Snowdrop Engine - It looks OK I guess...

<param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/R2NJSAvuiQ0?hl=nb_NO&amp;version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/R2NJSAvuiQ0?hl=nb_NO&amp;version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width='853' height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

<param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/O_j9uKBmUEk?version=3&amp;hl=nb_NO"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/O_j9uKBmUEk?version=3&amp;hl=nb_NO" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width='853' height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

 

It looks nice indeed. I wonder what the performance will be on current generation hardware. Is it going to be playable on my 7970M on high settings?

 

Looks decent. But just trying to figure out what the game wants to be. Seems a little like Gears of War.

 

Husband says looks like a modern version of Rainbow 6.. seeing the Tom Clancy name on it isn't too far fetched and may even have a pretty in depth story ( like some of the Clancy games from 1998-2008 )

 

Gameplay-wise, yes it's a cover-based shooter, and Gears made that genre famous. But while Gears is very action-heavy, The Division is much more like the Tom Clancy Ghost Recon series, with an emphasis on strategy, patience, marksmanship, etc.

Plot-wise, no connection. Gears is total sci-fi; this is a near-future post-apocalyptic game set on a realistic Earth. Judging by the makes and models of cars in the parking lot, we're talking 5-10 years from now.

 

I hope so. I enjoyed those ones greatly.

I guess I meant game-play mechanics. Cover system, rolling/sliding to cover, etc. Does look a lot slower paced. Although the dude's voice over is way too calm. Like he's on a coffee break or just woke up from a nap. I did like how the air support targeted the enemy behind the sign so you could shoot him through it, that was awesome.

 

I am totally sold on this, even though us pc gamers should have gotten this type of game engine years ago... damn consoles holding back the development of innovative gaming tech

 

QFT!

It does suck that you can see last year's tech able to produce such visuals and gameplay only because it HAS to be optimized for consoles. Otherwise we get sloppy second ports for most games and game engines.

 

now can we hope that GOOD RTS games make a comeback too???? not just shooters.

 

Gunfight full on, yet they all sound like they're on loads of tranquilizers. But the graphics is nice.

It appears that there's some sort of cross-platform multiplayer gameplay possible. The air support guy seems to be playing on a tablet.

 

Now you're talking nonsense.

 

Cross-platform support, as in console and pc gamers on the same server? That will not happen anytime soon, simply due to pc gamers having a huge advantage with the accuracy of a mouse. If it's cross-platform between X1 and PS4, that might be possible.

But a tablet? He might be using the Razer Edge, or maybe just steaming it from the console/pc to the tablet.

 

It's all true in PvP matches, but the gameplay shown in the video is a co-op game. Maybe there will be some sort of cross-platform multiplayer in co-op.

PS.
"On your smart phone or tablet, join your friends in real-time gameplay with exclusive characters. The app gives you a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, the ability to attack enemies and to place targets for your allies or enhance their capabilities."

Source:
http://tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.com/game/en-CA/game_info/index.aspx

 

Sounds like they're taking a page from Battlefield 4 with the commander being an Android or iOS app.

 

This has been a fixture of Tom Clancy games since at least Ghost Recon (the first one). Squadmembers in that game reported a soldier down with all the emotion of a weather forecaster.

Define "good." The Company of Heroes franchise and Starcraft 2 were both well-received.

 

Command and Conquer, Mech Commander, Supreme Commander 1 and 2. CoH and SC2 were much too dependent on multiplayer, you could not just kick back and enjoy a good strategy session with only your household easily or play for a few months on single player. Good single player is what I really miss the most.

 

I was still under the impression that this was console exclusive. Just noticed that they announced PC version back in August, which I somehow missed. YEEESSS!!!

 

No you are. Not everyone plays just FPS. I'd also love to see Command & Conquer make a return, especially Red Alert. That was a big part of my childhood gaming experience.

 

HT was being facetious, he is an old time gamer too He and I have many times debated the value of old and mediocre or bad graphics and great gameplay for days or months vs beautiful eye candy and 3 hours of pleasure with games that are so very similar.

 

OK thanks for the clarification. You know, if going for tongue-in-cheek, emoticons would be very helpful in avoiding confusion.

First there's Frostbite, now there's Snowdrop. Coincidence? I think not.

 

Agreed but some of us like to keep you guessing what we are thinking.

As for naming, I know that Frostbite engine comes from a tongue in cheek joke from EA Canada which did the initial development and a lot of the coding of the engine. ( A programmer is a friend ) no idea how anyone came up with snowdrop it sounds like avalanche lite to me, but it maybe some inside joke as well.

 

If anyone visits this forum and don't "get" my meaning, they need to put on their sarcasm hat... /problem solved/



I'm just a bitter old man with a bitter, yet odd, sense of humor.

KCETech1 and I have similar roots. She's just more adept at 'splaining things.

 

I thought Frostbite was originally developed by DICE (Sweden) for Battlefield Bad Company?

A development platform for game developers from DICE - Frostbite

I just think the name Snowdrop is interesting because it sounds like some one-upmanship on Ubisoft's part, what with Frostbite being the hot engine tech during the last few years.

 

Pixels rendering is pixels rendering, not sure how a new engine really make much difference.

