Mil Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 In the first Development Diary on our graphical improvements, we showed you the results of textures, texture blending, shadows and fog. In this, the second and final Development Diary on the release, we shine a light on the other effects we have been using. Minimum specifications: To play RuneScape's new detail level you will need: * 1.5 GHz processor or higher * 256MB of RAM or more * 64MB 3D Graphics card, such as Nvidia® GeForce 3 or above Additionally, your graphics card should have the latest drivers installed, to ensure the new detail level plays with no problems. If you need more information on your computer's specifications or how to update your graphical drivers, visit our Tech Support Forum in the RuneScape Forums. When the graphical improvement is released, you will be able to increase or decrease the number of graphical features that are activated. This will be done in your in-game 'Options' menu (the one with the spanner icon). So, any problems playing the new detail mode may be lessened by reducing the number of graphical features that are activated. We would advise that your computer exceeds the above requirements, so you will be able to play the new detail mode without any issues. REMINDER - The existing Low and High Detail will still be available, as the graphical update is completely optional. [hide=]DEVELOPMENT DIARY] A New Look RuneScape: Part 2 The first part of this Development Diary covered a brief history of the new detail mode project and a few of the features it brings namely, textures, shadows, texture blending and fog. This concluding part will cover the remaining graphical effects: lighting, water, fullscreen and some other, related projects. Lighting the way Currently, the lights in the game torches, lanterns, fires, etc are just animations that don't affect the surrounding area's light levels. In the current detail modes, no matter where you are, the lighting is always the same and, as an artist, that's a real limitation, says Mod Farley of Graphics. We wanted lights that actually illuminate their surroundings. Mod Nick, Head of Tools, says, A hardware card will typically allow for eight lights. A very basic sunlight takes up two of those, leaving only another six, but we've managed to code a system that allows us to have up to 255 lights in a map square. Mod Farley adds, We've not needed to use anywhere near that many yet! but it does provide the Graphics team with another atmospheric tool. To make sure the lights were working as intended, we had to check all 18,000 of them individually to make sure they had the appropriate position, colour, style of light, intensity and flicker rate. We also had to make sure that they cast their light properly. As Mod Nick says, Graphics cards will cast light through other objects unless they are told to stop. We had to devise a method of turning off the effect of a light beyond a certain point say, when it hit a wall so objects the other side of the wall weren't incorrectly lit. That may sound like a lot of effort, but it had to be done, and it required less effort than it did to get the water right... Waterworld We planned to improve RuneScape's water from the start, but researching the best way to do so took a long time. Mod Nick says, We had to reject a number of methods of how to do it, either because they didn't look good or didn't fit with RuneScape's style. In the other detail modes, water is just a texture, but with this update we wanted it to be more realistic and have transparency. This meant that there had to be something underneath the surface. Mod JackH of Tools says, I had to create an entirely new area below ground level that didn't previously exist. We nicknamed it 'The Underworld'. RuneScape map squares currently only have four levels (numbered 0-3). Level 0 is ground level, level 3 is typically the roofs of the tallest buildings and the other two levels are different storeys. We started by making level 0 'The Underworld' and shifting the other levels up by one, so we had levels 0-4, says Mod JackH, but this caused too many issues with existing code: for example, teleport spells typically send your character to somewhere on level 0, and since level 0 was 'The Underworld', you'd teleport below ground level. We could have used this method, but issues like teleport code would have required too many fixes for it to be practical, says Mod JackH. After a rethink, we settled on hanging 'The Underworld' below ground level effectively making it level -1, Mod JackH continues. This method still caused its own problems, most notable of which were 'cracks': places where 'The Underworld' and the ground level didn't properly line up. Deciding to create a whole new level is one thing, but creating all of the objects on that level is something else entirely. We had to find a way to model the bottom parts of everything in water shorelines, rocks, reeds, boats as only the top portions of those objects exist in the other detail modes. Mod Nick says, The Tools team built a system into our map editing software to automatically generate any ground underwater, which Graphics could then then tweak if they needed to." All the 'small' things As we'd updated so many elements of the game already, it became apparent that other things also needed to be improved to keep up, so we decided to work on some area and NPC improvement projects in parallel with the graphics overhaul. As a result, alongside the new detail mode, we'll be releasing improved versions of Lumbridge, Al Kharid, East and West Ardougne and Castle Wars; interfaces have been reworked; and some animations, cutscenes and emotes have been tweaked. We've also reworked human NPCs and chat heads, and the player kit. All of these area and NPC improvements will be available in the existing detail modes, too, so even if you don't play RuneScape in its