I'm sure they know how to handle it. I hope they make it more like Uncharted 2.Fatboi1 said:Tidbit: Lead TLOU MP designer is designing the MP for UC4.
that could be hit or miss uc MP >tlou
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GAMEINFORMER UNCHARTED 4 revealed
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The Secret Depth Of Uncharted 4’s Art Design
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by Andrew Reiner on January 21, 2015 at 02:39 PM
2,896 Views
5
The dense foliage of Madagascar holds many secrets. The bones of the dead highlight failed attempts at uncovering its mysteries, and the trees blanket the sigils that once pointed to the whereabouts of a lifetime of riches.
This world is teeming with life. Birds take to the skies, waterfalls tumble in the distance, and the lush greenery flows peacefully in the wind. Although you may never notice it, the world is also feeding off of the emotions of its latest visitor, veteran treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
After tumbling off of a ship and washing up ashore, Nathan is noticeably troubled when we first see him in the demo that debuted at Sony's PlayStation Experience expo. “He’s been separated from his brother,” says director Bruce Straley. “There’s a sense of loss and desperation. He may have some things on his conscience regarding the choices he’s made.”
Throughout the demo, Nathan's state of emotional distress is displayed visually within the environment. “The rocks are sharp, angular, and reflective of Nathan’s feelings at that point,” Straley adds. “The lighting when you come out of the cave is darker and blue to convey a feeling of depression. The angularity of the rocks is giving a sense of tension. For the cliff side, you’ll notice a lot of the edges are tilting in to give a sense of unbalance.”
These little touches, including Nathan’s shirt being blue, will likely go unnoticed by the player, but are carefully crafted by the artists and storytellers at Naughty Dog to further express the emotional conflict at hand. As Nathan progresses deeper into the jungle, the atmosphere of this scenario lightens when he locates an item that will aid him in his quest. This item, the piton (a metal spike used for climbing), basks in a lone beam of sunlight. A visual cue that leads the eye, but also carries a hint of Nathan's emotions.
Once Nathan secures the piton, he uses it to ascend to a new area, one that is better lit and reflective of him gaining confidence. Many of the platforms are covered in green moss, a switch from the water and mud he trudged through seconds ago. It’s still a little wet and dark, yet more peaceful in composition.
When Nathan stumbles upon a mercenary group on the hunt, the scenery shifts again, growing slightly more vibrant and clear – indicating he may be thriving off of the adrenaline rush.
At the conclusion of the demo, the confrontation with his brother takes place under the shadows of a tree canopy, a potential hint that Nathan still doesn't fully trust his brother.
The color-scripting technique used in this demo is a process Naughty Dog has been evolving since the original Uncharted. Straley says. “Our first attempt with color scripting like this was the Amazon jungle at the beginning of the game with Sully and Nathan together. All of the rocks and palm leaves are rounded. The lighting is warm. It has an appealing, high-adventure feel to it. And then we crash land on the island. You’ll notice all of the leaves are a little more jagged, and there’s a blue-green tone to the world now. That was an amateur attempt, but that was our first go at it.”
“The evolution of that was in Uncharted 2 when Jeff the cameraman dies,” says creative director Neil Druckmann. “Going into that temple, you have your whole crew, everyone is happy, and the sun is out. Going out, it’s raining, pouring, lightning, all of the characters are yelling at each other, it’s a much faster pace, there are more enemies – it’s all paralleling where the characters are in the story. That moment really defines Nathan Drake. Do I leave this guy behind and go on the path of being a selfish treasure hunter, or do I put everything on the line to save someone I care about? That’s why it was so important to build this moment up.”
Altering the look of a level to accommodate the the story or the characters’ emotions is a difficult process that lasts for the majority of the game’s development. Altering lighting can affect the readability of a level, and potentially hide carefully placed details that the artists included to help players navigate the terrain.
