Graphics engine improvement

[Uziyahu--IDF 0]

I'd like to see some lit-up windows at night, and the A.I. to go along with this would be that any A.I. who were in a lit room at night would have difficulty seeing anything outside in the darkness. (But if they are in a completely dark room they will see someone outside before the person outside will see them.)

[FatNinjaKid 0]

I am really hoping for a better light engine. I think a lot of atmosphere is lost in Flashpoint1 because of poor light effects. When different light sources are overlapping you get that annoying flicker also the streetlamps supplied by BIS are much to bright.

This has been really bugging me. I can't see why they did not pay more attention to that right from the start when they started developing the engine.

[Uziyahu--IDF 0]

Probably because they were focusing on game-play issues that won them the Action Game of the Year.

[FatNinjaKid 0]

Probably because they were focusing on game-play issues that won them the Action Game of the Year.

an rightly so! Don't get wrong i love flashpoint

Still that bug is a bit odd

[lonesoldier 0]

I get where bn880 is coming from.

I dont get why people are arguing over his opinion?

If its option in the preferences menu in OFP, then thats ok.

If you dont have the PC Specs to support such graphical changes, then dont play the game like that.

I'd be happy to play OFP with better gfx, just as long as BIS add options to turn it off, and just as long as BIS know when to draw the line between graphics and gameplay.

IMO, they should focus on all the cool little features, but then if the game has those features, they wont be nicely pulled off without a good graphics engine will they?

[Heatseeker 0]

I would like... a shinny hot SUN, the sun in flashpoint is kinda small, and it should be more realistic, bigger with more light, and we should not be able to look at it directly without having sun glare (?) effect on our digital eyes, the sun in OPF looks kinda dead, perhaps they made it small cause we can look at it not only on the ground but also from high altitude, i dunno...

Perhaps they should make it bigger, brighter, and with better light efects when we look directly at it (imagine your a pilot and you loose your target because of sun light, or a possible tactical pilot evasion manuever ), i think this is a reasonable request and it shouldnt be very hard to incorporate, devs: stop working for half hour, put on your sun glasses, go out for a beer and enjoy the weather (sun) .

[malick 0]

I would like... a shinny hot SUN, the sun in flashpoint is kinda small, and it should be more realistic, bigger with more light, and we should not be able to look at it directly without having sun glare (?) effect on our digital eyes, the sun in OPF looks kinda dead, perhaps they made it small cause we can look at it not only on the ground but also from high altitude, i dunno...

Perhaps they should make it bigger, brighter, and with better light efects when we look directly at it (imagine your a pilot and you loose your target because of sun light, or a possible tactical pilot evasion manuever ), i think this is a reasonable request and it shouldnt be very hard to incorporate, devs: stop working for half hour, put on your sun glasses, go out for a beer and enjoy the weather (sun) .

I understand you. The sun seems to be a bit weak, I'd like to be blinded by looking right to it. Though, it's not funny if the AI is not blinded too! This could bring new tactics: attacking with the sun behind us to blind the ennemy at dawn !

On the other hand, the sun, as many other light sources on the map, is able to shine through mountains and objects... This is quite annoying, no ? When playing a night mission, and being able to see a light miles behind a mountain...

Or is it my video card ?

[Heatseeker 0]

I understand you. The sun seems to be a bit weak, I'd like to be blinded by looking right to it. Though, it's not funny if the AI is not blinded too! This could bring new tactics: attacking with the sun behind us to blind the ennemy at dawn !

On the other hand, the sun, as many other light sources on the map, is able to shine through mountains and objects... This is quite annoying, no ? When playing a night mission, and being able to see a light miles behind a mountain...

Or is it my video card ?

The sun behind back thing you discribed is a feature of OPF, i dont think it afects a.i. though, a good oficial mission where you can see this is the one where you are in Morton and your called to rescue the Lt. from an Ambush (1985 campaign), it is hard to see the ruskies because the sun is behind them but when you reach their position you can see your dead teamates very easily, im going a bit offtopic but i really love that neat feature, sorry bout that .

