Crowfall
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Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!
Go here and give us your nominations!Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
Outcast was voxely, the build engine had small voxel objects for tombstones and such.
My xbox game was all generated terrain. Fractals with a radius drop to form a rounded island in the clouds. Worked ok, but I didn't do any trees or anything, just textures based on height and steepness.
My xbox game was all generated terrain. Fractals with a radius drop to form a rounded island in the clouds. Worked ok, but I didn't do any trees or anything, just textures based on height and steepness.
Big_w_powah
Trakanon Raider
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Were any of the red faction games voxels? I'm pretty sure one had entirely destructible terrain.
Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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No I don't think so.
Voxel is a bit of a nebulous and misused word. It's a combination of volume and pixel, and is sort of a 3d pixel. So a game like Minecraft which is made up of these blocks is thought of as the quintessential voxel game, but it actually doesn't use voxel rendering, it uses polygonal rendering. And the blocks aren't stored as voxels where each block is positioned only relative to its neighbors, they're stored as a point cloud where each block is positioned relative to a game's origin.
Voxel is a bit of a nebulous and misused word. It's a combination of volume and pixel, and is sort of a 3d pixel. So a game like Minecraft which is made up of these blocks is thought of as the quintessential voxel game, but it actually doesn't use voxel rendering, it uses polygonal rendering. And the blocks aren't stored as voxels where each block is positioned only relative to its neighbors, they're stored as a point cloud where each block is positioned relative to a game's origin.
Big Flex
Fitness Fascist
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Q: When the countdown is completed, will we have a more complete picture of the game's lore and the available archetypes and promotion classes?
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Q: This might seem like a stupid question, but aren't most MMOs already pretty CPU Bound? In terms of in-game performance what are you predicting, especially in large scrimmages, with a hundred or more players on your screen (and the voxel engine thrown in to the mix). Reading your reply, it seems this will put even more emphasis on the CPU; and possibly lower fps in game? I know GW2 used culling to help a bit with this, and it worked (sorta). It definitely had it's positive and negative effects.
A:
BTW MMOs are draw call / state change bound. In a crowded area you'll see a dip in framerate but a dip in gpu utilization and even heat as well. It is because everything is stalled most of the time waiting on new stuff to be shuffled into place for the next draw.
I think I've said on the board somewhere that I think DX12 and maybe Mantle should help greatly with this, but a gpu guru I know thinks it won't make much difference. I won't be able to mess with them until summerish so I dunno.
Stuff that most games would use cpu for like pathfinding or AI are usually done on the server as well, so mmo clients really shouldn't hit a cpu that hard. ArcheAge being Korean does a few things client side like physics for player driven cars and pathfinding for the player's pet. Boats are server side simulated.
If there was cpu to spare, the voxelized world should make it possible to do fluid flow or light bouncing like the latest unreal is doing, though stuff like that is not terribly useful in mmo-land, at least client side.
I think I've said on the board somewhere that I think DX12 and maybe Mantle should help greatly with this, but a gpu guru I know thinks it won't make much difference. I won't be able to mess with them until summerish so I dunno.
Stuff that most games would use cpu for like pathfinding or AI are usually done on the server as well, so mmo clients really shouldn't hit a cpu that hard. ArcheAge being Korean does a few things client side like physics for player driven cars and pathfinding for the player's pet. Boats are server side simulated.
If there was cpu to spare, the voxelized world should make it possible to do fluid flow or light bouncing like the latest unreal is doing, though stuff like that is not terribly useful in mmo-land, at least client side.
Palum
what Suineg set it to
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Teekey
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Hah. A few years back we had Delta Force installed on our classified mission planning computers. We had some pretty fun LAN parties with it on long exercise weekends.
Rogosh
Lord Nagafen Raider
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02/19/2015 - Physics + Double Archetype Drop - News & Announcements - Crowfall Community
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | Physics
1. What do you mean by a "physics" system?
Physics system means that objects in our game world move and react according to real-world physics rules. Objects have mass and that mass imparts inertia/momentum.
2. Don't most MMOs use physics to move things around?
Most games have a simple physics system to represent players falling and things like that. Our system uses a physics engine for this purpose and as such can account for a much more dynamic scene, for example, falling objects colliding with one another. Movement of debris from an explosion, or scene dressing does not require a physics simulation. We apply physics to objects that can be meaningfully involved in gameplay, like the player's avatar, chunks of terrain and so on.
3. Does that mean players can't stand inside of other players?
It does! We think this will lead to some fun behaviors in combat.
4. What kind of forces are applied? (Momentum, inertia, Gravity, etc?)
We use a real-world gravity system where objects have mass and that mass corresponds to what you would expect from every day experience; Big barrels full of sand would be heavy, small objects like weapons weigh a lot less. Our player powers can also create forces to do things like push or pull, and knock up or knockdown.
