Age of Empires III Interview 02:29 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: real-time strategy
(9 comments)
PC.IGN scored the online exclusive for Age of Empires III asking Ensemble all about it's newest strategy game set in the colonial New World period. Here's a taste of the new tech:
IGNPC: Are you using a modified version of the Age of Mythology engine or are you starting over from scratch? What new technologies and visuals are you hoping to include?
Ensemble: Yes, we started Age of Empires III with the Age of Mythology engine. But, fairly soon into Age of Empires III's development, we realized that we had an opportunity to do something unique in terms of pushing the edge of the envelope with graphics in the RTS genre, and perhaps even for all PC games. As a result, we've rewritten most of the engine by this point in time.
The Age of Empires III engine is a fully DX9, Shader 3.0 compliant engine with more technical bells and whistles than any other PC game to date. As you can see from the screenshots, we have a world that feels bright and sunny, but with a softness and depth that hasn't been seen before. From things like self-shadowing to HDR (high dynamic range) lighting to water that has proper Fresnel reflectance properties, this is a very high-end graphics engine.
We've also integrated physics into the game in a big way. When units are blown up by cannon fire, we use ragdolls to bounce them around the world, off of rooftops, and down cliffs. As buildings take artillery damage, pieces of the building realistically break off and fall down with proper collision modeling. When you throw in hundreds of integrated animations per unit, the overall effect is quite impressive.
Age of Empires III has more programmers working just on graphics than worked on all of Age of Kings. While gameplay still reigns supreme, it would be accurate to say that the bulk of our programming time has been spent on graphics. Everything from low-level shader architecture to higher level, applied things such as unit movement and combat have been taken to the next level. Simply put, we set out to create the best looking PC game of all time with Age of Empires III.
Three screen shots come included.
Latest From The Vault 09:28 am
- Andrew Burnes
- games: role-playing
(0 comments)
The RPG Vault returns:
- The Bard's Tale Wrap Report - Executive Producer Brian Fargo and Creative Director Matt Findley on inXile's humor-oriented hack and slash RPG
- World of Warcraft Tips of the Week #5 - Thoughts you may want to consider when buying skills and in anticipation of obtaining mounts for your characters.
- Guild Wars Media #10 - Before you enter ArenaNet's Tomb of Kings PvP area, you must find a team and protect an NPC spirit from attack. Includes four exclusive 1600x1200 screenshots.
Retribution Revealed 08:57 am
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: xbox next
(3 comments)
U-235 Studios has today revealed what they hope will become a Xbox Next title. Comprising of four people, U-235 is presently developing a prototype of their game Retribution, which will be demonstrated to publishers in November, and then hopefully signed and funded to completion. However, U-235 requires modders to create a large number of objects for the game to help push this first-person shooter towards the prototype stage.
You can find a detailed game description here.
Halo 2 vs Half-Life 2 Poll Results 03:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(35 comments)
Here are the results of the which sequel kicked more ass poll:
Half-Life 2 - 6,168
Halo 2 - 1,956
total votes: 8,124
Better luck next time, Bungie. The new poll is 'Best website that's not VE?' which is on the sidebar to your right. Obviously we are limited to how many selections we can input, so forgive us if we didn't include one of your favorite destinations. I didn't include any game specific fansites or big commercial non gaming/hardware related sites on purpose, as those are entirely different cans of worms we can open later. Votes are limited to 1 per IP address.
U.S. Troops In Iraq De-Stress With Games 02:51 am
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
(0 comments)
The AP today reports on how games are helping U.S. troops in Iraq de-stress and retain a cool head:
"I always talk to people about all kinds of positive, pleasant events that they can use," said Lt. Erin Simmons, a psychologist with Bravo Surgical Company. "I've heard some people say they like to play the video games with the aggressive military content. I've also heard people say they don't want to play those types of games, they don't need to be reminded of it. But as far as a pleasant event, it can take their mind of things, help them relax. We encourage it."
The activity is highly social as service personnel place bets on the outcome of sports games and jeer at one another during multiplayer rounds of "Halo."
It also helps alleviate homesickness. A "Morale, Welfare and Recreation" center just off the gym is filled with Playstation 2 consoles. Marines back from the fight stop in for a few hours to unwind.
The History of Unreal: Part 3 02:45 am
- Andrew Burnes
- games: action
(1 comment)
Unreal Ops' latest 'History of Unreal' article looks at the online phenomenon that was Unreal Tournament:
How did the idea of UT come about?
Cliffy B: Cedric "Inoxx" Fiorentino was one of the first folks around the office that was suggesting we do a "botpack" expansion for Unreal. It was going to be advanced bot play, a single player focused around this. We had no idea that the game/project would evolve into the Tournament splinter of the franchise. Polge (Steve Polge of Epic) wanted to attempt this crazy thing called 'Assault'. So we started cranking on it and found that what we had was quite enjoyable.
Top 20 Gaming Lows of 2004 12:40 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(7 comments)
GamePro has an amusing feature online called Top 20 Gaming Lows of 2004 where they go over some of the less than spectacular happenings of the year that was. Here's a taste:
19) Duke Nukem--A Decade in the Making
Just when everybody forgot the existence of Duke Nukem, 3D Realms announces that it signed Swedish firm Meqon to handle the physics engine for its vaporous sequel, Duke Nukem Forever. While 3D Realms has a reassuring "it's done when it's done" stance for the shooter, the numerous delays either signals a new Half-Life--or the new Daikatana.
Ah well, every time I see new footage of DNF via trailers, it looks awesome. I think 3DR is a bit too susceptible to feature creep, but since they are self-funding the game I suppose they can keep upgrading technology as long as they don't run out of money. Thanks Slashdot.
Mercenaries Quickie 12:19 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- consoles: xbox
(0 comments)
HomeLan slapped up a quickie for the Xbox version of LucasArts' Mercenaries:
Graphically, the Xbox beta version of Mercenaries we got to try out was quite solid, with some good looking character models and especially in vehicle design. While there are cut-scenes that advance the storyline, the world itself is pretty much open for you to run, drive or fly around. There are a ton of weapons and especially vehicles that you can gain access to, from jeeps to tanks to helicopters. Friendly AI teammates from the four factions are helpful in missions and can man weapons if you are driving the vehicles. The environments in Mercenaries are highly destruable; there's nothing like taking down a huge building with a few well placed tank shots. The Havok physics engine is put to good use as well, with ragdoll death animations for the characters and well handed (and fun_ driving physics for the vehicles.
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:04 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: general news
(0 comments)
Game Reviews 12:03 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
(0 comments)
In Other News... 12:00 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- in-house: in other news...
(18 comments)
Welcome back if you are just returning from the holidays. It's time to go back to work, yay! Today's question is: What are some of the games you're looking forward to in 2005?
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