Upgraded Graphics Engine in the Next Release

[Detritus]

Interesting to c if the rest of the planets gets left out as per usual

We use same engine in the entire universe so they will also gain from the update.

Not if they don't upgrade their lighting, materials, and textures to fit with a PBR rendering system. It's not a magic button that you just press and everything looks better.

 

[Joat]

Not if they don't upgrade their lighting, materials, and textures to fit with a PBR rendering system. It's not a magic button that you just press and everything looks better.

How can a planetpartner get left out when it comes to a engine update?
It isn't MA that creates all objects, textures, shaders, animations, rigs and so on in a PP area.

 

[Xen]

PBR rendering system

I hope it's better than their beer.

 

[Detritus]

How can a planetpartner get left out when it comes to a engine update?
It isn't MA that creates all objects, textures, shaders, animations, rigs and so on in a PP area.

No, the PP create their own assets.


Obviously they can use common shared assets, but anything planet-specific is created by that team.

I hope it's better than their beer.

You don't like fizzy water with some beer flavoring and less ABV than mouthwash?

 

[Thorns Rose]

Sounds exciting and I hope it all goes smoothly. Looks very exciting and I really love the crisper colors and textures to be had .

 

[San]

Don't people begin to see a pattern here since the new leadership took office. There is a problem or wish, and we get a much bigger solution than we bargained for as it turned out unfixable or unreasonable as a mere patch on the old horse, and then some for the sake of forward-looking scalability. The darnded hitbox problem was bugging us, we got a whole new camera and control system. Mission point sharing and a bestiary book turned into Codex, but the old missions had to be sacrificed. Now we have complaints about textures not displaying correctly since a long time, especially reflective surfaces. And this is the solution (hopefully). I find all this really positive, even if we disagree in details or get taken aback by some changes, the basic idea is the right one. I also regret having to say good-bye to trusted platforms, but the effort to retain as many as possible is there. All the best for a painless transition.

 

[Joat]

No, the PP create their own assets.

Obviously they can use common shared assets, but anything planet-specific is created by that team.

Exactly, as I mentioned. Yes, some assets should be reused instead of developed again, no point
in reinvent the wheel.
So once again, PPs will gain from this update, and engine is the same for the entire universe.
It's up to each PP to use this the right way.

One area that could and should gain a lot from dx11 is Space. A lot of big lowpoly objects
that can be way better looking and smoother there if TSC is used right.

 

[theProphet]

Exactly, as I mentioned. Yes, some assets should be reused instead of developed again, no point in reinvent the wheel.

there is no wheel.

 

[Detritus]

Exactly, as I mentioned. Yes, some assets should be reused instead of developed again, no point
in reinvent the wheel.
So once again, PPs will gain from this update, and engine is the same for the entire universe.
It's up to each PP to use this the right way.

One area that could and should gain a lot from dx11 is Space. A lot of big lowpoly objects
that can be way better looking and smoother there if TSC is used right.

When I say common assets I'm talking about universal things like weapons and items.

Celeste Quarry, for example, isn't magically going to look any better (it may look better, it may look worse) if the Ark team hasn't updated the lighting, textures, and materials to fit the new system. The good news is there will be much greater potential there and hopefully the PP teams will start taking advantage of it.

As I said, I remain doubtful that the Caly team has done much of this either, except maybe a few cherry picked locations or items. My bet is they just ran an automated conversion, which is bound to give mixed results.

Remember that this is the same team that introduced an entire new line of weapons - ArMatrix - that were central to their huge unveiling of their new core loot system and could not be bothered to make any new models or textures for them. Models aside, it would have taken a texture artist one or two days max to just repaint the textures to at least look different. Hell, even if they didn't have anyone in house to do this, you can buy a large pack of sci-fi weapon assets for like $20. They did none of this and instead we got the Isis and viking swords relabeled. Sorry, but I consider that a truly impressive level of laziness. Hence my pessimism - but hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[Joat]

When I say common assets I'm talking about universal things like weapons and items.

Celeste Quarry, for example, isn't magically going to look any better (it may look better, it may look worse) if the Ark team hasn't updated the lighting, textures, and materials to fit the new system. The good news is there will be much greater potential there and hopefully the PP teams will start taking advantage of it.

As I said, I remain doubtful that the Caly team has done much of this either, except maybe a few cherry picked locations or items. My bet is they just ran an automated conversion, which is bound to give mixed results.

Remember that this is the same team that introduced an entire new line of weapons - ArMatrix - that were central to their huge unveiling of their new core loot system and could not be bothered to make any new models or textures for them. Models aside, it would have taken a texture artist one or two days max to just repaint the textures to at least look different. Hell, even if they didn't have anyone in house to do this, you can buy a large pack of sci-fi weapon assets for like $20. They did none of this and instead we got the Isis and viking swords relabeled. Sorry, but I consider that a truly impressive level of laziness. Hence my pessimism - but hopefully I'm wrong.

