Next generation texture artists - get a grip!!

[Nestor Makhno]

Having recently had a look at the games coming out with the newer graphics - i.e. based on UE3 and Chromed and the like I have to say this...

Get a grip, next generation of texture makers!!!

Prey, Call of Juarez, Splinter Cell CT - all have really cruddy textures with hamfisted attempts at normal maps (I suspect done with a PS plug-in and subjected to absolutely ZERO critical scrutiny afterwards) and completely overdone specularity.

I mean, a weatherbeaten plank in the desert in summer is NOT going to be shiny FFS!

The skills of the current set of texture artists seem to be way short of the technology - it's like when a n00b guitarist gets a distortion pedal - he distorts the bejaysus out of everything, rather than subscribing to the theory of 'less is more'.

I mention all this because I sincerely hope that the TW 2-D artists working on 'The Next Big Thing' are using the time now learning to curb any "ZOMFG u can make everything shiny and luminous" tendencies - unless 'TNBT' is a psychedelic SF game.

[sandorski]

Probably not the Texture Artists fault. The gloss, in Unreal Engine games anyway, is added on after the Textures are painted, inside the Editor. I suppose the Texturers might do that as well, but posibly not. :shrug;

Good point though.

[DingBat]

Well, in defense of the games developers, creating art assets has the potential of becoming an absolutely black hole of a time sink in next generation games. The level of effort required for generating art looks to me to be increasing geometrically.

And, except for moldy old perfectionists like us, who's gonna notice most of this stuff anyway?

[Quietus]

Originally Posted by Nestor Makhno

Having recently had a look at the games coming out with the newer graphics - i.e. based on UE3 and Chromed and the like I have to say this...

Get a grip, next generation of texture makers!!!

Prey, Call of Juarez, Splinter Cell CT - all have really cruddy textures with hamfisted attempts at normal maps (I suspect done with a PS plug-in and subjected to absolutely ZERO critical scrutiny afterwards) and completely overdone specularity.

I mean, a weatherbeaten plank in the desert in summer is NOT going to be shiny FFS!

The skills of the current set of texture artists seem to be way short of the technology - it's like when a n00b guitarist gets a distortion pedal - he distorts the bejaysus out of everything, rather than subscribing to the theory of 'less is more'.

I mention all this because I sincerely hope that the TW 2-D artists working on 'The Next Big Thing' are using the time now learning to curb any "ZOMFG u can make everything shiny and luminous" tendencies - unless 'TNBT' is a psychedelic SF game.

Modern games are suffering from the "just because you can do it, you do" syndrome. "SHINEY SHINEY SHINEY, BUMPY BUMP BUMPY! CRANK IT TO 11! BLOW OUT THE SPEAKERS!" I totally agree "less is more". Your distortion pedal analogy is perfect. Another is reverb or echo guitar effect. Many just crank it up, "ooo echoey, massive reverb" what they don't understand is that people grow tired of things that are "overdone". You want something turned up just enough to "notice" and then you stop. Anything more becomes overkill and immediately gives whatever you're doing a very 1 dimensional over the top presence. Subtlety is key, but it's almost a lost art it seems.

[fOgGy]

The next-gen seems all shiny like it had been coated with 5 layers of varnish.

[Zoring]

Well it's why every single movie in the 1980s had every piece of music synthesized: People are idiots. Fortuntaly that fad died in the arse, just like this shiny **** there pushing out now.

Also what the *** is with bloom, when i walk outside im not blinded by everything blasting light at me like it's a miniature sun. That pisses me off.

[Aeneas2020]

a lot of this is done to cut down on file sizes to make them more console friendly...games like cod2 were particularly bad at this, it pisses me off too.

[Giblet]

In earlier games, specularity was limited due to most surfaces only having one level to use, rather than a conscious decision.

[=GG= Mr Moe]

Originally Posted by Zoring

Well it's why every single movie in the 1980s had every piece of music synthesized: People are idiots. Fortuntaly that fad died in the arse, just like this shiny **** there pushing out now.........

Wait, WHAT??? OMG, how I hated, deep deep down inside, hated that synth music in those 80's movies. If what you are talking about with textures parallels anything like that, we are headed towards dog doodoo.

NESTOR, lead the charge!

[Bob Joel]

I've yet to try out roboblitz (I'm stuck on win2k), but what I got out of hourences' UE3 tutorials was that materials receive phong highlights by default, so unless you setup a constant node to dampen the effect or shrink the highlight, you end up with the plastic effect. Decent spec maps are a fairly straightforward task, but I still have to imagine there are performance issues with larger 1024/2048 textures going on...

I do see a lot of job openings for texture artists in these siggraph newsletters.

[PogS]

I have to disagree. Take call of Duty 4 for example : the effects are really awesome, just what it needs to look realistic, no more. In rea
RO is too bland and somenice effects suchyz normal mapping, bump mapping would

[PogS]

I have to disagree. Take call of Duty 4 for example : the effects are really awesome, just what it needs to look realistic, no more. In real life there are many glows, reflects but you just don't pay attention.
RO is too bland and some nice effects such normal mapping, bump mapping,etc would make it a lot nicer.

[Jono]

You just hit the "submit reply" button twice


Welcome to the forums.

[Nestor Makhno]

The rant was made way before CoD4 came out.


good avatar btw

[rossmum]

I like RO how it is, dull and gritty. It's how an Eastern Front war game should look. Yeah, a touch of bump mapping here and there would help, but for the most part it's fine.

I can't stand this plastic stuff I'm seeing nowadays. To be brutally honest, my mate Dane can skin far better than 90% of the big game devs these days and he's only about a year older than me - if that. They're relying too much on shiny crap to keep the players happy, like they think we're stupid or suffer severe ADD or something.

That said, the current FPS community does make me wonder...

[worluk]

Originally Posted by rossmum

To be brutally honest, my mate Dane can skin far better than 90% of the big game devs these days and he's only about a year older than me - if that.

tell him to come over to carpathiancrosses.com could need another skinner

[rossmum]

He's got about 3 UT3 maps he's working on and he's also been skinning for another friend's upcoming game... he barely has time to speak to anyone let alone take on another major project :P

There are quite a few talented skinners in the upper echelons of the Halo Custom Edition community, they tend to get overlooked because it's Halo though.