[malick 0]

Quote[/b] ]The sun behind back thing you discribed is a feature of OPF, i dont think it afects a.i. though, a good oficial mission where you can see this is the one where you are in Morton and your called to rescue the Lt. from an Ambush (1985 campaign), it is hard to see the ruskies because the sun is behind them but when you reach their position you can see your dead teamates very easily, im going a bit offtopic but i really love that neat feature, sorry bout that  .

I really loved that mission the first time I played ! Allways wondered if he could be saved if we moved in quickly enough... But I don't remember being blind cause of the sun.

[FatNinjaKid 0]

not quite on topic :

What about displaying GIFs and AVIs?

[shataan 1]

"but I'm worried about one thing:

improper use of this may rended the entire game to look pale and faded"

this sort of makes me laugh, and no offence meant. ;0) But I have always thought FP looked like water color, or rather the visuals look like a water color painting. To me in many ways the stock Flashpoint does look very pale/faded etc. Alot of low rez texture usage is most likely the culprit.

I must commend the makers of the hi rez skies, hi detail weap pack for making at least these areas look outstanding, and I love the added immersion factor because of these addons. Not to mention even FPs default sound effects SOUND pale/faded, especially incomparison to all the awesome sound packs for FP made by the mod dudes.

It would be pretty sad if BIS ends up not doing as good a job with FP 2 in these areas, that the mod dudes have done in FP GoTY Ed./Resistance. Here is to hoping.

[Gollum1 0]

I would like... a shinny hot SUN, the sun in flashpoint is kinda small, and it should be more realistic, bigger with more light, and we should not be able to look at it directly without having sun glare (?) effect on our digital eyes, the sun in OPF looks kinda dead, perhaps they made it small cause we can look at it not only on the ground but also from high altitude, i dunno...

Perhaps they should make it bigger, brighter, and with better light efects when we look directly at it (imagine your a pilot and you loose your target because of sun light, or a possible tactical pilot evasion manuever ), i think this is a reasonable request and it shouldnt be very hard to incorporate, devs: stop working for half hour, put on your sun glasses, go out for a beer and enjoy the weather (sun) .

You´re right about the sun, I´ve never thought about it that much. It´s so tiny and weak as it is, I really hope BIS fixes this for OFP2

[server1 0]

i hope OFP2 will have ropes

please ropes ropes and anemations and grafiti not too much

[server1 0]

I hope ofp has ropes becouse the guns on the backs of

soldiors look realy bad ropes kan help meny tings in the game

for example heli can have real loking moving cargo ropes

and soldiors in heli can wear seat belts, cargo in planes

or helis can be lockt whit real looking ropes Paradrops like the ones in world war 2 and parashoots can have more realistick

ropes and rope climbing for spec ops flags whit ropes (flags on vehicles dont have ropes looks like rubish).

ropes would make the game more realistic and more fun!

i hope BIS reads this

sorry for my english im DUCH! not that duch ppl cant speak english

[hovmand 0]

i hope OFP2 will have ropes

please ropes ropes and anemations and grafiti not too much

Quote[/b] ]Connor: You know what we need? Some rope.

Murphy: What are you, insane?

Connor: No, I'm serious. Charlie Bronson's always got a rope. In the movies, they've always got rope and they always end up using it.

Murphy: That's stupid! Name one fucking thing you're gonna need a rope for.

Connor: It's not what they need it for, they just always need it.

Murphy: What's this "they" shit? This isn't the movies.

[Connor picks up a huge knife outta Murphy's bag]

Connor: Oh, is that right, Rambo?

Murphy: All right, get your stupid fucking rope.

Boondock saints ;)

[Phleep 0]

A solution to the deep grass or mud problem:

At larger distances the grass detail could be degraded to a ground texture and the soldiers could only have their top half visible (depending on how deep). Same could apply to mud.

Decent mud or grass will make OFP2 significantly better.

[FenderHSS 0]

At larger distances the grass detail could be degraded to a ground texture and the soldiers could only have their top half visible (depending on how deep).  Same could apply to mud.

The problem here is, because the way the engine works, even if a complex graphics scheme like this is not occuring in the field of view of the player, it still takes a lot of memory to keep track of everything. Just because it's not being rendered at huge distances, doesn't mean you're not losing a lot of RAM so the game engine can keep track. With Islands as big as the ones in OFP, this could be a huge problem, especially if terrain type affected the way the unit moves.

