FFS why do the shadows suck

It'd be easier if they just blended the shadows together so they were the same color, that'd look fine
 
Guys please please please stop complaining! I'm getting sick of having to explain things which if you think about for 5 seconds, you realize it makes sense!!!!!!

Okay VALVe could have added dynamic shadows that could rival Doom3, do you know why??? Because it didn't enhance the gameplay and only could hinder performance!!! It was a DESIGN choice not to add it, probably among other reasons. Heck, even look at Doom3... it still is riddled with bugs (especially in MP, server browser)...

Why do you guys think the game isn't out yet? It still has bugs like these! If you look at screenshots of some of your favorite games, the first batches released, you will notice that if you look carefully there are in fact bugs in them... That's why the consumers don't have their hands on them!

Half-Life 2 uses a more simple system, simpler to code, and MUCH simpler to control the atmosphere for map makers... In fact if you have 3 lights in Doom3 close to each other, the engine slows down and acts like shit.... Yes it can do dynamic shadows, but only in darker environments does it act well....


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop talking about all these bugs for the love of my eyes!!! VALVe gets paid to fix those things before release.

I'm sure if you guys want another 1-2 year-long delay valve would be happy to add in your dynamic shadows you guys are _constantly_ bitching about :)
 
omfjiz!!! t3h shad0wz r t3h br0ak!!! b0yc0t eych el tooo!!!! The shadows are the last thing I'm gonna be worried about, and we haven't even seen the latest build of the game yet, so it's kinda hard to tell what exactly has changed.

ne0_shiny said:
heh heh
antlion butt

whats AA and AF?
Click to expand...

AA = Anti-aliasing, it makes jagged edges look smoother, also called FSAA sometimes.

AF = Anistrophic Filtering, it's a method that makes textures sharper.
 
Zento said:
*cough* Doom 3 *cough* ;)

Guess ID got the advantage in this department....
Click to expand...

At the cost of huge CPU cycles. Which is why if i remember correctly valve do know of this issue but aren't actively fixing. BBecause in doing so it would use a lot of CPU cycles thus increasing the specs which would go agianist the aim of the engine which is to support those with older cards and computers.
 
another-user said:
i still hate those new binks that they released about 2 weeks ago. they had all those boxes shadows clipping through the table to the ground... ill see if i can find that screen shot from it.
found it. btw, i found this posted some where on this forums... no idea who posted it.
Click to expand...
that shouldnt be that hard to repair and yet its in the new videos that scares me
 
What's with the shadow fetish? It seems like any more, gamers judge the quality of a graphics engine by the shadows alone. What the hell is up with that?
 
WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS COMPLAINING ABOUT SHADOWS!!!!
the shadows are ment not to draws on enitys only on world geomitry ther for it clips thru some things
valve chose to do that so the game can run good on old computers
they want to maxamize there market so because they don't want a game that can onyl be ran on a 9800xt 3ghz or higher and deny all that are not worthy
the point is valve chose less shadowing to focus on physics and game play thats the trade off.
doom3 sucks (don't flame me) because it was the same thing over and over shooting,looking for keycard,shooting and maybe a story line movie and the graphics were out worldly but the trade off was gamplay and physics (it has it but there horrible...)
good shadows =doom 3 bad gameplay and physics
bad shadows=hl2 good hameplay and physics
any questions?
 
Who the hell cares? If you've got a hard on for shadows, go play D3. I'd rather have smarter AI or more than two enemies on screen at once than have shadows projected on/blocked by entities.
 
Shadows are important. They make the game that much more immersive.
 
lajkonik86 said:
Today i saw this great new screenshot
http://www.halflife2.net/news//1094401905_newex1.jpg
how nice
Just take a look at the shade beneath that central rock.
Applause for the screenshot. Great graphics :borg:

Why do the HL2 shadows suck so much. The shadows in many old games are better then in HL2.

Even this physics engine made by students rockz the world compares to those shadows.
You guys might want to check it out. I really liked playing the demos.
http://meqon.com/downloadarea/meqon-demos-1.3.1.zip



Well suppose HL2 rocks in any other aspect but plz valve fix those shadows.



