Halo 3 Dev update: In-game rendering

Details, details, details. Thus is the credo that Bungie‘s showing for Halo 3, which Frankie over at Bungie’s main site reiterates with this week’s development update.

This segment deals with Frankie’s musings over in-game rendering, as he narrated his recent in-game experience. According to Frankie, his last play-through was beginning to show just how far detailing for even the most minor bits of environment were going. From the way rust lingered on the chain link fences to the random garbage strewn on the streets, Frankie was happy to report that the in-game “grime” was becoming more and more noticeable in their level of detailing.

Now, solid objects are one thing, but rendering convincing water textures are an even bigger challenge for a lot of developers. So how goes Halo 3’s water effects? As Frankie further explained:

Hao and co. are still messing with water, and itÂ’s getting better every day. TheyÂ’re going to be dropping it into the areas where our (perfectly attractive) placeholder water is right now. YouÂ’ve actually seen one of those areas in the pre-alpha shots of Valhalla. I canÂ’t wait, because I am EarthÂ’s most famous video game water geek. On the day itÂ’s dropped in, I am locking myself in the playtest lab with a pair of Wellington boots and an umbrella.

From every nook, cranny, and rust covered pipework, it seems the dev team is making sure to add in the layers of detailing to give this game that “right” feel that’s a must-have for FPS titles (Like say, Resistance?). Yeah, we know – somebody out there is probably demanding to know how the actual gameplay (and hardware) is turning out – if you haven’t signed up for Beta tests yet. Given that it’s a Halo title, we’re sure it’s going to rock either way. With segments like this, the developer’s telling us “A good game sweats the details!” Didn’t Spielberg say something like that?

Details, details, details. Thus is the credo that Bungie‘s showing for Halo 3, which Frankie over at Bungie’s main site reiterates with this week’s development update.

This segment deals with Frankie’s musings over in-game rendering, as he narrated his recent in-game experience. According to Frankie, his last play-through was beginning to show just how far detailing for even the most minor bits of environment were going. From the way rust lingered on the chain link fences to the random garbage strewn on the streets, Frankie was happy to report that the in-game “grime” was becoming more and more noticeable in their level of detailing.

Now, solid objects are one thing, but rendering convincing water textures are an even bigger challenge for a lot of developers. So how goes Halo 3’s water effects? As Frankie further explained:

Hao and co. are still messing with water, and itÂ’s getting better every day. TheyÂ’re going to be dropping it into the areas where our (perfectly attractive) placeholder water is right now. YouÂ’ve actually seen one of those areas in the pre-alpha shots of Valhalla. I canÂ’t wait, because I am EarthÂ’s most famous video game water geek. On the day itÂ’s dropped in, I am locking myself in the playtest lab with a pair of Wellington boots and an umbrella.

From every nook, cranny, and rust covered pipework, it seems the dev team is making sure to add in the layers of detailing to give this game that “right” feel that’s a must-have for FPS titles (Like say, Resistance?). Yeah, we know – somebody out there is probably demanding to know how the actual gameplay (and hardware) is turning out – if you haven’t signed up for Beta tests yet. Given that it’s a Halo title, we’re sure it’s going to rock either way. With segments like this, the developer’s telling us “A good game sweats the details!” Didn’t Spielberg say something like that?