diff for you? Thanks
|
|
#11
11-25-2003, 01:35 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Koif, check the Demo Technical Report thread if you haven't already. I believe some of the issues you mentioned are addressed there. If not, then, like Coyote said, we'll need to see system specs to figure out what's going on with your system
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
.
Linear Mode
