Bamboo Shoots!
Age 35, Male
Poet/Designer/Etc
ACCOMPLISHED
Sweden
Joined on 1/17/04
Hmm, I just stick with one of the original MPC packs... not the mega, but one of the ones just below that. I've played some awfully big audio files, no lag... VLC on the other hand,.. but who's the rube still using an Intel M with 512MB to get 'here' - me, dat who |:
Again, thanks for doing the 'pseudo VCR' legwork for me! Btw, what's the file extension (eg: .dll) name on Mirillis Action!? MIA?
Ah, I used to use K-Lite or CCCP... not sure why I switched but it was probably in solution to some problem. Might have been because Shark's came with Icaros, which adds thumbnail support for unsupported extensions like MKV... or something to do with encoding recorded footage. Anyway it's working great so haven't had a need to switch again. MPC lags on both my normal computer and my gaming one (the 8 core 8GB RAM 2GB GPU one), but not with normal video, just with the gaming footage. Well Intel's good. :)
Btw, just figured out how to drastically increase game recording performance: recording to a separate drive! Turns out it even works better with an external one than the internal HD the OS is installed to. Revelations!
No problem! Hmm file extension? That files are recorded as? I think it recorded as .avi by default, using its own codec. It has a built-in player to play these if regular players don't support it, and exports using a codec of choice. Missing in action lol...
Mr Herbal just did Angry Birds and TMNT mix, we just need dragonball and pokemon, then the it is complete.
Woot. Up on NG yet? Squirtle would be a good fit...
Skyrim and bodypart.
Mirrors Edge and V8?
K-Lite is part of MPC, they have thumbnail support for mkv (just checked). I know the newer versions have some dipshit filter you have to work around... but over the years, it's what I got used to, as the codecs didn't seem to conflict or bug out. Worked well for burning video files to DVD using Nero.
Ah, that was just a brain fart, you should know it's easier to write to a disk, that doesn't have the OS or another running program on it!
Yep, avi files are still quite adaptable, but when mkv came along, wow! And with subtitle tracks too!
I know K-Lite comes with MPC, but isn't it just a codec pack like all the others? It's not developed by K-Lite right? Ah, that's cool, looks like Icaros is included with K-Lite now. Btw, looks like I'm actually using MPC-HC, not the classic version, my bad.
But I didn't know! :O It's like playing through one of my favorite games and discovering a secret I've never seen before..
Yeah, MKV's awesome, all types of streams and subtitles in the same file... that along with a H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec. :) Though for just video material the container format doesn't matter that much.
what about that secret in GTAVC where if you parked a motorcycle on a clothing pickup, and hopped back on it you "morphed" into the bicycle and T. Vercetti wouldn't fall off
For real?! Gotta try that some time..
it only works on the original PS2 version, that means no greatest hits or the version that comes bundled with the other GTAs.
Aha, never tried the PS2 version though, apart from the exclusive LC/VCS. Any idea if this bug applies to those too?
so i guess it was more of a glitch than a secret, but it was an unintentional secret in a way, like me being inhaling penis on the weekends
Yeah, like the tank flying thing with GTA3, or ghost town, those are an even bigger rewarding stumbling upon though! The positive glitches, not the ones that freeze the game or something. Eh.. O_o
no it doesn't, seeing how VC came before VCS and LCS. VCS was the bomb btw
Ah, it's almost sad how thoroughly rinsed of entertaining quirks new releases usually are! Still gotta play through both of those btw, I have the discs but I sold my PS2... remember my first impression of that game was they used way too much bloom for the engine btw, but I guess you get used to that.
what do you mean by bloom
I mean that saturated glow, like: http://gta.com.ua/files/gta-vc/mods/enbseries_gtavc_v0075c3-gta.com.ua.jpg. The LCS/VCS used a different engine than the original LC/VC with support for such effects. It's similar to the ENB Series mod.
oh. i always thought that the "glare" and "trails" were cool graphical effects in the game.
yeah, it seems LCS/VCS scrapped the original engine altogether (they started anew with the PSP games) that was consistent throughout GTA III-VC-SA and making porting codes from the first three PS2 games to the Stories series impossible.
I guess most people did... even the ones who made the game. :)
I think in the future people are going to look back at a certain stage in the video-gaming era as the one where they used too much bloom, for everything, making worlds that could've been sharp and realistic much more of a haze than they needed to be... but as far as the 3rd gen GTA games go the draw distance was pretty limited anyway so the bloom wasn't that big a disadvantage. It took a long time before modders started figuring out how to properly hack the limits for amount of buildings, cars etc that could be displayed at any one time without the games crashing or bugging out.
