15 replies to this topic

[PropSnow]

I was very curious if anyone knows if Blizzard uses the same graphics engine that is used in SC2, Blizzard Dota and what ever else they are cooking up to make D3...with obvious Modifications of course.  I say this because I find a ton of similarities (graphics wise) in all 3.  Sc2 is like a zoomed out copy of d3 to me.

[Seeder]

The Engines are hand crafted from Blizzard IIRC, so they will be very similar due to the same people creating them.

Quote

Will Diablo III be running on a new engine?

Diablo III is powered by a new graphics engine that can display characters and hordes of monsters in lush, fully 3D environments. Powerful special-effects and physics systems allow for realistic object dynamics and cloth simulation, and enable players to lay waste to the minions of the Burning Hells in spectacular ways.

http://us.blizzard.c...iablo3/faq/#2_1

Tips, Google is your friend.

[Babycake]

modified wow engine np

[Rompehuevos]

D3 engine requires great computer for the display it shows

[vastv]

I just wonder why the game looks so washed out?  It's like one of those games you launch with default settings that looks terrible at first but after tweaking all the video settings the problem goes away, except in D3 case the game always looks washed out.

[StraightOuttaCompton]

I don't have the beta so I have to go by watching videos, but the game does not look washed out to me in any way shape or form.
I actually like what I've seen thus far. I love that there is a lot of color variation as well, I'm playing Path of Exile beta..and in there almost everything is colored in the same old grey/brown tones and it makes me depressed.
Then I watch some Diablo III footage with all it's color variation and I get all warm and fuzzy inside.

[Bleu42]

well, they said they built D3 from the ground up, engine and all. So I would assume it's an unique engine, but since it's made by Blizzard it probably shares some similarities with their other engines.

[Bleu42]

vastv, on 13 March 2012 - 09:40 PM, said:

I just wonder why the game looks so washed out?  It's like one of those games you launch with default settings that looks terrible at first but after tweaking all the video settings the problem goes away, except in D3 case the game always looks washed out.

You actually might be experiencing a problem I was having.

One day I logged on to find everything *slightlllllly* blurry. I kept playing thinking I was going crazy, but sure enough I wasn't. The Anti-Aliasing option, when turned on, was making things blurry. Turned off, it looked a LOT sharper. =D

[PullTheTricker]

It does look washed out and somewhat blurry, just not indoors, only outdoors for some odd reason. I'm not the first guy to bitch about visuals, but I do think it can look more ''clean''. Indoors (dungeons etc) things seem fine to me. But outdoor its overly blurry and washed out not to mention the excess mist.

For some reason this doesn't really apply to the desert and snow zones we have had a sneak peak on so far.

[misiceman]

probably has to do with the falling star. And I wouldn't used washed out. The mist does change things but i like the ambiance it creates

[PropSnow]

misiceman, on 13 March 2012 - 11:59 PM, said:

probably has to do with the falling star. And I wouldn't used washed out. The mist does change things but i like the ambiance it creates

Ya i think they want it to look misty...i sorta like it myself

[Vagelis4VP]

..about the game looks like "washed out"... the below explanation was given to  the game's Art presentation in GDC...

"The issues I'm talking about where almost all about readability. About the player knowing clearly what is what, and what is happening. Christian explained that they use three layers for art, the background, mid ground, and foreground. The newer screenshots showed how the backgrounds now all have the contrast turned down, and a painterly look to them. The player's character and the monsters are in the mid ground, and these models are intentionally more detailed than the background, have higher contrast, and have more lighting applied to them. This makes them really pop, and when you look at old screenshots in comparison, the characters were often camouflage way too much. High contrast backgrounds might look good when you are are admiring a background, but they really get in the way of telling wtf is happening.

The fore ground layer is used for the special effects from all your abilities. These are intentionally the most saturated and brightest, and the whole point is to make them really, really pop even way more than the characters. When you do moves, this is what makes them feel super awesome."....

..i guess thats the reason the game looks kinda blury and misty...

[OneTwoSC]

I'd hate to be the guy writing the engine on the very first day... be like... void display (void) {... "oh god I quit".

Edited by OneTwoSC, 14 March 2012 - 06:34 AM.

[overneathe]

All Blizzard games have their own engines. That's part of the reason the games take so long to start showing up with already 2 years passed in development where people think "dude, it's already been 2 years in development!". No, the technical side and structural design took 2 years. Everything from that point forward is content.

That is currently what is happening with Titan as well, though it's obvious they've put a lot more emphasis on the engine this time, since it's been almost 4 years already. I expect the game's engine to be quite remarkable.

The steps that I can see Blizz taking are these: The design team uses an engine from an older game, they start doing very casual tests to see what their new game will be all about. Lightning? Particles? Lots of mobs on screen? Lots of props? How sharp should the models be?

Then they give all the info with some already completed example assets to the programers and tell them "this needs to play awesomely on the new engine", at which point the designers go to different projects, while the programmers start crunching away at the code for a year or two. After some final testing the engine should be 85% ready and the same designers + some fresh blood is put on the project to start making the world and start doing detailed stuff like character/monster design, early level design, early interface, concept art and so on.

