Can you explain how Far Cry has better graphics, please?
Sure, it could render interior spaces, but they looked washed-out and boring. Lighting was bland, geometry was overly simple and run-of-the-mill, it just wasn't good overall.
Outdoor scenes were something the renderer was pretty good at, even though it did look cartoony as hell.
I don't remember all of the details, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Far Cry has no bump mapping, the character faces are no where near as believeable, the water shader blew (on my machine), and they seemed to use a similar lighting system found in most Quake based games.
HL2 is supposed to have diffuse mapping, bump mapping, a good water shader (from what I see in videos and screenshots), complex facial animation/expressions, a decent vertex-based lighting system (which is much more efficient than full dynamic lighting), and a bunch of other stuff...
QuaunautThe longest seven days in history...Join Date: 2003-03-21Member: 14759Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
<!--QuoteBegin-Crono5788+May 15 2004, 07:43 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Crono5788 @ May 15 2004, 07:43 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Can you explain how Far Cry has better graphics, please?
Sure, it could render interior spaces, but they looked washed-out and boring. Lighting was bland, geometry was overly simple and run-of-the-mill, it just wasn't good overall.
Outdoor scenes were something the renderer was pretty good at, even though it did look cartoony as hell.
I don't remember all of the details, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Far Cry has no bump mapping, the character faces are no where near as believeable, the water shader blew (on my machine), and they seemed to use a similar lighting system found in most Quake based games.
HL2 is supposed to have diffuse mapping, bump mapping, a good water shader (from what I see in videos and screenshots), complex facial animation/expressions, a decent vertex-based lighting system (which is much more efficient than full dynamic lighting), and a bunch of other stuff...
So... Yeah... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Err...no. I don't think Far Cry will even be comparable to HL2, but first off-
Far Cry had Bump Mapping. The Water Renderer was damned good(though I don't think as good as HL2) The lighting system was great The characters...yeah. Not believable. and world, yeah, not realistic.
<!--QuoteBegin-Geminosity+May 15 2004, 10:18 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Geminosity @ May 15 2004, 10:18 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> is it me or do all the fights with the walkers end rather gruesomely for gordon ever since they added that weird sonic-cannon thingy? ^^; <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I'm assuming they don't want to spoil a Strider death, since that seems to be rare. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->
that strider took at least 5 rockets. I'm thinking I'm not going to like this enemy. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I coulda swore I read somewhere that you gotta take out the legs of that thing. In the vids, the firepower was basically all concentrated on the 'body' of the Strider.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I coulda swore I read somewhere that you gotta take out the legs of that thing. In the vids, the firepower was basically all concentrated on the 'body' of the Strider.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, I got the same impression. It's as though you were watching a tank on paperthin supports, with everyone trying to penetrate the tanks armor...
<!--QuoteBegin-Nemesis Zero+May 15 2004, 05:39 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Nemesis Zero @ May 15 2004, 05:39 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I coulda swore I read somewhere that you gotta take out the legs of that thing. In the vids, the firepower was basically all concentrated on the 'body' of the Strider.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, I got the same impression. It's as though you were watching a tank on paperthin supports, with everyone trying to penetrate the tanks armor... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I thought it was obvious..
Finding out how to kill it is a main part in the game,so if they show it in the videos, it'll ruin a main part of the game ;)
imo, you need to put things under his legs (with that new weapon taht moves objects) so when he walks on them, he falls with the new physical engine.
<!--QuoteBegin-Quaunaut+May 15 2004, 09:52 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Quaunaut @ May 15 2004, 09:52 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Err...no. I don't think Far Cry will even be comparable to HL2, but first off-
Far Cry had Bump Mapping. The Water Renderer was damned good(though I don't think as good as HL2) The lighting system was great The characters...yeah. Not believable. and world, yeah, not realistic. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Musta been my video card, then. Stupid 9200...
Far Cry is older then Half-Life 2 because Hl2 is not out yet! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
But Source Engine is very inspiring thing, i cant wait until the SDK is out!
<!--QuoteBegin-EEK+May 15 2004, 05:15 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (EEK @ May 15 2004, 05:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--QuoteBegin-Eek+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Eek)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Half-Life doesn't even have dynamic lighting. You were getting 'realism' from where?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Are you kidding? Watch the combine walk under that light in the hallway. Watch how the light and shadow play on his body. Far Cry doesn't have anything that looks quite that good. In fact, most of the shadowing on Far Cry is two tone: i.e. all shadows are the same depth and darkness, and some are just hard shadows. Most of its lighting effects are faked in this way.