Greetz
Thierry - Creator of HL2 Total Mayhem
Click to expand...
Oh.. Awesome.. There were a virus in that zip.. Thank you..
 
nsxownzme said:
Shadows are important. They make the game that much more immersive.
Click to expand...

No they don't. HL1 had no shadows, and I'm certain you didn't notice then and complain about how the lack of shadows was pulling you out of the gameworld. In fact, there are a ton of brush and texture errors all throughout the singleplayer game that I'd bet you didn't notice at all the first few times through, and none of those ruined the game either.
 
Yak_Fighter said:
No they don't. HL1 had no shadows, and I'm certain you didn't notice then and complain about how the lack of shadows was pulling you out of the gameworld. In fact, there are a ton of brush and texture errors all throughout the singleplayer game that I'd bet you didn't notice at all the first few times through, and none of those ruined the game either.
Click to expand...

What a n00b, only 15 posts.

lol, only kidding. Seriously, it's nice to see someone mature enough to realize that a graphic mistake here and there is nothing when weighed against gameplay. :)

[rant]There's a problem? Suck it up and move on. We should start a thread about all the excellent features HL2 is going to introduce.

But no, that would make you a 'stupid fanboy'.[/rant] :rolleyes:
 
DigitalAssassin said:
What a n00b, only 15 posts.

lol, only kidding. Seriously, it's nice to see someone mature enough to realize that a graphic mistake here and there is nothing when weighed against gameplay. :)
Click to expand...

Um, well thanks I guess, I've been saying stuff like this since Dec'97. :E
 
Okay girls, don't bother posting in here if you don't care about shadows. Simple as that. You ladies are getting so worked up because people like myself and the thread starter have certain opinions about what makes a game look good, and HL2 is falling short in some areas. I personally have a high end computer, and frankly, I don't give a shit about people with crappy, low end hardware. I wanted cool, realistic shadow effects, just like all other next gen games.
 
Source is capable of it, but for some reason Valve decided not too. I'd say its because the game takes place in a massive city environment, therefore there really isn't that much of a need for dynamic lighting and shadows. But still it'd be cool if there was at least dynamic shadows for things like flashlights and shit.

Besides, shadows only make the game feel more immersive if the game is something like Thief 3, Splinter Cell or Doom 3. Like for example, in Far Cry, they didn't add any immersion what-so-ever.
 
iamaelephant said:
Okay girls, don't bother posting in here if you don't care about shadows. Simple as that. You ladies are getting so worked up because people like myself and the thread starter have certain opinions about what makes a game look good, and HL2 is falling short in some areas. I personally have a high end computer, and frankly, I don't give a shit about people with crappy, low end hardware. I wanted cool, realistic shadow effects, just like all other next gen games.
Click to expand...

There's no need to kick up a hissy fit y'know. I'm sure if it were in Valve's interest to design a game based around your hardware then they would, the fact of the matter is they're not. If you're after state of the art efffects without a shadow bug then don't buy the game, it's your loss. I guess the difference between you and the people at Valve is that you don't care about other people's computers and Valve do, afterall it's in the interests right? And if you think I'm a guy with low end hardware you got it wrong. HL2 is not going to be all things to all people, so if the shadow bug is in the final release so be it, it won't detract from the experience.
 
iamaelephant said:
Okay girls, don't bother posting in here if you don't care about shadows. Simple as that. You ladies are getting so worked up because people like myself and the thread starter have certain opinions about what makes a game look good, and HL2 is falling short in some areas. I personally have a high end computer, and frankly, I don't give a shit about people with crappy, low end hardware. I wanted cool, realistic shadow effects, just like all other next gen games.
Click to expand...

That's nice. It's good that you are worried about shadows instead of the gameplay, because that's what you spend your 50+ bucks on.
 
