Topic: Rage Quakecon 2009 Trailer

[ren]

http://www.shackvideo.com/?id=12504

These graphics are mind-bogglingly good; I can barely comprehend it.

Not enough there to really comment about the game itself but it looks interesting enough.

[Quemaqua]

I saw the EA logo and my heart sank into an ocean of sadness from whence there is no return.

But yeah, that does look pretty awesome.  I'd definitely like to see more, though... that's really no more than we saw last year.

[MysterD]

EA's publishing?
Fuckin' hell.
There better not be any of that Securom w/ no revokes crap going on there.
If there is, NO SALE for a good while.

Pretty good trailer, though.

[PyroMenace]

Isnt it called Borderlands now?

[Xessive]

Isnt it called Borderlands now?

No, Borderlands is something else entirely. It's supposed to be focused on online 4-player co-op play. Also looking forward to it.

RAGE is looking alright! I think we've practically reached the real-time rendered quality of CG we've seen in some movies!

On that note I can hardly wait to see what the next Final Fantasy RPG will look like on PS3.

[gpw11]

I think what you mean is on PS3, XBOX360 and possibly the PC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


BIGGEST NEWS EVER!  Sorry, I just came from digg and a lot of people were making a big deal out of this.

[MysterD]

Rage might not have any Mod Support -- even on the PC version.

September 17, 2008

Id Software's Willits: Rage Mods May Not Be Possible

Id Software's Willits: Rage Mods May Not Be Possible Longtime id staffer and Rage creative director Tim Willits admits that it might turn out to be impossible to mod the title -- even on the PC platform -- but says the issue's still under consideration at id Software.

As Willits discussed Rage's story during his presentation at Austin GDC, an audience member asked him if the game would be as moddable as the company's prior titles.

Willits replied that id is as open to the idea of having the game modded as the company's always been, noting that his own career was launched due to users' ability to mod id titles -- but confessed that the technical complexities of the game may make it less possible for modders to work with.

Willits also noted that id's John Carmack is also positive on the modding community, but sees this technical issue as an obstacle.

"Unfortunately, Rage is going to be more difficult to mod," said Willits, primarily because of the complexity of the game's vaunted megatexture system, which stores the texture data for levels as one huge texture map that streams in, rather than many smaller textures.

Megatextures require huge amounts of processing power to be baked into their final form for distribution on the game disc; Willits alluded to a large number of computers working for a long time to process them, analogous to a CG render farm.

Willits envisioned modders developing modular chunks of gameplay that can be slotted into the extant Rage world, rather than full mods, as a potential solution. While the game's large central wasteland is a streaming hub world, its levels are instance-based.

The megatexture issue aside, Willits said other aspects of the game will actually be easier to work with than the company's prior titles. "The description languages and the tools are a lot easier to use than the things we've done in the past," he explained.

POSTED: 09.50AM PST, 09/17/08 - Christian Nutt - LINK

[idolminds]

What a sensationalist article/headline. Its going to be more difficult to mod, and it will probably be difficult to make total conversions. Other mods will still be totally possible, as said at the end of the article.

[idolminds]

New interview with Tim Willits on 1up.

1UP: This is the first game released on the id Tech 5 engine. Are you going to give the tools to the community right away so players who want to make a pure racing game or a pure shooter can do so?

TW: Historically -- and id Tech 5 is no different -- the editor and all the tools ship with the game. One of the cool things about id Tech 5 is the new id Studio, which incorporates the animation, level design, and all that stuff. You can pull all of the content inside id Studio and go. The challenge that the mod community will have with Rage and, really, with all of the new Unreal Engine games is that content creation at its core has become more difficult. You have to have high- and low-quality models, and you need to be prolific with Photoshop to make these wastelands. The tools are easier, but the skill that it takes to make the medium has become much more difficult. But with the tracks that we have with Rage, and the way that we have the scripting and the layered technology for the different mission areas, it should allow for modders to have fun with the game.

[MysterD]

Rage is NOT coming in 2009.

[MysterD]

Todd Hollenstead of Id Software speaks

360 is lead platform for Rage

So as an independent developer, we feel like we have to be on all the relevant platforms. So we don't really view ourselves as PC first. I think I would say that John says that probably the primary development platform for Rage is actually the 360.

Rage's art assets alone take up at least 20GB!!!

GS: Yeah, I mean, didn't John say that the Rage art assets alone were 20GB?

TH: Yeah, on our servers it's actually quite a bit larger than that. The game, ultimately, when it's done on our servers, will be huge. I don't know, 100GB? But then we'll have to condense it down to price it down, and then do the passes on actually what goes into the levels. But we fully expect to saturate a Blu-ray disc, and it will be on multiple discs on the 360 and, obviously, multiple DVDs on PCs as well.

