DDoMM
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Originally posted on Tom's Hardware Guide Click here for direct link.
The Half-Life 2 engine has caused quite a stir since it's showing at the last E3. The controversy of the stolen code, along with a release date that looks more and more like a ship about to disappear into the horizon, has done little to quiet the excitement for this title. The graphics and the physics in the video demonstration at E3 caused many a wide-eyed stare, but what we saw behind closed doors at the Epic Booth this year caused more than a wide-eyed stare. After the live demonstration, we were forced to ask others to help us find our eyeballs, which had fallen out of their sockets.
Though shown on regular CRT monitors, the first thing that struck us was that the graphics were so convincing, they looked nearly as 3D as those viewed through Kodak's new prototype. This effect was created with the engine's special attention to light. In one example, a light source could be seen through the membrane of a dragon's leathery wings. As the light passed through the wings, shadows were cast on the dragon itself by the veins in the wings which themselves had depth. Sounds crazy? It looked so good we think we must be.
In another example, a lantern was floating around a room and eventually drifted close to a wall. The programmer zoomed the camera into to show what was happening with the shadows on the wall. It looked like the stone bricks were modeled to such a fine degree that ridges and bumps cast shadows on the grooves and grout lines of the very wall itself! The real surprise came when the programmer typed a few commands and took off the stone texturing to reveal all of one flat polygon underneath. The demonstrator explained what the engine was doing but so captivated were we by the visuals and the physics, we only heard, "Blah blah math. Blah blah blah polygons."
We were told by Mark Rein of Epic Games that titles using the Unreal Engine 3.0 will not hit the shelves until at least 2006. This caused us to reflect again on Half-Life 2 which is beautiful and revolutionary, but doesn't seem out of sync with technology as it flows with us down the river of time. With the Unreal Engine 3.0, we really did feel like we were getting a glimpse of a future at least two or more years away.
Conclusion
We saw a number of other incredible things that we are chomping at the bit to tell you about, but Non-Disclosure Agreements coupled with our pesky integrity bind our tongues. We will have to just say that more and more companies are seeing the financial and cultural relevance of this exciting medium of entertainment and innovation. The barriers that keep the average gamer from having a say in the future of his or her hobby are falling away and the doors are opening for new talent. Having just passed the 11 billion dollar mark, the gaming industry has started to assume a position as a true defining force in culture and a shaper of our digital future.
Very exciting indeed
