Is the weather system completely random/dynamic? Will there be different variations in storm intensity?
We have a new dynamic weather system now that allows us to create custom “climates” for each area. In the climate file we can set which weather systems it can use and what the chance is of each particular one occurring over a given period. In the weather system files we can set intensity ranges for each effect.
I notice the player pops from the screen a lot more then some of the earlier screenshots, he looks “illustrious.” Which I think is a pretty good way to set a character apart from the background in this kind of game.
We have added a “light rig” to the character so that they always have a little extra illumination over the environment. After listening to people’s feedback about the screenshots and also wanting to see the character better lit, we initially tried just increasing the brightness of characters but that made them look flat. When the game is in motion, I didn’t find there was any trouble discerning the character from the scenery but I think these “beauty lights” better define the character’s features and I think seeing them “pop” a bit more from the darker terrain is visually pleasing. In TQ since the outdoor world was so bright and the terrain usually much lighter than the character, this just naturally worked out most of the time. With darker ground textures, I think going lighter with the character makes sense.
freaking amazing bump maps on the ground
We’re putting real normal maps on terrain now as opposed to the black and white bump-maps used in TQ and I think it makes a HUGE difference for some textures.
I cannot wait to see what kind of colorburst you surprise us with, I mean seriously can all this gloom be all there is, or is there some contrast planned with other regions/areas where the gloom has lifted?
I think even in the current swamp, ruined village, and farm environments there is plenty of color when you’re playing the game. At least, I don’t feel like it is drab and monotonous in the way that parts of Fallout 3 and Guildwars (starting area after the “searing”) were, where everything was gray. The farm area is actually rather bright but the screenshot posted is at sunset. We will probably add additional details to each environment that may include little patches of color - like the swamp probably needs a little purple loostrife, my favorite invasive plant species. ; p
However, I don’t think any of the environments will be quite as bright and filled with color as the sunniest, most flower-packed grasslands of TQ. That just isn’t the vibe we’re going for and, while I find that visually attractive, I always felt like it really diminished the sense of danger and intensity in TQ.
I like the screenshot but I have to ask: are the torches (and similar light emitting objects throughout the game) gonna emit shadows or is that not being implemented due to the taxing engine on lower-end machines?
I think that single aspect is what throws it all off for me. I remember TQs lights casting several shadows off my character, it was always a beauty to behold. I sincerely hope that still has a chance of making it into the final game.
Hah, actually there should be shadows since we’ve implemented a new system that will allow us to use shadow-casting lights a little more freely in the levels. In the new system we can set a “shadow priority” for different lights based on how important they to the scene and then depending on your video settings shadows will be turned off on various lights based on the shadow priority of the light. This just went in a few days ago and, to be honest, I don’t even notice that there are no dynamic shadows when I’m playing, so I just forgot to set it. Thanks for the reminder! :o
That said, the reality is, casting accurate, dynamic shadows is still quite performance intensive even for expensive commercial engines such as Unreal 3. I wish this weren’t the case because I fully realize how cool they look but computer hardware hasn’t really advanced that much in this regard since TQ came out. So, you’ll see more shadow-casting lights than were used in TQ and I guess with the new system we might set it up so that on ultra-high setting you can enable shadow casting for all lights but I don’t many people would be able to run this. For most computers it will just be the most prominent lights in a given scene that cast shadows. I think beyond that, there is a diminishing return for how noticeable the effect is vs. the performance loss.
Not sure what part of TQ you’re thinking of though since there aren’t really very many shadow casting lights in most areas. If you load up the game and run around various towns you’ll notice that most of the fire particle effects (torches, braziers, campfires, etc) do not cast shadows. I just checked to make sure of this and none of the torches I ran past in Helios, Sparta, or Megara cast shadows. There were a couple that did in Athens and Delphi but most of the torches / braziers were not shadow casting. There was actually a point late in the development of TQ where the level designers had to go back and remove most of the shadow-casting lights from the levels. I think most of the ones left are there by accident.
Undergrounds, however, usually have simpler scenery that is less taxing on performance, so you may see them used in that setting more frequently.
Given that the #1 complaint we got about TQ:IT was poor performance, I think you can understand why we might be a little cautious here. We aren’t saving ourselves any trouble here by being conservative with shadows, it is actually very tempting to go nuts with the lighting and effects but we’re trying to exercise some self-restraint so that you guys will can enjoy good performance.