[ale2999 0]

whatever, I believe ofp2 engine will be very scalable, so people with mid/high performing machine can still get the best visually and gameplaywise

[Phleep 0]

At larger distances the grass detail could be degraded to a ground texture and the soldiers could only have their top half visible (depending on how deep).  Same could apply to mud.

The problem here is, because the way the engine works, even if a complex graphics scheme like this is not occuring in the field of view of the player, it still takes a lot of memory to keep track of everything.  Just because it's not being rendered at huge distances, doesn't mean you're not losing a lot of RAM so the game engine can keep track.  With Islands as big as the ones in OFP, this could be a huge problem, especially if terrain type affected the way the unit moves.

It shouldn't be a problem if it is treated the same way as chunks of forest. They are treated as a single object so distant viewing you don't see individual trees. We already have individual reeds for the outskirts.

[Kuja- 0]

Better z-occlusion (or whatever the technique is called) so that the vid cards are not rendering pixels that are not visible - in OFP the FPS is the same whether you're looking across an open space in a city or looking straight at the side of a building.

A better example - standing on the side of a hill below a town higher up that hill...If you look straight into the hill (so that you would be looking at the town if the hill did not exist), you get the FPS drop of looking at the town, even though there is a hill between you and it

[ABsintheminded 0]

Whatever is done to the graphics engine should be done with gameplay in mind, not eye candy. However, considering the nature of the game, this includes just about everything. Sun glare is one of the oldest combat tactics in history, good textures on plants and effective lighting will make camouflage a more important aspect of the game, and changes to the terrain such as flattened grass or craters/shattered trees would help the thoughtful player track troops or determine the way a battle went, which could be amazing additions to OFP gameplay. Even the swaying of plants in the wind would change how people sneak through foliage, and what good is the ground if you can't use bumps and ditches as cover?

Almost EVERYTHING about the graphics engine will directly affect gameplay, so playing the "graphics shouldn't come first" card is nothing more than a bluff. But there should be compromises, in my opinion, as to exactly what is included. Water effects, for example, don't have to be spectacular. Though it looks cool, perfectly smooth ripples aren't going to change the way you pilot a boat up a river. Just the basics will do.

Now, I understand all these things take processing power, which is a shame. But personally, I'd be willing to deal with release delays if it means getting the right code in there to do the job and do it well. I have great faith in Bohemia and Codemasters, and I'm sure with the classic ofp gameplay intact, even standard updates to the engine will be a blessing. I look forward to seeing how this turns out.

[Phleep 0]

Introduction of z-occlusion and a lod system for the terrain would give heaps more potential for the ditches and trenches mentioned above. No need to use processor time on those details if they are more than 100m away, a texture will suffice.

Maybe a different LOD for vertical distance as well as horizontal. This would be quite a bit of work but BIS only has to enable it not use it to the fullest, they can just use same lod for vertical and horizontal. It would open up an opportunity for aeroplanes to have a better view.

@ABsintheminded: the grass would not be eye candy it would definitely add to the tactics.

[ABsintheminded 0]

Phleep: That's what I'm saying, man. There are very few things that -wouldn't- add to the gameplay, as far as the graphics go. Everything that won't should be spared, in the name of including the little things that do. Even that, though, probably won't be enough, so it's a question of what superslick stuff to exclude to keep the game playable.

[korzon 0]

I'm not sure if this is right Topic and if anyone mentioned it before but explosions in OFP are very unrealistic.

- flash, explosion, smoke cloud it looks another way, much bigger and not in such hollywood style.

I hope it will improve in OFP2

[OneStiffRod 0]

Graphics wise I think OFP2 needs hi-frequency textures...

These are very small textures that are tiled - think of it like the background of a webpage - these textures are tiled and layered in a small radius around the player/camera/or visible short distance. This is the technique they use in racing games to give texture to the road and ground so you can see even the little pebbles and grass blades.

Right now I think OFP uses a triple layer general texture effect - with hi-frequency textures you could give very nice visual effects to the road/grass and even the outside of buildings.