Whats coming in the next patch?

[Conine]

if they’ll just think about adding the option to the PS3.

We actually considered the option to allow Brink to be installed to a PS3 HDD and even tried it here locally in our development environment, but we didn’t see any significant gain from it.

The reason for this is that on the PS3 Brink will use the hard disk cache, which is a part of the hard disk that’s reserved for games to freely write to and read from. As the game progresses all the important files are copied here and from then on read from the hard disk instead of the Blu-ray. This works out to be the same as installing the game, but rather than having you wait until it’s done installing you can jump straight into the game. After playing the game for a little bit there is no noticeable difference between installing and caching because they both run from the hard disk effectively.

The Xbox 360 has support for a similar form of caching, but bear in mind that you will need a hard disk for this. We also recommend to install on the Xbox 360 because the cache is essentially cleared every time Brink starts, so it will need to do the copying every time.

As for the cut-scenes in particular, we can’t prerender those because your character is in them.

[RGS]

[QUOTE=Conine;358423]
As for the cut-scenes in particular, we can’t prerender those because your character is in them.[/QUOTE]

Aside from having your character in them (which is v. nice btw) I’d personally much rather have in-engine cutscenes anyway. I know the OP was talking about PS3 where you know your max res is 1080p, but on PC rendered movies often look low res if you’re running a large display (with a high res such as 2560x1600).

The way it is now looks really slick on PC IMO.

Side note/OT: I like how your character is in the background as opposed to doing the talking and being the focus. This may well have been done to avoid additional voice work for all the characters for the cutscene dialogue - However whether that was the case or not I really like it this way. The Gordon Freeman approach works for me ;).

[Shinigami]

[QUOTE=Conine;358423]We actually considered the option to allow Brink to be installed to a PS3 HDD and even tried it here locally in our development environment, but we didn’t see any significant gain from it.

The reason for this is that on the PS3 Brink will use the hard disk cache, which is a part of the hard disk that’s reserved for games to freely write to and read from. As the game progresses all the important files are copied here and from then on read from the hard disk instead of the Blu-ray. This works out to be the same as installing the game, but rather than having you wait until it’s done installing you can jump straight into the game. After playing the game for a little bit there is no noticeable difference between installing and caching because they both run from the hard disk effectively.

The Xbox 360 has support for a similar form of caching, but bear in mind that you will need a hard disk for this. We also recommend to install on the Xbox 360 because the cache is essentially cleared every time Brink starts, so it will need to do the copying every time.

As for the cut-scenes in particular, we can’t prerender those because your character is in them.[/QUOTE]

wow another very informative post here about the game!! seriously…keep them coming!!! I know this post essentially says that we wont get to install the game on ps3, and many will consider this a bad thing, but i personally am thankful that at least now i know for a fact whether we are getting this feature or not. its good to have an idea of what is to come (or not) in the future. thanks again, and seriously keep information like this coming. here’s a tapir :stroggtapir: and one for badman too so he doesnt get left out :stroggtapir:

[Smoochy]

[QUOTE=RGS;358440]Aside from having your character in them (which is v. nice btw) I’d personally much rather have in-engine cutscenes anyway. I know the OP was talking about PS3 where you know your max res is 1080p, but on PC rendered movies often look low res if you’re running a large display (with a high res such as 2560x1600).

The way it is now looks really slick on PC IMO.

Side note/OT: I like how your character is in the background as opposed to doing the talking and being the focus. This may well have been done to avoid additional voice work for all the characters for the cutscene dialogue - However whether that was the case or not I really like it this way. The Gordon Freeman approach works for me ;).[/QUOTE]

i find stuff like the weapons in cut scenes look terrible. its like they use the low poly versions and not the proper ones. they look like spectrum graphics when the cut scene zooms in

[Smoochy]

wow another very informative post here about the game!! seriously…keep them coming!!! I know this post essentially says that we wont get to install the game on ps3, and many will consider this a bad thing, but i personally am thankful that at least now i know for a fact whether we are getting this feature or not. its good to have an idea of what is to come (or not) in the future. thanks again, and seriously keep information like this coming. here’s a tapir :stroggtapir: and one for badman too so he doesnt get left out :stroggtapir:

he also didnt mention that the ps3’s BR drive can access and load data much faster than the xbox DVD drive can.