HL2 also has dynamic lights JUST like Far Cry (i.e., not all the lighting is like that for performance reasons, but map makers can place them in maps in certian areas for extra detail).
Shadows can slide over characters realistically, and gunfire can light up characters realistically. It's all in there. Neither game takes it to the extreme that Doom3 does, but they save so much in performance that they can fill the screen with characters and geometry of cool stuff going on.
Oh, and try HDR. Try full, high quality radiosity solutions. Try water that blows every other game OUT of the water.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->There was a storyline to FarCry (and since you don't even sound like you've played it, I won't spoil it for you). It wasn't complex or very 'unique' but considering the nature and setup of the game, it was actually perfect. A complex storyline would've ruined the 'Die Hard' feeling of the game. A simplier storyline would've made it just another 'Doom'.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's okay, but how can you possibly compare the level of characterization, the world full of people an events and active AI characters, to the pretty standard FPS story telling of Far Cry where half of it is just done with disembodied voices?
I don't see where this is coming from...<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
OMG. Crap is constantly churning, moving, tipping, flying all over the place in HL2, whereas Far Cry manages some occasional barrels, boxes, vehicles, and pointless machines. The physics engine is not only far far more complex in HL2 (Havok2 plus all Valve's additions), but it's actually exposed and integrated into the gameplay in so many diverse ways: even if all we've seen so far is all there is, that's a ton more than Far Cry does with physics (heck, most of the objects and structures in Far Cry are apparently nailed to the floor)
And related to physics, just the diversity of the creatures and interactions in HL2 is incredible. Grunts and Trigens are nowhere near as diverse and deep for gameplay.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Maybe a PREFERED atmosphere, but I've seen billions of 'run around in the post-apocalyptipc city and shoot things' games, but I've only seen two games set in a jungle, and walking up to a dock and seeing minnows flee from my presence pretty much took it for me.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That was pretty good, and Far Cry gets point for that. But that's it's atmosphere, and this is HL2's. HL2 does a damn fine job at creating it's many different sorts of atmospheres (which, you have to admit, are way more diverse and varied than in Far Cry). And clearly it has lots of neat little touches, like any good game.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Yes, you definately haven't played FarCry. It is easilly possible to create indoor levels of complexity in FarCry,<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sure, they're fine, but they don't look anything near as complex as in HL2. HL2 just has so many more entities to fill out the scene.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->and not only that, but FarCry is the only game to have a complete rendering engine capable of rendering roughly 2km+ (In real-life distances) of completely terrain and complex geometry. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's great yeah, but so what? Why does that make it superior to HL2? HL2's 3d skyboxes create the exact same feel of huge areas, even though it's designed as a more linear game in some places.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Everything I've seen in Half-Life that involved long distances was either low-poly, or used clever 'vis-blockers'. Look at the 'dried up lake' for instance. The majority of outdoor levels seems to rely on curves around mountains so you can't see everything.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Say what you will, but I see a bridge stretching away for miles and a landscape that looks huge and full of a lot more buildings and objects than I see in Far Cry. Whatever the "view disastance stat" is, HL2 open areas still look pretty darn great: plenty of room, plenty of stuff to see and do. And the trees are way more complex than Far Cry's cartoony layered sprites. Heck, they're sort of creepy.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->The Manipulator is, in my opinion, actually prett damn stupid. Really, if I could have a ten pound object capable of ripping a radiator out of the wall and sending it flying down a city block, what stops me from building a sixty-thousand ton one and ripping the earth in half, or sending the moon flying into mars?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This has got to be the dumbest attempt to attack something in HL2 ever. This great, fun means to interact with the world in combat situations, and you hate it because you're afraid someone would blow up the moon?
<!--QuoteBegin-Apos+May 15 2004, 12:49 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Apos @ May 15 2004, 12:49 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> This has got to be the dumbest attempt to attack something in HL2 ever. This great, fun means to interact with the world in combat situations, and you hate it because you're afraid someone would blow up the moon?
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> The Manipulator is a really awsome thing what should be created by Albert Einstein in 1942, and expect that Half-Life 2 is looking soo cool with Direct X.9 and Ati Radeon 9800 together..FarCry is just poop
Understand that nothing can Stop Newell to Take over the world and..eh um? lol..