When you apply player powers to in world objects there is potential for crazy destruction. It could also get out of hand and make a giant mess, so we are watching this area carefully.
5. Does this system affect... characters, monsters, objects, buildings, terrain?
Yes, the system affects everything in the world.
6. Can players block other players from moving?
Yes they can, which should allow for some interesting battlefield formations. However, not all characters will have the same mass, so a larger character like a Centaur will have no trouble pushing a much smaller Assassin out of the way. Also, some characters may have special powers that enable them to teleport past other players, while others may have powers that prevent players from passing them. Controlling the battlefield will be a key strategy to master!
7. Has this technology been used before?
Yes. The Voxel Farm technology library has been used by Daybreak Game Company on their titles Landmark and up-coming MMO, EverQuest Next.
8. Will any of my ranged powers use physics?
Yes, some powers use physics forces/impulses to push objects around. Some powers create projectiles which can apply forces to whatever the projectile hits and explodes on. A fireball could hit a player, explode and knock them back a few feet. Or maybe a meteor could hit the ground next to a player, knock them into the air and destroy the terrain under them, so when they fall it is a fair distance.
9. Will any of my melee attacks use physics?
We want everyone to enjoy the physics in Crowfall, so yes!
10. Can I use physics to push another player off a cliff? Or down a mountain?
Absolutely, assuming the force applied to them is enough to move their mass. Some of the characters have much more mass than others like the Centaur or the Champion.
11. What physical properties do items have?
All objects in the world will have mass, and a corresponding weight based on the world's gravity. Items in your inventory will not contribute to your avatar's overall mass however.
12. What tactical considerations will I need to take in account during combat?
In most other combat systems the environment is very static and the physics pretty limited. With the introduction of physics and a destructible environment Crowfall is shaking things up, quite literally.
This technology allows all kinds of emergent behaviors that no one has seen before. Imagine blasting a hole in the ground, using a force to knock an enemy into it and summoning a giant rock over the hole.
13. How can players take advantage of this system (shield walls, or tactical formations)?
We anticipate the tank types to have positional control on the battlefields, they will create formations or walls to protect whom or whatever is behind them. In classic MMO's the tanks have protected the more lightly armored members of the group, in Crowfall they may also be protecting a siege weapon or entrance to a tower. Of course the enemy may have specialists who dig through the terrain under those tanks to get to the targets.
14. Do projectiles use physics?
Yes they do.
15. Does that mean that I can be hit by friendly fire?
Wherever possible, yes -- but we have to make sure that this is balanced. Some rules sets (like the infected worlds, which are Faction based) divide players automatically into teams. We have to make sure that players can't join teams specifically to take advantage of friendly fire to grief their own "teammates."
Our plan is to try and apply debuffs to players for doing damage to or killing their teammates (the gods curse you for your incompetence). If this proves not to be a good enough deterrent, however, we may have to turn friendly fire off for particular Campaign worlds.
16. How does this system work with the destructible environment system?
If walls crash down on you, you will take damage. If the ground opens up below you will fall. The environment can be just as lethal as an enemy player.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | Physics
1. What do you mean by a "physics" system?
Physics system means that objects in our game world move and react according to real-world physics rules. Objects have mass and that mass imparts inertia/momentum.
2. Don't most MMOs use physics to move things around?
Most games have a simple physics system to represent players falling and things like that. Our system uses a physics engine for this purpose and as such can account for a much more dynamic scene, for example, falling objects colliding with one another. Movement of debris from an explosion, or scene dressing does not require a physics simulation. We apply physics to objects that can be meaningfully involved in gameplay, like the player's avatar, chunks of terrain and so on.
3. Does that mean players can't stand inside of other players?
It does! We think this will lead to some fun behaviors in combat.
4. What kind of forces are applied? (Momentum, inertia, Gravity, etc?)
We use a real-world gravity system where objects have mass and that mass corresponds to what you would expect from every day experience; Big barrels full of sand would be heavy, small objects like weapons weigh a lot less. Our player powers can also create forces to do things like push or pull, and knock up or knockdown.
When you apply player powers to in world objects there is potential for crazy destruction. It could also get out of hand and make a giant mess, so we are watching this area carefully.
5. Does this system affect... characters, monsters, objects, buildings, terrain?
Yes, the system affects everything in the world.
6. Can players block other players from moving?
Yes they can, which should allow for some interesting battlefield formations. However, not all characters will have the same mass, so a larger character like a Centaur will have no trouble pushing a much smaller Assassin out of the way. Also, some characters may have special powers that enable them to teleport past other players, while others may have powers that prevent players from passing them. Controlling the battlefield will be a key strategy to master!