Ah, so it wasn't just modified. Yeah it's a shame... though the biggest shame is they were PS2 exclusive! Alas all the modding that could've been sparked with the PC version! And I'm still waiting on GTA 5 to be released through it's been out for months already, I'm sure they're making a boatload of cash of of the long release time for the PC version but it's just not right towards their hardcore fans. The game started on PC, they should keep it as the primary console. it's a principle!
realism and sharp details takes too much processing power....GTA 3 really stretched the PS2 to its limits, and overall it had mediocre graphics at best. I prefer hazy environments anyway, gives the game more of a nostalgic charm. new games are great in a different way in the sheer amazing-ness of how they look and an insane level of detail, but the original quaint charm of creating cartoon-esque graphics found in much earlier video games has been lost.
PS2 RAM hacking >>> PC modifying. You can do much more with the latter of course, but the former is considerably more challenging and rewarding.
Well I don't mean the details themselves but rather how the in-game world is rendered. Modern engines can render quite a large bit of the surrounding, but with bloom applied it becomes hazier so you don't see that far anyway; 'details' seem fuzzier. Maybe we're speaking of different types of haziness hmm, I mean haziness in that the edges of buildings are devoured by light, the sky seems to radiate so brightly that it eats up some of the scenery, the world becomes so bright that some of it fades away... like in that sample I linked to. I like bright worlds though, I loved the colorful graphics in games like Croc 2, and the cartoon-esque aspects of games like Oni are part of what make them great, but they don't use bloom.
Ah, have you been doing any RAM hacking yourself? Sounds like it'd be mostly used to increase loading times?
i think this is a decent example of what I think of when I mean "haze": http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1774/1737/1600/bully.0.jpg
oh. perhaps though, maybe overcompensated bloom may be a way to realistically reveal an engine's inability to render far away graphics? maybe it's a moot point though, if the game still uses processing power to generate light. I know if you traveled around at top speed in a GTA game, the details of building's wouldn't fully render, which was compensated for in GTASA by simulating an intentional blurring effect. it seems that picture you introduced those was when the weather was cloudy or sunny? the atmosphere is generally more clearer than that.
nah, RAM hacking is much cooler than that. it would involve modifying values at certain game addresses in RAM (so it's not permanent-basically all I mean is gameshark or a similar device codes) to give a vehicle extra speed, apply the sniper scope to the rockets, give any vehicle the ability to do the kaufman kabs jump, give explosives a five block radius, have gravity applied sideways (so you can scale buildings spiderman-like), for example.
Ah, that doesn't look bad at all, it seems like an effectual atmospheric haze that doesn't blur any of the foreground imagery.
That would seem logical, but if engines work the same way as the mods do, then it's really the other way around and generating that extra light requires (a lot of) extra resources. The picture I linked to used a mod for added bloom (also mods for some other stuff like the currency, etc), it's never that bright in the actual game, though the natural sunlight was a huuuuge improvement since GTA 3. Here's an (I think) un-modded screenshot: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vJjKgKSyueI/TmuSzHAEMyI/AAAAAAAABxk/JDp9cAxYbjM/s1600/3.jpg
The thing that makes these old GTA games look a bit old though is mostly their out-dated LODs, you can update textures all you like but when objects still have the limited set of vector points they have they'll all look chunky anyway. Fortunately there are mods to change that now! It gets incredibly smooth. Newer engines have improved light sources, but for a while I feel they were using way too much bloom, might be better with the newest game. Example from GTA4: http://www.abload.de/img/ice2012_7_20_4_22_241mk2k.png
Pretty cool. :) There are PC versions of all these creative finesses you mention btw, JSYK!
I would imagine light requires less colors, pixels, layers, and details than a building would. So it seems logical to process light that effectively 'blocks' a texture that would take more resources to render. obviously, this would be counter-intuitive if the light is generated on top of the buildings as in a mod like you mentioned. Seems like the reflected textures mirrored from the water are an added mod too that wasn't in the original game. Looks p. cool.
I should learn more about vector graphics.. Or just graphics in general. When I took an integrated linear algebra and computer science course they actually delved a bit into how graphics are preserved through matrix arrays, and how to use certain mathematical computations to mess around with images, which I remembered from my QBASIC days where the most upfront way to create graphics (and even animate) was creating a simple 16*16 matrix where you would type in a certain number (that represented a color) in a specific column,row that would then place the pixel in a relative location. Vectors were mentioned a lot in that class, so I'm sure "vector art" has some strong mathematical rooting. Perhaps that's obvious to some as vector is term that comes from mathematics and computational physics.
That picture of GTA4 is just simply mindblowing. As i mentioned to you months ago, the newest video game I have is God of War II (2007). I don't have a lot of exposure to games that have been released over the past 4-5 years so It's just crazy how much graphics have improved since then. With the eighth (?) generation (PS4) it seems like they are getting close to reaching optimal realism. PS5 will probably be the last generation before we evolve to a new level of delivering visual content, in the form of augmented reality- google glass or a similar device will probably be fully integrated into video games of this era. And remarkably, pixelated and 2-D games remain very much alive in the Indie gaming community! That's the great thing about art, nothing truly dies regardless of how antiquated it may be!