And i got a PC GAMER review of "Far Cry" what gets 89 % <ul><li>Nice graphics</li><li>Nice psychics</li><li>Smart Enemyes</li><li>Original Environment</li><li>Hawaii!</li><li>- <span style='color:red'>NEEDS PC POWER!!!</span></li></ul> Recommended to play Far Cry : 1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 128-MB 3D-Card And now look at Half-Life 2 :
Renderer
- Version 2.0 (and below) shaders, bump mapping, LOD on models and world - Author shaders with HLSL - Cube and environment mapping - Dynamic lights, vertex lighting and light maps, many light types - High-Dynamic Range lighting - Water with refraction and fresnel effects - Advanced particle system that can emit sprites or models - Projected shadows allow for a large number of characters per scene - Occluder entities for visibility blocking - Indoor/Outdoor environments . Deformable terrain . 3D skyboxes extend the horizon and add parallax on distant objects . Dynamically rendered organics (grass, trees etc) - Subdivision surfaces, diffuse & specular bump maps - Real-time radiosity lighting - Effects include but are not limited to: particles, beams, volumetric smoke, sparks, blood, environmental effects like fog and rain - Scalability . Dx6-Dx9 hardware supported
Materials System
- Instead of traditional textures, Source defines sets of materials that specify what the object is made from and the texture used for that object. A material specifies how an object will fracture when broken, what it will sound like when broken or dragged across another surface, and what that object’s mass and buoyancy are. This system is much more flexible than other texture only based systems. - Materials can interact with objects or NPCs such as mud or ice for vehicles to slide/lose traction on.
Multiplayer Network Code
- Time and gamer tested by millions of gamers around the world - Support for both LAN based multiplayer and Internet based multiplayer games - Prediction analysis for interpolating collision/hit detection - Optimizations for high-latency, high-packet loss 56k connections
Advanced Characters
- Detailed and believable characters - Realistic eyes . Focus on player/object, not simply parallel views . Proper eye “bulge” for realistic eye reflections - Simulated musculature provides emotions, speech and body language - Language independent speech, characters can naturally speak in many languages - Skeletal/bone system for animation - Layered animation system can synthesize complex animations out of several pieces
<span style='color:red'>Physics</span>
- More responsive world with realistic interactions - Sounds & graphics follow from physics - AI characters can interact with physically simulated objects - Ropes/cables, machines, constraint systems, ragdoll physics - Can be controlled by level design - Kinematic animated bone followers - Custom procedural physics controllers - Vehicles . Wheels slip and skid . Realistic suspensions with springs on each wheel . Realistic leaning during acceleration/deceleration and turning . Individually tunable parameters such as horsepower, gearing, max speed, shift speed, tire material, tire friction, spring tension/dampening etc. . Multiple players in a vehicle in multiplayer . Hovercraft support for cheaper simulation
<span style='color:red'>Advanced AI</span>
- I/O system allowing level designers to control AI - Sophisticated navigation: characters that run, fly, jump, crouch, climb stairs and ladders, and burrow underground - AI senses things using sight, sound, smell - AI relationships determine friend/foe status of other entities - Battle AI allows squads of AI characters to operate together, know when to advance, retreat, lay cover fire, etc. <span style='color:red'> Sound</span>
- 5.1 surround sound, 4 speaker surround - High-quality 3D spatialization - Custom software DSP - Automatic DSP based on environmental geometry - ADPCM decompression - 16-bit 44KHz, stereo wave data with all features - MP3 decompression (requires Miles license) - Support for audio streaming on any wave - Real-time wave file stitching - Pre-authored Doppler effect encoded waves - Pre-authored distance variant encoded waves
<span style='color:red'>UI</span>- Server browser - Displays all active game servers and allows a player to choose which one to participate on. Players can filter and sort server lists in order to speed up the display and selection of a server. - Friends instant messenger - Allows players to message each other both in and out of the game as well as join friends in existing games. No more confusion about what server your friends are on, you can easily join with this feature. - VGUI – Valve’s custom GUI interface mimics most of the windows controls but is rendered using the Source engine for both in game and out of game uniform UI display. VGUI is platform independent and is Unicode compliant for ease of localization
<span style='color:red'>Programming</span>
- All code written in C/C++ using Visual Studio 6.0. Easily and quickly derive new entities from existing base classes. - Internal context sensitive performance monitoring system - Graphics performance measurement tools built into the engine - Modular code design (via DLL’s) allows swapping out of core components for easy upgrading or code replacement - Dx9 shaders all written in HLSL
<span style='color:red'>Tools</span>
- Faceposer . Facial expression tool used to craft speech and emotions - Valve Hammer Editor . WYSIWYG World editor . Create world brushes . Terrain editor . Place detailed world models and AI NPCs . Set navigation points/paths for NPCs . Place triggers, clip brushes, logic etc. . Allows level designer to hook up I/O between entities to control AI - Half-Life Model Viewer . Full model previewer . Rotate models in any direction . Setup hit boxes . View physics hull . View normals . Wireframe, shaded or textured view modes - Studiomdl . Model compiler - Vbsp, Vrad, Vvis, VMPI . Map compilation tools (bsp, lighting and visibility) . VMPI – distributed compilation tool allowing level compiles to be spread across many pc’s greatly reducing compile times - Exporters . XSI, Max and Maya .smd exporters for exporting 3D models <b>
<b>AWSOME?</b> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Awsome indeed, but u can't compare the full HL2 features to a Magazine Reporters Point of view about a game.