From the outset of creating a level, the art team figures out the color scripts and flow while talking to the directors. “You want to feel confident about your foundation, because once you start adding layers of detail, it becomes harder to make broad changes,” says artist Adam Littledale. “One of the challenges of making a jungle environment is they are filled with so much visual noise – layers of branches, bushes, twigs, vines, rocks, etc. It is the artist’s job to try to organize these elements into visually appealing compositions, so that one’s eyes can navigate through the space, simultaneously recognizing the landscape while also maintaining the legibility of individual objects. Lighting plays a large part in this, with shadows offering areas of rest or the opportunity to isolate a focal point.”
Although Littledale took reference photos of various plants at an arboretum in California, the reference pieces are mostly used for inspiration. "With Uncharted, we definitely don’t go for realism,” Littledale adds. "A lot of studios, when they are making things like plants, they take a close-up photo of a leaf and copy that exactly in the game. We just use the photo as a starting off point. We create the plants by hand. We go for more of an illustrative look, and more idealized to how we want to see it. We want realism, but pushed a little in the ways that we want them to be pushed.”
The arboretum Naughty Dog used for reference photos
Even the locations of collectible items are carefully plotted so they don’t interfere with the emotional tone of the game. Naughty Dog doesn’t want the player’s mind wandering off if the focus should be on a specific moment or mood.
Color scripting of this ilk isn’t a concept that Naughty Dog created. It’s common practice in most films in games, but studios use it in different ways. Most people rarely notice the little color-scripting touches that artists put into their work.
Knowing what you now know of Naughty Dog’s approach, go back and play The Last of Us and the Uncharted games again. Pay close attention to the environment, lighting, and character designs for emotional links and transitions. In the case of Uncharted 4, due out later this year, the world and art are as important to the story as the characters and script. It'll be interesting to see how far Naughty Dog pushes this process in what is believed to be Nathan Drake's last adventure.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...secret-depth-of-uncharted-4-s-art-design.aspx
feature
by Andrew Reiner on January 21, 2015 at 02:39 PM
2,896 Views
5
The dense foliage of Madagascar holds many secrets. The bones of the dead highlight failed attempts at uncovering its mysteries, and the trees blanket the sigils that once pointed to the whereabouts of a lifetime of riches.
This world is teeming with life. Birds take to the skies, waterfalls tumble in the distance, and the lush greenery flows peacefully in the wind. Although you may never notice it, the world is also feeding off of the emotions of its latest visitor, veteran treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
After tumbling off of a ship and washing up ashore, Nathan is noticeably troubled when we first see him in the demo that debuted at Sony's PlayStation Experience expo. “He’s been separated from his brother,” says director Bruce Straley. “There’s a sense of loss and desperation. He may have some things on his conscience regarding the choices he’s made.”
Throughout the demo, Nathan's state of emotional distress is displayed visually within the environment. “The rocks are sharp, angular, and reflective of Nathan’s feelings at that point,” Straley adds. “The lighting when you come out of the cave is darker and blue to convey a feeling of depression. The angularity of the rocks is giving a sense of tension. For the cliff side, you’ll notice a lot of the edges are tilting in to give a sense of unbalance.”
These little touches, including Nathan’s shirt being blue, will likely go unnoticed by the player, but are carefully crafted by the artists and storytellers at Naughty Dog to further express the emotional conflict at hand. As Nathan progresses deeper into the jungle, the atmosphere of this scenario lightens when he locates an item that will aid him in his quest. This item, the piton (a metal spike used for climbing), basks in a lone beam of sunlight. A visual cue that leads the eye, but also carries a hint of Nathan's emotions.
Once Nathan secures the piton, he uses it to ascend to a new area, one that is better lit and reflective of him gaining confidence. Many of the platforms are covered in green moss, a switch from the water and mud he trudged through seconds ago. It’s still a little wet and dark, yet more peaceful in composition.
When Nathan stumbles upon a mercenary group on the hunt, the scenery shifts again, growing slightly more vibrant and clear – indicating he may be thriving off of the adrenaline rush.
At the conclusion of the demo, the confrontation with his brother takes place under the shadows of a tree canopy, a potential hint that Nathan still doesn't fully trust his brother.
