Episode Two & Portal Screenshots

[-smash-]

Thanks to Voodoo Extreme, I've found some new screenshots (though, the images are very familiar for most) of Valve's highly anticipated upcoming titles, Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Portal. Without further delay, here are a few of them:[br]

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[br]More HL2: EP2 and Portal screenshots at VE3D.[br]On a side note: EA will debut the Xbox 360 version of Valve's award winning title, Half-Life 2, later at X06. Still unclear whether it will be a video or live playable demo. But, stay tuned for that!

 

[Steel.Inferno]

<3 Smash

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Theres a screenshot there of the room on the CCTV camera feed on the aperture science viral advertising website from portal. Lets investigate!

 

[Vegeta897]

Don't see any depth of field in those Portal shots. Is that going to be a toggle-able option or was it just added for the trailer?

 

[-smash-]

Don't see any depth of field in those Portal shots. Is that going to be a toggle-able option or was it just added for the trailer?

Because these haven't been retouched with post-processing digital effects.

DOF and motion blur will be enabled for real-time use once Valve see's hardware capable of running it... In real-time.

 

[Asuka]

Wow.








Hummmmmmy!

 

[russ_uk]

nothing new

 

[-smash-]

nothing new

Thanks for reading the stuff in parentheses.

 

[Shamrock]

I cannot wait for Portal! It looks to be a hell of a good time. Does anyone know what quarter they are releasing Ep2 and Portal? Q406 or Q107? Please say winter!

 

[Beastmonkey2]

Because these haven't been retouched with post-processing digital effects.

DOF and motion blur will be enabled for real-time use once Valve see's hardware capable of running it... In real-time.

Now I know a lot about computers, but not to much on the graphics side. Why would depth of field and motion blur be hardware intensive? If at all? All I see is blurring close up things and vice versa...and motion blur just blurring the pixels. Can someone explain this?

 

[-smash-]

Now I know a lot about computers, but not to much on the graphics side. Why would depth of field and motion blur be hardware intensive? If at all? All I see is blurring close up things and vice versa...and motion blur just blurring the pixels. Can someone explain this?

It can be done in real-time with today's hardware, except Valve's quality of blurs is far more superior to other games. Video cards have buffer rates, and that part is used for DOF/motion blur (I think this is correct) - But, no video card has a fast enough buffer rate at the moment.


Someone correct me if I'm way off.

 

[TheMastahC]

Well, with motion blur, you can't just blur the whole image, you have to blur what's moveing, depending on how much it moved. And depth of field is the same way, you have to blur only parts of the image depending how close / far away it is.

Both are much trickier then they sound.

 

[Cyan Leader]

Those screenshots looks old, beside the lack of effects the Hunters looks like before they were added a few details and a re-texture.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Well, with motion blur, you can't just blur the whole image, you have to blur what's moveing, depending on how much it moved. And depth of field is the same way, you have to blur only parts of the image depending how close / far away it is.

Both are much trickier then they sound.

Just to add to that, this gives a really good explanation as to how real motion blur works and why it's so demanding:

http://freespace.virgin.net/hugo.elias/graphics/x_motion.htm

 

[Franzerstein]

Nice screens! Alyx looks less pretty on that pic though

 

[FrenchToast]

Portal continues to look incredibly amazing, and Episode 2 continues to look like Episode 1 which looked like HL2. So... if I didn't have to buy Ep2 to get Portal and TF2... I wouldnt.

 

[-smash-]

Portal continues to look incredibly amazing, and Episode 2 continues to look like Episode 1 which looked like HL2. So... if I didn't have to buy Ep2 to get Portal and TF2... I wouldnt.

Ep2 screenshots are old.

Haven't you seen the latest trailers? Looks better than this.

 

[Trooper]

Nice looking screens. Especially the Portal ones!

 

[Rebirah]

Does anyone else see any Rodney Dangerfield in Alex on that screenshot, or is it just me. =/

 

[d00d]

So this game offers 19 challenges total? On that screen with the big white panel you can see the 6/19 there.

 

[Beastmonkey2]

Does anyone else see any Rodney Dangerfield in Alex on that screenshot, or is it just me. =/

lol not at all

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Depth of field won't occur in realtime in anything until there's a reliable mechanism to work out exactly what the player is currently trying to focus on...

 

[Hazar]

eye tracking technology?

mind/machine interface? D:

 

[Dodo]

Depth of field won't occur in realtime in anything until there's a reliable mechanism to work out exactly what the player is currently trying to focus on...

that is some sexy depth of field sitting on alex's hand. and there are ways to use depth of field in a game without blurring the wrong things, like you could nearly always blur the gun (or parts of it). because the players view is always looking at the crosshair.

-dodo

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

That's hardly dynamic, though. It's useful for cinematic stuff (although that's one thing that Valve doesn't actually do in the HL games), but not much else.

 

[dogboy73]

That screenshot from the forest looking towards City 17 from the original trailer - That just doesn't look right. It looks like a painting of a burning City 17 with a landscape from Source layered over the top of it! I thought that when I first saw the trailer at the end of Episode 1. It reminded me of that bit at the end of the original Doom (with the severed bunny head).

 

[The Monkey]

That first picture is so awesome!

 

[Insano]

Theres a screenshot there of the room on the CCTV camera feed on the aperture science viral advertising website from portal. Lets investigate!

First thing I thought about too

 

[Beerdude26]

eye tracking technology?

mind/machine interface? D:

zomg

 

[Glo-Boy]

Motion blur occurs in advanced rendering technology much like a real camera. The engine has to figure out how long the "shutter" is open for and sample the appropriate number of pixels. Even now it's still a poor man's version.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Nice screens! Alyx looks less pretty on that pic though

It's astounding, VALVe has actually created an NPC character who is not photogenic.

 

[Steven]

The place where Portal takes place looks very clean and in order compared to the usual Half-Life stuff where everythings brakeing down with blood everywhere.

 

[ZoFreX]

Theres a screenshot there of the room on the CCTV camera feed on the aperture science viral advertising website from portal. Lets investigate!

That screenie (or a similar one) was in PCGamer a month or so ago, too

Because these haven't been retouched with post-processing digital effects.

DOF and motion blur will be enabled for real-time use once Valve see's hardware capable of running it... In real-time.

Call of Juarez has real time DOF, doesn't it?

 

[Beerdude26]

Call of Juarez has real time DOF, doesn't it?

Wow, never ever heard of this game. Looks nice.

 

[ZoFreX]

Wow, never ever heard of this game. Looks nice.

I've only played the demo but it has some serious kick-ass gimmicks - the take on slo-mo is very original, and the duel-wielding is awesome! Left click = fire left weapon, right-click = fire right... and one of your "weapons" is a bible, so you can read Ezekiel 25:17 whilst filling people with lead (I mean literally, you can actually read that passage at them ^_^)