<!--QuoteBegin-EEK+May 15 2004, 05:15 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (EEK @ May 15 2004, 05:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> The Manipulator is, in my opinion, actually pretty damn stupid. Really, if I could have a ten pound object capable of ripping a radiator out of the wall and sending it flying down a city block, what stops me from building a sixty-thousand ton one and ripping the earth in half, or sending the moon flying into mars? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What's to stop me from taking the rocket launcher in Far Cry, super sizing it, and blowing up the islands one by one? That agrument has to be one of the stupidest I've ever heard...
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Awsome indeed, but u can't compare the full HL2 features to a Magazine Reporters Point of view about a game. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Okay then, how about this: "I race over the hills and obstacles, slowly mastering the amazingly lifelike vehicle physics <i>which prove even more authentic than those featured in Far Cry.</i>"
"On the evidence we've experienced first hand, Valve seems well on the course to achieving its goals of providing an unparalled cinematic shooting experience, one that's threatening to not only knock A-List top dog shooter <i>Far Cry</i> off its perch, but potentially <i>blow it away</i>. -PCZone, April 29, 2004
<!--QuoteBegin-Apos+May 15 2004, 04:04 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Apos @ May 15 2004, 04:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Awsome indeed, but u can't compare the full HL2 features to a Magazine Reporters Point of view about a game. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Okay then, how about this: "I race over the hills and obstacles, slowly mastering the amazingly lifelike vehicle physics <i>which prove even more authentic than those featured in Far Cry.</i>"
"On the evidence we've experienced first hand, Valve seems well on the course to achieving its goals of providing an unparalled cinematic shooting experience, one that's threatening to not only knock A-List top dog shooter <i>Far Cry</i> off its perch, but potentially <i>blow it away</i>. -PCZone, April 29, 2004
Pzowned! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> As much as I agree with it, it's still just a journo's opinion.
<!--QuoteBegin-Tequila+May 15 2004, 04:16 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Tequila @ May 15 2004, 04:16 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Pzowned! [/QUOTE] As much as I agree with it, it's still just a journo's opinion. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> People buy it to read about games, million of people, million over the world.
<b>Alphabetical order of names:</b> Doom 3 (winner!) Far Cry Half-Life 2 Halo 2
<b>Colour of Main Characters' Outfits compared with Visible Spectrum:</b> Far Cry (splotches of red, winner!) Half-Life 2 (orange) Doom 3 and Halo 2 (green, tie)
<b>Lengths of Main Characters' Names:</b> Half-Life 2 (Dr Gordon Freeman, winner!) Doom 3 (Grunty McGrunt) Far Cry (Jack Carver) Halo 2 (John-117)
<b>Most Vehicles Named After Wild Porcines:</b> Halo 2 (Warthog, winner!) Doom 3, Far Cry and Half-Life 2 (none, tie)
well of course hl2 will pwn far cry. and another game will pwn HL2. it would be rather dull if it wasn't this way, wouldn't it? I mean, hl2's going to be released AFTER far cry. it's only natural. it would be very depressing to know the is-all-end-all game was released and NOTHING is ever going to top it.
<!--QuoteBegin-Nz-Nexus+May 15 2004, 04:19 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Nz-Nexus @ May 15 2004, 04:19 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> [QUOTE=Tequila,May 15 2004, 04:16 PM] Pzowned! [/QUOTE] As much as I agree with it, it's still just a journo's opinion. [/QUOTE] People buy it to read about games, million of people, million over the world.