1-2 more years later we see what we think looks exactly like a finished product, but in all fairness the game is about 40% done with just the engine being close to finishing. Lots of work remains and mainly tweaking. Tweaking in Blizzard takes ages.

Edited by overneathe, 14 March 2012 - 06:40 AM.

[LordRayken]

overneathe, on 14 March 2012 - 06:38 AM, said:

The steps that I can see Blizz taking are these: The design team uses an engine from an older game, they start doing very casual tests to see what their new game will be all about. Lightning? Particles? Lots of mobs on screen? Lots of props? How sharp should the models be?

Then they give all the info with some already completed example assets to the programers and tell them "this needs to play awesomely on the new engine", at which point the designers go to different projects, while the programmers start crunching away at the code for a year or two. After some final testing the engine should be 85% ready and the same designers + some fresh blood is put on the project to start making the world and start doing detailed stuff like character/monster design, early level design, early interface, concept art and so on.

1-2 more years later we see what we think looks exactly like a finished product, but in all fairness the game is about 40% done with just the engine being close to finishing. Lots of work remains and mainly tweaking. Tweaking in Blizzard takes ages.

This is pretty much correct, but you have to remember, Blizzard plays with hype like a child plays with a dead animal. And I mean -dead-.

At this point, the Blizzard we used to know in the 90's and early 00's is not the same beast. They are now communicating daily and overarchingly about every project they are designing and working on bar maybe Titan. This kind of close to the cuff bantering information and communication from the Dev's makes the development time drag on and on, especially when the public views a game as close to finished. When Jay makes the statement that "Patch 14 is shippable content" ... Why then does that not also include a release date? Or a date they want to target, like a month? How could they know it's shippable content... That implies the knowledge of shipping and what have you. It's all a giant word game and it's tired and sickening. To anyone, and I mean -any- user of the English language, "shippable content" means, "Diablo 3 is finished."

The thing is, we really don't know how close the game is to completion, even when Jay has tweeted "Diablo 3 is finished." or "It's good enough to be on store shelves." If either statement really means something different. All we have to go off of are the constant "polishing" quotes from Blizzard and the constant "soon" quotes, despite the fact they clearly know something internally they don't communicate. And when they communicate things that don't matter on a daily basis, it makes wanting information that does matter much more incessant.

It's a particular type of marketing tactic almost known as bait and switch, where they make promises, and say things, only to snatch those expectations away from under your nose. It's to the point where you cannot take anything they say as... Anything. And that's just wrong. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water - Jay says "9/10 on that important announcement!" two more weeks pass by with nothing.

That's gone beyond the purpose of their communication - which should be to inform people. Not to say WHATEVER and then a few days later say WHATEVER again. You COULD speak like this, but if you were in person and making constant remarks and promises about something, you would probably not be able to communicate, or be labeled a psychopath. It's just hyping that only works because it's an "entity" and not an individual person communicating.

Can you imagine in any other setting where telling someone "9/10" like that is more than two weeks distance? It's that basic understanding that language provides us with they stomp all over like it means nothing, and I won't even touch "soon" because it's so linguistically destroyed by Blizzard it hurts my soul that they even use the word.

If we want to be negative, there could very well be an internal process where they show off things they are already well aware of that will have to be changed, and then saying the change has to happen/polish etc, to continue this "hype" factor. It's all a process at Blizzard, and it's not the same company it used to be.

"Hey son, how close are you to taking out the garbage for me tonight?"
"9/10 Dad."

*two weeks pass, garbage is rotting and stale and untouched*

"Honey, am I beautiful? On a scale of 1/10?"
"10/10 doll "

-At the bar
"My wife is ugly as shit"

*At the mechanics/car washers*
"Your transmission is shot and you need a new engine."
"All I wanted was a coat of polish!"

Edited by LordRayken, 14 March 2012 - 06:58 AM.

[overneathe]

I wouldn't say Blizz are themselves the root of their legendary hype. The playerbase  is almost 75% at fault here because Blizzard gamers are really, really inpatient. There is constant asking on the devs' personal Twitter accounts. Constant "leaks" that people made up, constant popping up of fan sites (in the hundreds) with very large ones having tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of fans (MMOC). And all that tightening of the community and constant talk about the game is what drives that hype most of the time.

I, of course, agree that Blizz are not good with making dates. That's one of the few bad things about the company (or at least one of the things concerning this topic). So far Diablo has had just one major (Dec) and one minor (Q2) delays. Things that companies the world over do on a daily basis. But with the Blizz community this is considered blasphemy.

They don't want to say "soon" all the time. But the fans are making them say it over and over through constant harassment. And you can't just ignore your fanbase. You have to communicate to let them know you pay attention. But you also can't give them solid answers, because with games such as Diablo that rely 99% on their ingame mechanics for success, things are changing constantly and rapidly, which is also shown from the last few months of D3 changes.

If we were more patient we wouldn't be in this position.

Edited by overneathe, 14 March 2012 - 06:53 AM.