The color-scripting technique used in this demo is a process Naughty Dog has been evolving since the original Uncharted. Straley says. “Our first attempt with color scripting like this was the Amazon jungle at the beginning of the game with Sully and Nathan together. All of the rocks and palm leaves are rounded. The lighting is warm. It has an appealing, high-adventure feel to it. And then we crash land on the island. You’ll notice all of the leaves are a little more jagged, and there’s a blue-green tone to the world now. That was an amateur attempt, but that was our first go at it.”
“The evolution of that was in Uncharted 2 when Jeff the cameraman dies,” says creative director Neil Druckmann. “Going into that temple, you have your whole crew, everyone is happy, and the sun is out. Going out, it’s raining, pouring, lightning, all of the characters are yelling at each other, it’s a much faster pace, there are more enemies – it’s all paralleling where the characters are in the story. That moment really defines Nathan Drake. Do I leave this guy behind and go on the path of being a selfish treasure hunter, or do I put everything on the line to save someone I care about? That’s why it was so important to build this moment up.”
Altering the look of a level to accommodate the the story or the characters’ emotions is a difficult process that lasts for the majority of the game’s development. Altering lighting can affect the readability of a level, and potentially hide carefully placed details that the artists included to help players navigate the terrain.
From the outset of creating a level, the art team figures out the color scripts and flow while talking to the directors. “You want to feel confident about your foundation, because once you start adding layers of detail, it becomes harder to make broad changes,” says artist Adam Littledale. “One of the challenges of making a jungle environment is they are filled with so much visual noise – layers of branches, bushes, twigs, vines, rocks, etc. It is the artist’s job to try to organize these elements into visually appealing compositions, so that one’s eyes can navigate through the space, simultaneously recognizing the landscape while also maintaining the legibility of individual objects. Lighting plays a large part in this, with shadows offering areas of rest or the opportunity to isolate a focal point.”
Although Littledale took reference photos of various plants at an arboretum in California, the reference pieces are mostly used for inspiration. "With Uncharted, we definitely don’t go for realism,” Littledale adds. "A lot of studios, when they are making things like plants, they take a close-up photo of a leaf and copy that exactly in the game. We just use the photo as a starting off point. We create the plants by hand. We go for more of an illustrative look, and more idealized to how we want to see it. We want realism, but pushed a little in the ways that we want them to be pushed.”
The arboretum Naughty Dog used for reference photos
Even the locations of collectible items are carefully plotted so they don’t interfere with the emotional tone of the game. Naughty Dog doesn’t want the player’s mind wandering off if the focus should be on a specific moment or mood.
Color scripting of this ilk isn’t a concept that Naughty Dog created. It’s common practice in most films in games, but studios use it in different ways. Most people rarely notice the little color-scripting touches that artists put into their work.
Knowing what you now know of Naughty Dog’s approach, go back and play The Last of Us and the Uncharted games again. Pay close attention to the environment, lighting, and character designs for emotional links and transitions. In the case of Uncharted 4, due out later this year, the world and art are as important to the story as the characters and script. It'll be interesting to see how far Naughty Dog pushes this process in what is believed to be Nathan Drake's last adventure.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...secret-depth-of-uncharted-4-s-art-design.aspx
Originally Posted by Game Informer
Yates says that Nathan’s climbing animations alone use more memory than Drake’s entire moveset from Uncharted 3. The climbing system has been rewritten from the ground up, and now includes a reach mechanic that allows players to move Drake’s hand to pinpoint where he should move next. “All of the different combinations and possibilities of where he can put his hand required us to have hundreds of new climbing animations,” Yates adds. “We wanted to create a system that scaled really well and had a more grounded feel, but could also scale up to give Drake the agility he needs for fast-paced traversal combat.”
Yates and some of Naughty Dog’s animators trained with climbers on indoor walls to understand the true nuances of rock climbing. “What it came down to was balance, and leaning, and reaching,” Yates says. “We wanted to capture that essence here. Every climb has a different animation. It’s been a tremendous effort. We have full-body inverse kinematics and full-body physics systems that fill in all of the nuances and help smooth out the animations.”
