My thoughts on this season are generally mixed, the graphics look polished and much more refined, but I worry myself that this won't feel the same when I play it. The humour still seems to be there, and I hope that characters will be returning. (We are yet to hear of Bosco, but we have heard of Momma Bosco, and we haven't seen Sybil, although boxes of her stuff can be seen during the intro to the first episode.) I will be buying this despite my worries, and I think the games will sell well.
Multiple solutions to puzzles: I hate the whole "only one way to do it" thinking. I'd like it if you could solve a puzzle multiple ways and each one changes the plot a little bit. For example, in season 2 episode 3, you could open the bookcase and surprise Flint from behind or you could shoot out the spot light and drop it on him or you could have one of the buttons on the console trigger Flint's "sleeper agent" training that turns him into a super CIA assassin who's after someone who used to be a pain in the ass but isn't our enemy anymore or is dead and he's going after someone with a similar name thinking it's the other guy.
The first would have the game go on as it does. The other causes Flint to have a concussion which causes him to act weirdly like using the wrong verb when talking. And the last creates another problem for Sam & Max to solve.
I think this would add to the replayability of adventure games as you can go back and look for alternative solutions and story lines.
Shoot out mini-games: Sam & Max are often stated as being "shoot first" types. Why don't we have shoot out mini-games? Granted, they've shot up things in the driving games, but still. I'd like to see them in an old fashioned shoot out and just more use of guns in general.
The return of the Rubber Pants Commandos and Sgt. Blip: Maybe as some kind of squad based tactical mini-game?
Screenshot is potentially using older shadows before they got smoothed out. They look pretty darn good these days.
I'm just wondering, are you upping the polygon count at all?
In those screenshots it looks about the same as the old series, which kind of looks a bit blocky to my eye alongside more recent titles. Have you thought about running it through some form of surface subdivision, for higher-end systems at least, to smooth off some of those character outlines?
I'm just wondering, are you upping the polygon count at all?
In those screenshots it looks about the same as the old series, which kind of looks a bit blocky to my eye alongside more recent titles. Have you thought about running it through some form of surface subdivision, for higher-end systems at least, to smooth off some of those character outlines?
As with everything in game development, it has less to do with the implementation and more to do with the ramifications. Increasing the triangle count affects our riggers, animators and so on. Not to mention the performance of all algorithms dependent on the number of triangles will degrade. That is to say: animation, rendering, vertex shaders...
Shoot out mini-games: Sam & Max are often stated as being "shoot first" types. Why don't we have shoot out mini-games? Granted, they've shot up things in the driving games, but still. I'd like to see them in an old fashioned shoot out and just more use of guns in general.
I agree with this. Not that it's a major flaw or anything, but a bit more random shooting just can't hurt.
But i guess it's a bit hard to implement correctly.. Sam and Max DO shoot around a lot, but it's generally pretty useless, even if the comics, so it seems a bit hard to make it relevant to the puzzles, except if used in minigames.
For some reason i think a whole sam and max FPS could really be a lot of fun, especially since a lot of them tend to take themselve rather seriously. Someone should mod one or something.
Increasing the triangle count affects our riggers, animators and so on.
Why's that? Just curious - if tessalation can be done real-time and in-game, why isn't it possible to (post)process the models without affecting all the people in the design pipeline?
As with everything in game development, it has less to do with the implementation and more to do with the ramifications. Increasing the triangle count affects our riggers, animators and so on. Not to mention the performance of all algorithms dependent on the number of triangles will degrade. That is to say: animation, rendering, vertex shaders...
But I'm sure higher-end systems can cope with some amount of increase? Lots of people have systems now with very advanced graphics cards and fast processors. Could there be a "very high" graphics option?
But I'm sure higher-end systems can cope with some amount of increase? Lots of people have systems now with very advanced graphics cards and fast processors. Could there be a "very high" graphics option?
There certainly could. That's not where we're focusing our engineering our art resources right now, though.
Why's that? Just curious - if tessalation can be done real-time and in-game, why isn't it possible to (post)process the models without affecting all the people in the design pipeline?
It's tricky to get real-time mesh subdivision to play nice with per-vertex animations. We'd have to instead opt for several levels of mesh detail and then have our animators/riggers make a set of vertex animations for each LoD.
Most of our animations are skeletal, but we added vertex animation for Sam & Max's eyebrows and things like that.
It's tricky to get real-time mesh subdivision to play nice with per-vertex animations. We'd have to instead opt for several levels of mesh detail and then have our animators/riggers make a set of vertex animations for each LoD.
Most of our animations are skeletal, but we added vertex animation for Sam & Max's eyebrows and things like that.
I see. Never thought I'd be checking out eyebrows in a game, but now I'll definitely do that!
Watch Max's face in the trailer as he discovers the View-Master(tm) in the alley. Very emotive.
Yeah you're right - I actually saw that one, although I didn't associate to it as Max was doing stuff like that in S2, too.
