Blog 13 - A Fun Game

[ChopBam]

Black7Cloud asked in the Youtube comments, "Is this an old build of my map? There's some stuff missing."[/size]

Who is he, why does he have links to an old copy of Reborn in some of his video descriptions, and is this true?

He is former staff, a leaker, and a hacker.

[Guest KevinLancaster]

Will he perform leet hax on BHP?

[moonsense715]

He has created quite a bunch of maps for Reborn while he was on the team.

Whatever he has done after that I am still thankful for his work because it's awesome.

[Guest Elsa]

:sad: Sorry. Thanks for the answers! But will there be some sort of workaround for that FXAA problem? I assume Reborn would have it too because it's on the same engine as APB.

This was fixed in a post APB scripts release.

and will be apart of apb / reborn patches.

[Guest KevinLancaster]

He has created quite a bunch of maps for Reborn while he was on the team.

Whatever he has done after that I am still thankful for his work because it's awesome.

Would you guys ever put him back on the team?

[ChopBam]

Would you guys ever put him back on the team?

No. To put it politely, and to balance out dtrngd's post, Blackwolf is a huge douchebag.

[Guest Elsa]

 

Would you guys ever put him back on the team?

No. To put it politely, and to balance out dtrngd's post, Blackwolf is a huge douchebag.

Rude.

[ChopBam]

And true. Choosing to forget this simple statement of fact will not serve us well on this one.

[Guest DoMiNaNt_HuNtEr]

If all the APB players sitting on the forums complaining about the lack of players actually joined the server it'd be full... just an observation

 

 

lol, I know right? And I always do. Except for right now, I gotta go to work soon.

[Guest KevinLancaster]

Will you guys post those Reborn shorts on ModDB?

Also, what will be available upon release? I know you guys already said essentially whatever is ready, but what is ready? I assume all the infantry are ready (I haven't seen anything contrary to this) and most of the vehicles (excluding the Juggernaut and EMP Tank, but how about the Mobile Sensor Array, Mobile Repair Vehicle and Harpy? I haven't seen those in any past images or videos. Is the game balanced like this? What will happen when new units are introduced and the balance is screwed up?). I know in the past you guys have said that underground vehicles would not have their underground abilities at first and that veterancy would be pushed back to a later patch, but it looks like from this video that you guys have the underground issues sorted out so will at least they be available at release? How about the Ion Storms, Building Hacking, "Poison" and the Superweapons (this especially, because I know you guys have said that they probably won't make it in the first release in the past but they're just so darned cool) from the first Dev. Blog?

 

PS: Oh yeah, where's Renardin in all this? I thought he would be around to see the project he originally led get released.

 

PPS: Will Carryalls play any roles?

Edited May 21, 2013 by KevinLancaster

[ChopBam]

PS: Oh yeah, where's Renardin in all this? I thought he would be around to see the project he originally led get released.

Renardin's been helping out in the background with stuff. He's fully aware of the project's near release, and is excited like the rest of us.

[Guest Omega79]

 

PS: Oh yeah, where's Renardin in all this? I thought he would be around to see the project he originally led get released.

Renardin's been helping out in the background with stuff. He's fully aware of the project's near release, and is excited like the rest of us.

Thats very nice to hear ... very nice

[Wallywood]

Will you guys post those Reborn shorts on ModDB?

 

Also, what will be available upon release? I know you guys already said essentially whatever is ready, but what is ready? I assume all the infantry are ready (I haven't seen anything contrary to this) and most of the vehicles (excluding the Juggernaut and EMP Tank, but how about the Mobile Sensor Array, Mobile Repair Vehicle and Harpy? I haven't seen those in any past images or videos. Is the game balanced like this? What will happen when new units are introduced and the balance is screwed up?). I know in the past you guys have said that underground vehicles would not have their underground abilities at first and that veterancy would be pushed back to a later patch, but it looks like from this video that you guys have the underground issues sorted out so will at least they be available at release? How about the Ion Storms, Building Hacking, "Poison" and the Superweapons (this especially, because I know you guys have said that they probably won't make it in the first release in the past but they're just so darned cool) from the first Dev. Blog?