A small bit of RPG elements in Rage

GS: How big will the role-playing elements be?

TH: Yeah, I'm not a huge hardcore RPG guy, so it may go a little more into the action RPG-type stuff.

GS: Well obviously it will be an action RPG. I'm just wondering how much.

TH: Well, you'll have an inventory system of things that you can hold. And some weapons have some different things that you can do based on what your ammunition is. But you won't be able to "Oh, I'm going to boost my magic up by one, at the expense of my strength," or whatever.

[MysterD]

John Carmack speaks on how Rage is going to be distributed.

Carmack On Rage Distribution
Jul 21, 2009 at 9:48 AM - Andrew Burnes - 16 Comments

Ol' Carmack's been speaking about distribution of Rage. Specifically, the problems introduced by Microsoft's Dual Layer DVD drive:

    “We would love to set the thing up where it filled one Blu-ray disc versus three DVDs, which is about the right mix, but the game just…we can’t cut it into a third like that,” he said “We can cut it into two pieces. We’ve got two large wastelands on there. We just couldn’t make an arbitrary cut.”

    However, Carmack forsees no problem with Doom 4 being multi disk. “Doom 4 is being set up so that it’s almost certainly going to be cut up to 3 DVDs versus one Blu-ray. At least they’ve got the ability because of the way it’s structured.”

    Carmack also compared development on the two consoles. “There’s a little bit more theoretical raw performance on the PS3, so we’ve got a little bit more headroom. The 360 was easier to certainly to get to where we are now. More sweat equity had to be put into the PS3.”

PC players, get ready for one massive Steam download, or one epic DVD install.

[scottws]

3 DVDs.  Wow.

[Xessive]

Crap.. We're jumping back to multi-disc juggling. Why don't they just use dual-layer DVDs? Unless that's what they're talking about, holy sheeeez!!!

Single-layer DVD: ~4.7 GB
Dual-layer DVD: ~8.5 GB

Single-layer Blu-Ray: ~25 GB
Dual-layer Blu-Ray: ~50 GB

It is a significant difference. I don't mind 3 discs, but when it crosses that number that I start to get frustrated.

[idolminds]

I would imagine they are using dual layer, unless its somehow cheaper to press 3 single layer discs vs 2 dual layer. Dunno how those costs work out.

I wonder if they'll release a bluray version on PC. Bluray drives have gone down in price, and by the time the game comes out they'll be even cheaper. It feels like we fought so hard to get games on DVD instead of CD, and now we're already looking at games to use bluray? Wow.

[MysterD]

Idol, will Microsoft actually make PC users adopt to Blu-Ray?
Blu-Ray's a Sony product...

[idolminds]

What does MS have to do with anything?

[MysterD]

What does MS have to do with anything?

Windows is MS's system...

EDIT:
Here's a ton of NEW info on Rage from Shacknews.

New details on id Software's open-world shooter-cum-racer Rage has surfaced via this month's issue of Game Informer, painting a picture unlike any previous id game.

A whole host of details are revealed in the article, including the following features:

    * An engineering system to craft devices including sentry turrets and RC car bombs, if you have the blueprints and parts.
    * Your health regenerates--a gift connected to your history.
    * Races and missions are available from hub towns.
    * Vehicular combat is a big part of racing, with power-ups and ammo placed around the courses.
    * Weapon upgrades, such as a scope and aiming stabilisers for a crossbow.
    * Alternate ammo types, including a crossbow bolt which allows you to briefly control victims before they explode.
    * Stealth is an option in combat too.
    * A gladiatorial game show named Mutant Bash TV offers big prize money.
    * A car parts system allows boosts to areas such as acceleration, traction and suspension.
    * Other car upgrades include bombs, a magnet to draw power-ups, tire shredders and EMP shields.
    * Multiplayer modes are currently not finalised.
    * One weapon is a three-tipped boomerang called the 'wingstick,' which will return.
    * The PC version will offer higher resolutions, more anti-aliasing and faster texture page-in times, but the three versions are essentially the same.

[idolminds]

Windows is MS's system...

So? They don't get a say in what hardware people adopt. Bluray drives for PC already exist.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, I don't see how Blu-ray has anything to do with MS.

I didn't think I'd be interested seeing as how I wasn't too keen on Blu-ray as far as video stuff went (IMO it's kind of just visual masturbation), but with games getting so huge... maybe this is a good thing.  Would definitely be nice not to need a bunch of discs, especially with how long it would end up taking to install 3 DVDs of content.

But yeah... crazy.

