New Technologies

[Torch1228]

When Prey was being trumpeted way back when, it was supposed to be ushering in a ton of new features that we were all waiting for. Reflective surfaces, dynamic lighting, etc.
Of course all of these are considered standard features today and the graphics that created what were amazing screenshots then are found in today's bargain bin games.
There is one technology that was so cool sounding and I have still not seen, even in todays online world....

PORTALS... Prey was going to allow us to pass from one server to another through portals. We would even be able to see into another server through these portal doors. We would be playing in a true virtual world with unlimited number of players.

Is this a feature that is still being considered?

[Kristian Joensen]

Portals are in.

[Kristian Joensen]

But we don't know about if it will support portal between servers but personaly I don't think so, but only 3DR and HH know that.

[John]

I still wonder if they ever fixed the problem with making too MANY portals, and thus crashing the level.

[Orochi Avlis]

John said:
I still wonder if they ever fixed the problem with making too MANY portals, and thus crashing the level.


I guess we will find out when Prey ships.

I'm looking forward to making a map with tons and tons of portals.
Chaos can only insue. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Geir]

I also herd that when you go through portals, the game does not load, you just go straight through.

[Kristian Joensen]

Yes that is true.

[John]

If it weren't true, then portals wouldn't be such a cool feature. It would just be a different way to load levels.

This is probably going to KILL my pc.

Doom 3 engine PLUS portals. Aggggh

[MAT]

Torch1228 said: PORTALS... Prey was going to allow us to pass from one server to another through portals. We would even be able to see into another server through these portal doors.




Is it really possible from a technical standpoint? What about the maximum player capacity of servers? What will happen in case the capacity gets exceeded? Will the servers go down?

Portals seem to be like a quantum leap in software technology.

[Gryph]

I'm really curious as to how these portals actually work. How can you go between two different spaces and not have any loading? Is it all preloaded? What's the performance hit? Hopefully we see a lot more from their E3 presentation.

[Micki!]

Gryph said:
I'm really curious as to how these portals actually work. How can you go between two different spaces and not have any loading? Is it all preloaded? What's the performance hit? Hopefully we see a lot more from their E3 presentation.



These are some very good questions... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/redface.gif
I'd like to know about that too...

[zakath]

I cant imagine how they could have managed to make the portal tech (like old prey had) to work with doom3 bsp tech. My best guess is that it will be a dumbed down version of what they planned back then. Basically, teleports ála many other games.

[Kristian Joensen]

All I now is that according to the PC Gamer article Portals are "fully realised now".

[avatar_58]

Gryph said:
I'm really curious as to how these portals actually work. How can you go between two different spaces and not have any loading? Is it all preloaded? What's the performance hit? Hopefully we see a lot more from their E3 presentation.



If they exist in the same map then loading wouldn't be needed just as its not needed in teleporters of today.

[Killd a ton]

streaming maps is already very posible, a good excample of this would Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver a gigant world no loading and the hole world can warp betwean 2 states, tele porting from one spot to a nothere isn't mutch different then walking around. rendering one place threw postals isn't mutch harder then how many games handle rendering the sky box.

[John]

I'm wondering if you can still shoot the portal gun, have a wide screen floating in the air and you see the other level in the screen. You walk into the screen and boom, you're there, you look around and the portal is gone. You shoot another portal, etc.


What I want to know, is how do you tell the portal where to go? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Theonewayman]

Torch1228 said:
When Prey was being trumpeted way back when, it was supposed to be ushering in a ton of new features that we were all waiting for. Reflective surfaces, dynamic lighting, etc.
Of course all of these are considered standard features today and the graphics that created what were amazing screenshots then are found in today's bargain bin games.
There is one technology that was so cool sounding and I have still not seen, even in todays online world....

PORTALS... Prey was going to allow us to pass from one server to another through portals. We would even be able to see into another server through these portal doors. We would be playing in a true virtual world with unlimited number of players.

Is this a feature that is still being considered?



Serious Sam the second enconter have a demo map that show of the engine, and one room have a portal to another map, don´t be mistaken is not a room beind a mirror, is a all new and huge map.

