If someone is claiming that the victims are lying, they're not to be trusted. End of story.
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Australia, January 24, 2008 - The future generations of open-world gaming will not be defined by their graphics anymore. It will come down to the underlying technologies at work that replicate all the subtle nuances of physics, sound, movement, animation and camera control. That's our prediction after walking out of one of the most startling game demonstrations we've witnessed in a long time. The game is Grand Theft Auto IV, long submerged from public eyes, and the technology is Euphoria – a technology by NaturalMotion that intelligently replicates the subtle – natural – motions of the human body under various conditions.Rockstar regularly likes to remind us that GTA IV is not just a set of features. The setting of Liberty City is amazing to behold – probably the greatest open-world city we've seen, with intricacies that can't help but impress. Part of its allure are the subtleties that a lot of other developers simply overlook: crowd mechanics, small autonomous movements by the main character, reactive AI, natural collision and crumpling effects, centre of gravity simulation and so on. It's in this evolution of rag-dolling, made possible by licensing the Euphoria technology, that GTA IV takes a quiet step forward for the genre. So while this game is more than the sum of its parts, we think this technology's impact on the gameplay and game world is interesting enough to warrant a closer look.Euphoria underpins all the core character animations under a variety of circumstances in the game world. Niko Bellic, the central antihero, is injected with surprising physicality thanks to his freeform movements. In the most basic examples, Niko's stance adjusts depending on the grade of the ground he's standing on, and he is seemingly spatially aware of his environment. Standing on a hillside, his knees and feet adjust for the angle of incline or decline; he walks with a noticeable counterbalance in his stride, to take the angle into consideration and keep his centre of gravity in check. When moving at speed, he'll automatically reach to his front and push doors open with fluidity. It's starling in its execution and attention to detail, but this is barely scratching the surface of how Rockstar has implemented this technology.Niko deals with terrain in a highly realistic way. If he's going down steps for instance, he takes them one at a time.In a more practical, action-oriented setting, enemies are also imbued with Euphoria's influence. When Niko is unloading a clip into his adversary, none of the reactionary movements to the hot lead are canned or scripted. The hapless bad guy recoils naturally in response to being struck by the bullet. Wound him enough and he'll fall backwards, slouch on the ground or start to try and crawl away to cover with his last ounces of strength. Shoot him on a ledge, and he'll topple backwards or lose his balance and plummet, arms waving, to his death. In the most recent trailer, you might recall a body falling onto a four-wheel drive. This was part of a mission involving Niko sniping thugs off of high points in a construction yard. The falling body and its final impact are also controlled by Euphoria. It's actually quite moving and unnerving to watch such a logical cause/effect relationship play out as naturally as it does.During car chases, this also comes into play pretty spectacularly. Niko, as well as enemies in the game, are affected by inertia – to the point where rear-ending a car causes people in the front to fly through the windshield and into the air, arms in a controlled flail. The impact is sickening and realistic; bodies don't just ragdoll in GTA IV, they roll end over end or side-on, before coming to a natural pause. If you're still alive, Niko will gingerly pick himself up and you can be on your way. Bailing out of a burning car works in the same natural way, albeit in a more controlled and therefore less painful way. When jumping and falling or scaling walls and staircases, Niko's hands and feet are also controlled automatically, ensuring that his body moves and reacts authentically. He never clips through stairs and when he falls too far, he'll automatically duck into a commando roll.At one point in the demo Niko slammed into a truck and was sent flying through the windshield.Two of the more surprising ways that Rockstar has taken advantage of Euphoria extends to getting drunk and during missions requiring Niko to cling to moving vehicles. As part of a side-mission, Niko can take his cousin Roman out on the town and get plastered. I'm talking completely legless – and that's where Euphoria once again kicks in, influencing the gameplay directly this time.The object of this minigame of sorts is simple enough – guide Niko and Roman out of the bar. The kicker is that Euphoria simulates the drunken, stumbling shamble, while the camera blurs and bobs, adding to the disorientation. As Niko walks, he