Yeah, it gets realy boring when they reuse objects, even worse when they have same textures.
Seems like they try to slim down on a lot things like less amount of P.O.Is, no new objects, less
amount of mobs in spawns, more generic missions and so on.

Downside of using external artists can be that some objects get a different order in XYZ and
also in pivot/center point, this have been notable in info UI since some objects have been way
off when shown. This can easily be fixed if object is checked by a template so everything
follow same settings and values before release.

It's easy to blame the staff but too often it's due to managements decisions that not more time
is spent on the development of things. I doubt artists have much to say about what to change,
update or upgrade for final product, they might be able to create all concepts though.
Hopefully I'm wrong here, and the artists do have a lot to say about it.

 

[Larry]

Yeah............I much prefer the 'before' to the 'after' example.

When is the next AMA session again? Lol.

 

[Xen]

I think we should probably wait until we see everything in game rather than judge from a couple pics.

 

[GxB]

I think we should probably wait until we see everything in game rather than judge from a couple pics.

the thing is usually you chose the best looking pics you got to show off something new and "exciting" but when those already look like crap i wouldnt get too positive about this...

 

[LeelooM]

I find all this really positive, even if we disagree in details or get taken aback by some changes, the basic idea is the right one. I also regret having to say good-bye to trusted platforms, but the effort to retain as many as possible is there. All the best for a painless transition.

Agree, Next time I get stuck, I'll look a lot better

 

[theProphet]

Agree, Next time I get stuck, I'll look a lot better

and maybe also whatever you're stuck in

 

[nostradarmas]

TO BE HONEST

I prefered the old entropia of 12 years ago , avatars was more variable than they are now , another big issue is at times everything is so dark you cant see much , messing with settings only makes things look ODD ! and far to bright when it is bright . hopefully it will look better after the "update" but I am not buying another GC so I suspect it will be worse for me lol .

 

[Rock Stone]

Sounds good!!
The lighting in the Crystal Palace cave is horrible.
If it makes my gear look better I will be really happy.
Nothing worse than paying lots of money for gear and having it look crappy in the wrong lite.
I really hope it turns all that nasty yellow paint to a better color.
I hate yellow.
Maybe it will turn orange
Rock

 

[jetsina]

the thing is usually you chose the best looking pics you got to show off something new and "exciting" but when those already look like crap i wouldnt get too positive about this...

Yes, this was pretty much my sentiment right off, but MA aren't very "bright" at joined up processes/quality checking, so maybe they just told an intern to include a before/after from somewhere where the sun doesn't shine!

Anyway, slightly more seriously - if what we see is going to look better soon, can our avatars maybe look at us again in those situations where they look either to one side or the other, please, or that we can select "head offset" sliders or so?
And MA, have you checked interiors such as spaceships for proper lighting everywhere, please?

Also, slight side issue for spaceships, can you please add a switch seat option at least for pilot and main gunner seats, so that we don't keep having to switch through the interior of the ship and reload the same space that we already had loaded? As that is related to graphics and performance/playablility, I'm quickly asking that here, ty... also as we don't know whether new loading of areas after a "tp" will be faster or slower now!

 

[Deleted member 55358]

Yes, this was pretty much my sentiment right off, but MA aren't very "bright" at joined up processes/quality checking, so maybe they just told an intern to include a before/after from somewhere where the sun doesn't shine!

Anyway, slightly more seriously - if what we see is going to look better soon, can our avatars maybe look at us again in those situations where they look either to one side or the other, please, or that we can select "head offset" sliders or so?
And MA, have you checked interiors such as spaceships for proper lighting everywhere, please?

Also, slight side issue for spaceships, can you please add a switch seat option at least for pilot and main gunner seats, so that we don't keep having to switch through the interior of the ship and reload the same space that we already had loaded? As that is related to graphics and performance/playablility, I'm quickly asking that here, ty... also as we don't know whether new loading of areas after a "tp" will be faster or slower now!

I still vote for pilot seat gun and to look at yourself use FREELOOK. I think the game is designed to have the head turn when you do for more realistic effect.

 

[Rock Stone]

I noticed now when I have a weapon or tool equipped I can actually look at my face.
I think the cough mode has to do with the take off from stand still where your toon turns graciously before going to forward run mode.
At first I didn't like this feature from the camera update, but it has grown on me and I really like it.
Sometimes it misbehaves and runs me into walls and other situations but it's a very clever effect.
I think this is an MA exclusive. I'v never seen it before.
Well Done

 

[Rock Stone]

You know, now that I look closer at the pictures It looks much worse.
Untill I see it on my Monitor at home I can't make clear judgment.
I'm gonna go on record that It seems more like a video nerf.
Are they dumbing down the graphics for performance?
Everything they are doing seems like it's to go after some lame Console crap.
If you look at the picture of the city all the contrast is gone.
The blacks are ugly and the whites are grey.
I don't got a good feeling about this.