I know, PC has all of those hacks/mods and then some. But it's just not as exciting as hacking the raw code of a PS2 game. I guess essentially one hacks a console not so much for modifying the game, but for the challenge and seeing how you can fuck with something (and many times you don't know what results to expect)
True as far as colors and pixels go, but as for layers and detail - it's a dynamic effect so it has to be rendered a different way. And even if it 'hides' some of the background scenery, it's still there anyway, the textures are still rendered when you don't see them. I suppose different game engines handle this in different ways and some are no doubt smarter than others - if I were them I'd use the effect to preload textures from a distance, similar to how progressive JPGs work online - if it was possible. GTA 4 did a horrible job at rendering though, I mean it looks good but it's one of the most resource-intense games I've tried, plus they had a memory leak for the PC version so the game crashes after a certain time (the time depending on how powerful a PC you have - maybe it won't be noticeable on newer computers). Ah yeah (I'm reading your comment progressively), it's just like you say. And the water definitely looks like a mod too.
It's all in the Matrix. :) Well I've worked a lot with vector art, but the mathemetical side of it's still a mystery, I just know how to use it; how it's used for three-dimensional models; right now I'm thinking maybe the LOD points are better known as polygons...
Well I agree it does look pretty awesome, that was my first impression when I finally go to play it too... over a year ago now... guess I'm getting used to next-gen graphics. :P But do you notice how the sky is eating up the scenery a bit? And all that blur... not really bloom, but another unnecessary effect many modern games use, unless it actually does serve a pre-loading purpose in which case it might be a super-useful feature in making games this detailed possible to make. Max Payne 3 and Serious Sam 3 also had pretty mindblowing graphics, and all of these are already a few years old... I think this virtual reality hype is a bit too hyped up btw, maybe it'll reach a point where realism is no longer the selling point of a game? Though I think games still have a while to go before they're truly realistic, for each generation that goes we look back at the previous one and wonder how that seemed as insanely detailed as it did back then. I mean I remember thinking the same thing about GTA SA as I thought the first time I played GTA 4, and will probably think again once I get my hands on GTA 5... and once more in a future to come. :) People are the hardest parts to fully replicate, though it feels new games are getting scarily close. I'm wondering how much time actually goes into designing all of this stuff, all that detail.... eventually the costs have got to outweigh the balance between production and sales. They're already saying the era of huge commercial games might be coming to an end, though with GTA 5 topping all previous records I'm not so sure... agreed, 2D will always have a place, it's visually appealing in its own way when well-made. And there are so many great platformers here at NG, popping up every day.
Are the changes you make when hacking the raw code ever permanent btw? Anything that can mess up the game for good? The closest I've gotten to 'hacking' with consoles is using a freeloader to play foreign games for GC. :) Oh, and I imported this device from HK that lets you rip GB/GBC/GBA games, mainly because I wanted to backup some of my old savefiles (games like Pokemon) but it can also be used to overwrite cartridge data and make bootlegs or personal collections. I was super-hyped-up about it before buying it but I actually still haven't tried it, haven't played anything handheld in a few months now...
p.s. my comment took up exactly all the characters allowed
It's like writing for a newspaper! Skills.
No, it's never permanent and cannot damage the game at all! Unless if it's a code that modifies stats (which is essentially not part of the actual game code, just an empty particular address the game allocates to store data), and is saved in memory card data. You need to run a gameshark or another cheat device every time before executing the code...and most codes can be turned on and off within the game. Essentially what happens is you find a system call within the game's ROM data (i guess you essentially hack the ROM data, but it is the RAM data that is modified) and hook it to the specified code. Since system calls are constantly executed throughout the game, the code is constantly implemented. You can also link the code to a function such as pressing a button so the said code only executes when you press said button. Something like that.
Ah. Any potential to accidentally corrupt save files? Sounds useful.
yo n***a have you ever tried these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_apple
I don't remember eating any apples in Costa Rica, but if I did it must've been there (IOW probably not but maybe)! Looks awesomely exotic and juicy, though wikipedia mentions no taste. Have you?
yes and yes
Does that first yes = it's awesomely exotic and juicy? Do you get imports of this type?
yes and no
How did you get to taste it?
Yeah...
Yeah?
VicariousE
Um, the codec shuffle, I knew it well... I just use Media Player Classic, most of thier stuff's been pretty good, though I haven't dabbled in a/v on pc in a while....
I'll probably wait till last minute before I find something worth using to (has to be timed to start recording, I won't be here!) record Chat. It's more to see the guests than myself, I'm sure my screen presence has taken a turn for the worse.
Cyberdevil
I use MPC too - with Shark007s codec pack... I guess the problem is that some of these recording programs use their own codecs. For example, VLC couldn't play any Mirillis Action! footage before it's converted, and Fraps footage turned out blue (that U/V thing). It worked fine with MPC though. Btw if you're wondering why I use VLC as well, MPC seems to lag on large files.
BSR Recorder, WM Recorder and My Screen Recorder can schedule tasks. Open Broadcaster Software has a plugin to start/stop stream remotely. No idea about the rest of them..