New Editorial

[frosty]

I've been trying to keep some fresh content on the site, however I recently lost my internet connection which threw a wrench in those spokes. Just got it back, so I (and the main page) should be back in action.

In the mean time, Cpiasminc has stepped up to the plate twice now since I started this push for new content with some awesome editorial pieces. His latest piece provides a behind the scenes look into the programming and art/design process for gaming, exposing a lot of common misconceptions about making video games. It's an excellent read... go check it out!

http://psinsider.e-mpire.com/index.php?categoryid=4&m_articles_articleid=983

I have more planned for the main page, including something special to mark the launch of MGS4, so keep an eye out.

[cliffbo]

i'll read it as soon as this Newtons Cradle stops clicking... click... clack (be there soon) ...clack... click...

[Segitz]

I wanted to write a review for GT5P, but whilst doing so (and doing other stuff at the same time), my internet connection reset itself (it does this ever 24hrs) and when I wanted to preview it, I had to relog into CMS, which killed all my text^^

But I will write some more the next few days, hopefully...

[frosty]

sweet. losing lots of writing to a CMS or connection bug can really suck, it's happened to me a few times as well. Try writing it up in a word processor and copy/pasting it into CMS.

[cliffbo]

if i had time i'd do a review or an article, if i had time i'd be a Mod, hell, if i had time i'd live a life! :-p

[masteratt]

How can you not have time man? You are here 24/7.

Thanks for the article and with this new wave forward, will we see the planned layout change for the front page?
Reading things with that layout is not that fun.

[cliffbo]

How can you not have time man? You are here 24/7.

Thanks for the article and with this new wave forward, will we see the planned layout change for the front page?
Reading things with that layout is not that fun.

LOL... fair comment. i, as you know, don't own this computer, but if i could guarantee 100% to this forum, i would be a lot more serious and want to contribute in a more meaningful way :)

[Jay Gee]

I have more planned for the main page, including something special to mark the launch of MGS4, so keep an eye out.
I'll do you one better and keep a solid eye out. *wink*

[Segitz]

How can you not have time man? You are here 24/7.

Well^^

I am here 5 mins a couple of times a day... I don't count that as "time" :D (mostly I am on break or somesuch and don't have anything better to do). University has WiFi all round :P

[LaLiLuLeLo]

That was a great read. Excellent.

[julps31]

Definantly a good read. And very enlightening...

[Sephiroth_VII]

A good read, as always.

[Danji Ikari]

*claps* Gift of the silver tongue, they say it's the mark of a good general.

and of a liar..!


But really, good article CPI, that was educational and entertaining like always.

[cpiasminc]

*claps* Gift of the silver tongue, they say it's the mark of a good general.
Even though that tongue often displays a few barbs? Or perhaps... because of it? As far as a few of the questions posed in that piece, in case anyone is at all curious --

Q : What causes a grayscale AO map to affect color saturation of your textures?
A : It happens because the combination happens after gamma correction of the textures which puts all the textures in a colorspace which, although appearing linear to your eye, are actually not, and especially not linear in "lighting color space". Since AO maps are technically insensitive to gamma (because it's not the color/intensity that matters, but the actual pixel value in a numerical sense), it IS linear with respect to light space. The most generic fix to this is to re-linearize the textures by applying an inverse gamma transform before you do your math and then re-gamma the images on write... of course, this means that artists have to create textures with that process in mind -- that means being able to work in non-gamma space when actually creating textures, and also being able to separate which ones are gamma-sensitive (like a diffuse texture) and which ones are not (like normal maps).

Q : Why would a blue light cast a pinkish or possibly yellowish shadow?
A : It doesn't... at least not in the numerical sense. The pinkish yellowish shadow is actually an optical illusion. Because so much of the background is going to be blue in hue, when you see a shadow, the brain sees it as a contrast, and because we're detail/pattern-seeking creatures, what it does is overcompensate the contrast and put in a complementary color. This doesn't happen so much in low-lighting conditions because everything is generally dark, and so no overcompensation occurs -- it tends to happen when you have a blue light which is extremely overbright and lights the entire scene quite thoroughly, but is largely the only non-ambient source of light in the scene, so when something that bright is shadowed, it tends to leave a mark. A lot of lighting artists fight this by hiding bounce cards throughout the scene (which are only visible during radiosity/lightmapping calculations and such) which augment the bluish hue to the ambient lighting or even toy a little with the texture hues.

Q : Why do right angles and overhangs become important when using radiosity?
A : The simple answer is just that you want more surfaces to bounce off of. Basically, the process of radiosity involves looking around to see how much light can be seen from surfaces, and the idea of having right angles and overhangs means you get more surfaces that can be "seen" from each other over a wide range of view angles, and therefore you get more bounces of light getting detected. Essentially, a wide-open space is very unlikely to pick up significant bounces of light using a regular radiosity solver, and what it does pick up is going to be quite even all over, giving a relatively flat look.

[Z]

great postings as usual CPi. :)