updated graphical form, there's still something for you. The human NPC improvement alone is the single largest project of its type to date, with humans accounting for approximately 15% of all NPCs (1,500 out of 10,000 unique models), and the player kit consisting of over 4,000 body parts and clothing. Mod Kavi of Graphics says, "The main focus has been on improving human character proportions and facial detail, which has given us the ability to create a greater range of (and better) animations for them." Among other things, this has also fixed an issue we used to have with hair rendering through headgear. "We achieved this by creating a character with those features most prone to causing rendering issues long beard, glasses, pipe, pigtails and re-modelling them to work with all worn items," says Mod Kavi. We then used that character as a template to re-model all other facial features. The big picture Mod Nick says, All of the new engine features are just pieces of the puzzle; they all need putting together for the full effect, preferably in fullscreen mode. Indeed, fullscreen mode might end up being the most popular aspect of this update, if not the most surprising, as players correctly guessed RuneScape would be going fullscreen after seeing we'd done that with FunOrb games. "It feels more like you're in the world now, instead of looking at it through a window." Mod Farley Graphics The (optional) fullscreen mode will scale the game up to your monitor's native (32-bit colour) resolution and the field of view adjusts for widescreen resolutions it also supports 2x and 4x anti-aliasing to help smooth off edges. Playing the game in fullscreen mode allows you to more fully immerse yourself within the game, as Mod Farley says, It feels more like you're in the world now, instead of looking at it through a window. Speaking of looking at the game from a new perspective, Mod Farley says, This project has meant artists and developers looking at areas of the game that haven't been looked at for a long time. We have an ever-growing list of other things we now can and want to do! He finishes with, The whole project has created a great atmosphere at Jagex, a great positive feeling. It's been a rejuvenating experience for Jagex as well as RuneScape. New horizons As one horizon is reached, there will always be another one to aim for, and we've already started working towards the next one (and several others after that). For a start, the work on this graphical update has, to date, focused on improving what was already there. We can now take texturing, shadows and the like into account for any new content we work on, developing areas and characters with these things in mind. As we said in Behind the Scenes June, we're not currently planning any more game updates to RuneScape this month, but that doesn't mean we're taking time off ourselves or relaxing just yet. The whole company is working hard on the new detail mode's finishing touches, July's other updates and content beyond that. As the saying goes, 'There's no rest for the wicked'. Andrew concludes with, Altogether, I am massively pleased with this update, but there's always more we can do. RuneScape needs to constantly evolve to remain a state-of-the-art online game, so we're already planning future graphical improvements...[/hide] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracion1 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 My only bug with the updates is that they aren't changing the distance the game renders up to, which seems a bit weak. Other than that, looks great :D "In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toad Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 theres a new dev diary too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a b c Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I see the new diary is so cool how it will look, can't wait till they release the graphic update! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_odie Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 [hide=user interface] [/hide] RIP MichaelangelopolousThanks to cowboy14 for the pimp sig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mil Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 The whole Development Diary is now in the first post :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonkeyChee Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 It will take some getting used to before i use it properly, but its looking great :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwreeTak Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Just read through the development diary. And I was like wow :o ! I knew that this would be a massive update, but not this massive. This is going to be one of the biggest updates RS has got since it got started. And the new graphics looks awesome. Great work, Jagex! =D> :thumbsup: \ Can't wait for this update to be released. I look so much forward to playing RS in fullscreen :D Add me if you so wish: SwreeTak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolo0 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Seeing as Full screen mode in FunOrb is only for members... I guess this will be P2P only :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winner5555 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Laughed at the last sentence in the dev diary, looking good though 621st person to achieve 99 slayer on December 3rd, 2007177th person to 99 summoning on June 21st, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pienaple Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Holy hell! Looks amazing! I only have one bone to pick with them.... What's with the black eyes on the player interface? We need real eyes >_> I may start making sigs againRSN: Pie Naple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killerkid Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 The interface definitely looks cool. It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society "Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melter Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 OMG LAST IMAGE OMG!!!!! ALSO : The (optional) fullscreen mode will scale the game up to your monitor's native (32-bit colour) resolution and the field of view adjusts for widescreen resolutions it also supports 2x and 4x anti-aliasing to help smooth off edges. O M G ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!11!1!!1!1one!21!!eleven!1!!!!!1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x_bow80 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Looks really sweet. I just have to make sure i have the requirements... Not exactly sure how to check though :? 