Yak_Fighter said:
That's nice. It's good that you are worried about shadows instead of the gameplay, because that's what you spend your 50+ bucks on.
Click to expand...
Leave him alone already. Nobody wants another stupid flame thread. And besides he got a coupon for the game anyway he hasn't and probably wont pay for it
 
Yak_Fighter said:
No they don't. HL1 had no shadows, and I'm certain you didn't notice then and complain about how the lack of shadows was pulling you out of the gameworld. In fact, there are a ton of brush and texture errors all throughout the singleplayer game that I'd bet you didn't notice at all the first few times through, and none of those ruined the game either.
Click to expand...
I said that much more. Meaning, if HL1 had shadows it would have been that much better.
It's 2004, shadows are important.
 
HL1 did have shadows via the 'r_shadows 1' console command, it was the same with Quake 2. Gave it a bit more depth IMO. They were basic stencil shadows in appearance, they weren't perfect but I kept em on.
 
Kazuki_Fuse said:
HL1 did have shadows via the 'r_shadows 1' console command, it was the same with Quake 2. Gave it a bit more depth IMO. They were basic stencil shadows in appearance, they weren't perfect but I kept em on.
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When did they take that command out ? I can never remember shadows in Half-Life, ever.

I know counter-strike has blob shadows.
 
I prefer that the CPU power goes to rendering open places , AI and physics instead of perfecting shadows.

I'll gladly choose Valve's trade-off.
 
Mr-Fusion said:
When did they take that command out ?
Click to expand...

They had to change everything since the leak. Probably every single variable aswell.

So all the respectable users who give you console tips from the stolen beta should realise it wouldn't work in CS:S or HL2
 
Tarkin said:
They had to change everything since the leak. Probably every single variable aswell.

So all the respectable users who give you console tips from the stolen beta should realise it wouldn't work in CS:S or HL2
Click to expand...
He was talking about Half-Life 1 having shadows. I was wondering why the command was taken out, unless he's got his information wrong about Half-Life 1 having shadows.
 
Mr-Fusion said:
When did they take that command out ? I can never remember shadows in Half-Life, ever.

I know counter-strike has blob shadows.
Click to expand...

HL had the ability to show shadows, as someone already said, but they looked pretty poor. If you have one of the old boxes or look at some of the old pictures you can see them. Aside from the fact that they sucked they were unnecessary and a resource hog if I remember correctly so Valve just turned them off by default. The console command was still there upon release and you could turn them on if you so desired, but I wouldn't be surprised if the steam switch removed it.
 
umm that's a good question, they took it out late into the patches, I think OpForce can still use it, maybe BS too. The shadows appeared on the original box for HL, so if you have a copy of that you know what they look like.
 
I clearly remember one of the pre-Steam patches taking shadows out of HL. Whether or not they could be turned back on via console commands in-game, I have no idea. It was in one of the changelogs.
 
Half-Life1 shadows were taken out in one of the later WON releases. 1.1.0.8/6 i think
 
They took them out because they showed through walls so it gave an unfair advantage in some MP games. (Why they didn't leave them in for SP is unknown.)
 
Ahnteis said:
They took them out because they showed through walls so it gave an unfair advantage in some MP games. (Why they didn't leave them in for SP is unknown.)
Click to expand...

Well, then we can look forward to no shadows in HL2, because it has the same problem.
 
No, shadows show through other entities, not brush-based walls. There is a difference. :rolleyes:
 
Half-Life 1 sold millions of copies because it ran on any old machine (software mode, anyone?)

Why would Valve change this philosophy for the sequel?

THE SHADOWS ARE LOW TECH SO THE GAME WILL RUN ON A LARGE VARIETY OF CARDS.
 
or maybe they haven't released the game yet and this belongs in rumours and speculation.
 
Those that interested in shadows can lock themselves in a broomcupboard with a torch and save themselves $50. Include an excited chihuahua with a papier-mache headcrab mask for that extra authentic experience. :naughty:
 
Mountain Man said:
What's with the shadow fetish? It seems like any more, gamers judge the quality of a graphics engine by the shadows alone. What the hell is up with that?
Click to expand...

It's no fetish, it's just the only thing that isn't incredible in HL2, therefore it's the only real thing to bitch about. And we all know how much people like to bitch - hence these topics. :hmph:
 
[q]it's just the only thing that isn't incredible in HL2[/q]
HL2 is not cutting edge rendering. There are a bunch of things that 'aren't incredible' in HL2.
 
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