the be all end all video game thread

Think of it this way.

There's NO way in hell we'll ever be able to come close to doing a full world, low-level physics simulation where we actually do the math to figure out all the motion of all the particles, all the light waves of all the reflections, in a scene. Never mind at a realistic speed. It's just way, way too much math and way way too little CPU and time.

But, you can fake it using AI. You can kind of analyze the scenario, and then figure out something that's kind of like what you're looking for, but at a crazy small fraction of the CPU/time required.

The human eye/brain combo is fucking insane... it can detect things that are wrong stupidly fast... you may not be able to describe what's wrong with what you're looking at, but you know it, you focus on it, and now you're removed from the immersive experience. It can even be a bit of a game, where you watch a simulation and then try and describe what is wrong with it. In the early days of cinema it was fairly easy; the eyes, the hair, a smile... all had something that we all know perfectly how it should have worked, but was just a leeeeeeetle bit off so made it look fake.

AI can be used to figure out what is good enough for that particular context. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be good enough to fool your brain well enough that it doesn't notice the problem.

It's like you take the complexity and instead of trying to exactly model every detailed item in the scene of a game, you're now using an AI to analyze and composite the scene using minimal resources... all while you're interacting with that scene in 3D. It says "hey, that rain in the background is not noticeable so we'll use a very simple, low power algorithm or effect to create it, but that hair on the head right in front of us has to look REALLY good so spend 50% of available resources to render it realistically". Then, as the scene progresses, it works out the new priority list.

That's just one "simple" aspect that I'm talking about....

AI has come a long way from controlling an NPC... and they're not anywhere near as scripted as they used to be. (At least that's the case for the really good ones).

 

In case you haven't heard, Epic is going to war over Apple's and Google's app stores and their payments...

Interesting video from Hoeg Law:

 

I am playing through the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which is free on xbox games pass. I watched the shows first, then read the books. I am on the 2nd to last book in the series. The game switches some things around for their storyline but it keeps it interesting because while the characters are familiar the story line is not entirely, and that helps keep it fresh.

You can stick to the main storyline quest or dive into one of a metric fuckton of side quests and contracts. The side quests really flesh out the universe. I like how easy it is to stay on track on your quest with the dots on the map. I've played games in the past where I just give up because I struggle to find the next step and it just isn't fun or interesting anymore. They did a good job of making this game an all around enjoyable experience and I would recommend it.

I hate the way you access your crossbow though. I could not figure that shit out and had hubs kill the griffon for me which I think was basically the crossbow tutorial but I was just over it at that point.

 

Ah thanks for the tip. I have been totally avoiding that aspect of the game. I'll try it out next time I play.

 

Assuming it's an MMO account, is there even a market for those anymore?

 

What exactly are you trying to sell?

 

I've been tempted, but I don't like mobile freemium stuff. I'd much rather just pay. I did it for crypt of the necrodancer and CivVI

 

I finished the main quest for the witcher game a week or two ago and am kinda bummed out. I think I messed up a quest choice because the ending is not the one I would have wanted, with King Radovid being on top with a magical purge to follow. I think I declined to kill him on one quest because that seemed like, too high profile or dangerous. Anyone played through and chose differently?

I heard the dlc expansions are amazing. I think I'm going to fart around exploring and doing quests and then try that dlc out.

 

Yeah....I considered going back to an earlier save and fixing my trajectory but just couldn't muster up the willpower for all that. I would have had to go back like halfway up the quest tree. It was fun once but I don't want to do it again.

I bought some maps from traders so I have fast travel points to a fair but of area I haven't visited yet, plus other totally blank areas. Should be fun to roll around and discover some things. I've got a bit of cash built up to buy recipes too if i can unlock access to some additional masters.

I've bought gwent cards any time I get the opportunity and took the ''rare'' ones from Zoltan for doing that quest with him. I've only played a few times and lost every time. I'll get the hang of it one of these days and then enter one of those tournies you mentioned.

 

It's just a game so I have emotionally moved on from the disappointment of the final ending. There was some good, some bad. Apparently there are 32 possible endings and there are ones I would have found to be even worse. I finished the book series (reading the last witcher book outside the series now) and it didn't quite end in a satisfying or complete way either. So, the ending to the game is fitting I suppose.

Thanks for the tidbit about game saves. I was under the erroneous assumption that my saves would transfer. We were discussing canceling the games pass and getting a copy once the holiday sales roll around. I'm not sure I want to lose all my progress, especially if I'm doing all this exploring and side quest stuff now.