 

PS: Oh yeah, where's Renardin in all this? I thought he would be around to see the project he originally led get released.

 

PPS: Will Carryalls play any roles?

OMG thats a lot of questions.

 

Ion storms turns the screen yellow, and lighting strikes randomly on the maps. They are random in on or off at the beginning of the map and length time. disable EMP mines and stealth units

Mobile EMPs aren't in yet

MRV are in

Underground works

Vet will come later

EMP mines work

Toxin poisoning works

MSA are in

Harpys are in

carryalls will make an appearance but not in first rc

building hacking not in yet

super weapons not in yet

Limpets aren't in

 

hope thats pretty much all of it.

[Guest KevinLancaster]

What exactly happened with the superweapons anyways? I saw those old videos in the replies to one of the older blogs so I'm assuming either they're imbalanced or that you guys want a new method of targeting that doesn't involve beacons or flares. Oh yeah, most of the major buildings are in already right? What are the newest additions you've finished?

[Guest Chronojam]

As noted in the APB blog a few weeks back, we're investigating more interesting ways of introducing superweapons.

[Guest KevinLancaster]

Some guys over at Project Perfect Mod were talking about how they wouldn't try the mod mainly because the Renegade engine looks and plays too poorly compared to others these days (one said they wouldn't because the mod's been re-imagined too many times and that the infantry beta was crap; however, you guys weren't in charge of the mod then). While I find their argument a bit ironic (considering they are modding outdated engines as well), it did provoke some questions about the future of the mod:

 

To begin, is TS:R trying to be have realistic graphics? One of the points that was brought up was that games don't need to be graphically impressive to be successful; however, FPS games often try to be and therefore become graphically dated much quicker than games of other genres. Renegade is held in the thread to be one of those that tried hard to be realistic in its day but now simply looks like crap. If TS:R doesn't develop its own graphical style and simply tries to look as realistic as possible it would be easily overtaken by Tiberian Genesis once it's released in the visual department. Now that I think about it though, you guys don't really have that much flexibility because you have to stick to what TS looked like. However, I do find that the graphical restrictions the engine put on you guys do make the game look, as one ModDB user said, "charming", and I feel that you should take advantage of this if possible.

 

Also, what effects will Scripts 4.1 have on the graphics? I've heard that it essentially is going to give you guys free reign over the capabilities of the engine; how good could it look? Also, does the team have any connections with the newer mods like Renegade X and Tiberian Genesis? Could you guys ever port the game over with their help?

 

Lastly, I'm repeating myself but I have to ask again about how much advertising there will be. I saw you guys post the trailer on the official C&C forums as well as at CnCNZ, but considering their communities aren't really thriving anymore why don't you guys expand your boundaries and advertise to those who aren't dyed in the wool C&C fans like at Reddit or 4chan or whatever the latest online community is, because the game is first and foremost an FPS not an RTS so there isn't a reason to restrict yourselves to those familiar with the source material and I'm afraid of the game being released and there being no players, or not enough to fill the servers. It seems like everyone is moving on these days to newer material, and older games getting less and less popular as even those in less well-off nations upgrade to newer computer hardware and consoles.

 

Sorry for rambling. Also please don't get into an internet fight guys. Also sorry if I create one, I didn't mean to.

Edited May 23, 2013 by KevinLancaster

[Wallywood]

Advertising on 4chan I believe is just asking for trouble

[saberhawk]

Also, what effects will Scripts 4.1 have on the graphics? I've heard that it essentially is going to give you guys free reign over the capabilities of the engine; how good could it look?

It's almost as if we built our own engine

[Guest C0de_man]

Advertising on 4chan ...

L O L! :awesome: :happycat: :emot-laugh:

 

The engine needs to be able to support the ideas of the devs in the way they want them in the game and also be able to played in a somewhat decent way.

