Kwazydog Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Hi Guys! Just a few quick answers. Firstly keep in mind that this is the max wind setting as it was a small video and I wanted to make sure the movement was visible. Wind only went in for trees a short while back and movement, including the swaying movement of leaves, is still being tweaked. Palm trees in particular only went in a couple of days ago and what you see are placeholders. Clouds do move (last time I checked) an I believe that they cast shadows as well. You cant see it in these shots but the dynamic shadows cast by trees also react according to the trees movement. And yes, the distant mounts are indeed from CMAK, hehe, and they are just placeholders in there at the moment. Glad you guys like the way things are shaping up! Dan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Can we get a 2 minute video now of paint drying on an M-1 Abrams? Very impressive but I kept waiting for something...anything...to happen.... (Is this better than nitpicking, Steve?) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpl Steiner Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 It Lives! Thanks for the great video, a (moving) picture paints a thousand words! And as this is an Alpha build (a point lost on all the nitpicking ninnies) I am confident that anything that looks slightly odd now will most probably be ironed out by the final release. The sine-wave grass easily beats anything I've seen in a computer game to date, including big names such as the "Total War" series. It reminds me of scenes from that WWII film "The Thin Red Line". Now I'm going to have to watch it again to see if the clouds move! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwazydog Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: Can we get a 2 minute video now of paint drying on an M-1 Abrams? Very impressive but I kept waiting for something...anything...to happen.... Hehe, yeah yeah I know, its not very exciting. To be honest I actually made it to test the capture software but figured you guys might like a look Btw, if anyone can suggest some capture software that doesnt hit frame considerably please let me know (I used fraps for this one). Dan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by KwazyDog: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: Can we get a 2 minute video now of paint drying on an M-1 Abrams? Very impressive but I kept waiting for something...anything...to happen.... Hehe, yeah yeah I know, its not very exciting. To be honest I actually made it to test the capture software but figured you guys might like a look Btw, if anyone can suggest some capture software that doesnt hit frame considerably please let me know (I used fraps for this one). Dan </font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by KwazyDog: Btw, if anyone can suggest some capture software that doesnt hit frame considerably please let me know (I used fraps for this one). Dan FWIW to you, the video ran very smooth for me and the picture was clear enough, and I by no means have a top flight rig - AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz, ATI Radeon Express 200, running on an LCD monitor at 1024x768.</font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirocco Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by Cpl Steiner: a (moving) picture paints a thousand words! And as this is an Alpha build (a point lost on all the nitpicking ninnies)The point of showing alphas is to receive feedback, not for back slapping, otherwise odd things make it into the final release. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwazydog Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by Sirocco: Actually thatd be what beta testing is for As I mentioned it was just something I threw togeather to test some capture software and thought you guys would be interested to see where things are. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchy Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Shaping up quite well! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Moon, Love the weeping icon! On a more serious note, the grass sway and wind sounds are terrific and wonderfully immersive, but I do see the bizarre broken pinwheel effect some were describing. The palms I've seen blow in the wind, in person and on film and video, move as a complete unit, with the entire tree swaying back and forth. It isn't until you get into hurricane wind speeds that you even see much happening with the fronds proper. At very low low speeds, you get some interfrond rustling. Between there and hurricane speeds, you're merely talking about how much the entire tree oscillates, swinging back and forth rather like an inverted pendulum. Michael Dorosh, Don't you mean watching the CARC dry? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpl Steiner Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by KwazyDog: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Sirocco: Actually thatd be what beta testing is for As I mentioned it was just something I threw togeather to test some capture software and thought you guys would be interested to see where things are. </font>I must admit I get confused by all these terms. I take it that an "Alpha" build is at a stage when the game can be played but it has place holders here and there and is still under development, whereas a "Beta" build is as near as damn it the final product but may still have some bugs or graphical problems, and a "Gold" build is the release version? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoolaman Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Very happy to see some tangible progress on CMSF, looks good. I won't add to the nitpicks, but I hope this is the "a lot of progress near the end" stage of development that Steve has mentioned. I have one question, is the treatment of map edges any different in CMx2 engine? From the brief glimpse at the end it doesn't seem so, and that is disappointing. I was hoping for a map edge treatment like Theatre of war, where there is visible terrain outside the immediate play area instead of the green 2d Tron-scape of CMx1. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cull Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Agreed on the "pinwheel" effect---it jumped out at me immediately and was odd enough to be very distracting. Looks like all the trees are "waving" at me :eek: I think it's worse because each "chunk" of leaves appears to be pretty much identical; mixing in a few different shapes would probably make a big difference. As mentioned though, it's fresh alpha. (the sound is nice) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WineCape Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by Gpig: Looks really amazing! Can't wait to get sucked in. I think what some of the posters are responding too (and that you guys have not doubt observed) is that the top of the palm trees react sort of like a pin-wheel. The entire mass of leaves react as one unit and pin-wheel around the completely stationary trunk. If the trunks swayed slightly as well, it might lessen the contrast. If the palm trees leaves could also be segmented up like the bushes/trees in the foreground and then offset in time, it would add to the overall effect. Keep up the great work you guys!Ditto, my sentiments too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melnibone Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by Cpl Steiner: And as this is an Alpha build (a point lost on all the nitpicking ninnies)I understand it's an Alpha build - the point is not lost on me at all. If something looks odd to me then why should I not say it looks odd? Surely feedback is more useful to the developers than unconditional back slapping. Apart from the odd rotations (and lack of TNT :mad: ) I think it looks great. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caesar Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Excellent looking grass movement. The movement looks very natural. The tree movement looks a little off to me, though I suspect that if the branches and trunks sway a bit that will fix most of the problems. Is there any chance of getting another one with the camera panning around some so that I can see the LOD popping effects. The popping totally ruined Oblivion for me, it looked ridiculous and my rig is pretty reasonable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirocco Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by KwazyDog: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Sirocco: Actually thatd be what beta testing is for </font>To be senor nitpicky for a moment, showing alphas indicates you want to hear opinions. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scipio Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 In the Blog is mentioned a drop of FPS because of the capturing software. I wonder how much FPS you have in the game and on which hardware you run it!? What's more essential for the game engine? CPU or GPU power? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I do get a small chuckle at the folks who claim its all about gameplay then gripe about how the trees sway in the breeze. But hey, the film clip was ONLY trees swaying in the breeze so what can we expect! About the YouTube posting above. As the film clips become more interesting it sounds like a really good idea to sprinkle a few seconds worth of video into YouTube to get a little free buzz going. A 10 second shot of a Stryker with slat cage driving through that waving grass would've REALLY peaked some people's interest! [ November 10, 2006, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: MikeyD ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 BF.C, Thanks for the preview. Grass is good. Trees suck. Okay, the tree thing: just like everyone says - having identical leaf sprites rotating DETRACTS from any immersive qualities. I first thought the trees were Ent royalty, waving like Queen Elizabeth... Since I was asked to actually LOOK at a tree blowing in the wind, I will. WOW! The damn things bend. To simulate the motion I saw in the video, I tried to rotate the various boughs, but only succeeded in killing several young oaks. (Anyone need some green kindling?) (I won't even mention the lack of leaves being torn off and blown away. Nope, I'll bite my tongue on that particular gripe...) Since it's easy to criticize, please take these complaints as a backhanded compliment for how high our expectations are from your company. Regards, Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Cpl Steiner, I must admit I get confused by all these terms. I take it that an "Alpha" build is at a stage when the game can be played but it has place holders here and there and is still under development, whereas a "Beta" build is as near as damn it the final product but may still have some bugs or graphical problems, and a "Gold" build is the release version?There is no single way to define things, but the generally accepted definitions for game development are: Alpha - feature incomplete. Ranges from nothing more than graphics engine devoid of any game mechanics, all the way to something that is generally playable with lots of limitations and caveats. Beta - all major features complete, though many minor ones incomplete. Ranges from barely playable to just about ready to ship. Final Candidate (aka Release Candidate) - in theory ready for release. In reality this usually involves several attempts, which are usually numbered FC-1, FC-2, etc. Usually the only thing that holds the game from the next state is an outright bug. Game tweaks and feature additions are no-nos at this stage. Gold Master - in theory ready for replication. Usually this goes through several revisions too, usually numbered GM-1, GM-2, etc. The reasons for revisions are generally related to the installation setup, not the game itself. Release - it's in the box and time to start working on the patches Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 With the above definitions in mind, CM is at the early stages of Beta. Most of the major features are in, the big exception being Multi-Player. Often times developers push this off until the game is more fleshed out and stable, therefore it generally is not required to call the game "Beta". We're working on getting all the TO&E in over the next couple of weeks using graphical placeholders for nearly everything. We'll be adding 3D models and textures pretty much all the way up to Final Candidate. It's just the way things go Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtMuhammed Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I was so mezmorized that I was expecting some scary picture to pop up followed by Matt's maniachal laughter. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patboy Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Originally posted by Battlefront.com: Release - it's in the box and time to start working on the patches Steve I'll prefer -it's in the box and time to start working on the next modules. Pat 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 Wow, what an improvement over CM I. It's looking great, BTS. And I really like how the wind sounds, you can practically feel the breeze. CM II is going to have some really immersive looking and sounding battles, that's for sure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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