[RGS]

i find stuff like the weapons in cut scenes look terrible. its like they use the low poly versions and not the proper ones. they look like spectrum graphics when the cut scene zooms in

Hmm… Will have to take another look. Think I’ve noticed it, but guess I didn’t find it too distracting really. Either way - I’d still rather that than pre-rendered myself.

[digibob]

he also didnt mention that the ps3’s BR drive can access and load data much faster than the xbox DVD drive can.

That isn’t really true. The DVD drive on the Xbox has a variable read speed depending on the part of the disc that is being read from (inner/outer). The bluray drive on the PS3 has a fixed read speed however, so some parts of the DVD are faster than it, and some parts slower. As a developer we get the choice of which data we want to put where on the DVD.

[tangoliber]

That isn’t really true. The DVD drive on the Xbox has a variable read speed depending on the part of the disc that is being read from (inner/outer). The bluray drive on the PS3 has a fixed read speed however, so some parts of the DVD are faster than it, and some parts slower. As a developer we get the choice of which data we want to put where on the DVD.

Cool info. Thanks.

[tangoliber]

The title updates for the X360/PS3 versions will contain console-specific improvements, fixes, and optimisations, plus the balancing updates from the PC version. As with all the other updates we’ve released, we’ll have a full list of fixes to share when those ones go out.

Since this post was made a few minutes before the most recent PC update was announced… I’m wondering if the +10 respawn times and .6 dehacking were able to make it in the upcoming console update. Hope so…(but I won’t rage if they aren’t… )

[F_Otzenknecht]

[QUOTE=Conine;358423]…
As for the cut-scenes in particular, we can’t prerender those because your character is in them.[/QUOTE]

Don’t know about hd/cache capacity on consoles or rendered cutscene size in general but you could save the rendered cutscene after being rendered once and keep it until the user has applied changes to his/her appearance… ?

Just an idea…

:oppressor:

//EDIT:
Don’t know about user behavior but I don’t apply changes to my char’s appearance anymore since i reached a certain level

//EDIT 2:
I don’t consider cutscene performance a high prio btw. Focus on gameplay - based on community suggestions (different keys for F-actions on PC, demo recording, spread reduction, etc.). That’s more important if you want to keep some players. I enjoy the game big time btw, but could enjoy even more with mentioned tweaks!

Again: Good job on the last fix SD-Team!

[Smoochy]

That isn’t really true. The DVD drive on the Xbox has a variable read speed depending on the part of the disc that is being read from (inner/outer). The bluray drive on the PS3 has a fixed read speed however, so some parts of the DVD are faster than it, and some parts slower. As a developer we get the choice of which data we want to put where on the DVD.

interesting. i thought BR read speeds even on the inner sectors on BR were much faster than any DVD could read. i stand corrected…

[Shinigami]

[QUOTE=F. Otzenknecht;358473]<snip>
//EDIT 2:
I don’t consider cutscene performance a high prio btw. Focus on gameplay - based on community suggestions (different keys for F-actions on PC, demo recording, spread reduction, etc.). That’s more important if you want to keep some players. I enjoy the game big time btw, but could enjoy even more with mentioned tweaks!

Again: Good job on the last fix SD-Team![/QUOTE]

I agree with some of this. Gameplay should always be priority number one. cutscenes with your characters are nice, but if need be, i would have those cut out for more space like others things like maps or skills. I mean, i can imagine how much it must take to make those scenes available with each and every different single customization item in the game, not to mention the different body types and color schemes. like i said, nice addition, but gameplay is always first.

[zenstar]

I agree with some of this. Gameplay should always be priority number one. cutscenes with your characters are nice, but if need be, i would have those cut out for more space like others things like maps or skills. I mean, i can imagine how much it must take to make those scenes available with each and every different single customization item in the game, not to mention the different body types and color schemes. like i said, nice addition, but gameplay is always first.

