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how good is the graphics update now in disco? - Printable Version

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how good is the graphics update now in disco? - JSDisc - 12-25-2011

how good is the graphics update now in disco compared to this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0OMJkXrZlQ...feature=related
just curious...:$
EDIT: I'm not talking about the deferential lighting they got there. And i don't want any "well, disco's not about that..." because I know, but how much have the graphics advanced. (Just to say I hate being not as good as the best of anyone else. so, I was stunned when I say this.)


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - jammi - 12-25-2011

Disco doesn't have any graphics upgrades, except for the Bloom mod (which doesn't work very well).


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - JSDisc - 12-25-2011

ok, thats a bit of a disappointment... This would make the game
P.E.R.F.E.C.T.


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - Frazzer. - 12-25-2011

I had those graphics when I was using files from Plasmafire on Disco, including their ENB Series mod. I'd write a tutorial but since Plasmafire is copyrighted I can't, sadly.:)


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - JSDisc - 12-25-2011

' Wrote:I had those graphics when I was using files from Plasmafire on Disco, including their ENB Series mod. I'd write a tutorial but since Plasmafire is copyrighted I can't, sadly.:)
so, um. I have a ship. when can we sell plasmafire in the black market? we'll be rich I tell you.

WAIT A SEC! plasmafire died! how is it still under copyright?


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - Toaster - 12-25-2011

By the owners saying it still is.


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - JIVA - 12-25-2011

i might be half blind - but i don t see much difference.

as far as i know - freelancer ( default ) uses general ambient lightning - and in some parts - it adds a "semi-dynamic" lightsource ( like in some nebulas ) that illuminate the ship as a whole from different angles.

the only mod that i saw that made use of "real" dynamic lightning is the freeworlds mod ( in their latest video, you can see the lasers cast point lights on the models of the ships ).

what i saw in that crossfire video is a "slight" adjustment of the brightly shining light to / reflection - which looks like a slightly better ( is it vertex lightning? )



* * *

in general:

ambience and dynamic lights increase the quality of a presentation tremendously - if the enviroment is suited ( like large models that really "reflect" those features )

the incrased quality in that vid ( like i said - i don t see much ) - is so minor, that i don t think ppl notice it anyway.

and we shouldn t forget that such features might be enjoyable in the first weeks or maybe 1 or 2 months. but after that.... its all down to game mechanics.

- balance
- "hidden" game mechanics like ninja rep, lore, ID cards - all the "non" flashy stuff ... THATs what makes a mod enjoyable for a long time

models - after the "new" wears off .... are more regarded for their value for RP ( do they allow the RP of a research ship etc. ) than their complexity and shaders.

and in a firefight - the average size of an opponent is around 20 pixels wide and high or smaller. you don t see much in terms of light and shadowplay - cause you ll focus entirely on a simple red cross and a madly spinning red circle.

long term motivation comes from game mechanics, not quite from the presentation ( as long as its not abysmal )

edit:

as said before - we have NOT improved the engine of freelancer.

- some models have received a massive detail upgrade... in the good hopes that there won t be many ppl playing freelancer on a 300mhz netbook anymore. ( in other words - please, don t stack 4 zoner juggernauts on one screen ) - but if you do see 4 on one screen and your dps doesn t go down - you won t need to worry, cause we ll have bypassed the 120k polygons


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - Fat.Igor - 12-25-2011

' Wrote:how good is the graphics update now in disco compared to this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0OMJkXrZlQ...feature=related
just curious...:$
EDIT: I'm not talking about the deferential lighting they got there. And i don't want any "well, disco's not about that..." because I know, but how much have the graphics advanced. (Just to say I hate being not as good as the best of anyone else. so, I was stunned when I say this.)
Where exactly is the difference in the graphics? I dont see any difference from what we have here either...

If I wanted to play a game with good graphics I would go play a newer game.


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - Echo 7-7 - 12-25-2011

There is actually very little in the way of conceptual graphics updates. Most of what you see in that video are new effects replacing the vanilla ones (notably: Trade Lane travel; engine FX; possibly some new textures.) This is mainly because of the limitations of Freelancer's old game engine.

Ambient lighting can be adjusted: decreasing the amount of ambient light makes it feel more realistic (ie. the light is coming from a point source, not from everywhere).
Conveniently, a mod has been made in which you can control the level of ambient lighting. It's called the Realistic Lighting Mod, and you can find it in this thread:
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=96116

Check out the first download link in the first post. I have it set to 15%, and it works quite comfortably.


how good is the graphics update now in disco? - JSDisc - 12-25-2011

here are the technical differences I can see.
redone animations (should be easy to do)
improved lighting (can already done in disco)
reworked starscapes to offer much more exitement (easily done in disco)
sharper animations (don't know the difficulty of doing that)
glare (don't know the difficulty of doing that)
actual star textures (don't know the difficulty of doing that)
reworked ship and station textures (EASY!)
ships emitting light (should be easy)

so, since it looks easy to do... why not do at least starscapes and more realistic textures. This should take some time though. but it seems to be worth it!