Game engine info

[stuges]

If you haven't seen this yet, gameinformer blogged yesterday more info on their new engine, creation engine & tools.

in the blog they describe a lot on how awesome it will look by massive waterfalls etc. they also told that big content of environments are dominated by untamed wilderness that look great thanks to Bethesda's overhauled foliage system.

 

there was also this info on dynamic snow people were wondering about which was interesting

 

"Given its northern location and extreme elevations, Skyrim's climate is more prone to snowfall than Cyrodiil. To create realistic precipitation effects, Bethesda originally tried to use shaders and adjust their opacity and rim lighting, but once the artists built the models and populated the world the snow appeared to fall too evenly. To work around this problem, they built a new precipitation system that allows artists to define how much snow will hit particular objects. The program scans the geography, then calculates where the snow should fall to make sure it accumulates properly on the trees, rocks, and bushes."

so, perhaps you won't be able to track enemies looking at tracks, but only the snow falling on objects is minor, not like you could loose fatigue in big mass of snow.

 

Ok here's some information on the AI found on the blog:

Bethesda will be adding mills farms mines etc. and townspeople will have detailed personalities, so they won't be going around in townsquare aimlessly.

 

This in my opinion is the interesting part;

The improved radiant AI technology also allows NPC to adapt more into the situation, for example if you are a good friend of a NPC and barg into his home at night, he might just give you lodging for night, instead of demanding you to leave.

 

“Your friend would let you eat the apple in his house,” Howard says. If you swing your weapon near an NPC, knock items off their dinner table, or try to steal something of value, they'll react with an appropriate level of hostility given their prior relationship to you.

 

There's a lot info on radiant story, but here's good news for assasins out there I found interesting:

“Traditionally in an assassination quest, we would pick someone of interest and have you assassinate them,” Howard says. “Now there is a template for an assassination mission and the game can conditionalize all the roles – where it happens, under what conditions does it take place, who wants someone assassinated, and who they want assassinated. All this can be generated based on where the character is, who he's met. They can conditionalize that someone who you've done a quest for before wants someone assassinated, and the target could be someone with whom you've spent a lot of time before.”

 

anyway here's the offical blog:

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_elder_scrolls_v_skyrim/b/xbox360/archive/2011/01/17/the-technology-behind-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim.aspx

[stuges]

For Modders

 

Here's something I spotted in the bethsoft forums from "Othreal"

 

"The Creation Engine sounds rather impressive in my opinion.

 

It can easily create environments ranging from forest to snowy tundras and great rocky mountins. From what I read they can add waterfalls easily alongside brooks. The lighting in the world cast real world shadows around everything and the light reflect upon the game world unlike in Oblivion. They put in a precipitation reader for the snow so it builds up in different amounts on the surfaces of different objects which is great. it seems to open up a lot of rather impressive and diverse settings for us to explore a vast and unique world I look forward to see how the game works and see this new Creation Engine to give us the living breathing world we crave... "

 

This could mean easier and more varied / faster modding with even more tools

Edited January 18, 2011 by stuges

[mrpepperkitty]

How can they call it "rugged environment" when from what they're saying about the snow a, a few inches here, a few inches there...It sounds more like a Winter Wonderland than a harsh land of snow and ice.I hope they add a lotta snow, at least by the release date. They have plenty of time now.I wanna jump off buildings into snow and not get hurt, like I can do here, in New York, the place that's making their "rough environment" look kinda wussish now. :sad:

[stuges]

How can they call it "rugged environment" when from what they're saying about the snow a, a few inches here, a few inches there...It sounds more like a Winter Wonderland than a harsh land of snow and ice.I hope they add a lotta snow, at least by the release date. They have plenty of time now.I wanna jump off buildings into snow and not get hurt, like I can do here, in New York, the place that's making their "rough environment" look kinda wussish now. :sad:

I have seen some pics and I gotta tell you, the way they make mountains now is awesome and it makes it rought. tundra is awesome and all, big step from oblivion. if they only add few inches of snow here and there thought it's lame(ish) but the mountains will be cool anyhow ;)

[georg2b]

How can they call it "rugged environment" when from what they're saying about the snow a, a few inches here, a few inches there...It sounds more like a Winter Wonderland than a harsh land of snow and ice.I hope they add a lotta snow, at least by the release date. They have plenty of time now.I wanna jump off buildings into snow and not get hurt, like I can do here, in New York, the place that's making their "rough environment" look kinda wussish now. :sad:

I have seen some pics and I gotta tell you, the way they make mountains now is awesome and it makes it rought. tundra is awesome and all, big step from oblivion. if they only add few inches of snow here and there thought it's lame(ish) but the mountains will be cool anyhow ;)

Where hav u seen pics, I only see a few at GI, are there mor anywhere else??

[stuges]

How can they call it "rugged environment" when from what they're saying about the snow a, a few inches here, a few inches there...It sounds more like a Winter Wonderland than a harsh land of snow and ice.I hope they add a lotta snow, at least by the release date. They have plenty of time now.I wanna jump off buildings into snow and not get hurt, like I can do here, in New York, the place that's making their "rough environment" look kinda wussish now. :sad:

I have seen some pics and I gotta tell you, the way they make mountains now is awesome and it makes it rought. tundra is awesome and all, big step from oblivion. if they only add few inches of snow here and there thought it's lame(ish) but the mountains will be cool anyhow ;)

Where hav u seen pics, I only see a few at GI, are there mor anywhere else??

there's quite a few pics with a lot of info too like 20 pics I have seen but they are from scan version of the gameinformer magazine I think. They were banned from youtube. don't have links not and it's probably not cool to post it on any popular forum.