the Thief soundtrack has always been very hard & industrial

The first trailer for Thief 1 had some very edgy guitar riffs in it. I actually thought it was another traditional shooter in a medieval setting.

The Gray Matter team's previous efforts (RTCW, Kingpin, Q2MP1) have consistently emphasized extremely atmospheric, authentically detailed graphics over a compelling single-player experience.

Kingpin, RTCW and even Q2MP1 equally blew me away with their dark, deeply hued color pallets and the tinge of grime that is characteristic of every texture. Their mood and tone was just so immersive. I can fondly remember stopping and looking at the foliage sprinkled over the rock boundaries of those train levels of Kingpin, or moving up to a wall in RTCW to inspect the dust on a rock texture.

Gameplay however eventually becomes a tiring excuse to just finish the damn game, as there are few memorable setpiece battles and the game usually just throws enemies at you continuously. A constant battle for survival that just isn't fun. Even Serious Sam has better pacing, kill-rewards, and more suspenseful moments than RTCW.

I hope they can finally strike a good balance between these two equally important elements.

The whole idea of "neightboring" cities has to be fixed first IMO. Right now it's just too cumbersome to be of any fun. I think I've encountered a rather annoying bug concerning it as well (If I place a building over a certain existing one or zone in a certain manner my Neighbor Deals are cancelled and I thus loose power and water.)

I cringe at the thought of having to build highways across several cities now.

Yeah that catacomb level got very intense at times, although it leaned too far into Thief's shooter aspect for it to be truly scary.

What really freaked me out was that mansion in the desolated city where I first saw the Death Knights. The hairs on my arms were already literaly standing stiff and my spine was tingling at the mere thought of meeting another skull-flinging Haunt/Apparition around the corner. There was usually no other recourse than to run away from those things.

Playing on hard meant that I had a gold quota to reach however, so in exploring I stumble upon the said mansion. The Death Knights did not seem very threatening at first, (relatively speaking), so in jest I tried to take one on. A single blow tore through my health bar, then two more DKs appeared out of the corner. I could hear my heart thumping as I ran towards a wall, jumped on the side of a lamppost and mantled to safety. My hands were still shaking as I took potshots at them with the bow.

No other game since has ever scared me that much (Not even SS2 or AvP2.) With the advent of better graphics, a lot of games nowadays can portray a foreboding atmosphere much more convincingly. Thief I however was unique in that it combined that with an emphasis Garret's physical weakness and vulnerability to create a complete experience of fright.

Is anyone else just now realizing the numerous comically exaggerated real-world references in Generals? There is an odd poignance and timeliness to them nowadays.

Just a few days ago I saw an anchor on CNN discussing the use of "Technicals" by the Iraqis. The unit response banter of the American units also sound as if they've been quoted directly from recent press conferences ("Preserving Freedom!, Doing what's Right!", etc.)

To think I thought I was watching too much CNN.

I hear that creative execs drink the blood of newborn babies.

Can I just say that I'm absolutely disgusted at the fact that apparently EAX3 is completely backwards incompatible with the SB Live!.

Thank you.

Two years industry experience? As in the games industry? Sounds like they intend to steal... err recruit people from the well-established firms.

They would be better off looking for people in related fields such as TV/Movie animation IMO.

Well that was vague.

Could you please tell me how the difference between the sound of a soda can hitting marble tiling after being dropped from a height of 3 feet, and the same soda can hitting a bare cement floor after being dropped from a height of 4 feet, can affect gameplay? How can this situation possibly extend beyond merely being a cool effect and actually influence your tactics?

Granted there could be situations where the relative extremes that this system can present (Such as with regards to expended shell casings dropping on different surfaces, a feature already implemented in some games) can come into play, but I doubt the subtle nuances it's claimed to be capable of rendering (As demonstrated above and in the press previews) will matter beyond mere ear-candy to most players.

I feel you have confused the word ignorance with what I have really presented, criticism. On game engines specifically, I have scripted for various game engines in the past and through that I have known that in implementing a new effect for example, there are always gray areas between the full-on and the basic (A hard and an easy way.)

We don't know the full extent of DX2 sound physics system yet and until that time I can only hope that they don't put too much effort into it, sacrificing more crucial aspects of the game. It could be as simple as what I've just presented (With only surface/object type and the momentum of the impact as variables) or IMO superfluously and unnecessarily complex (Taking additionaly into account the side of the object/surface which was hit, internal resonance inside the object/surface based on it's density, possible sounds caused by varying amounts of friction as the object slides on the surface, etc.)