 

Right now APBs engine quite playable, with the exception of that lag maybe which can really be annoying at times, but i cant see how graphics are the weakside of this engine, in regards to their capabilites that is. Sure better performance is a huge plus and all, but its not really that urgently needed.

Everything else as i see it is gameplay and balance and etc and this what really will count at the end. Complains about graphics are nonsense to me.

[Wallywood]

 

Advertising on 4chan ...

L O L! :awesome: :happycat: :emot-laugh:

 

The engine needs to be able to support the ideas of the devs in the way they want them in the game and also be able to played in a somewhat decent way.

 

Right now APBs engine quite playable, with the exception of that lag maybe which can really be annoying at times, but i cant see how graphics are the weakside of this engine, in regards to their capabilites that is. Sure better performance is a huge plus and all, but its not really that urgently needed.

Everything else as i see it is gameplay and balance and etc and this what really will count at the end. Complains about graphics are nonsense to me.

Good job :foxnews: ing my post there.

[Guest APB_ICE]

 

Also, what effects will Scripts 4.1 have on the graphics? I've heard that it essentially is going to give you guys free reign over the capabilities of the engine; how good could it look?

It's almost as if we built our own engine.

 

Will they be able to drastically improve W3D's efficiency because of this? Better graphics are always nice, but AFAIK it's been putting a lot of strain on the engine and pushing it beyond what it was designed to handle (mainly with textures and particle effects), resulting in more lag, lower FPS, more crashes, etc., for people with less-than-ideal hardware, even with all of TT's previous engine-improvements. Gamma 2.0 was an example of this, while certain maps (Hourglass) have become infamous for freezes and crashes.

[VERTi60]

 

 

Also, what effects will Scripts 4.1 have on the graphics? I've heard that it essentially is going to give you guys free reign over the capabilities of the engine; how good could it look?

It's almost as if we built our own engine.

 

Will they be able to drastically improve W3D's efficiency because of this? Better graphics are always nice, but AFAIK it's been putting a lot of strain on the engine and pushing it beyond what it was designed to handle (mainly with textures and particle effects), resulting in more lag, lower FPS, more crashes, etc., for people with less-than-ideal hardware, even with all of TT's previous engine-improvements. Gamma 2.0 was an example of this, while certain maps (Hourglass) have become infamous for freezes and crashes.

 

I suppose the crashes were mostly due to the memory leaks, bad rendering and whatnot. The new gfx improvements which will follow will be most likely be optional so you can still turn them off (like shaders) and still play the game vanilla style without fancy stuff.

[ChopBam]

 

 

 

Also, what effects will Scripts 4.1 have on the graphics? I've heard that it essentially is going to give you guys free reign over the capabilities of the engine; how good could it look?

 

It's almost as if we built our own engine.

Will they be able to drastically improve W3D's efficiency because of this? Better graphics are always nice, but AFAIK it's been putting a lot of strain on the engine and pushing it beyond what it was designed to handle (mainly with textures and particle effects), resulting in more lag, lower FPS, more crashes, etc., for people with less-than-ideal hardware, even with all of TT's previous engine-improvements. Gamma 2.0 was an example of this, while certain maps (Hourglass) have become infamous for freezes and crashes.

The other day, I reduced the number of draw calls on Hourglass by a large amount. This alone should help performance there.

[Guest APB_ICE]

I suppose the crashes were mostly due to the memory leaks, bad rendering and whatnot. The new gfx improvements which will follow will be most likely be optional so you can still turn them off (like shaders) and still play the game vanilla style without fancy stuff.

 

But we want the fancy stuff!! We just need the engine to handle it better. :

 

 

Will they be able to drastically improve W3D's efficiency because of this? Better graphics are always nice, but AFAIK it's been putting a lot of strain on the engine and pushing it beyond what it was designed to handle (mainly with textures and particle effects), resulting in more lag, lower FPS, more crashes, etc., for people with less-than-ideal hardware, even with all of TT's previous engine-improvements. Gamma 2.0 was an example of this, while certain maps (Hourglass) have become infamous for freezes and crashes.