Well last time : Far Cry is poop <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Er, what? How does that have any relevance with my quote?
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->it would be very depressing to know the is-all-end-all game was released and NOTHING is ever going to top it.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sure, but every once and awhile, a game comes out that has both mighty graphic polish and is also a great game with plenty of innovations and a great mod scene. The last time that happened was HL1, and it's been years since a game that dominatingly good has come out.
<!--QuoteBegin-Hand Me The Gun And Ask Me Again+May 15 2004, 04:20 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Hand Me The Gun And Ask Me Again @ May 15 2004, 04:20 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>Colour of Main Characters' Outfits compared with Visible Spectrum:</b> Far Cry (splotches of red, winner!) Half-Life 2 <b>(orange)</b> Doom 3 and Halo 2 (green, tie)
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Blasphemous! I'm certain Gordon's HEV suit had black in it.
I hate to sound like an idiot, but who is Breen, and where did you get information on him? I know that he's the guy on the monitors, but I've heard numerous references to him as being a character in HL1. Can someone clarify this for me?
In all seriousness...who thought any of the scientist in HL1 had real names?
Basically they all look like psuedo-Einsteins...I haven't seen one HL2 scientist that looks like that <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> . They could say Dr. Humazagrubble was the resident physics department supervisor, and no one would have evidence for or against it <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> .
Basically, all the names we get are from that locker room with the HEV suit...I think I've got to go look for a Green or Breen or whatever...
Comments
Sure, it could render interior spaces, but they looked washed-out and boring. Lighting was bland, geometry was overly simple and run-of-the-mill, it just wasn't good overall.
Outdoor scenes were something the renderer was pretty good at, even though it did look cartoony as hell.
I don't remember all of the details, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Far Cry has no bump mapping, the character faces are no where near as believeable, the water shader blew (on my machine), and they seemed to use a similar lighting system found in most Quake based games.
HL2 is supposed to have diffuse mapping, bump mapping, a good water shader (from what I see in videos and screenshots), complex facial animation/expressions, a decent vertex-based lighting system (which is much more efficient than full dynamic lighting), and a bunch of other stuff...
So... Yeah...
Sure, it could render interior spaces, but they looked washed-out and boring. Lighting was bland, geometry was overly simple and run-of-the-mill, it just wasn't good overall.
Outdoor scenes were something the renderer was pretty good at, even though it did look cartoony as hell.
I don't remember all of the details, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Far Cry has no bump mapping, the character faces are no where near as believeable, the water shader blew (on my machine), and they seemed to use a similar lighting system found in most Quake based games.
HL2 is supposed to have diffuse mapping, bump mapping, a good water shader (from what I see in videos and screenshots), complex facial animation/expressions, a decent vertex-based lighting system (which is much more efficient than full dynamic lighting), and a bunch of other stuff...
So... Yeah... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Err...no. I don't think Far Cry will even be comparable to HL2, but first off-
Far Cry had Bump Mapping.
The Water Renderer was damned good(though I don't think as good as HL2)
The lighting system was great
The characters...yeah. Not believable. and world, yeah, not realistic.
I'm assuming they don't want to spoil a Strider death, since that seems to be rare. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Will it run decently on my system?
Far Cry: Maybe
Half-Life 2: Yes, even as low as a 700mhz machine!
Yeah, I got the same impression. It's as though you were watching a tank on paperthin supports, with everyone trying to penetrate the tanks armor...
Yeah, I got the same impression. It's as though you were watching a tank on paperthin supports, with everyone trying to penetrate the tanks armor... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I thought it was obvious..
Finding out how to kill it is a main part in the game,so if they show it in the videos,
it'll ruin a main part of the game ;)
imo, you need to put things under his legs (with that new weapon taht moves objects) so when he walks on them, he falls with the new physical engine.
but thats just me :)
Far Cry had Bump Mapping.
The Water Renderer was damned good(though I don't think as good as HL2)
The lighting system was great
The characters...yeah. Not believable. and world, yeah, not realistic. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Musta been my video card, then. Stupid 9200...
But Source Engine is very inspiring thing, i cant wait until the SDK is out!
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-Eek+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Eek)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Half-Life doesn't even have dynamic lighting. You were getting 'realism' from where?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Are you kidding? Watch the combine walk under that light in the hallway. Watch how the light and shadow play on his body. Far Cry doesn't have anything that looks quite that good. In fact, most of the shadowing on Far Cry is two tone: i.e. all shadows are the same depth and darkness, and some are just hard shadows. Most of its lighting effects are faked in this way.