I bet that soon after you take out a column of Tiger tanks, some 8-year old boy on a bicycle will stop by and begin prancing around the devastated field collecting your discarded 37 mm shell casings, to the disgust of the wounded Germans.

When he gets them home his father will polish and clean them dearly, to be used as novelty shot glasses.

Well it was quite trollish relative to my normal posts.

You should have seen me during my Elderscrolls Forum days. I got kicked out of the official forums twice.

Going back on topic, somehow I question the relevance of this whole new physics sound system. I doesn't appear to be a feature that would affect gameplay much.

On the other hand it sounds like something that would be easy to implement. Many games already have surface-specific sounds for various objects.

Games like this often teach the player some of the history of the conflict simulated by the game that they otherwise would never know.

I wouldn't use the word teach. I would say that they go as far as present the historical existence of the battle and the dramatic conditions faced by it's combatants in an enjoyable interactive form, but that's about the extent of it (Not much more than a movie.)

A game won't teach the player all the significant reasons why the battle was fought and it's effect on the geopolitical scene both in the present and the future. Neither does it usually bother to relate the undoubtedly relevant and perhaps sordid stories of the civilians and other non-combatants who were caught up in it. Hardly any of these matter when 2 Focke Wulfs appear out of the clouds and begin toying with your tailgunner.

I'm in a trolly mood:

Invisible war seems we're waging an invisible war
Strained maneuvers keeping silent scores in this
Invisible war,everyday is seem to lose you more
Both wishing that it was like before in this invisible war

Talk about a fine line between love and hate
We've lost ore than our direction of late
Talk about a fine line between lovers and friends
We've never been lovers now we're not even friends

In this invisible war,seems we're waging an invisible war
Everyday I seem to lose you more in this invisible war

Wounded deeply the scar is hare to stay
Opening up every little things I do or say
You always want things to be as before
So I make you angry and you bleed a little more

In this invisible war,seems we're waging an invisible war
Strained maneuvers keeping silent scores in this invisible war

I wanna run away, I still love you
Have got to be away, I'll always love you
I've got to find a away...time heals all wounds
Invisible war.

Most of us have probably finished U2 ages ago simply to find out what all the fuss was about.

http://somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=1226

http://somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=1315

OMG! Wallhack!

Why the US didn't opt for a Splinter Cell...

Because Saddam's palaces are very well lit.

in real life, there is very little bass in a gunshot sound. It is not nearly as loud and boomy as the classic hollywood action movie sounds. But, people have gotten used to that, I guess

Very true. About the only aspect of a real gunshot sound that really compells the senses is it's volume. Aside from the distant echoes, it simply goes *BANG!* with only slight variations in pitch and tone between different small-arms calibers. Unfortunately the sound system in a typical PC is unable to capture the sheer volume of a real gunshot (If it did we'd all be deaf), so much of the impact is lost.

Hence the reason for "Hollywood-style" sound effects, which have been heavily edited to add some interesting nuances to what would otherwise be very uninspiring sounds. In reality it is difficult for a novice to determine a given type of firearm by simply listening to a single gunshot sound from it, a fact that many realism-oriented FPS games have alluded to.

I certainly hope that the devs of Devastation will do more than simply more bass, and pitch adjustments. I'm sure most of us who have tried their hand at gun sound effects for FPSs know that it takes a lot more than that to create compelling, high-impact, if slightly unrealistic, sfx.

So nothing really matters.

Don't you just love literary masturbation?

I will simply sit back, and enjoy watching this whole thing unfold.

That's beyond hardcore. That is bordering on pschycotic.

Man there sure were a lot of psychopaths when I was in the flight sim community. Around half of the people I met in the AVSIM forums were members of a virtual airline. I personally can't stand flying airliners in the sim, since most of the time you're just pushing buttons. These things can land and takeoff on their own.

Now the new prop aircraft, that's what I would call flying.

As another FYI, if you can get your woman sufficiently excited, the lubrication part of the product is never necessary.

This doesn't only apply to your woman, but your self as well.

Oh yeah, and Star Wars is overrated.

*Runs*

I was heavily into MSFS last year, and yeah I still don't get the real time thing. Once I get to cruising altitude I just set the autopilot, max out the time compression, and then watch TV until it's time to land.

There's literaly nothing to do during that segment of flight IMO.

My experiences in MSFS however have made landing the IL-2 in Forgotten Battles as easy as blinking.