Originally Posted by Game Informer
Drake’s animations also change depending on what type of ledge he is interacting with. The handholds have different properties and affect the way he climbs. The larger handholds allow him to move faster and recover quickly. On the smaller handholds, Nathan’s hands act differently. His fingers are together, and his movements are slower, more calculated. His body shakes on the smaller ledges, showing he’s exerting more effort. “It adds a sense of danger,” Yates adds. “We’ve never been able to achieve stuff like this before. We’re trying to capture every detail in the climbing system.”
Originally Posted by Game Informer
Naughty Dog has the same ambitions for the melee system, which has also been reworked for Uncharted 4. One of the goals for the hand-to-hand combat was to steer away from quicktime events. This means no UI, and no moments where the player hits a button to watch a sequence unfold.
Yates says they want each hit and movement to be on the stick and buttons."We also want more contextual animations," he says. "If Drake has a pistol in his hand, his animations will be different. If he has an assault rifle, those animations will be different. These difference are subtle, but you can see they are there.”
The melee combat mechanic places a greater emphasis on timing and reading an opponent’s moves than we've seen in the series. Using a technique called pose matching, Naughty Dog is able to make the moves flow in and out of each other based on the position of the combatants. In previous Uncharted titles, no matter what positions the characters were in, the next move was randomly selected, and didn’t necessarily flow from the character’s position. In Uncharted 4, pose matching ensures that the proper moves are used next and that there’s a natural flow to the transitional animations.
Another big breakthrough tied to the melee component is the decoupling of animations between Drake and his opponent. This means that the enemy no longer slides unnaturally to lineup with Drake's animations. “Sometimes they’ll synch when they are grappling together, but all of the openers and attacks that get you into position are completed unsynced," Yates says. "The hit reactions have nothing to do with the animation from the attacker. It’s all based on the angle from which Drake punches, and where he hits them on the body. We have a huge library of hit reactions. It’s very dynamic, and you can come at it from any angle. It’s not just ‘Okay, we have front, left, right, and diagonals.’ It’s anything, and it feels so much better.”
These actions are viewed intimately through a new procedural camera system that Naughty Dog implemented just for combat. In previous games, Naughty Dog built cameras into the moves themselves. When the move was used, the game would do a quick check for the best camera position and activate that viewpoint. The new procedural system in Uncharted 4 finds the best angle to frame Drake and the enemy, along with anyone else who may be a threat. These dynamic cameras are not locked – players can interact with them in the same way they use the game's standard camera controls.
Originally Posted by Game Informer
The mercenaries Drake squares off against are more formidable than the human enemies seen in the other Uncharted games. They communicate with other foes in the field, coordinate tactics, and find the optimal path to attack Drake or reach his location – even if it means they have to leap across caverns.
“You are going to see different roles expanded into the A.I. systems,” says director Bruce Straley. “Some of the enemies, like surveyors and overwatchers, communicate things they see inside of the environment. We also have helpers who watch each other’s backs, communicate, and split up into areas as they search. We have a richer system as to how the player gets to engage with and toy with the A.I.
“In the Last of Us, we didn’t have as many traversal mechanics. Just getting behind a car was an important thing, or getting to a building was huge because it would afford more opportunities to evade and flank. Here, Nathan Drake can run faster, he can jump and swing on a rope. He chews up environment so quickly that that’s why we have the group mentality, and the splitting and factioning of guys like, ‘You go left, I go right.’ We’ve addressed their ability to fluidly move in the environment, such as run, jump, drop, and all of the traversal moves. They don’t quite parallel Nathan Drake – he still has a leg up – but they have high-powered weapons and projectiles as well. The A.I. is quick on their feet and thinks fluidly.”
The A.I.’s boost in intelligence and mobility is also present in Drake’s A.I. companions. For the majority of the adventure, Drake will have an A.I. companion at his side. Some of these people, like his brother Sam, are just as skilled at environment navigation as he is.Sam knows how to handle situations and he can take care of himself. He has his own rope, and as Straley says with a smile, "he can do some pretty amazing things."
Wow, the gameplay sounds so good.