Posts by TomWithTheWeather

Mmmmmmm chewy grass mmmm.

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Pictures were taken with a Canon 20D and Canon 100mm USM Macro lens.

Quote from FMPONE

yeah I wont buy a 360 just to play games that belong on the PC. And not releasing a demo isn't that big a deal, just wait for the reviews.

First of all, this game was designed for a console, the camera angles, control scheme, etc. A PC version would get a lot of complaints about console-itis and would probably be hard to play without a lot of design changes. I'd much rather play it on the system it was designed for, which is the 360.

Quote from FMPONE

Releasing on the PS3 launch date seems like another stupid move (not to mention a bit childish), the game may be great but it will never have the mainstream appeal of a Halo that has had years to build up a fanbase and name for itself. I doubt very many people will turn down buying a PS3 just because of this game...

I don't think it's a stupid move. It may not have the reputation of Halo, but it does have some very strong market hype and user appeal. Some people will pick a PS3 over the 360 and GoW. But some won't. Every little "steal the market" tatic helps. Besides, the 360 does have the advantage.

Quote from FMPONE

If Microsoft was smart and really wanted to hinder the PS3's release they would have just had these guys work on Halo 3 a long time ago.

Halo3 is Bungie's game, not Epic's.

Don't get me wrong, cannabis can have some negative side effects if abused, but right now, statistically, alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous.

When you think about it, just about anything can be abused. I can get obsessive about ice cream and end up obese with many related health problems and phsycological problems.

Alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than cannabis. It's been studied and proven for a long time now.

When was the last time you heard of someone dying of a weed overdose? Alcohol OD? Death from cigarettes?

I don't smoke weed, but I think it should be legalized.

Quote from kleinluka

shit, nice. they must sound great if they are that old. I've seen some Gibsons from the 60s go out for $60 000 on ebay.

I have a 1981 Gibson ES-335TD. It's the sweetest guitar I've ever played. Looks very similar to the picture you posted, though it has a really dark cherry finish and almost looks black from a distance.

Thank god it's over.

Now watch game delays become a thing of the past. Well, not really, but we can dream can't we?

http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option=co ... 8&Itemid=2

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6154897.html

Quote from Bic-B@ll

do people often get kicked out of the program if their work isn't up to par?

There is a 3 month contract trial period. After the 3 months you are evaluated and either hired or let go.

Nate O - Gearbox level Designer

Dude, that's gay.

This map proves Doom3 needed more concrete. I like the last two shots. The first is cool, but the fog is kid of off.

Quoting myself from the other Portal thread... yeah I know it's cheesy, but I don't want to type a bunch all over again.

Yes Unreal1 did have portals, though I think very few were actually used in the game itself. Portal in Unreal mainly took off when UT99 was released and people started making custom maps.

The only thing Valve is really doing new with portals is allowing the player to place them anywhere by shooting a gun, therefore making them a gameplay gimmick that is used to solve interesting puzzles. I wouldn't say it's "revolutionary", as Valve certainly wasn't the first to use portals, but I would say it's neat and does look very fun.

To me, "revolutionary" is when a game brings something to the genre that all other games can now take advantage of. Like the first time you ever saw realistic physics (no, it wasn't HL2, though Valve's implementation was top-notch and allowed you to play with it), or dynamic lighting, or a new level of narrative. Shoot, most "new ideas" you see in games were thought about years before but we didn't have the hardware power to implement them correctly.

Valve is taking some known ideas and making very good use of them; physics and portals, and basically just raising the bar a little bit higher. I'd call it "evolutionary".

Quote from TomWithTheWeather

Seeing as how you can probably place your portals anywhere, my guess is that it's not a VIS thing at all, but some render-to-texture type stuff. This way, there is no need to alter BSP/walls/geometry in realtime. Notice in the video how when you place the first portal, you can't see through it until you place the second. The second acts like a camera that shows what the first one sees, and probably the other way around once you get the second placed.

It's probably no different than realtime video screens/cameras that you've seen in many different games, except you can now walk through them.

Shoot, Prey probably does it the same exact way.

Shit! It's rods!

In that spot, you can kind of see the pentagonal or hexagonal artifacts (the shape is created by the apperture blades in the lens) of a spark of light, indicating that the spot is a reflection. That camera's flash is apparently bouncing off something like a bit of glitter or sweat on the baby's forehead. Could be reflecting off of a fly's wings at just the perfect angle when it flew by.

Could be anything really. Though it's not spiritual stuff. Because, well frankly that stuff just doesn't exsist.

The days of a small studio of jack-of-all-trades style workers, is pretty much over.

Quote from Thrik

Because let's face it, modelling is an unavoidable component of modern 3D design, and you're going to have to embrace it sooner or later. Needless to say, later is not good.

It really just depends on where you work. At Gearbox, level designers don't model or texture at all. We have dedicated artists that do that and as a result, a much cleaner and more efficient pipeline. This also allows the level designer to do what they do best, actually design the game.

Shoot, for what it's worth, I've worked about 8 months at Epic and close to 2 1/2 years at Gearbox and I have absolutely no modeling or texturing skills whatsoever.

I have dabbled in learning 3dmax, but I always get distracted by learning something else and by the time I get back to 3dmax, I've forgotten it all. And other than photography manipulation and tweaking, I have next to no skills in Photoshop.

Yet I have been in the industry for just over 3 years. Why? Because I do game/level design, not content creation.

Yeah, a lot of engines have had very similar camera/portal tech. Duke3D is probably the earliest I can think of with cameras and Unreal Engine 1 with portals.

Seeing as how you can probably place your portals anywhere, my guess is that it's not a VIS thing at all, but some render-to-texture type stuff. This way, there is no need to alter BSP/walls/geometry in realtime.

Notice in the video how when you place the first portal, you can't see through it until you place the second. The second acts like a camera that shows what the first one sees, and probably the other way around once you get the second placed.

It's probably no different than realtime video screens/cameras that you've seen in many different games, except you can now walk through them.

Shoot, Prey probably does it the same exact way.

Quote from Spinlock

What camera do you have, Tom? Beautiful shots, by the way.

Canon 20D

Quote from Bic-B@ll

i was in topsail a few years ago, all the way at the north end at the apartment complex place. this was in 2002 i think so camp lejeune had helicopters buzzing over the beach constantly preparing to go to iraq, it was the coolest shit ever. i was swimming one day and popped my head out to see a cobra aimed right at me. best ever. (when/if you went in the water, did you get bit by a million tiny jellyfish constantly? it was terrible)

That's exactly where we stayed. All the way at the north end in one of the condo/apartment places.

We didn't see any jellyfish.

They probably should have just stuck with HL1.

Don't get me wrong, I did really like the demo, but I'm used to hearing some of the ShackNews guys talk about it, and some of them think it's the new Halflife. I do plan on playing the full game, I just might wait a little while. I've heard some things about people finishing it in 8 hours, but I may be hearing a rumor incorrectly.

And yes, Polaris, I did review a demo.