Hmmm, I see now where Yare means the difficulties - but I still don't understand why isn't it possible to process the models to achieve higher polygon counts AFTER all the animation is done. Could further subdividing the triangles do something unpredictable that would possibly ruin the appearance of the models?
Could further subdividing the triangles do something unpredictable that would possibly ruin the appearance of the models?
If you have a file that was saved animating specific vertices, and then you add a bunch of new vertices by subdividing that are not part of that animation, you have to do hilarious fake things that might not always look good.
If you have a file that was saved animating specific vertices, and then you add a bunch of new vertices by subdividing that are not part of that animation, you have to do hilarious fake things that might not always look good.
I feel like I have wandered into the wrong conversation.
If you have a file that was saved animating specific vertices, and then you add a bunch of new vertices by subdividing that are not part of that animation, you have to do hilarious fake things that might not always look good.
I'll send you a PM to avoid further public horrors
Comments
Multiple solutions to puzzles: I hate the whole "only one way to do it" thinking. I'd like it if you could solve a puzzle multiple ways and each one changes the plot a little bit. For example, in season 2 episode 3, you could open the bookcase and surprise Flint from behind or you could shoot out the spot light and drop it on him or you could have one of the buttons on the console trigger Flint's "sleeper agent" training that turns him into a super CIA assassin who's after someone who used to be a pain in the ass but isn't our enemy anymore or is dead and he's going after someone with a similar name thinking it's the other guy.
The first would have the game go on as it does. The other causes Flint to have a concussion which causes him to act weirdly like using the wrong verb when talking. And the last creates another problem for Sam & Max to solve.
I think this would add to the replayability of adventure games as you can go back and look for alternative solutions and story lines.
Shoot out mini-games: Sam & Max are often stated as being "shoot first" types. Why don't we have shoot out mini-games? Granted, they've shot up things in the driving games, but still. I'd like to see them in an old fashioned shoot out and just more use of guns in general.
The return of the Rubber Pants Commandos and Sgt. Blip: Maybe as some kind of squad based tactical mini-game?
Ninjas: Cause ninjas are awesome.
I'm just wondering, are you upping the polygon count at all?
In those screenshots it looks about the same as the old series, which kind of looks a bit blocky to my eye alongside more recent titles. Have you thought about running it through some form of surface subdivision, for higher-end systems at least, to smooth off some of those character outlines?
As with everything in game development, it has less to do with the implementation and more to do with the ramifications. Increasing the triangle count affects our riggers, animators and so on. Not to mention the performance of all algorithms dependent on the number of triangles will degrade. That is to say: animation, rendering, vertex shaders...
I agree with this. Not that it's a major flaw or anything, but a bit more random shooting just can't hurt.
But i guess it's a bit hard to implement correctly.. Sam and Max DO shoot around a lot, but it's generally pretty useless, even if the comics, so it seems a bit hard to make it relevant to the puzzles, except if used in minigames.
For some reason i think a whole sam and max FPS could really be a lot of fun, especially since a lot of them tend to take themselve rather seriously. Someone should mod one or something.
Why's that? Just curious - if tessalation can be done real-time and in-game, why isn't it possible to (post)process the models without affecting all the people in the design pipeline?
But I'm sure higher-end systems can cope with some amount of increase? Lots of people have systems now with very advanced graphics cards and fast processors. Could there be a "very high" graphics option?
There certainly could. That's not where we're focusing our engineering our art resources right now, though.
It's tricky to get real-time mesh subdivision to play nice with per-vertex animations. We'd have to instead opt for several levels of mesh detail and then have our animators/riggers make a set of vertex animations for each LoD.
Most of our animations are skeletal, but we added vertex animation for Sam & Max's eyebrows and things like that.
At first I read "most of our animators are skeletal".
EDIT: Nooo! You changed your title! Why?!
He knows too much.
Too much.
I see. Never thought I'd be checking out eyebrows in a game, but now I'll definitely do that!
Thanks!
And RD, you beat me to that line. And now I have that song stuck in my head!
Sweep the leg!
Yeah you're right - I actually saw that one, although I didn't associate to it as Max was doing stuff like that in S2, too.
Hmmm, I see now where Yare means the difficulties - but I still don't understand why isn't it possible to process the models to achieve higher polygon counts AFTER all the animation is done. Could further subdividing the triangles do something unpredictable that would possibly ruin the appearance of the models?
If you have a file that was saved animating specific vertices, and then you add a bunch of new vertices by subdividing that are not part of that animation, you have to do hilarious fake things that might not always look good.
I feel like I have wandered into the wrong conversation.
It's cold
Someone help me
Tout fout le camp.
Yes. All our other stuff's on there, too. You should check it out
As usual, of course, only customers who buy direct from Telltale get the free DVD version, etc, but the games themselves will definitely be on Steam.
That is all.
There is no need to discriminate based on nationality. All fish(es?) are awesome.
hahaha
we aren't, btw.
I'll send you a PM to avoid further public horrors
That made me LOL