99 Pics - Range, Defence, HP, Attack, Magic, Strength, Cooking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrington Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Great diary... I only wish they'd provide more screenies :) Can't wait for this new graphical update... hope it all goes smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compfreak847 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 *sigh* I was expecting something a bit better then requiring 256 MB of ram and a 64 MB graphics card (I'm running on 4096 MB of ram and 256 MB graphics card) Still, any improvement is a good one ;) Scaling it up to native resolultion and using 4X anti-aliasing should be plenty for a good graphics card to handle... I'm assuming that the requirments are for the 800X600 window. Guess we'll see what Runescape looks like at 1920X1200 + anti-aliasing :pray: Guess the $250 on the graphics card was well spent : Drops: 1x Draconic Visage, 56x Abyssal Whip, 5x Demon Head, D Drops: 37, Barrows Drops: 43, DK Drops: 29GWD drops: 14,000x Bars, 1x Armadyl Hilt, 2x Armadyl Skirt, 4x Sara Sword, 1x Saradomin Hilt, 8x Bandos Hilt, 8x Bandos Platebody, 9x Bandos Tassets, 4x Bandos Boots, 43x Godsword Shard, 82x Dragon BootsDry streak records: Saradomin 412 kills Bandos 988 kills Spirit Mages 633 kills - Slayer Sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1unahtreiloh Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 RS Graphics just PWNSAUCED all others. I can't wait! Watch me on YoutubeCurrent Let's Plays: Kingdom Hearts, Golden SunFuture Let's Plays: Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, Golden Sun II: The Lost Age Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killerkid Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Looks really sweet. I just have to make sure i have the requirements... Not exactly sure how to check though :? Go to Start Right Click "My Computer" Click "Properties" Should be listed under "Computer" on that first page. To check ur video card you can right click anywhere on ur desktop and select properties. Click the settings tab and then click advanced. There should be a tab with ur graphics cards name on it. If not then it probably means ur running an onboard GPU in which case i'm not entirely sure how you check. It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society "Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mil Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Just finished reading. The interface on Fullscreen looks very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acenator Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Very nice Job, Jagex!!! =D> =D> =D> I can't wait to try it out! :D > SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0;0 rows returnedThere's no place like 127.0.0.1There are only 10 types of peoplein this world: those who understandbinary and those who don't.This statement is false.$DO || ! $DO ; trytry: command not found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yes_Its_Ross Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Look at that screenshot! :shock: I'm gonna have to get my geeky friend to see if my comp is up to snuff. :D ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x_bow80 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Looks really sweet. I just have to make sure i have the requirements... Not exactly sure how to check though :? Go to Start Right Click "My Computer" Click "Properties" Should be listed under "Computer" on that first page. To check ur video card you can right click anywhere on ur desktop and select properties. Click the settings tab and then click advanced. There should be a tab with ur graphics cards name on it. If not then it probably means ur running an onboard GPU in which case i'm not entirely sure how you check. Awesome, thanks. 99 Pics - Range, Defence, HP, Attack, Magic, Strength, Cooking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peronix Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Looks GREAT! But... we still have lines for eyes and balls for hands. Looks a little tacky with all of these new graphical improvements. It sticks out like a really sore thumb. Maybe an improvement to player models will come eventually...? To maybe sort of match the new chat-head look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aresgodowar Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Im not so sure about the low mem and graphics reqs. Right now i never play in High Detail because it slows my computer down alot. My comp has an AMD turion 64x2 at 2.2ghz with 4 gig of ram, with about 1 gig of that dedicated to my ATI Radeon x1200. Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle. George S. Patton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyehawk78 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Wow :shock: Just wow :shock: Though I don't know if I have a good enough graphics card for this :x *Runs to shop* Website Updates & Corrections | Website Discussion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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