[Orochi Avlis]

Theonewayman said:
Serious Sam the second enconter have a demo map that show of the engine, and one room have a portal to another map, don´t be mistaken is not a room beind a mirror, is a all new and huge map.


You can't really go through there.
The Serious Engine tech allows you to see other places in the map real time, but not actually teleport there.
And I'm not refering to those bubble teleporters.

[Gabrobot]

John said:What I want to know, is how do you tell the portal where to go? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif



Maybe it's like windows in His Dark Materials... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Sayantan]

Theonewayman said:
Serious Sam the second enconter have a demo map that show of the engine, and one room have a portal to another map, don´t be mistaken is not a room beind a mirror, is a all new and huge map.



Yes. But that used teleporting techniques. It was not real dynamic portals.

[Nessus]

I think to use the portal gun you could hit alt- fire and "capture" a slice of space and then later on you could hit the main fire and shoot the portal out in front of you and if you go through it you go back to the area where you captured the first portal image.

Or maybe you could shoot out portals in front of you, they would move fast like a ball from the UT shock rifle and when you hit the button again the portal stops where it is.

[Geo-King]

If a monster tries to fallow you through a portal and you some how turn it off, will it cut the monster in half? I really like the idea of connecting servers with portals. Shoot a rocket that spans six servers. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[hell-angel]

Geo-King said:
If a monster tries to fallow you through a portal and you some how turn it off, will it cut the monster in half? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif



That one would be fun. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/devilish.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/devilish.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/devilish.gif
http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Antosa]

About new Technologies, I'm curious about Prey and Win Xp 64 bit
and the physics engine is the same Doom 3 or it's meqon engine?

http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Killd a ton]

I dont see any indications that physics will play a big part of prays gameplay so i bet they just stick with doom3's. It is covering most of the funktions any way.
They would also have to by a secound licence as it is a different company and a different game.

[Viper Knight]

Open up a portal, slop a rocket down it, close it, open it up again and watch all the guts fly out! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Orochi Avlis]

Geo-King said:
I really like the idea of connecting servers with portals. Shoot a rocket that spans six servers. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif


I don't think that will be happening.

[hell-angel]

Viper Knight said:
Open up a portal, slop a rocket down it, close it, open it up again and watch all the guts fly out! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



hehe brilliant. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Joe Siegler]

Geo-King said: I really like the idea of connecting servers with portals. Shoot a rocket that spans six servers. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif



That is a pretty cool idea. I don't know how workable it is from a tech standpoint (I'm not a programmer). But from a gameplay idea, it's interesting.

It would be almost like turning the servers into giant 3D shooter "MUD's".

[Theonewayman]

Sayantan said:

Theonewayman said:
Serious Sam the second enconter have a demo map that show of the engine, and one room have a portal to another map, don´t be mistaken is not a room beind a mirror, is a all new and huge map.



Yes. But that used teleporting techniques. It was not real dynamic portals.



Can you tell me the diference http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif. Don´t they do the same?

[Orochi Avlis]

Theonewayman said:
Can you tell me the diference http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif. Don´t they do the same?


A teleporting technique interupts the gameplay. The player dissapears, and reappear instanteously in another area.
Dynamic teleporters let's the player walkthrough and end up in another area without dissapearing or reappearing on the map. Think of it has a doorway with infinite exits.

[DudeMiester]

Joe3DR said:

Geo-King said: I really like the idea of connecting servers with portals. Shoot a rocket that spans six servers. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif



That is a pretty cool idea. I don't know how workable it is from a tech standpoint (I'm not a programmer). But from a gameplay idea, it's interesting.

It would be almost like turning the servers into giant 3D shooter "MUD's".



It could work, but the only problem is custom content. That is, you can't have any because of the issues with loading it from other servers, dealing with different game rules, etc. Essentally it's would have to be more like a MMOG, then a MUD. Where you can travel between servers/places via the portals, but not instantainiously. Or you could load all the content for all the servers that are networked together beforehand. Or hybridise those ideas, by having some portals that are instantious, and some that arn't. Certainly a lot of difficulites, but it would add a very interesting grandiosity to the whole game.

