<!--quoteo(post=2038864:date=Dec 2 2012, 02:07 PM:name=SaniK)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SaniK @ Dec 2 2012, 02:07 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038864"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The titanic actually took several hours to fully sink. :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Thats not very long at all.
"NS2 should have the exact same atmosphere as Dead Space, but it doesn't." - Why should it? I find this thread to have been created by a very uncreative person. In fact I found it so absurd to the point that I just had to comment something negative on it.
<!--quoteo(post=2039002:date=Dec 2 2012, 05:19 PM:name=cake.)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cake. @ Dec 2 2012, 05:19 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2039002"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->"NS2 should have the exact same atmosphere as Dead Space, but it doesn't." - Why should it?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
because the two games (both heavily influenced by James Cameron's movie "Aliens") have the exact same scenario: contact lost, crews missing/evacuated, marines to investigate and eliminate any hostility if necessary.
Except in NS2, the maps give us the impression that no men have ever set foot in these facilities. I'm sorry but from a pure design stand point, this makes zero sense.
Also, the game is obviously rushed for release. It has no music or ambience at the moment, why doesn't UWE just recycle the NS1 sound? They already recycled all the marine voices so it's not like it's a big deal or anything.
<!--quoteo(post=2038972:date=Dec 2 2012, 04:14 PM:name=PersianImm0rtal)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PersianImm0rtal @ Dec 2 2012, 04:14 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038972"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->i have to admit... even though its a good game, the atmosphere sucks balls at the moment<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
the atmosphere doesn't suck balls at the moment, there simply isn't any.
<!--quoteo(post=2038680:date=Dec 1 2012, 11:34 PM:name=Techercizer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Techercizer @ Dec 1 2012, 11:34 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038680"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Those videos look far too low resolution to be compared to NS2's graphics. I don't think those textures could pull off clean and spotless if they tried.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I linked those video to show people the original NS1 music/ambience, who said anything about graphics?
<!--quoteo(post=2039094:date=Dec 3 2012, 07:12 AM:name=Amb)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Amb @ Dec 3 2012, 07:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2039094"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->because the two games (both heavily influenced by James Cameron's movie "Aliens") have the exact same scenario: contact lost, crews missing/evacuated, marines to investigate and eliminate any hostility if necessary.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I find it funny how people here try to make up the existence of a scenario in the game here that was never stated. The game does NOT have the scenario "contact lost, marines to investigate […] if necessary". It was stated already that the lore is: -Kharaa are a well known threat -> no need to "investigate" -You can save the "if necessary" part because clearing them out is the sole reason the marines got actually sent there. -No lost contact; people have simply been evacuated in an ordered manner and told the HQ about the presence of Kharaa infestation. The aliens are only hostile if they get contested, so there won't be any civil casualties if people just retreat until marines arrive.
It's like an author says "the story is supposed to imply bla and means blub" and then the reader chimes in and tells him "no, you didn't really understand that the story is in fact blob!".
<!--quoteo(post=2038657:date=Dec 1 2012, 09:16 PM:name=Amb)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Amb @ Dec 1 2012, 09:16 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038657"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Let's be real here, the map design we have at the moment in NS2 makes absolute no sense. Every map is brand spanking new, every wall is spotless, every floor is polished, every facility looks like it's ready for its grand opening. Hell, my bedroom is 10x messier than all of the NS2 maps combined. We are suppose to believe that these facilities were evacuated/deserted, or has lost contact with, whatever the case may be, because of an alien infestation?
some of the classic NS1 maps combined with its ambience/soundtrack made the game creepy as hell, please UWE, work on it! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88bg7xofroo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88bg7xofroo</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTRpA1tkLKE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTRpA1tkLKE</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjTrB0BQfZA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjTrB0BQfZA</a><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ok i think i get what you are pointing at. The Half Life sounds do add a lot to the athmosphere because they are very sterile, metallic and technical.
The maps themselves, i dont think so - thats not so different athmospherically and the NSII lighting is even more athomspherical imho (being new to both games and not deluded by nostalgic feelings ;D). But I get what you mean by that. I wonder of the sounds are coprighted.
I agree that the atmosphere could definitely use some change in the future. The game right now lacks the hopeless, desolate and completely creepy feeling that NS1 had. It doesn't even have to be too much change. Subtle changes can really contribute to the atmosphere.
InsaneAnomalyJoin Date: 2002-05-13Member: 605Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, NS2 Map Tester, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts, Future Perfect Developer
Whilst it's obviously untrue that the NS2 environments lack any atmosphere whatsoever, it is true that they lack one or two high-level polish elements such as colour grading and decals. This is because we're a small team without a lot of resources, and factors like playability and performance were simply a higher priority. As soon as we can, we'll add them.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.