The other day, I reduced the number of draw calls on Hourglass by a large amount. This alone should help performance there.

 

Okay let's hope so. Currently that map gives me periodic black screen-flashes, crashes the game and sometimes even crashes the computer itself with some sort of freaky buzzing total freeze (if that makes any sense :eek:).

Edited May 23, 2013 by APB_ICE

[VERTi60]

ICE, you should get a better gaming computer first and then complain about the engine not handling gfx

[ChopBam]

Okay let's hope so. Currently that map gives me periodic black screen-flashes, crashes the game and sometimes even crashes the computer itself with some sort of freaky buzzing total freeze (if that makes any sense :eek:).

Then I'd say that's a problem with your computer, since I've never experienced anything close to that.

[Guest APB_ICE]

ICE, you should get a better gaming computer first and then complain about the engine not handling gfx

 

I would, but I have no money. Or shall I say 'insufficient funds'? :

 

Plus, historically, one of the main appeals of APB was that it could run well on lower-end computers, which modern games typically don't.

 

It's easy when you have a fancy $1000 gaming rig and a super-high-speed internet connection, but the rest of us have to make do with what we have, and this is why engine-efficiency and netcode improvements are so important.

 

 

 

Okay let's hope so. Currently that map gives me periodic black screen-flashes, crashes the game and sometimes even crashes the computer itself with some sort of freaky buzzing total freeze (if that makes any sense :eek:).

Then I'd say that's a problem with your computer, since I've never experienced anything close to that.

 

Except that Hourglass is the only map which causes that. No other map in APB or Reborn does anything like it, so I would think it's a problem with the map.

Edited May 23, 2013 by APB_ICE

[Guest C0de_man]

 

 

Okay let's hope so. Currently that map gives me periodic black screen-flashes, crashes the game and sometimes even crashes the computer itself with some sort of freaky buzzing total freeze (if that makes any sense :eek:).

Sounds like overheating, your gonna break your pc in the long term with that.

 

Seriously even my old used eeepc can run apb at like 5 frames, Any not older than 10 years old pc should be able to run APB somewhat ok.

Also with some luck anyone should be able to get a somewhat decent gaming pc for only 250$.

[Guest KevinLancaster]

The Mammoth Mk2 doesn't have backward bending legs because it was too annoying to animate right?

 

Also, could its animations be used for a dog?

[Guest APB_ICE]

 

 

 

Okay let's hope so. Currently that map gives me periodic black screen-flashes, crashes the game and sometimes even crashes the computer itself with some sort of freaky buzzing total freeze (if that makes any sense :eek:).

Sounds like overheating, your gonna break your pc in the long term with that.

 

Seriously even my old used eeepc can run apb at like 5 frames, Any not older than 10 years old pc should be able to run APB somewhat ok.

Also with some luck anyone should be able to get a somewhat decent gaming pc for only 250$.

My computer was brand new in 2010, but it's a laptop with non-upgradable on-board graphics.

 

The Mammoth Mk2 doesn't have backward bending legs because it was too annoying to animate right?

 

Also, could its animations be used for a dog?

I'm sure that if it were that simple, the Dev's would already be trying it. Alas, with characters it's more than just animations. Attack Dogs, Tiberian Fiends and Cows ( :emot-haw:) will need to have an entirely new skeleton made for them, as the default (human) version apparently can't adequately support the movements of quadrupeds.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_animation

 

However, once skeletons for quadrupeds and birds are actually made, the possibilities are endless. Imagine Reborn featuring Fiends, scorpions and lizards from the TS cutscenes! Or if APB had that little blue bird from the 'dud' cutscene flying around. And of course we can't forget cows in AR. Ivan needs practice targets! :emot-haw:

Edited May 23, 2013 by APB_ICE