HL2 also has dynamic lights JUST like Far Cry (i.e., not all the lighting is like that for performance reasons, but map makers can place them in maps in certian areas for extra detail).
Shadows can slide over characters realistically, and gunfire can light up characters realistically. It's all in there. Neither game takes it to the extreme that Doom3 does, but they save so much in performance that they can fill the screen with characters and geometry of cool stuff going on.
Oh, and try HDR. Try full, high quality radiosity solutions. Try water that blows every other game OUT of the water.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->There was a storyline to FarCry (and since you don't even sound like you've played it, I won't spoil it for you). It wasn't complex or very 'unique' but considering the nature and setup of the game, it was actually perfect. A complex storyline would've ruined the 'Die Hard' feeling of the game. A simplier storyline would've made it just another 'Doom'.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's okay, but how can you possibly compare the level of characterization, the world full of people an events and active AI characters, to the pretty standard FPS story telling of Far Cry where half of it is just done with disembodied voices?
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->better physics
I don't see where this is coming from...<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
OMG. Crap is constantly churning, moving, tipping, flying all over the place in HL2, whereas Far Cry manages some occasional barrels, boxes, vehicles, and pointless machines. The physics engine is not only far far more complex in HL2 (Havok2 plus all Valve's additions), but it's actually exposed and integrated into the gameplay in so many diverse ways: even if all we've seen so far is all there is, that's a ton more than Far Cry does with physics (heck, most of the objects and structures in Far Cry are apparently nailed to the floor)
And related to physics, just the diversity of the creatures and interactions in HL2 is incredible. Grunts and Trigens are nowhere near as diverse and deep for gameplay.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Maybe a PREFERED atmosphere, but I've seen billions of 'run around in the post-apocalyptipc city and shoot things' games, but I've only seen two games set in a jungle, and walking up to a dock and seeing minnows flee from my presence pretty much took it for me.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That was pretty good, and Far Cry gets point for that. But that's it's atmosphere, and this is HL2's. HL2 does a damn fine job at creating it's many different sorts of atmospheres (which, you have to admit, are way more diverse and varied than in Far Cry). And clearly it has lots of neat little touches, like any good game.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Yes, you definately haven't played FarCry. It is easilly possible to create indoor levels of complexity in FarCry,<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sure, they're fine, but they don't look anything near as complex as in HL2. HL2 just has so many more entities to fill out the scene.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->and not only that, but FarCry is the only game to have a complete rendering engine capable of rendering roughly 2km+ (In real-life distances) of completely terrain and complex geometry. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's great yeah, but so what? Why does that make it superior to HL2? HL2's 3d skyboxes create the exact same feel of huge areas, even though it's designed as a more linear game in some places.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Everything I've seen in Half-Life that involved long distances was either low-poly, or used clever 'vis-blockers'. Look at the 'dried up lake' for instance. The majority of outdoor levels seems to rely on curves around mountains so you can't see everything.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Say what you will, but I see a bridge stretching away for miles and a landscape that looks huge and full of a lot more buildings and objects than I see in Far Cry. Whatever the "view disastance stat" is, HL2 open areas still look pretty darn great: plenty of room, plenty of stuff to see and do. And the trees are way more complex than Far Cry's cartoony layered sprites. Heck, they're sort of creepy.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->The Manipulator is, in my opinion, actually prett damn stupid. Really, if I could have a ten pound object capable of ripping a radiator out of the wall and sending it flying down a city block, what stops me from building a sixty-thousand ton one and ripping the earth in half, or sending the moon flying into mars?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This has got to be the dumbest attempt to attack something in HL2 ever. This great, fun means to interact with the world in combat situations, and you hate it because you're afraid someone would blow up the moon?
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Manipulator is a really awsome thing what should be created by Albert Einstein in 1942, and expect that Half-Life 2 is looking soo cool with Direct X.9 and
Ati Radeon 9800 together..FarCry is just poop
Understand that nothing can Stop Newell to Take over the world and..eh um? lol..
And i got a PC GAMER review of "Far Cry" what gets 89 %
<ul><li>Nice graphics</li><li>Nice psychics</li><li>Smart Enemyes</li><li>Original Environment</li><li>Hawaii!</li><li>- <span style='color:red'>NEEDS PC POWER!!!</span></li></ul>
Recommended to play Far Cry : 1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 128-MB 3D-Card
And now look at Half-Life 2 :
Renderer
- Version 2.0 (and below) shaders, bump mapping, LOD on models and world
- Author shaders with HLSL
- Cube and environment mapping
- Dynamic lights, vertex lighting and light maps, many light types
- High-Dynamic Range lighting
- Water with refraction and fresnel effects
- Advanced particle system that can emit sprites or models
- Projected shadows allow for a large number of characters per scene
- Occluder entities for visibility blocking
- Indoor/Outdoor environments
. Deformable terrain
. 3D skyboxes extend the horizon and add parallax on distant objects
. Dynamically rendered organics (grass, trees etc)
- Subdivision surfaces, diffuse & specular bump maps
- Real-time radiosity lighting
- Effects include but are not limited to: particles, beams, volumetric smoke, sparks, blood, environmental effects like fog and rain
- Scalability
. Dx6-Dx9 hardware supported
Materials System
- Instead of traditional textures, Source defines sets of materials that specify what the object is made from and the texture used for that object. A material specifies how an object will fracture when broken, what it will sound like when broken or dragged across another surface, and what that object’s mass and buoyancy are. This system is much more flexible than other texture only based systems.
- Materials can interact with objects or NPCs such as mud or ice for vehicles to slide/lose traction on.
Multiplayer Network Code
- Time and gamer tested by millions of gamers around the world
- Support for both LAN based multiplayer and Internet based multiplayer games
- Prediction analysis for interpolating collision/hit detection
- Optimizations for high-latency, high-packet loss 56k connections
Advanced Characters
- Detailed and believable characters
- Realistic eyes
. Focus on player/object, not simply parallel views
. Proper eye “bulge” for realistic eye reflections
- Simulated musculature provides emotions, speech and body language
- Language independent speech, characters can naturally speak in many languages
- Skeletal/bone system for animation
- Layered animation system can synthesize complex animations out of several pieces
<span style='color:red'>Physics</span>
- More responsive world with realistic interactions
- Sounds & graphics follow from physics
- AI characters can interact with physically simulated objects
- Ropes/cables, machines, constraint systems, ragdoll physics
- Can be controlled by level design
- Kinematic animated bone followers
- Custom procedural physics controllers
- Vehicles
. Wheels slip and skid
. Realistic suspensions with springs on each wheel
. Realistic leaning during acceleration/deceleration and turning
. Individually tunable parameters such as horsepower, gearing, max speed,
shift speed, tire material, tire friction, spring tension/dampening etc.
. Multiple players in a vehicle in multiplayer
. Hovercraft support for cheaper simulation
<span style='color:red'>Advanced AI</span>
- I/O system allowing level designers to control AI
- Sophisticated navigation: characters that run, fly, jump, crouch, climb stairs and ladders, and burrow underground
- AI senses things using sight, sound, smell
- AI relationships determine friend/foe status of other entities
- Battle AI allows squads of AI characters to operate together, know when to advance, retreat, lay cover fire, etc.
<span style='color:red'>
Sound</span>
- 5.1 surround sound, 4 speaker surround
- High-quality 3D spatialization
- Custom software DSP
- Automatic DSP based on environmental geometry
- ADPCM decompression
- 16-bit 44KHz, stereo wave data with all features
- MP3 decompression (requires Miles license)
- Support for audio streaming on any wave
- Real-time wave file stitching
- Pre-authored Doppler effect encoded waves
- Pre-authored distance variant encoded waves
<span style='color:red'>UI</span>-
Server browser - Displays all active game servers and allows a player to choose which one to participate on. Players can filter and sort server lists in order to speed up the display and selection of a server.
- Friends instant messenger - Allows players to message each other both in and out of the game as well as join friends in existing games. No more confusion about what server your friends are on, you can easily join with this feature.
- VGUI – Valve’s custom GUI interface mimics most of the windows controls but is rendered using the Source engine for both in game and out of game uniform UI display. VGUI is platform independent and is Unicode compliant for ease of localization
<span style='color:red'>Programming</span>
- All code written in C/C++ using Visual Studio 6.0. Easily and quickly derive new entities from existing base classes.
