New powers/Attacks shown

http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/748/748783/imgs...

Cool. I like the first one especially.

They look like a Mess to be honest and what's with the beyond ugly textures on the levels ? I'm glad that game has been delayed. it needs quite a bit of work still.

I agree, but in most screens i have seen the textures look crap, but when i see the vids of it in motion the game looks very good? i wonder if the demo vids were all UE3 and these screens are from there all new modded version?

lighting and shadowing are a mess in those shots, textures are average to bad. Like Alimo said, it's good that they delayed it.

Mass Effect didn't look so hot in screenshots either according to some people here until we actually got a better look at it in vids.

So I'd hold out.

The IGN stuff looked really good and it was using SK's engine which is based off of UE3. Its just one of those games that looks much better in motion. I think videos we've seen proves that.

long way to go

Still looks rubbish then. More of this kinda game is what I need on the 360.

/sigh

yeah, it does look kind of rubbish in those screens


Maybe they should focus more on polishing this game up, instead of having a slap fight with Epic.

Slap fight? Its a wwe style bra and panties match.

The stakes are much higher.

lol yeah, you're right. Hopefully it will hit PPV :p


Anyway, I've always thought most of the Too Human screens have looked kind of sub-par in screens, in motion it looks a bit more pleasing. I'm just hoping the really fix those animations, in that cutscene trailer they released few weeks ago the animations still looked wonky. Hopefully they put this extra time to good use

Essential Eye Candy - Blog #39

In computer gaming, eye candy has been used to describe a vfx (visual effect) as something that has a visual aesthetic quality, but is not essential to story or game play. Special effects, however, do add a layer of realism to a level to make it come alive and enlighten. By enlighten I mean that the vfx informs the player by providing feedback. For example, a vfx can tell the player how their fight is progressing in a boss fight. If your firing your weapon and the enemy starts to smoke, you know you are doing damage. A large final explosion, with all the Hollywood style pyrotechnics thrown in, provides sweet closure to a hard fought boss encounter.

Weapon vfx are also important, as they provide visual response to the type of weapons that is being fired and how it is impacting the environment. Smaller less powerful weapons should have appropriate scaled down aesthetic, while more menacing weapons vfx should look more powerful. As you level up on a weapon, a noticeable improvement in your weapons performance should be evident from the use of vfx.

Characters have subtle vfx applied to them to help them blend into the environment. Vapors from a character’s breath or dust and snow kicking up from a running character add that sense of polish to a scene. Further, once the background artist has finished modeling, texturing and lightning a level, environmental vfx are put in that are appropriate to the context of the level. These elements include steam, snow, dust and lens flares.

Vfx can be a strong visual tool, but game makers want to make sure that they don’t overpower the screen with vfx if it is not called for. The vfx need to be balanced with the levels, NPCs, and AI running in the game. In order to accomplish this balance, we start with artist design, which creates the assets according to content, design and art requirements. Just like characters or background creations, the vfx need to be scrutinized and thought through for style and consistency. It is very important to provide the artist with as much information as possible during early stages of art design.

They need to understand the concept art, key words and context information about the vfx asset so they can start designing the art assets. Since Too Human is based on Norse mythology, mythology plays a role in vfx creation, as the concepts below illustrate. Animals, such as serpents and birds, play prominently into the vfx design to give it a Norse treatment. This aspect gave art design an obvious
starting point.



Concept art for special effects staging and asset creation




Baldur initiates a special attack to finish the Troll


Also in “Too Human,” the speed at which the main character Baldur can perform his melee attacks can be quite fast and add to his quick movements through space during slides, jump attacks and aerial combat. He is so fast that one can almost miss the action on the screen. By adding a visual effect trail to the end of a staff or along the shaft of a swinging blade provides a visual account of the weapons trajectory within the last few seconds. The path of the weapon can be seen and appreciated by the player, as Baldur performs his melee attack or katas. This after image effect left by the melee weapon can be traced back to photography or to the cinema, where fast moving objects appear as streaks or blurs.

In addition, to communicate to the player that they have indeed made contact with the enemy, we needed to provide feedback with impact effects, such as flashes or sparks. For the final enemy blow, we use the vfx of hit stalls, where the camera momentarily freezes to show the moment of impact of the weapon upon the enemy before it goes into its death throws. This effect makes for a powerful feeling of contact between Baldur and the NPC, and adds visual impact for the player.

With the epic scale of “Too Human’s” story and game play, we need to present an aesthetic vision that is on the scale of Hollywood movies. With a lot of the attention being paid to characters and background, it is important not to neglect this essential eye candy we call visual effects.



A Ruiner help can help to add to your DPS
http://blogs.ign.com/silicon-knights/2007/08/02/62...

Looks good to me. I hope it plays well too. This game could be fun in co-op.