7. Has this technology been used before?
Yes. The Voxel Farm technology library has been used by Daybreak Game Company on their titles Landmark and up-coming MMO, EverQuest Next.
8. Will any of my ranged powers use physics?
Yes, some powers use physics forces/impulses to push objects around. Some powers create projectiles which can apply forces to whatever the projectile hits and explodes on. A fireball could hit a player, explode and knock them back a few feet. Or maybe a meteor could hit the ground next to a player, knock them into the air and destroy the terrain under them, so when they fall it is a fair distance.
9. Will any of my melee attacks use physics?
We want everyone to enjoy the physics in Crowfall, so yes!
10. Can I use physics to push another player off a cliff? Or down a mountain?
Absolutely, assuming the force applied to them is enough to move their mass. Some of the characters have much more mass than others like the Centaur or the Champion.
11. What physical properties do items have?
All objects in the world will have mass, and a corresponding weight based on the world's gravity. Items in your inventory will not contribute to your avatar's overall mass however.
12. What tactical considerations will I need to take in account during combat?
In most other combat systems the environment is very static and the physics pretty limited. With the introduction of physics and a destructible environment Crowfall is shaking things up, quite literally.
This technology allows all kinds of emergent behaviors that no one has seen before. Imagine blasting a hole in the ground, using a force to knock an enemy into it and summoning a giant rock over the hole.
13. How can players take advantage of this system (shield walls, or tactical formations)?
We anticipate the tank types to have positional control on the battlefields, they will create formations or walls to protect whom or whatever is behind them. In classic MMO's the tanks have protected the more lightly armored members of the group, in Crowfall they may also be protecting a siege weapon or entrance to a tower. Of course the enemy may have specialists who dig through the terrain under those tanks to get to the targets.
14. Do projectiles use physics?
Yes they do.
15. Does that mean that I can be hit by friendly fire?
Wherever possible, yes -- but we have to make sure that this is balanced. Some rules sets (like the infected worlds, which are Faction based) divide players automatically into teams. We have to make sure that players can't join teams specifically to take advantage of friendly fire to grief their own "teammates."
Our plan is to try and apply debuffs to players for doing damage to or killing their teammates (the gods curse you for your incompetence). If this proves not to be a good enough deterrent, however, we may have to turn friendly fire off for particular Campaign worlds.
16. How does this system work with the destructible environment system?
If walls crash down on you, you will take damage. If the ground opens up below you will fall. The environment can be just as lethal as an enemy player.
Vitality
ＨＵＳＴＬＥ
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oh baby friendly fire is in, R I P tucos team.
Edit: more notes on FF rulesets:
Edit: more notes on FF rulesets:
I'm not entirely sure how you can read an FAQ that mentions the possibility of turning off friendly fire on 1 or 2 of the announced rulesets, and to you that translates to "only FFA has friendly fire".
Make no mistake, we'll be working and testing this area heavily and we'll find what works best for each campaign ruleset. We might find a way to execute it well on all of them, we may not.
It's best not to jump to hyperbolic conclusion's when we're being very forward and open with our thinking with you on this.
Make no mistake, we'll be working and testing this area heavily and we'll find what works best for each campaign ruleset. We might find a way to execute it well on all of them, we may not.
It's best not to jump to hyperbolic conclusion's when we're being very forward and open with our thinking with you on this.
Vitality
ＨＵＳＴＬＥ
- 5,808
- 30
Also, looks like they listened when I posted about booting up a twitch stream for character modeling:
Next Tuesday at 2:00pm CST, we'll be doing a twitch stream of the creation of the Guinecean Duelist character model! Our friends and partners at OMNOM workshop (who we rely on heavily to help us sculpt our game characters) have graciously offered to allow everyone a chance to see how the sausage is made. In this case, the "sausage" is a talking guinea pig with the saber and a flintlock pistol.
Next Tuesday at 2:00pm CST, we'll be doing a twitch stream of the creation of the Guinecean Duelist character model! Our friends and partners at OMNOM workshop (who we rely on heavily to help us sculpt our game characters) have graciously offered to allow everyone a chance to see how the sausage is made. In this case, the "sausage" is a talking guinea pig with the saber and a flintlock pistol.
Oh this is good. Real good. I'm still a skeptic when it comes to them pulling it off but I'll be a fanboy. Why not? This will really be the anti-zerg mechanism that is needed. Or if you have a large force you need to spread it out to be effective.
And this game has guns too. Sweet.
And this game has guns too. Sweet.
Tearofsoul
Ancient MMO noob
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Mr Creed
Too old for this shit
- 2,385
- 277
I like that. Interest-meter rising again I guess. I'm so split on this game, perpetually getting on and off the hype train with each new chunk of information.
Edit:
had not seen the picture before my post, back on the hype train for now! Think we can campaign for red pandas?
Gangster