[MysterD]

Carmack says Rage is currently running better on PC and X360 than the PS3.

[PyroMenace]

There is still plenty of time for Carmack to work his optimization magic

I see no point in this news but to rile up forums. In the end it doesn't matter, like he says the game is far from finished.

[scottws]

To be honest I think the game concept sounds completely stupid.  Basically like Interstate '76 or something.  I could care less if it runs at 1000 fps on an iPod, I have no interest.

[PyroMenace]

What's so stupid about it? Wasn't interstate 76 received fairly well?

[Quemaqua]

What the fuck?  Interstate '76 was good times back in the day.  And in the end, we really don't even know that much about the concept of Rage.  We know it's a shooter, and we know there's driving, and that it's kind of post-apocalyptic.  Beyond that the specifics aren't really clear.

[Pugnate]

I personally think this could be the most important iD game since Quake.

[Quemaqua]

It could be an evolution for them that they sorely need.  Don't get me wrong, I liked Doom 3 more than most people, but I do think it's time they spread their wings a bit.  They've managed to get down ambience, environment, atmosphere, and made some great strides in cinematic presence... but now it's time to do something new in the gameplay department.

[Pugnate]

That's pretty much what I meant, and like yourself, I enjoyed Doom 3 as well.

I was going to say that it would be the most important iD game since Doom, or Wolf 3D, but nothing can be as revolutionary as those two. This is a more evolutionary step, like Quake was.

I have to say, I am slightly disappointed that iD only chose to broaden their horizons when they became more console focused. I guess a larger audience and better profits, plus entering deeper into MS's good books is good motivation -- not that I am saying there is anything wrong with any of those things.

But while I have noticed that a significant portion of migrated console developers have sacrificed complexity when developing for the consoles (with games like Rainbow Six: Vegas, Bioshock, Civilization etc) for various reasons, I have noticed that a few have actually made significant strides beyond what is naturally expected from new projects.

I just enjoying understanding all the factors behind these decisions, especially the psychology of it all.

For example, I really do wonder if iD would have taken such a bold step as they are doing with Rage, had they still been limited to the PC audience. Granted that they are very different titles, but I guess the success of open world games like Oblivion has something to do with it.

[Quemaqua]

I think they would have tried something different.  Maybe not Rage, but something not-Doom.  Though honestly, it may have been Rage too.  Who knows.  But I think this next step was coming, console focus or not, and really, I think we can still safely say that id is a PC-focused company.  They develop for the consoles now, but I have absolutely no fears about the future of their PC products at this point, in quantity or quality.

[MysterD]

I think Id Tech 5 Engine AND Rage are going to be the most evolutionary things from Id since Doom.

[idolminds]

QuakeCon 2009 Trailer

[MysterD]

QuakeCon 2009 Trailer

Freakin' awesome trailer.

[scottws]

The environmental graphics and art are nice.  That said I'm unimpressed overall.  It's like Fallout 3 + Doom III + some really lame looking desert buggy driving stuff.

[Quemaqua]

If Fallout 3 + Doom 3 doesn't sound cool to you, there is something severely wrong inside your head.

[Ghandi]

Yeah I'm certainly impressed. It does look uncannily like Fallout 3, though. Almost to a t.

[scottws]

If Fallout 3 + Doom 3 doesn't sound cool to you, there is something severely wrong inside your head.

The point is I already played them.  Besides, id hasn't done anything worth anything since Doom II (save for making some nice engines others used to make some good games).

[Quemaqua]

If you say so.

[MysterD]

If Fallout 3 + Doom 3 doesn't sound cool to you, there is something severely wrong inside your head.

+ Borderlands, too.

Rage got the whole racing in buggies thing going on, too.

[Dragonlor]

Probably just another 10-15 hour game at the most with pretty graphics.  I'm not impressed.

[MysterD]

Tim Willits of Id Software - an interview on Rage.

Engineering Your Own Weapons

NowGamer: id is famous for its games’ weapons. What can we expect in Rage?

Tim Willits: Rage will feature many of the classic id Software weapons of the past, along with some new and unique Rage weapons as well. We are focusing not only on great weapons, but on engineering items that will add to the variety of gameplay. We will also have multiple ammo types available for a number of the weapons.

NowGamer: What else can you tell us about the new custom weapon/engineering system?

Tim Willits: We’re not quite ready to divulge every engineering item, but the system is one of the things we are most excited about. Through your relationships with characters in the game you earn recipes over time. Then you buy, loot, or receive as rewards the different ingredients that each recipe calls for. We then teach the player how to use these items in appropriate areas. Engineering items should become a great player choice mechanic, allowing for varied player experiences.