Graphics
Author
Hi,
I was wondering about something.. Doesn''t the graphics of a game basically come down to the artist''s skills? I mean the engine''s features can you help you achieve better graphics but its mostly based on the artist isn''t it?
I guess what I am saying is, if the sample screen shots posted by one engine are better than the screen shots posted by another engine, isn''t that really based on the artist? Wouldn''t an engine''s strong and weak points mostly be about speed, features, compatibility, ease of use, etc.?
Cause a texture is a texutre, a mesh is a mesh, its not as if the engine is going to change its appearance is it?
So aside from lighting, does the engine play a big part on the game''s graphics?
I''d appreciate if someone can clarify that for me and tell me if I''m way off or not?
Thanks
For the most part that is true. Anyone can make a nice scene in a modeling program, import it into their engine and render it. Just looking at nice pictures doesn''t tell much about an engine.
There are some exceptions of course, such as supporting bump mapping or pixel shaders and using them to do new things. You also have to consider how the scene is organized. Is it a single mesh, a BSP, a heightfield, portal based, voxels? A single mesh is easy to import and render but can you walk around in it with proper collision and fast culling? Those are things you can''t tell just by looking at images.
One of the most important things for an engine is how easy it is to use for a non-programmer. If artists can get their work into the engine with little trouble then they can focus on making good content rather than just getting it to work.
I could have much better screenshots for Power Render if a regular artist was designing models and textures for me. As it is I''m happy with what I''ve been able to create given my limited artistic abilities
There are some exceptions of course, such as supporting bump mapping or pixel shaders and using them to do new things. You also have to consider how the scene is organized. Is it a single mesh, a BSP, a heightfield, portal based, voxels? A single mesh is easy to import and render but can you walk around in it with proper collision and fast culling? Those are things you can''t tell just by looking at images.
One of the most important things for an engine is how easy it is to use for a non-programmer. If artists can get their work into the engine with little trouble then they can focus on making good content rather than just getting it to work.
I could have much better screenshots for Power Render if a regular artist was designing models and textures for me. As it is I''m happy with what I''ve been able to create given my limited artistic abilities
The whole point of having an awesome graphics engine like PR is so that artists can create whatever they want in MAX or whatever and see it accurately reproduced in a game...
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