<!--quoteo(post=2039216:date=Dec 3 2012, 06:58 AM:name=Insane)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Insane @ Dec 3 2012, 06:58 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2039216"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Whilst it's obviously untrue that the NS2 environments lack any atmosphere whatsoever, it is true that they lack one or two high-level polish elements such as colour grading and decals. This is because we're a small team without a lot of resources, and factors like playability and performance were simply a higher priority. As soon as we can, we'll add them.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
recycle some NS1 music / ambient would be a good start, an effortless one too.
<!--quoteo(post=2039216:date=Dec 3 2012, 05:58 AM:name=Insane)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Insane @ Dec 3 2012, 05:58 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2039216"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Whilst it's obviously untrue that the NS2 environments lack any atmosphere whatsoever, it is true that they lack one or two high-level polish elements such as colour grading and decals. This is because we're a small team without a lot of resources, and factors like playability and performance were simply a higher priority. As soon as we can, we'll add them.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think like with all critical comments in such forums, you have to separate objective, constructive criticism from subjective complaining for the sake of complaining. And you have to see whats behind criticism, because many many people plainly dont seem to have the ability to chose the right words for what it really is that feels wrong in their guts. I read an interview with the devs of Borderlands 2, stating exactly that and they are completely right.
Yeah, its obvious that the maps don`t have a lack of athmosphere. When looking at the old videos, the only things I recognize as special are the classic Half Life sounds and the Music composed by Jeremy Soule (which definetely can shape the athmosphere significantly).
I guess it may be to a certain part basically nostalgia - something you wouldnt be able to satisfy. I remember how differently i perceived games 10 years ago, I was much younger, easier to impress and we basically all were not so desensitized by spectacular games of all variations. So something like Counter Strike really was insane at that point, a team based shooter where you could buy stuff by the money you won with playing better!!! I mean, nowadays this is completely blatant, every game has it - and still people play the old CS.
You may assume its that good, but I really believe its still mostly feeding from its past reputation. It has become a classic and that wont change or cant be copied. If you take the basic game mechanics - its nothing special anymore. But it was in the past and many people play it because it has retained this fascination for them. But thats also why the remakes dont get so much attention - it doesnt have the nostalgic bonus as well.
So in short, I really believe this complaint about lack of athmosphere is just, that people were much more impressed with NSI at that time. And they dont get the same satisfaction from the second part (because they have grown out a bit or are desensitized by special effects overflow in the games). At least to me its like that. In the past games managed to really fascinate me - and today they are fun, but they never reached this level some games years ago did - so that I cant wait to play it again, that I tend to get up earlier to play a bit before school and things like that ;D
I guess this has to do with age - and with what people have experienced in games.
Lets face it (to me never having played NSI its more clear): NSI`s athomsphere is crap in comparison because i cant get accustomed to the crappy HL1 graphics anymore and that will kill everything in terms of athmosphere on my part at least. But the reason that I think so most obviously is - i never was with the game when it was new.
I agree with everyone that the atmosphere help made NS1 have a scary and distinct feel, and that NS2 has yet to be successful in replicating that.
Here are my suggestions for helping to improve atmosphere in NS2:
1. Make creepy soundscapes and have them be louder than the individual mechanic noises that are assigned to rooms 2. Lighting in maps should be darker. Not darker to the point to where you can't see anything, but overall rooms are too bright in almost every map 3. Get rid of marine sprint. When marines aren't shooting, they're sprinting, and not absorbing the atmosphere of the game. This would require additional tweaks to gameplay as well since it's not an aesthetic change. Marines aren't supposed to be highly mobile creatures. They're slow, they're sturdy, and their guns pack a mean punch.
I think a major problem of NS2 is the map design that UWE decided from the beginning. They stated, if I remember correctly, that they wanted more rooms and less hallways, and that's reflected in their maps. There are a lot of large rooms with props for cover, and a few small, and usually straight, hallways that connect them together. NS1 maps had a lot of small hallways that twisted and turned before dumping into larger rooms, usually hive locations. This created a sense of fear due to not knowing what was around the next corner, as well as claustrophobia since everything was so tight.
In future NS2 maps, I'd like to see more with tighter corridors and less open rooms. Large rooms should be rare and should be an intuitive indicator to the player that this room is important. If you make a map, like tram, of a bunch of rooms, and they're all relatively the same size, it's hard for the player to determine intuitively which are important and which aren't. Compare that with veil, where the largest rooms are the tech locations, and I think it's more successful map design for reinforcing gameplay.