The graphics as they stand are some of the most beautifull landscapes Iv ever seen.
If you kill off the contrasting colors it turns to mud.
A friend of mine sold TVs for many years and the best sets had the best blacks.
You don't get good Image without good blacks.

Hopefully the picture was taken without alot of contrast in the video settings during the screen capture.

Rock

 

[Joat]

Biggest notable differences in PA pictures (except colour and shadows) are the glass in the
building where we get attributes and the platform out in the water.

 

[watkins]

Am I the only one voting for "before"?

 

[Joat]

Am I the only one voting for "before"?

I'm not voting on anything until I've seen it ingame.

 

[XII]

As for me, I would be very happy if the possibility of placing items on the ground was restored.
Changes to the graphics are also welcome.

Best Regards,
XII

 

[~ Cirrus ~]

As I said previously, it was not exactly a priority IMO.

But for those who say it looks better on "before" picture, it may be time to consult an ophthalmologist..

On PA picture it looks like there were a filter that has been removed, it's much more realistic after.
Colors are better, look at the sky, look at the trees, and the water.

It makes even contrast and so definition better.
Look at the "Port Atlantis" sign that you can't even read in the Before picture..
Same for the blue flags.

And this white on buildings...
Maybe I'll finally be able to play for two hours in a snowy place without it making me half blind for the rest of the day..


And the Bar picture is more about light.
Look at chairs on first plan, this is black cube before, and it looks like illuminated brown leather after.
The ground looks "dull" before, and check at the lampshade on the left.
Light and shadow looks lot better after.

So I don't get people saying it looks better on before picture..

Now let's wait and see if it will really looks the same ingame, and I hope I will not have to lower my setting too much ingame..

 

[GxB]

As I said previously, it was not exactly a priority IMO.

But for those who say it looks better on "before" picture, it may be time to consult an ophthalmologist..

On PA picture it looks like there were a filter that has been removed, it's much more realistic after.
Colors are better, look at the sky, look at the trees, and the water.

It makes even contrast and so definition better.
Look at the "Port Atlantis" sign that you can't even read in the Before picture..
Same for the blue flags.

And this white on buildings...
Maybe I'll finally be able to play for two hours in a snowy place without it making me half blind for the rest of the day..


And the Bar picture is more about light.
Look at chairs on first plan, this is black cube before, and it looks like illuminated brown leather after.
The ground looks "dull" before, and check at the lampshade on the left.
Light and shadow looks lot better after.

So I don't get people saying it looks better on before picture..

Now let's wait and see if it will really looks the same ingame, and I hope I will not have to lower my setting too much ingame..

i, for myself, prefer a blueish shade, which is what it had before and not a red/orangish shade which it has after. when i see that everything looks like crap to me. and the PA picture before is a lot sharper than after. i dont like this instagram filter bullshit.

 

[Joat]

i, for myself, prefer a blueish shade, which is what it had before and not a red/orangish shade which it has after. when i see that everything looks like crap to me. and the PA picture before is a lot sharper than after. i dont like this instagram filter bullshit.

The negative about having a discussion like this is that players montor can differ a lot
in colours, I guess we all need calibrated monitors to have same colour gamut first.

If it gonna render midday then I want more blueish colours, at evening a more red/orange.

 

[BlackHawk]

The negative about having a discussion like this is that players montor can differ a lot
in colours, I guess we all need calibrated monitors to have same colour gamut first.

If it gonna render midday then I want more blueish colours, at evening a more red/orange.

Actually this is not the case. The actual color is not that important. The perception of color is. Your brain will adapt to whatever gamut your device has. The darkest color will be black, the lightest one will be white, and so on. The rest of the colors will be perceived by comparing with other colors. It will seem to be right, even if your monitor displays different colors than another monitor.
When using a device, you do not compare with how it would look on another device that may have a more accurate render. All you compare is what you see in a specific frame with whatever it is in that frame.

 

[Joat]

Actually this is not the case. The actual color is not that important. The perception of color is. Your brain will adapt to whatever gamut your device has. The darkest color will be black, the lightest one will be white, and so on. The rest of the colors will be perceived by comparing with other colors. It will seem to be right, even if your monitor displays different colors than another monitor.
When using a device, you do not compare with how it would look on another device that may have a more accurate render. All you compare is what you see in a specific frame with whatever it is in that frame.

I guess its a bit different from person to person. When I get photos fixed in PS Lr, and don't use a
calibrated monitor, my work might look great on my monitor, but others that do have a calibrated
monitor might wonder if I have been drunk. Same goes ofc for when I have done something in 3D.