how long before we see truly realistic environments in games?

[Imyourzero]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Imyourzero
Randomint, we already have some of the effects that you mentioned (buildings crumbling, water splashes, footsteps in sand/snow, blood trails, etc). Problem is, they haven't been overly realistic for the most part. The buildings usually crumble in the same manner every time and the water splashes and blood trails are there but they can definitely be improved upon in terms of realism.

The other things you mentioned such as leaves that crunch (not just sound effects) and being able to set fire to an environment and have it spread realistically...now THAT would be cool since even in today's most dynamic environments you are STILL limited to what you can do and how you are allowed to manipulate certain objects in the game world. I always thought Red Faction was cool because you could use the rocket launcher to blow holes through most any wall if you didn't want to use the door...I even used it to make a tunnel and burrow into a wall underground but of course there was a limit to how deep the hole could go. Still cool, though.

When games eventually get to the point where storage capability and processing power isn't a problem for most things, one of the coolest things IMO would be a game where you could drive literally anywhere. There would be no invisible walls and the programmers would take satellite or map data and recreate every highway, street, and alley in the world (or at least the U.S.). Imagine a game like GTA where you could exit your apartment in New York, go steal a car, and drive NONSTOP with no load screens all the way to Las Vegas or San Diego. That would be nuts! I probably wouldn't leave my house for weeks because I'd have to experiment driving in/around all the real-life locales and jumping off bridges that were under construction.

Actually, that is a really cool post. I would like that too, because my favorite games are realistic driving games. I would use that game (or program) to drive around the city before I visited it in person (I travel for my job frequently). So, that would be a great tool, especially when going into an area you have no idea about.

Yep. Obviously it would be outdated pretty quickly, as they are always doing construction and adding new roads/buildings/etc. but even if the game was a snapshot of the state of the road system in a particular year, it would be absofrickinlutely incredible.

 

[xtknight]

I'll be more optimistic and say that in 5 years we'll have more realistic fabric physics/etc. But it will probably be by taking the short route to such effects (not literally damaging the structure matrix of such a building, but making it appear as so). The computational power needed to do true physics emulation (you could even go as far as atomic) is just way too much and you need to draw the line somewhere.

 

[StopSign]

By "fully" realistic I think the OP meant that graphics cannot be distinguished from a real photo, such that if you snap a picture of your house right now, and then have a game render the same thing, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two. Photo realistic, if you want to call it that.

How long will it take for characters to look like this?

How long will it take before a day scene looks like this?

How long before an outdoor scene looks like this?

I don't think the OP was referring to things like AI because this is the video forum after all.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: linkgoron
15+ years imo.

while graphics keep moving forward, AI and physics aren't moving at the same pace.

I agree

 

[randomint]

Originally posted by: Imyourzero
Randomint, we already have some of the effects that you mentioned (buildings crumbling, water splashes, footsteps in sand/snow, blood trails, etc). Problem is, they haven't been overly realistic for the most part. The buildings usually crumble in the same manner every time and the water splashes and blood trails are there but they can definitely be improved upon in terms of realism.

The other things you mentioned such as leaves that crunch (not just sound effects) and being able to set fire to an environment and have it spread realistically...now THAT would be cool since even in today's most dynamic environments you are STILL limited to what you can do and how you are allowed to manipulate certain objects in the game world. I always thought Red Faction was cool because you could use the rocket launcher to blow holes through most any wall if you didn't want to use the door...I even used it to make a tunnel and burrow into a wall underground but of course there was a limit to how deep the hole could go. Still cool, though.

When games eventually get to the point where storage capability and processing power isn't a problem for most things, one of the coolest things IMO would be a game where you could drive literally anywhere. There would be no invisible walls and the programmers would take satellite or map data and recreate every highway, street, and alley in the world (or at least the U.S.). Imagine a game like GTA where you could exit your apartment in New York, go steal a car, and drive NONSTOP with no load screens all the way to Las Vegas or San Diego. That would be nuts! I probably wouldn't leave my house for weeks because I'd have to experiment driving in/around all the real-life locales and jumping off bridges that were under construction.

driving anywhere? that's a real stretch. plus it's not really practical or beneficial. you don't NEED to have insanely huge levels to have fun in a game, just big enough to have the feeling of a really large area. plus, modeling everything to match the real world would be extremely time-consuming.

i was talking more along the lines of improving the things we ALREADY have in games.

 

[randomint]

Originally posted by: StopSign
By "fully" realistic I think the OP meant that graphics cannot be distinguished from a real photo, such that if you snap a picture of your house right now, and then have a game render the same thing, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two. Photo realistic, if you want to call it that.

How long will it take for characters to look like this?

How long will it take before a day scene looks like this?

How long before an outdoor scene looks like this?

I don't think the OP was referring to things like AI because this is the video forum after all.

no, not photorealistic. although that would be ideal, but that's very shallow. i mean photorealism is only skin-deep, isn't it? what good is a very photorealistic character model if the animation is not on-par with it or the AI and facial expressions?

that's why I said, realistic "environments" because it is ultimately the environment that immerses a person in the game. of course other things would need to be suitable well-done to go with a very realistic environment.