I remember there was a thread talking about photo-like quality for gaming in few years orz.

And RTS is taken over by LOL and DOTA !?

Where are my turn-based strategy with a real story line?

 

was developed for DICE, which is a subsidiary of EA, so you are partially correct there, hence its full name EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment

Frostbite (game engine) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EA_Digital_Illusions_CE

Most engine Development and programming came out OF EA Vancouver B.C. for the original engine at that time to the best of my knowledge.

 

You must've not been around from 1990-2010 when some of the biggest innovations in 3D graphics were directly tied to game engine development. That's how people like John Carmack and Tim Sweeney and companies like id, Epic, and CryTek made their names. You could make the argument that advances have slowed in recent years, but to say that new engines make no difference is highly inaccurate.

 

Just look at those steam effects at 1:50!

Never seen such gorgeous virtual steam before!

 

Perhaps a mod should change the thread title by cutting off everything after the hyphen? I know using misleading titles on threads is an infraction on some boards.

 

No DICE has always developed its engines in-house. It's been doing it since the beginning of the Battlefield franchise and well before they were bought by EA. BF1942 and Vietnam were on Refractor Engine, which they acquired after buying Refractor Games, the studio behind Codename Eagle (spiritual ancestor to Battlefield). It was later modified into Refractor 2, which was used for BF2, 2142, and all the F2P Battlefield games. Then DICE started from a clean slate and created Frostbite, which they've used for every Battlefield since Bad Company. And now EA has adopted Frostbite 3 across 15+ current and upcoming games they're publishing including ones not developed by DICE.

 

EA Vancouver Frostbite started in 2011. So there is some conglomeration between Vancouver and Stockholm.

Plus DICE *IS* EA.

Frostbite (game engine) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
" Frostbite is a game engine developed by EA Digital Illusions CE, the creators of the Battlefield series."

 

I'm not challenging anyone, I'm just curious about the truth.

DICE is owned by EA but it is not EA. EA is primarily a publisher, marketer, and distributor with some in-house development of mainly sports games. DICE is a devoloper, one of the many studios that used to be independent before being bought by EA.

Does that page not say that the Frostbite team was formed at DICE Stockholm in 2006?

 

The single-player campaign of SC2: Heart of the Swarm is a LOT better than the single-player campaign of Wings of Liberty. It's definitely worth a play-through.

 

EA bought DICE wholly. They don't own majority share, they own ALL shares. EA is in control and is the parent company, so yes DICE is EA. The company is EA Digital Illusions CE.

 

EA has always done a lot of engine development and given or leased it to game developers and divisions as incentive to allow EA to publish the good games ( then in many cases buy the developer in the end ). It may be seen as a bit underhanded but has worked rather well for them just like EA did with westwood studios for the Dune and Command and Conquer series as well.

I can speak from Experience that E.A. setup a very sweet deal with Bioware when it only existed in Edmonton Alberta for an engine and engine development for when they were working on some of their hit games ( in which EA Purchased Bioware as well like DICE and others )

 

Play Metro: Last Light on ultra settings. You'll be amazed.

Anyways, I don't think this looks that good. Crysis 3 and Metro: Last Light look much better than this.

I mean, is this realy "next-gen"? If it is, I'm disapointed.

 

I think this game is a definite step in the right direction. The attention to detail is fantastic. Also the character animations are much more aware of the environment. The devil is in the detail. I'm more impressed from this game that any other game I've seen in a while.

 

Agreed ... as a non gamer even I may give it a try

 

Technically, Metro's indeed may be the more capable engine, but The Division looks much better aesthetically, IMO.

 

were these voices scripted AI voices or was it the players talking over voip?

 

It's definitely the players talking - else that would be one of the worst scripts and voice acting ever! Look at how what they're saying does not match up to what they're doing - if they're throwing a grenade or running about they wouldn't be taking as if they're just sitting around relaxed! But you can tell by what they're saying too, especially towards the end of the video. Also how their voices are crystal clear while the NPC's voices have filters applied to make them fit the environment (echoes in the interiors).

 

If i have my wedding in a church someday, and when the priest with his microphone attached to his chest says "you may now kiss the bride", and the hall goes silent in anticipation, I am going to look the priest in the eyes from where I stand, remember this moment when you made a fool out of me, Cakefish, and say

"I'm gonna destroy her".

 

This game looks awesome! Based on the videos, they've got my money - looks like a really nice change from Bugfield 4.

 

New video of Snowdrop Engine and The Division shown off at GDC '14:



Color me impressed. Watched it in 1080p and some of those scenes where photorealistic.

Also, did YouTube playback bitrates go up or something? Quality seems better than I remember LOL.

 

It looks nice indeed!
Call me sceptical but we have been burned before by pretty tech demos and previews (Far Cry 3, Aliens CM, rumored Watch Dogs). Let´s hope this eye candy actually makes it into retail.

 

Looks nice, but nothing but a tech demo. Will never see the light of day especially with consoles as the lead platform. It will be a watered down version to cater to the limitations of the console. I mean heck, I was floored when Dice said they couldn't implement the riot shield WITH a weapon because it would consume 1MB (yes that's an M) of RAM that the consoles couldn't manage. If someone runs with this engine using it for a PC exclusive game then it might have promise.