sways around, dynamically grabbing onto people and objects to prop himself up. Roman does the same – sometimes grabbing Niko and pulling him down accidentally in the process. Although we didn't get to see it, we're told that the pair will even grab onto bystanders, who will shake them off dynamically in disgust. The use of Euphoria as a gameplay feature is very clever; it's hilarious to watch and likely a challenge to play.In one mission, you need to chase down a truck, leap on and then scale it bit by bit. All of this is complicated by Niko's Euphoria-enabled skeletal system that makes him susceptible to inertia and momentum. As the truck turns corners, you need to counterbalance him – otherwise, he'll fly over the edge and cling for dear life. Make it all the way to the front and Niko will swing in feet-first through the side window and swiftly remove the driver from his seat. Not only is it tense, but it adds the same kind of tangible accomplishment at the end as scaling a complex environment in a platformer. Plus, watching the driver thud and splatter on the pavement is perversely entertaining.Falls are even more bone-crunching thanks to Euphoria.The AI also reacts to weather conditions. During one jaunt through a seaside park area (reminiscent of Salvatore's mansion, in the old northeast end of the Saint Mark's district in GTA III), we witnessed a woman break into a jog and pull her shawl close around her. Moments later, a storm front rolled in and the rain came down. That's pretty impressive stuff right there.When you combine this reactive AI with the bustling street life, you get fascinating crowd mechanics. Everyone seems to be doing something unique; there's much less of the repetition of character 'types' as compared with past entries. People carry bags of groceries, read magazines and hold conversations, changing the pace of their walk and their task on the fly. They all react to what Niko does around them; opening fire within earshot of pedestrians causes a panicked flurry of activity – something improved since San Andreas thanks to more circumstantial and conditional AI.Rockstar's use of Euphoria stands as another understated gem in Grand Theft Auto IV's already decorated crown. All of this is, amazingly, a minor feature running in the background at all times. And as much as Rockstar might shy people away from dissecting their game rather than viewing it as a whole, there is a beauty to the use of the tools and technology at the team's disposal that very few other companies come close to matching.
boring and GTA? no...
fuck the hatersi will play it for the skeletal work and ai
I you look up tw@ on google this comes up:spoiler (click to show/hide)[close]
I havent seen an attempt to pimp a game fall so hard on its face since I was telling everyone to buy Touch Detective The difference is I was pimping a hot title, MAF actually went and bought itScenester = 1, Himuro = 0owned
how is making 20 threads not pimpingand patel: "Angio Burger", haha becuase you need balloon angioplasty after eating too many burgers hahanow do: gun shop
Quote from: Scenester on January 24, 2008, 09:22:52 PMhow is making 20 threads not pimpingand patel: "Angio Burger", haha becuase you need balloon angioplasty after eating too many burgers hahanow do: gun shopgun shop: Lucky Punk's Armorynow do: bookstore
Quote from: Eel_O_Brian on January 24, 2008, 10:38:54 PMQuote from: Scenester on January 24, 2008, 09:22:52 PMhow is making 20 threads not pimpingand patel: "Angio Burger", haha becuase you need balloon angioplasty after eating too many burgers hahanow do: gun shopgun shop: Lucky Punk's Armorynow do: bookstoreHard Cover BooksNow do: internet service provider
that's hard to topokay, start overbakery: Stickee Bunznow do: mexican restaurant
Mexican restaurant: El Perro agua now do: soul food restaraunt
Quote from: Himuro on January 24, 2008, 11:09:36 PMMexican restaurant: El Perro agua now do: soul food restarauntThe Collared Gringonow do: new age church
Faith No Moe'snow do: chinese laundromat
Quote from: Eel_O_Brian on January 24, 2008, 11:46:17 PMFaith No Moe'snow do: chinese laundromat2 Wongs Make it Whitenow do: public transit system
now do: a brand of sports car
the Phallanxnow do: an energy drink
Mexicans For Hire.Now do: GTA's version of the Empire State Building
Quote from: Himuro on January 25, 2008, 12:29:25 AMMexicans For Hire.Now do: GTA's version of the Empire State BuildingThe Liberty State Buildingnow do GTA's version of the statue of liberty
Now do Amusement Park.
now do a taxi service
Quote from: Synthesizer Patel on January 25, 2008, 12:46:35 AMnow do a taxi serviceDC CabNow do an adult novelty store.
Quote from: Joe Molotov on January 25, 2008, 12:52:21 AMQuote from: Synthesizer Patel on January 25, 2008, 12:46:35 AMnow do a taxi serviceDC CabNow do an adult novelty store.No. I'm bored of this already.spoiler (click to show/hide)but at least I didn't pay $59.99 for the privilege![close]
Toys for Tw@s
Quote from: Eel_O_Brian on January 25, 2008, 12:33:26 PMToys for Tw@s