They make the cutscene once using (basically) a skeleton. The cutscene is then rendered using the ingame engine and the model that you use ingame simply “hangs” on that skeletal animation. (quick and dirty explanation. real animators can give better details if needed).
They don’t make a special animation for each and every customization option. That would be insane and would mean even more work every time they released a new hat.

[thesuzukimethod]

[QUOTE=zenstar;358496]They make the cutscene once using (basically) a skeleton. The cutscene is then rendered using the ingame engine and the model that you use ingame simply “hangs” on that skeletal animation. (quick and dirty explanation. real animators can give better details if needed).
They don’t make a special animation for each and every customization option. That would be insane and would mean even more work every time they released a new hat.[/QUOTE]

exactly! and also explains why sometimes when you play you see the opposing teams character models in your cut scenes (e.g. i was playing resistance on sec tower, and saw AmishWarMachine’s hulk hogan helping escort Necheyev out, even though he was playing as security)

[Shinigami]

[QUOTE=zenstar;358496]They make the cutscene once using (basically) a skeleton. The cutscene is then rendered using the ingame engine and the model that you use ingame simply “hangs” on that skeletal animation. (quick and dirty explanation. real animators can give better details if needed).
They don’t make a special animation for each and every customization option. That would be insane and would mean even more work every time they released a new hat.[/QUOTE]

i can see that being much easier but i still dont think it is as easy as one two three. the motion of the skeleton in the scenes is different from the in game motions so that means that you need to verify that each item interacts with said motion appropriately. mind you, im only guessing here, i really dont have any facts about any of this, just my understanding (which could be wrong).

[thesuzukimethod]

it would be tedious if they had to worry about each little detail and re-render for each. but they dont. wireframe/skeleton animation as the base. skin it with character models, run animation. not an animation guy by all means, although i used to play with poser back in the day

by selecting character models from those that users have created (or are nearby, as in my hulk hogan example) it gives the player a sense of engagement.

think end of sec tower, when your security guys are going to the corner and holding up…i always see two mediums, 95% of the time, one of them is me…ever see a heavy there?

i also see my other chars pop up occasionally on the cut scenes when I’m not playing with them. not sure why (if it’s easier, if they grab things that are ‘nearby’, etc)

[SinDonor]

How come my heavy in the most of the cutscenes is not holding his Gotlung or Rhett, but one of the SMGs??

Looks kinda weird, escorting Nechy all the way to the boat while I am mowing down Sec with a minigun, to then be sporting a tiny Carb-9 in the end cutscene.

[zenstar]

i can see that being much easier but i still dont think it is as easy as one two three. the motion of the skeleton in the scenes is different from the in game motions so that means that you need to verify that each item interacts with said motion appropriately. mind you, im only guessing here, i really dont have any facts about any of this, just my understanding (which could be wrong).

They would have to replay the cutscene with different body types to make sure there are no clipping errors with the larger bodies / more outlandish gear, but if they keep “your” character in the right positions (away from walls and doorways that he may clip into) and in the right poses (not trying to lick his elbow or anything) then it should be relatively simple to do skeletal animations that any model can carry out and still look good.

It takes a little more work than a single, known model but not much more and certainly not as much as was suggested in the post I orignally responded to.

[Shinigami]

[QUOTE=zenstar;358514]They would have to replay the cutscene with different body types to make sure there are no clipping errors with the larger bodies / more outlandish gear, but if they keep “your” character in the right positions (away from walls and doorways that he may clip into) and in the right poses (not trying to lick his elbow or anything) then it should be relatively simple to do skeletal animations that any model can carry out and still look good.

It takes a little more work than a single, known model but not much more and certainly not as much as was suggested in the post I orignally responded to.[/QUOTE]

Oh ok. thanks for explaining that. But one question though. If those cutscenes, and customization itself, dont occupy that much space, would you say that gameplay content wasnt really sacrificed too much for the sake of aesthetics? i.e. was the memory used for customization enough that it could have been used for more maps, skills, or other gameplay features?

[R_Shackelford]

As for the cut-scenes in particular, we can’t prerender those because your character is in them.

Yeah, thought of that a little while after posting. Didn’t think of it at the time because the one that jumps out at me the most is the ending scene on Shipyard, which has no characters, but often bad popping on the missile console.