Ben-DutkaSeveral developers have commented on what they'd like to see – and what they expect to see – in next-gen hardware.
The latest is Prototype 2 developer Radical Entertainment. Vice President of Technology Dave Frucchia told GamerZines says new consoles should push the boundaries of open-world environments. It's about making a world that's more alive.
"Quite frankly I think we're still touching the surface of what we can do with an open world. An open world is all about an alive world, and if you think about creating something that's vast and the memory and cycles it takes to actually do that, and then try and put things that are alive and interacting with it (on top), all games could go so much farther in creating a world that (leaves players) surprised by the things you see and the reactions that occur."
He goes on to say that common speculation about new hardware involves "more memory, more CPU, more everything," which in turn allows the designers to pour in more resources. Frucchia adds that although the worlds we currently inhabit in our virtual realities are plenty interesting, there's still much more that can be done.
"If you think of any open world game I would say that the worlds are cool and they look good and they're alive, but could they be more? Absolutely."
Wow, this is *exactly* what I always have been talking about regarding the next gen machines. More power behind the graphic shell is what is sorely needed, precisely for this reason.
Living, open worlds FTW!
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/16/2012 10:24:33 AM
How about they just concentrate on making a great game before they worry about the size or scale of the open world? What's the name of that racing game with a huge open world that was as satisfying to play as a puffed rice cracker is to eat dry?
There was an article about this kind of thing just a week or so ago. Developers would do well to focus on making their game fun and compelling before they build monstrously large open environments.
Yeah but with the power of the next gen console and some great engine in place ( if it s easier to make some for those console it would make it so even more ) , it would nt require that much more work then in today games .
As a side note , i think it s about time sony make a console that s easy to program for .
That way they could be competitive from the start and people with both console might pick it on ps4 instead than on the 720 ( normally the better version ) .That is if they both make it into next gen .
I think you refer to Fuel. That game were pure shite. But poor games is hardly an argument against better hardware, and static, dead worlds (The Fuel world were *dead*) are hardly an argument against making them more alive.
It's not really about the size of the world either. It's about making the worlds more *alive*. Imagine an Assassins Creed where every little citizen had each their own small agendas for the day. If you wanted to you could follow one citizen and see him/her do his/her stuff like a regular citizen back then would do. Just to come up with one silly example.
It would make a huge change to the overall experience, imo.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/16/2012 10:48:19 AM
Sure, creating an agenda for hundreds if not thousands of NPCs would give the worlds life, but it adds nothing to the mechanics of the game. that's why I start with making a compelling game. As Fuel showed, no matter how advanced your procedurally generated artificial world is, if your fundamental game sucks, it's not gonna help.
That's true of course, one does not rule out the other and good game mechanics will always and forever be a requirement for a good game, just like a good script is required for a good movie.
But let's not waste time talking about bad games – they will always exist. Think what this will do for the *good* developers. I'm all for that. We don't really need that much better graphics now anyway… At least I'm more than pleased on the graphics department for now. I do however see huge room for improvements on other areas of what makes a good game.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/16/2012 12:46:22 PM
test drive unlimited 2?
oh how i had such massive hopes for that!
i had envisioned burnout paradise but in a realistic setting, with more realistic racing and car features.
how i was let down!
I disagree on making the system too overly developer friendly. To some extent, yes.
But more and more devs are learning it. It's not all that complicated so much as it was just very different. (No GPU, strictly speaking, for example)
Note that the best early PS3 developers were the ones with good experience with the PS2. People complained about that at first too. With the complexity came more diversity in how devs can draw on power. And that's a useful tool.
I think they need to have some sort of go-between. A compromise. Make it a little easier, perhaps. But don't make it a generic system. Especially if innovation is important.
I agree , uncharted / heavy rain graphics or at the most bf3 pc graphics is more then enough for me .
It s the rest that i want ameliorated , how enemies react to you re action ( and where you shoot/cut them and their reaction to it ) , all the thing they do while you re far away , how each of their personality affect what they do in a given situation ( enemies and civilians ) is what i want .