I apologize if most of this has already been suggested, I haven't read every post in this thread.
<!--quoteo(post=2039216:date=Dec 3 2012, 02:58 PM:name=Insane)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Insane @ Dec 3 2012, 02:58 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2039216"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Whilst it's obviously untrue that the NS2 environments lack any atmosphere whatsoever, it is true that they lack one or two high-level polish elements such as colour grading and decals. This is because we're a small team without a lot of resources, and factors like playability and performance were simply a higher priority. As soon as we can, we'll add them.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> If there's something I can live without it's colour grading. Got enough of that to last a lifetime in Battlefield 3.
<!--quoteo(post=2039224:date=Dec 3 2012, 07:35 AM:name=dissection)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dissection @ Dec 3 2012, 07:35 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2039224"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->So in short, I really believe this complaint about lack of athmosphere is just, that people were much more impressed with NSI at that time. And they dont get the same satisfaction from the second part (because they have grown out a bit or are desensitized by special effects overflow in the games).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
not true at all. I still play NS1 these days and nothing in NS2 come even close to ns_bast and ns_nothing. If a game released 10 years ago can have more atmosphere than a game released in 2012 then something is seriously wrong.
<!--quoteo(post=2038685:date=Dec 1 2012, 11:58 PM:name=Swiftspear)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Swiftspear @ Dec 1 2012, 11:58 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038685"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Because of the way NS2 has been handled as an indie game, it's release build is sort of half full release half beta. There's still a lot of things they need to polish up, but they had to release when they did because they needed the money to start to flow, and the game was very playable at the time, it was just missing some of the bells and whistles we're used to from AAA games. UWE is not a AAA company, they needed more time to get that stuff in.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes I know the nutshell version of NS2's development history, the reason I mentioned static decals in particular despite that is because it seems like a baby step from simple textures. Of course it's not anything we can't live without so fair enough.
<!--quoteo(post=2039565:date=Dec 3 2012, 05:56 PM:name=Amb)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Amb @ Dec 3 2012, 05:56 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2039565"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->not true at all. I still play NS1 these days and nothing in NS2 come even close to ns_bast and ns_nothing. If a game released 10 years ago can have more atmosphere than a game released in 2012 then something is seriously wrong.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I have just watched this video, only to understand what you are talking about. But no, seriously - this is so far from current technology standards it has absolutely NO athmosphere to me, only crappy graphics and animations. And a boring look as well - maybe its that what you like because it looks like simplistic Startrek ship interiors. But thats not athmosphere, thats more a lack of.
The fact you dont seem to feel the same way about it tells me. that its just nostalgia, because there is no athmosphere in this video. There only is a damn old game and you barely can believe that this kind of visuals have been astonishing at some point in time. I basically cant understand that, although i was as fascinated by Half Life as maybe everyone here. Times have changed and this is no athmosphere, its the "best" simulation of it you could get at that time
If anyone thinks the current game doesn't have a good atmosphere, I would hope they were in the minority. The game looks fantastic and is immersive. The lighting and particle effects I think are particularly stunning. I'm just hoping that there will be some maps released that are more desolate by default, and can only be cleaned up or become more "sterile" as marines progress and take back territory.
What would be cool, though would be if the rooms were darker if the power was shut off. The red emergency light is too much. I dont know if that will shift the balance too much, but i would love it if the aliens had a real advantage in all rooms when its getting dark. In some it is, it others its way too bright imho.
I just want to tip my hat to the mappers, since I have seen them work first hand on maps, and it's not a quick process. While I too like environments that don't seem 'clean' for a game like this, making destroyed areas and such is so much harder and time consuming. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see it though. But I think right now we need more maps, then we can look at getting the 'atmosphere' people talk about.
As for bodies and such, I agree with the devs, I don't think NS really needs to go that way. Plenty of games have that, so it's not like the devs would be doing anything groundbreaking.
However, you can have that kind of atmosphere without the 'bodies'. Simple alternative? Metal transport coffins. They could be littered around a map so as to suggest that there were bodies but they have been 'taken care of'. Also, how about writing on the walls and such like you would see in Left4Dead and such. Messages about "they're here!" and the like.
Other things I think could be added are makeshift barricades on some doors, small fires, water leaks, broken steam pipes etc. You get the idea. It's possible to add all kinds of elements to deepen the atmosphere without adding bodies and bloodstains.
i think ns2 color is too saturated, the colors just POP at you, while ns1 is very dull and "realistic" with the yellow tinge, another VERY HUGE part missing in ns2 is audio atmosphere for those if you saying ns2 is very atmospheric you are lucky, please do yourself a favor and do not go back to ns1 cause when you do you will realize ns2 looks like a childs version of ns1 when you compare
Comments
<!--quoteo(post=2038864:date=Dec 2 2012, 02:07 PM:name=SaniK)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SaniK @ Dec 2 2012, 02:07 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038864"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The titanic actually took several hours to fully sink. :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thats not very long at all.
Running the <b>Atmosphere Technology Inc. Catalyst-nForcer</b> driver 1.21 here but it still isn't good enough. :(
because the two games (both heavily influenced by James Cameron's movie "Aliens") have the exact same scenario: contact lost, crews missing/evacuated, marines to investigate and eliminate any hostility if necessary.
Except in NS2, the maps give us the impression that no men have ever set foot in these facilities. I'm sorry but from a pure design stand point, this makes zero sense.
Also, the game is obviously rushed for release. It has no music or ambience at the moment, why doesn't UWE just recycle the NS1 sound? They already recycled all the marine voices so it's not like it's a big deal or anything.
<!--quoteo(post=2038972:date=Dec 2 2012, 04:14 PM:name=PersianImm0rtal)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PersianImm0rtal @ Dec 2 2012, 04:14 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038972"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->i have to admit... even though its a good game, the atmosphere sucks balls at the moment<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
the atmosphere doesn't suck balls at the moment, there simply isn't any.
<!--quoteo(post=2038680:date=Dec 1 2012, 11:34 PM:name=Techercizer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Techercizer @ Dec 1 2012, 11:34 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2038680"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Those videos look far too low resolution to be compared to NS2's graphics. I don't think those textures could pull off clean and spotless if they tried.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I linked those video to show people the original NS1 music/ambience, who said anything about graphics?
I find it funny how people here try to make up the existence of a scenario in the game here that was never stated.
The game does NOT have the scenario "contact lost, marines to investigate […] if necessary". It was stated already that the lore is:
-Kharaa are a well known threat -> no need to "investigate"
-You can save the "if necessary" part because clearing them out is the sole reason the marines got actually sent there.
-No lost contact; people have simply been evacuated in an ordered manner and told the HQ about the presence of Kharaa infestation. The aliens are only hostile if they get contested, so there won't be any civil casualties if people just retreat until marines arrive.
It's like an author says "the story is supposed to imply bla and means blub" and then the reader chimes in and tells him "no, you didn't really understand that the story is in fact blob!".
some of the classic NS1 maps combined with its ambience/soundtrack made the game creepy as hell, please UWE, work on it!
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88bg7xofroo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88bg7xofroo</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTRpA1tkLKE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTRpA1tkLKE</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjTrB0BQfZA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjTrB0BQfZA</a><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ok i think i get what you are pointing at. The Half Life sounds do add a lot to the athmosphere because they are very sterile, metallic and technical.
The maps themselves, i dont think so - thats not so different athmospherically and the NSII lighting is even more athomspherical imho (being new to both games and not deluded by nostalgic feelings ;D). But I get what you mean by that. I wonder of the sounds are coprighted.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
recycle some NS1 music / ambient would be a good start, an effortless one too.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think like with all critical comments in such forums, you have to separate objective, constructive criticism from subjective complaining for the sake of complaining. And you have to see whats behind criticism, because many many people plainly dont seem to have the ability to chose the right words for what it really is that feels wrong in their guts. I read an interview with the devs of Borderlands 2, stating exactly that and they are completely right.
Yeah, its obvious that the maps don`t have a lack of athmosphere. When looking at the old videos, the only things I recognize as special are the classic Half Life sounds and the Music composed by Jeremy Soule (which definetely can shape the athmosphere significantly).
I guess it may be to a certain part basically nostalgia - something you wouldnt be able to satisfy. I remember how differently i perceived games 10 years ago, I was much younger, easier to impress and we basically all were not so desensitized by spectacular games of all variations. So something like Counter Strike really was insane at that point, a team based shooter where you could buy stuff by the money you won with playing better!!! I mean, nowadays this is completely blatant, every game has it - and still people play the old CS.
You may assume its that good, but I really believe its still mostly feeding from its past reputation. It has become a classic and that wont change or cant be copied. If you take the basic game mechanics - its nothing special anymore. But it was in the past and many people play it because it has retained this fascination for them. But thats also why the remakes dont get so much attention - it doesnt have the nostalgic bonus as well.
So in short, I really believe this complaint about lack of athmosphere is just, that people were much more impressed with NSI at that time. And they dont get the same satisfaction from the second part (because they have grown out a bit or are desensitized by special effects overflow in the games). At least to me its like that. In the past games managed to really fascinate me - and today they are fun, but they never reached this level some games years ago did - so that I cant wait to play it again, that I tend to get up earlier to play a bit before school and things like that ;D
I guess this has to do with age - and with what people have experienced in games.
Lets face it (to me never having played NSI its more clear): NSI`s athomsphere is crap in comparison because i cant get accustomed to the crappy HL1 graphics anymore and that will kill everything in terms of athmosphere on my part at least. But the reason that I think so most obviously is - i never was with the game when it was new.
Here are my suggestions for helping to improve atmosphere in NS2:
1. Make creepy soundscapes and have them be louder than the individual mechanic noises that are assigned to rooms
2. Lighting in maps should be darker. Not darker to the point to where you can't see anything, but overall rooms are too bright in almost every map
3. Get rid of marine sprint. When marines aren't shooting, they're sprinting, and not absorbing the atmosphere of the game. This would require additional tweaks to gameplay as well since it's not an aesthetic change. Marines aren't supposed to be highly mobile creatures. They're slow, they're sturdy, and their guns pack a mean punch.
I think a major problem of NS2 is the map design that UWE decided from the beginning. They stated, if I remember correctly, that they wanted more rooms and less hallways, and that's reflected in their maps. There are a lot of large rooms with props for cover, and a few small, and usually straight, hallways that connect them together. NS1 maps had a lot of small hallways that twisted and turned before dumping into larger rooms, usually hive locations. This created a sense of fear due to not knowing what was around the next corner, as well as claustrophobia since everything was so tight.
In future NS2 maps, I'd like to see more with tighter corridors and less open rooms. Large rooms should be rare and should be an intuitive indicator to the player that this room is important. If you make a map, like tram, of a bunch of rooms, and they're all relatively the same size, it's hard for the player to determine intuitively which are important and which aren't. Compare that with veil, where the largest rooms are the tech locations, and I think it's more successful map design for reinforcing gameplay.
I apologize if most of this has already been suggested, I haven't read every post in this thread.
In a similar vein, we've had to scale back our environment particle FX in a number of places until we can be sure that they won't cause too heavy a performance impact.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If there's something I can live without it's colour grading. Got enough of that to last a lifetime in Battlefield 3.
not true at all. I still play NS1 these days and nothing in NS2 come even close to ns_bast and ns_nothing. If a game released 10 years ago can have more atmosphere than a game released in 2012 then something is seriously wrong.
Yes I know the nutshell version of NS2's development history, the reason I mentioned static decals in particular despite that is because it seems like a baby step from simple textures. Of course it's not anything we can't live without so fair enough.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgvbIcreT0k" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgvbIcreT0k</a>
I have just watched this video, only to understand what you are talking about. But no, seriously - this is so far from current technology standards it has absolutely NO athmosphere to me, only crappy graphics and animations. And a boring look as well - maybe its that what you like because it looks like simplistic Startrek ship interiors. But thats not athmosphere, thats more a lack of.
The fact you dont seem to feel the same way about it tells me. that its just nostalgia, because there is no athmosphere in this video. There only is a damn old game and you barely can believe that this kind of visuals have been astonishing at some point in time. I basically cant understand that, although i was as fascinated by Half Life as maybe everyone here. Times have changed and this is no athmosphere, its the "best" simulation of it you could get at that time
check
/thread
check
/thread<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sorry to insult your favorite game, but yes?
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/AzSmi.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://forum.myrabbits.de/downloads/screen2_n5P.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Of course the new effects add to the athmosphere. No question?!?!?
This, exactly.
It's amazing to see the difference between ns1 and ns2.
+1 to anyone that gets that reference.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoVnsF5bemo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUo_sTBE3tg</a>
As for bodies and such, I agree with the devs, I don't think NS really needs to go that way. Plenty of games have that, so it's not like the devs would be doing anything groundbreaking.
However, you can have that kind of atmosphere without the 'bodies'. Simple alternative? Metal transport coffins. They could be littered around a map so as to suggest that there were bodies but they have been 'taken care of'. Also, how about writing on the walls and such like you would see in Left4Dead and such. Messages about "they're here!" and the like.
Other things I think could be added are makeshift barricades on some doors, small fires, water leaks, broken steam pipes etc. You get the idea. It's possible to add all kinds of elements to deepen the atmosphere without adding bodies and bloodstains.