 

[Imyourzero]

Originally posted by: randomint

Originally posted by: Imyourzero
Randomint, we already have some of the effects that you mentioned (buildings crumbling, water splashes, footsteps in sand/snow, blood trails, etc). Problem is, they haven't been overly realistic for the most part. The buildings usually crumble in the same manner every time and the water splashes and blood trails are there but they can definitely be improved upon in terms of realism.

The other things you mentioned such as leaves that crunch (not just sound effects) and being able to set fire to an environment and have it spread realistically...now THAT would be cool since even in today's most dynamic environments you are STILL limited to what you can do and how you are allowed to manipulate certain objects in the game world. I always thought Red Faction was cool because you could use the rocket launcher to blow holes through most any wall if you didn't want to use the door...I even used it to make a tunnel and burrow into a wall underground but of course there was a limit to how deep the hole could go. Still cool, though.

When games eventually get to the point where storage capability and processing power isn't a problem for most things, one of the coolest things IMO would be a game where you could drive literally anywhere. There would be no invisible walls and the programmers would take satellite or map data and recreate every highway, street, and alley in the world (or at least the U.S.). Imagine a game like GTA where you could exit your apartment in New York, go steal a car, and drive NONSTOP with no load screens all the way to Las Vegas or San Diego. That would be nuts! I probably wouldn't leave my house for weeks because I'd have to experiment driving in/around all the real-life locales and jumping off bridges that were under construction.

driving anywhere? that's a real stretch. plus it's not really practical or beneficial. you don't NEED to have insanely huge levels to have fun in a game, just big enough to have the feeling of a really large area. plus, modeling everything to match the real world would be extremely time-consuming.

i was talking more along the lines of improving the things we ALREADY have in games.

It may seem like a real stretch now, but so did walking on the moon in 1940. You can't predict what will be possible 20-30 years from now, and I never said you NEED insanely huge levels to have fun in a game. Just pointing out what I think would be cool *if* the tech ever gets to that point.

 

[dreddfunk]

It's honestly hard to predict what will happen because things are ultimately decided by the market.

There's typically a cycle of new introductions that either catch on or don't. If they catch on, the growth in capability is amazing as the industry flexes its collective muscle to meet the new demand. If they don't catch on (for whatever reason, poor implementation, lack of interest, etc.) then development lags.

 

[Pugnate]

Go into a building, set it on fire and then try to escape. Realistic environments with all that crumbling you wanted. When the fire engines come you will get some neat water effects. Towards the end you may even see a fading white light.

 

[phantom404]

I believe they are getting closer using DMM and euphoria. From what I read, LucasArts has the technology licensed until 2008.

Link

The link has a nice video that has 2 pieces of wood on display. One of the wood is using current methods of having something break when something is thrown at it. The other piece is using new tech that takes into account the angle and force at which you throw at it.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Go into a building, set it on fire and then try to escape. Realistic environments with all that crumbling you wanted. When the fire engines come you will get some neat water effects. Towards the end you may even see a fading white light.

with a neural interface where you *feel* the heat and choke on the smoke

and when you die you actually get to meet St Peter
:Q

maybe were all already inside a big video game with truly realistic environments .... and we'll ultimately end-up just copying ourselves when we get enough storage and computer power



50 years

 

[craftech]

Before VISTA came out I would have said ten years.

Now that VISTA has been released I would say twenty years.

John

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Go into a building, set it on fire and then try to escape. Realistic environments with all that crumbling you wanted. When the fire engines come you will get some neat water effects. Towards the end you may even see a fading white light.

with a neural interface where you *feel* the heat and choke on the smoke

and when you die you actually get to meet St Peter
:Q

maybe were all already inside a big video game with truly realistic environments .... and we'll ultimately end-up just copying ourselves when we get enough storage and computer power



50 years

/me raises both hands and glares menacingly at Clippy

:|

:frown:

:Q

Maybe my force powers would work better in a real game.

 

[apoppin]

here's a good *trend*

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38102

No need for big teams or big funds

MONSTER MADNESS: Battle for Suburbia was created in just ten months using Unreal Engine 3. It was assembled by a team of only 15 people (most of artwork was done by outsourcing, by an additional nine freelancers), but the game was delivered on time and most of all, it results in sheer fun for up to four gamers.

Every level in the game looks unique, while every enemy type has his own special movement - this was almost all done using only engine tools.

Best part of all is the fact that it took only two weeks to convert the content from PC to Xbox 360.

One thing is sure - it is hard to make computer games, but UE3 is a flexible monster of an engine and different modes of licensing enable people to get UE3 tech for affordable ammount of money (game revenue offset model).

as engines get better, games can be created much quicker ... or time taken for extreme detail

 

[jim1976]

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Go into a building, set it on fire and then try to escape. Realistic environments with all that crumbling you wanted. When the fire engines come you will get some neat water effects. Towards the end you may even see a fading white light.

LMAO.. Is that light HDR or motion blur?