[Killd a ton]

he he, instead of having to brows for a server, loading etc. if you got boared of the game pace you could just find a doorway in to a instagib server http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[hell-angel]

Killd a ton said:
he he, instead of having to brows for a server, loading etc. if you got boared of the game pace you could just find a doorway in to a instagib server http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif just love this idea. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif

[Geo-King]

DudeMiester said:

Joe3DR said:

Geo-King said: I really like the idea of connecting servers with portals. Shoot a rocket that spans six servers. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif



That is a pretty cool idea. I don't know how workable it is from a tech standpoint (I'm not a programmer). But from a gameplay idea, it's interesting.

It would be almost like turning the servers into giant 3D shooter "MUD's".



It could work, but the only problem is custom content. That is, you can't have any because of the issues with loading it from other servers, dealing with different game rules, etc. Essentally it's would have to be more like a MMOG, then a MUD. Where you can travel between servers/places via the portals, but not instantainiously. Or you could load all the content for all the servers that are networked together beforehand. Or hybridise those ideas, by having some portals that are instantious, and some that arn't. Certainly a lot of difficulites, but it would add a very interesting grandiosity to the whole game.



I guess if you want to use a mod you would have to make sure all the other portaled servers were running the same mod. However I am sure there is a way to just display another server with out making things so complicated.

[DudeMiester]

Well you could have some differences between servers, but they would have to be very minor. Things like different MOTD, player lists (of course), etc.. Stuff that wouldn't affect loading. As for servers with different mods, sure you could do that, but it would have to be a non-instant portal.

[Spooger]

*xXxButtRaid3r9000 of Server #23 just ate omgwtfpwnj00's rocket of Server #15*

"xXxButtRaid3r9000: wtf. That wus total luck mang!"

"omgwtfpwnj00: Skill. How else could I have hit you from 8 servers down?"

[Viper Knight]

An multiplayer expert of the game could just move casually through all these servers and kick everyone's butt, one after the other! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I wouldn't get my hopes up over this feature being in Prey by the way.

[Antosa]

About HDR.

I play now Splinter cell - Chaos Theory this game use HDR and I think it's very very good graphics. For me it's the best game for the graphics at the moment. This game it's all in internal environment like Prey.

Do you use HDR in Prey?

[hell-angel]

Antosa said:
About HDR.

I play now Splinter cell - Chaos Theory this game use HDR and I think it's very very good graphics. For me it's the best game for the graphics at the moment. This game it's all in internal environment like Prey.

Do you use HDR in Prey?



Who said that prey will be completely indoor?? Even though it will be on a spaceship there will be outdoor like environments (if I understood things correctly). http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Antosa]

hell-angel said:

Antosa said:
About HDR.

I play now Splinter cell - Chaos Theory this game use HDR and I think it's very very good graphics. For me it's the best game for the graphics at the moment. This game it's all in internal environment like Prey.

Do you use HDR in Prey?



Who said that prey will be completely indoor?? Even though it will be on a spaceship there will be outdoor like environments (if I understood things correctly). http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



Ok, I see the video but the bigger part of the game well be indoor environments but that I wanted to say is that the HDR for me make the materials much realistic. example the wood etc.

[Sayantan]

Antosa said:
Ok, I see the video but the bigger part of the game well be indoor environments but that I wanted to say is that the HDR for me make the materials much realistic. example the wood etc.



To understand things in a simpler way, HDR gives a more realistic ambient lighting which depends on which place is lit and which way is it facing.

[Antosa]

Sayantan said:

Antosa said:
Ok, I see the video but the bigger part of the game well be indoor environments but that I wanted to say is that the HDR for me make the materials much realistic. example the wood etc.



To understand things in a simpler way, HDR gives a more realistic ambient lighting which depends on which place is lit and which way is it facing.



I know but Prey do you use it?

[Sayantan]

Antosa said:
I know but Prey do you use it?



I can quite confidently say they won't. But the game will still rock with the slightly modified lighting it's using. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif