Quick Question About Ns And Vsource
sharp
Join Date: 2003-07-20 Member: 18294Members
Join Date: 2003-07-20 Member: 18294Members
The search engine won't function (I get 404 errors) so I post a quick question:
In the futere will NS be compatible/re-build on the VSource engine?
It would be real great with the physics options and eye candy gfx <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->. I still love the gfx of version 1.1 but I don't know how long it will hold on the old Hl1 engine.
In the futere will NS be compatible/re-build on the VSource engine?
It would be real great with the physics options and eye candy gfx <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->. I still love the gfx of version 1.1 but I don't know how long it will hold on the old Hl1 engine.
Comments
The NS team is still debating?
Basic things that would need redoing:
o Code: although a lot of the existing stuff can be altered quickly and easily to suite the HL2 framework, the engines just don't work the same way. The commander code would probably need doing from scratch.
o Maps: HL1 maps can be converted to HL2 in minutes by changing the entities, then passing it through the new compile tools, which work in a different way completely (so I hear), so it takes a lot less time. HOWEVER, to properly use the new features of the engine, many (loads) of things need to be done. You now have to define materials, bumpmaps, displacement maps, etc to really get the engine doing all the nice things it can.
o Models: Basic structure, animations and skins exist, but the details would need to be up'd to take advantage of the new technology. For every model, this would take time of course.
Thats a rough run down, and I'll probably be bashed, but oh well <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
+way prettier environments and eyecandy
+some eyecandy elements that could potentially impact gameplay (i.e. much better fog for things like umbras)
+supposedly much faster netcode
+better vehicle code (not necessarily important for NS in the sense of buggies, but could make things like trams and elevators and any other moving structures work better)
-more entities to keep track of, especially if people demand lots of server-side physics elements
-higher system requirements for all users
People can of course add to that. The real problem is that a straight port wont add anything to GAMEPLAY but higher system requirements and maybe better netcode.
The bigger problem is that we've yet to see really good ideas on how even a very well thought out redesign would make NS a better game. Physics is the big selling point: I started a thread about it in fact, but frankly, I'm not sure what a real physics model would really add to the game.
Obviously, it's the devs who will think up the great ideas, and no doubt Source has a alot of tricks up its sleeve that could work out great, but until the devs themselves get any bright ideas for new directions and feel compelled to act on them, I myself don't see the urgency to get NS2 out the door anytime soon. I mean, NS has gained it's current popularity almost 5 years after its base engine was even released.
Hopefully, however, 2.0 will be solid enough that only minor incremental tweaks will be needed. If it's as good as promised, I wouldn't have any problem with 2.0 being the last major version for HL1. I pretty much wouldn't mind too much 1.04 being the last if even just a couple of annoying bugs were fixed.
Oo! Oo! And would there be a new story line, like the Kharaa have spread even further and the TSA could hold them no longer. Civilization has grown into a corrupt anarchy and the TSA is fringe. Its every man for himself, or death as an alternate.
Hehehe...
So the new NS would be a deathmatch? Sounds bad.