Impressive but ultimately inorganic open worlds we have gotten this generation, again and again. If they couldn't succeed to begin with then why make the size of the worlds they have?
easy money I guess, I know theirs Devs out their that can push it but money is a easy target.
Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 2/16/2012 12:17:41 PM
In the process of making bigger worlds, your spreading the quality thinner and thinner. Remember – while developers are getting more powerful means of creating these worlds, they're still human; they themselves aren't getting 'upgraded'. I think we're already at the stage of what is humanely possible within a realistic time-frame on the current generation of consoles, in regards to the size – and quality – of games.
For example, Uncharted 3: it took two years to make it, with around hundred people working on it. This is an example of the quality being sustained with the size of the game. Sure, developers like Rockstar have larger numbers of staff, therefore can create larger worlds – but the quality significantly drops off, as I said in the beggining.
I mean, certain factors ARE limiting developers on this current gen of consoles, like memory to have more things on-screen – but those things don't necessarily make the game 'bigger'.
I really don't think we will see a massive difference in the size of next-gen games, more-so the things that are limiting the developers like memeory, post-processing effects etc, things that "add life".
In other words – I half agree, half don't. 🙂
Last edited by Ludicrous_Liam on 2/16/2012 11:18:10 AM
Anyone who wants to know what kind of advances we can still make in gaming tech needs to watch this video.
http://www.gamespot.com/features/tim-sweeneys-crystal-ball-dice-2012-6350174/
I eat this stuff up with a spoon.
I look forward to my CSCD470+ courses. They're all about programming in 3D.
I'm still waiting for the advent of real time raytracing with the physics/illumination done in a single pass.
Hey Temjin,
Then if you haven't read this yet,you'll probably want to check it out…..
Unreal Demo Samaritan Required 10 Times the Power of Xbox 360
http://www.thealistdaily.com/news/unreal-demo-samaritan-required-10-times-the-power-of-xbox-360/
EA better listen to their fans and bring back the NFS: Underground series.
inFamous 3 baby.
That comment deserves a thumbs up.
I look at these open world games this gen, many of which aren't even finished at release and are plagued by countless bugs and glitches – on all platforms – and then I imagine these developers adding an entire extra layer of programming complexity on top of that next gen. All I can say is "good grief".
Maybe if they start working on one of these games now, and release it a year before the PS5 comes out.
I'll be happy if we just get smoother frame rates and faster loading times. Anything more than that and I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Better subsurface light scattering is where its at for better CGI in movies and games thus reducing the depth of the uncanny valley.
Also better Middleware tools lead to better virtual worlds with more detail in less time with less human effort.
Hopefully theres a really good game inside that enhanced virtual world.
of course you can, nothing will ever be perfect theres always more things you can add.
id love to see a new godfather game on next gen consoles, and definitely a new scarface!
but godfather 2 not the original, the sequel just felt a better style.
for once i actually prefer a sequel to a original, and a next gen game to a last gen game.
god, whats happening to me!?
i suddenly feel so dirty………
oh and of course a new lesure suit larry game!
god how i miss that guy!
Last edited by ___________ on 2/17/2012 2:12:48 AM
Wasn't complaints about complexity of making an open world map with airship, vehicles, etc. a reason SE quoted a long time ago as a reason for remaking FF7?
Just sayin'… I'm gonna dream that dream until the day I die. And then in heaven, I'll play the remake because hey… it's heaven. Why wouldn't an FF7 remake be there?
Last edited by Underdog15 on 2/17/2012 12:04:35 PM
Another improvement is more power for the computers used to create the code that runs on PS3 and later the PS4 thus a FF7 Remake for the PS4 is getting closer to being born since technical limitations in codeing computers are being reduced for a 720p game for a PS4 game.
IF SE holds to a 720p resolution for a FF7 Remake then hopefully someday we will get an announcement.