Sky Lightning was video artifact

[RoyalEF]

The flashes in the clouds seen in the E3 Docks video turns out to be a video artifact. In the new high-res steam version there are no flashes amongst the clouds.

Skys are probably just high res tga's

 

[GoLiatH]

Is that good or bad i dont know.

 

[BWMASTER]

It's a 3d sky, thats for sure. It's mentioned in one of the latest interviews at gamespy. Ans it looks alot better.

Sorry no volutmetric clouds this HL version, mabye in HL3 !

 

[Tamora]

The flashes in the clouds seen in the E3 Docks video turns out to be a video artifact. In the new high-res steam version there are no flashes amongst the clouds.

Skys are probably just high res tga's

Well, I read that interview by gamespy yesterday. That game from ValvE said that they use a 3D Sky now.

 

[GoLiatH]

I thought the sky in the Dock demo looked like the sky in STALKER. or maybe im wrong. So everyone says that STALKER sky is so good but whats the diffrent between them?

 

[Pr()ZaC]

Stalker's SKY is dynamic, a la Morrowind (moving clouds, day/night cycles).
I can't see anything that pointed to a Morrowind-like sky in the latest HL2 videos.

 

[BWMASTER]

Yeah the sky will rotate, watch carefully in the part with the swinging beam, look at the sky. Its moving a little bit

And thats how it is in real life, most of the times the sky moves slowly but you don't really notice it

 

[djkanuk]

Yes, the sky will be 3D, but it will not be dynamic (in terms of day/night time shifting). This isn't likely a limitation of the Source engine, but a gameplay decision. As Doug Lombardi mentions in the Gamespy interview, some scenes take place at night.

Valve want to tailor the mood of the scene to take place during darkness, dawn, dusk, etc., instead of letting the player wait until mid-day (game time) so he can see all the baddies that were supposed to be hidden in the shadows.

 

[Mr.Reak]

djkanuk, we are not talking about day-night cycle, but about dynamic skies, which basically means that it will move (like it moved in Unreal 1, Unreal 2, Morrowind, etc.)

 

[Pr()ZaC]

I'll pay more attention but I didn't really see the sky moving in the Docks video, plus, Morrowind sky is still one of the best out there.

Watch the DRAGON EMPIRES movies to check out very, VERY COOL dynamic skies.

 

[Mr.Reak]

Prozac, because they didn't movie

 

[Sporky]

Didn't anyone think the docks video was kind of 'fisheyed'?

I suspect it has more to do with the way the sky seemed to converge on the sun playing tricks on my mind tan anything else.

 

[djkanuk]

Originally posted by Mr.Reak
djkanuk, we are not talking about day-night cycle, but about dynamic skies, which basically means that it will move (like it moved in Unreal 1, Unreal 2, Morrowind, etc.)

I was just refering to Pr()ZaC's comment about STALKER's dynamic sky having day/night cycles. Yes, I understand the difference. I still don't know whether it will move (shifting clouds, etc), but it should at least appear to have proper depth and perspective, rather than a backdrop from a Ed Wood movie, like most earlier 3D fps games (HL1 included).

 

[Pr()ZaC]

djkanuk, I was just making a point about what is a dynamic sky.

Anyway, unlike Unreal 2 (which is dull), Unreal 1 sky still amazes me and it's an ancient game...

 

[DimitriPopov]

Doesnt ANYONE remember that these demos are a year old? It has been said that HL2 will have dynamic skies. Pay attention.















PS-These forums are slow , Very slow.

 

[Pr()ZaC]

DimitriPopov, Valve made their movies using a year old build?

 

[djkanuk]

Another factor to consider is the potential of the particle system. The "look" in the outdoor shots in the videos is very hazy and grainy compared to the very clean screenshots we saw earlier. This leads me to believe that Valve will use the particle system to 'fuzzy-up' the background (dust or haze obscuring objects further and further away).

With a dynamic particle system between a the viewer and the 3D skybox this could look just as good as a fully dynamic sky. Tho I don't understand how this could be any less processor-intensive than making a true dynamic sky.

 

[what]

Originally posted by Pr()ZaC
DimitriPopov, Valve made their movies using a year old build?

Made on the same engine build as the E3 videos which were said to be from September 2002, so yes, nearly 1 year old videos are what we are watching.

 

[Pr()ZaC]

Mhhhh...interesting.
Well, I hope Valve will release some videos made with newer tech

 

[DimitriPopov]

"GameSpy: This time around, the action really focuses as much outdoors as it does inside. What can we expect in the way of weather and lighting effects to evoke the feeling of an Eastern European city visually?

Doug Lombardi: We really wanted to bring people outside a lot more in the first game; there was the cliff scene in Half-Life 1 where you had to work your way up the side of this cliff … and all the while you were next to this big ugly 2D skybox thing. We were horribly embarrassed by that, so in this game when we take you outside we want it to be far more believable than that. We've implemented a 3D skybox to give us a believable endless horizon, while the downtown urban environments are far more detailed with what have you, like the variety of architecture and objects. The telephone cables, for example, are physically simulated, so when objects are fired at them or fly over them you can see the cables move.

As far as atmosphere, we have a scene at night where you can see the clouds moving and sort of block the moon. We're doing a variety of things to outdoor levels to make them more compelling and believable."

From a recent gamespy interview.

 

[Pr()ZaC]

I'll shut up then!

I really, really hope for clouds in daylight areas!

 

[djkanuk]

Originally posted by Pr()ZaC
Mhhhh...interesting.
Well, I hope Valve will release some videos made with newer tech

There are still a couple scenes that have been seen by some game reviewers before E3 that weren't shown there. One where an ant lion attacks a group of Combine soldiers in an APC was mentioned in PC Gamer (June). There was also another tech demo, dropping a wrench into gearworks. So there is still "new" material from the earlier builds (I think all the stuff shown by E3 and to the reviewers was from the September 2002 build), that Valve might give us.

I'm with you, tho. I hope we get some new vids with the latest platform to judge the progress. The differences between the screenshots and the E3 vids is amazing. Compare the current Kleiner video to the earlier screenie, for example: http://www.planethalflife.com/screenshot.asp?src=/half-life2/screenshots/03.jpg

 

[BWMASTER]

The floor is not even bumpmapped, lol....nothing is....