Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
Zoost

Is nVidia betting on the wrong horse?

Recommended Posts

I didnt say anything about the tech, because the only effect that has on me is how much money comes out of my wallet. Im just going by looks; HL 2 looks like all games before exept that it has even more nitros and turbos added, while Doom 3 looks a lot different to what came before.

Its not like I'm saying half life 2 has nothing new on older games, its just that it looks more like an evolution rather than a revolution.

Share this post


Link to post

In my basic, rudimentary opinion:

DooM 3 is about the Graphics.
Half Life 2 is about the Physics.

Both games accell in both but specialize in 1 or the other.

Share this post


Link to post
MatrixmaN said:

In my basic, rudimentary opinion:

DooM 3 is about the Graphics.
Half Life 2 is about the Physics.

Both games accell in both but specialize in 1 or the other.

Hmm, recent Doom 3 previews seem to indicate that Doom 3 isn't inferior to HL2 in the physics department.
Objects can still fall and tumble around realistically, the environment can still be affected by physics.
A tech demo was demonstrated to a bunch of journalists, which showed a stack of crates - upon shooting one of the lower crates, the whole stack came crashing down in a realistic fashion. The same demo was reloaded, this time with a corpse in it, which was then swung into the stack of crates - again, everything looked amazing according to the journalists.

From what I hear, this is no different from HL2.
And believe me, I've SEEN those HL2 videos - I see no reason to dismiss that Doom 3's physics engine could be just as advanced.

But bear in mind, that I'm simultaneously not dismissing that you *could* be right and that HL2's physics are more heavily incorporated into the gameplay than D3's.

Share this post


Link to post

I just mean that you cant literally tear wood apart in DooM 3. Or have a realistic mattress flailing into spongy chunks.

Thats where the difference lies, It just doesnt seem like Doom's collission detection is as good or indepth as half life 2's.

I still like D3 better than HL2 but I guess thats where my point in the above post lies.

Share this post


Link to post

Could argue that Jedi Knight makes the best use of physics. You can grip someone in the air, then using the force you can smash them into other people to knock them to the floor :) - but its not a technically advanced physics system, just a fun one.

Share this post


Link to post
MatrixmaN said:

I just mean that you cant literally tear wood apart in DooM 3. Or have a realistic mattress flailing into spongy chunks.

Thats where the difference lies, It just doesnt seem like Doom's collission detection is as good or indepth as half life 2's.

I still like D3 better than HL2 but I guess thats where my point in the above post lies.


DOOM 3 has better collision detection than HL 2, definitely. The former is based on a per-pixel basis, whereas the latter still uses hitboxes.

Moreover, DOOM 3's physics is completely generalised across the board, with impressive features like (aside from per-pixel hit detection) keyframe blending of mocap animations and ragdoll physics, glass-fracturing/cracking physics, etcetera, all fully integrated into the core renderer alongside the generalised graphics and sound engine. The developers wanted every fragment of debris produced through the physics engine to cast individual shadows, do accurate reflections/specularity/shading effects, and realistically reflect/resonate/alter the velocity of the sound waves travelling across the environment, all in a dynamic manner as the debris moves and lands. That's the main reason id chose to build their own physics engine from ground up as a major extension to the core renderer, instead of licensing an external one that may serve to complicate matters.

The glass-fracturing physics is extremely impressive, last I heard. The glass can crack, splinter, shatter, and the size of the glass fragments seem to be variable depending on the physics and math calculations involved, as a result of the player's interactions. That's what I heard from those who attended QuakeCon and played the MP demo. It's also briefly mentioned and highlighted in the PCGamer article. If they can make glass-destruction fully based on physics algorithms, I figure they should also be able to do so for other materials, like the kind of wood and plastic featured in the HL 2 demo videos, but with every splinter affecting both the lighting and sound engines in real-time.

HL 2's physics may seem more fanciful, but it lacks the consistency with other aspects of the engine (ie. destructable objects don't cast dynamic shadows). As far as I can see, in terms of pure engine capabilities, DOOM 3 seems to exceed HL 2 in every aspect, save for perhaps fluid (liquid) dynamics and facial expressions/lip-synching of characters.

Share this post


Link to post

I think the differences you describe tend to originate from the philosophies behind the two dev teams. Now, I don't know these guys, so I can't say this with any sort of verifiable proof </disclaimer>, but it really seems to me that id writes (or tries to write) programs that are solid from the ground up, whereas Valve seems to be verymuch hackers in the truest since of the word - they write programs that generally function as designed and often have amazing features or capabilities, but are filled with inconsistencies and reliability flaws. Just what it seems.

Thus, instead of adding further to the lighting system that was originated by Quake, theCarmack created an entirely new system from the ground up. Half-Life 2 seems to be largely based around a more archaic lighting system with a few nifty features tacked on.

Just an example. I'm sure you could find more.

Share this post


Link to post
auxois said:

are filled with inconsistencies and reliability flaws

I got stuck in an OpFor elevator in Steam HL yesterday.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×