- Internal context sensitive performance monitoring system
- Graphics performance measurement tools built into the engine
- Modular code design (via DLL’s) allows swapping out of core components for easy upgrading or code replacement
- Dx9 shaders all written in HLSL
<span style='color:red'>Tools</span>
- Faceposer
. Facial expression tool used to craft speech and emotions
- Valve Hammer Editor
. WYSIWYG World editor
. Create world brushes
. Terrain editor
. Place detailed world models and AI NPCs
. Set navigation points/paths for NPCs
. Place triggers, clip brushes, logic etc.
. Allows level designer to hook up I/O between entities to control AI
- Half-Life Model Viewer
. Full model previewer
. Rotate models in any direction
. Setup hit boxes
. View physics hull
. View normals
. Wireframe, shaded or textured view modes
- Studiomdl
. Model compiler
- Vbsp, Vrad, Vvis, VMPI
. Map compilation tools (bsp, lighting and visibility)
. VMPI – distributed compilation tool allowing level compiles to be
spread across many pc’s greatly reducing compile times
- Exporters
. XSI, Max and Maya .smd exporters for exporting 3D models
<b>
AWSOME?</b>
<b>AWSOME?</b> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Awsome indeed, but u can't compare the full HL2 features to a Magazine Reporters Point of view about a game.
AWSOME? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Owned?
What's to stop me from taking the rocket launcher in Far Cry, super sizing it, and blowing up the islands one by one? That agrument has to be one of the stupidest I've ever heard...
However I do feel the lad's arguement is flimsy at best, and HL2 will redefine first-person gaming. Enough said.
Okay then, how about this: "I race over the hills and obstacles, slowly mastering the amazingly lifelike vehicle physics <i>which prove even more authentic than those featured in Far Cry.</i>"
"On the evidence we've experienced first hand, Valve seems well on the course to achieving its goals of providing an unparalled cinematic shooting experience, one that's threatening to not only knock A-List top dog shooter <i>Far Cry</i> off its perch, but potentially <i>blow it away</i>.
-PCZone, April 29, 2004
Pzowned!
Okay then, how about this: "I race over the hills and obstacles, slowly mastering the amazingly lifelike vehicle physics <i>which prove even more authentic than those featured in Far Cry.</i>"
"On the evidence we've experienced first hand, Valve seems well on the course to achieving its goals of providing an unparalled cinematic shooting experience, one that's threatening to not only knock A-List top dog shooter <i>Far Cry</i> off its perch, but potentially <i>blow it away</i>.
-PCZone, April 29, 2004
Pzowned! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
As much as I agree with it, it's still just a journo's opinion.
As much as I agree with it, it's still just a journo's opinion. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
People buy it to read about games, million of people, million over the world.
Well last time : Far Cry is poop
Behold! The ultimate gaming showdown!
<b>Alphabetical order of names:</b>
Doom 3 (winner!)
Far Cry
Half-Life 2
Halo 2
<b>Colour of Main Characters' Outfits compared with Visible Spectrum:</b>
Far Cry (splotches of red, winner!)
Half-Life 2 (orange)
Doom 3 and Halo 2 (green, tie)
<b>Lengths of Main Characters' Names:</b>
Half-Life 2 (Dr Gordon Freeman, winner!)
Doom 3 (Grunty McGrunt)
Far Cry (Jack Carver)
Halo 2 (John-117)
<b>Most Vehicles Named After Wild Porcines:</b>
Halo 2 (Warthog, winner!)
Doom 3, Far Cry and Half-Life 2 (none, tie)
The overall winner? Meh. It's a draw!
As much as I agree with it, it's still just a journo's opinion. [/QUOTE]
People buy it to read about games, million of people, million over the world.
Well last time : Far Cry is poop <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Er, what? How does that have any relevance with my quote?
Sure, but every once and awhile, a game comes out that has both mighty graphic polish and is also a great game with plenty of innovations and a great mod scene. The last time that happened was HL1, and it's been years since a game that dominatingly good has come out.
Far Cry (splotches of red, winner!)
Half-Life 2 <b>(orange)</b>
Doom 3 and Halo 2 (green, tie)
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Blasphemous! I'm certain Gordon's HEV suit had black in it.
I get an error saying that the unzipped size is larger than the initial size (by about 15 bytes).
Basically they all look like psuedo-Einsteins...I haven't seen one HL2 scientist that looks like that <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> . They could say Dr. Humazagrubble was the resident physics department supervisor, and no one would have evidence for or against it <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> .
Basically, all the names we get are from that locker room with the HEV suit...I think I've got to go look for a Green or Breen or whatever...