[April Fools] AMD PecksFX (TressFX v2?)

[parvadomus]

“Since the dawn of the 3D era, your favorite games have largely featured totally unrealistic flocks of birds that destroyed your immersion into the environment,” says AMD CEO Rory Read, “We understood the disappointment players felt when they saw only one or two birds in the sky so we took it upon ourselves to solve this problem.”

“Many games have attempted to disguise this problem either through explaining that birds have gone extinct to using pre-rendered birds or even simply placing characters in environments where birds cannot exist,” Read continues, “Realistic flocks of birds is one of the most complex and challenging animations to accurately reproduce in real-time.”

“Battlefield 3′s realism was largely hampered by the lack of birds,” says DICE technical director Henrik Karlsson, “We did a survey and found that when players first entered Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, many complained about the lack of birds. Our partnership with AMD has allowed us to render up to 500 unique birds at once without any slowdown.”

“Battlefield 4′s flocks of birds is not just for appearances as they will also provide new gameplay mechanics,” he continues, “Birds will obscure player’s vision as they try to snipe an enemy from afar. The added realism has allowed us to create AI that is distracted by the flocks of birds which can be used as a tactic to surprise enemies. PecksFX will become a defining technology for years to come.”

Karlsson concludes, “Hair is what defined Tomb Raider; birds are what will define Battlefield 4.”

PS: not sure if already posted.

 

[blastingcap]

Isn't it early for April Fool's?

 

[Bateluer]

Isn't it early for April Fool's?

Some countries don't realize that April Fools doesn't start until the US time zones tick over.

 

[parvadomus]

It was posted like 3 days ago somewhere ;(

 

[thilanliyan]

I thought this had something to do with pecks as in a man's pecks lol...beautifully tessellated, fully fluid and articulated pecks lol

 

[DaveSimmons]

I thought it was a politically correct euphemism for the innovation of BoobsFX

 

[Cloudfire777]

lol first hair then birds?

 

[blastingcap]

Some countries don't realize that April Fools doesn't start until the US time zones tick over.

This was posted days ago. See, e.g., http://www.p4rgaming.com/?p=1711

 

[Plimogz]

An interesting idea, but one which starts to raise some questions in my mind:

Can these birds be seen up close, or will that be a limitation of the implementation. Afterall, if the birds can get in the way of a sniper's shot, presumably they could be close up the target, so what kind of detail will someone up-close be able to see.

Better yet, can these birds be made to attack players and become part of the interactive environment? I remember birds being annoying opponents in early Resident Evil games. I would love to think that this technology will enable not only flocks of birds which will add to the look of games, but also permit them to be included as foes in some game if the developer sees it fit.

This could be the start of something awesome.

 

[Rvenger]

I wonder what would happen if you flew a helicopter through the birds.

 

[Termie]

Actually, the birds effect was absolutely awesome in the 17-minute BF4 announcement video. It was very noticeable that whatever was being done, it had never been done before in a game.

Whether it's actually a unique AMD technology or just DICE paying attention to graphical detail, I couldn't say, but it's a great effect.

 

[Skurge]

This can't be for real. This sentence kinda seals it for me.

“Hair is what defined Tomb Raider; birds are what will define Battlefield 4.”

 

[PingviN]

Unless I can kill them, I do not care :/

Not but really, the birds looked pretty awesome in the 17 min video.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Aren't pecks man boobs?

 

[Skurge]

Aren't pecks man boobs?

Pecks like a bird pecking you to death?

 

[Nintendesert]

Aren't pecks man boobs?

Not for men on Anandtech, the name for those are moobs.

 

[Homeles]

Aren't pecks man boobs?

"Pecs" is short for pectoralis major, which are the predominate muscles on the chest. Generally man boobs are caused by adipose tissue.

 

[railven]

Metal Gear Solid 2 had seagulls that would flock around, not in as many numbers as seen in the BF4 video, but you could also shoot them out of the sky.

I'd tranqualize em to distract opponents then sneak up for the choke hold - easiest way to get the dog tags when on the surface of the oil refinery platforms.

You could also slip on their poop, which added a little humor to it.

EDIT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct6fzmlLrYo