Poll: New linking effect?

Christopher910 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:53 am

Mystdee wrote:

Um, there are no "bodies" in the other games :lol:

LOL! I personally think the current linking is good. I voted to leave it alone.

Yes, I am in full agreement with you. I think the linking effect is still great in the game.

Mr. Blackwood · **Joined:** Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:19 pm **Posts:** 151

Deledrius wrote:

Mr. Blackwood wrote:

Quote:

I vote for.... A giant laser shoots you, dividing you up into small cubes. It then blasts away at you repeatedly, removing pieces of you bit by bit, until it eventually sucks all of you inside.

What color would the laser be though?

I thought Tron 2.0 was a game by Buena Vista Interactive.

but a movie?

Tron 2.0 was indeed a game. TR2N is a movie sequel that's currently in pre-pre-production.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Dr. Worm · **Posted:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:18 am

Yeah, yeah, it's a game. However, the IMDB article for the movie is currently calling it Tron 2.0, with Tron 2 and TR2N listed as working titles. It may not be the final name, but it sounds cool (the Tron geek in me talking), and I'm gonna call it that until it changes. I mean, it's easier to pronounce than "TR2N."

needmoremyst wrote:

The linking effects i think are good in all the games. I do miss the fly over effect on link in though, and moving video linking pannels are very cool.

Yeah, those would be cool, if someone could futz with the code enough. Although, in this one, because the Ages aren't islands, it might:

a) be harder to do (diving through tunnels and such)
b) spoil parts of the Age

Sensei · **Posted:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:03 am

Alright, time to clear up another misconception. This is my grumpy, surly self speaking, but sometimes you guys seem about as educated as villagers scared of Bigfoot or El Chupacabra...

The movies in the books -because that's what they are- are just animated pictures or textures. I haven't done any actual snooping in the files, but they're probably animated GIF's, like this one (image files)

or .BIK animated images, which are often used for ingame movies of various sorts- such as cinematics, the texture on flowing water, or a moving image in a book.

In other words, the flying image itself is just an image and will only contain what you draw in. This could be video recorded from an camera flyby through your level in 3DS max, or something you drew entirely. If you wanted to, you could cut it over to different parts of the area so you don't give any spoilers. You could include title text, information about the age, or whatever, if you chose so.

In other words:

Quote:

Yeah, those would be cool, if someone could futz with the code enough. Although, in this one, because the Ages aren't islands, it might:
a) be harder to do (diving through tunnels and such)
b) spoil parts of the Age

The above will NEVER, EVER be a problem as a result of anything but someone creating the video who in no way possesses the intelligence to write the Age they're creating, or for that matter operate a motor vehicle.

Capiche?
[grumbles]

Gehn, lord of ages · **Joined:** Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:24 pm **Posts:** 255

Dr. Worm wrote:

a) be harder to do (diving through tunnels and such)
b) spoil parts of the Age

Some Ages just had a view spinning in a circle from the link-in point, so spoilers/tunnel diving could be avoided in ones where there would be problems. Also, some (like 233rd) showed areas quite separate from the link-in point, so you could take the video in whatever area was easiest (and least spoilery - even perhaps making whole new areas just for the cinematic linking book panel).

I'd like the spinny linking book image. I don't really care about the link-in movie (just as immersive either way for me in Uru).

ThedStranger · **Posted:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:12 am

What I would like to see is linking panels which shows the view of the age, just as you will see it (first person) wehn linking to the age. Like a window.

Sensei · **Posted:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:40 pm

That's easy- screenshot or vid, crop it, layer it onto a page, and you have the image you need in about... 5 minutes.

Gehn, lord of ages · **Joined:** Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:24 pm **Posts:** 255

Sensei wrote:

That's easy- screenshot or vid, crop it, layer it onto a page, and you have the image you need in about... 5 minutes.

I think he means one accurate to the time. You know, proper day/night cycles and accurate depictions of nearby avatars and such.

Sensei · **Posted:** Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:21 am

Well, if you want to get complex, you might be able to involve streaming video in the textures-

The only example i have of this being done in a game is Mariokart, and even then, not through a loading wall- though in theory that shouldn't be a big problem.

If you just wanted day/night cycles, you could just write a code to show a different picture depending on the time.

Ed Oscuro · **Posted:** Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:48 am

Herohtar wrote:

I don't think that is correct. The linking animation is something that is part of the game engine itself, not the Age.

You'd set up some scripts to do stuff, and then the script triggers the link. This is even more flexible than some of the above talking about animated textures and the like, although those would be more simple to achieve.

I'll put a vote in for "keep the regular link-out animation as it is," but nobody's prototyped an alternative yet so I would hold my judgement until I saw a new one. I think that any new linking animation will have to overcome a good bit of nostalgia though; can't beat that old sound. SHAZAM!

Sensei · **Posted:** Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:46 am

Well, it would take about five minutes to add the gentle humm from the original Myst, if you were interseted. Beat THAT for nostalgia.

ThedStranger · **Posted:** Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:02 pm

When I played until uru, I changed the linking sound file into exile's. It worked. Well.

Dr. Worm · **Posted:** Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:51 pm

Fly-by discussion is irrelevant, because we KNOW that real Linking Books didn't show a fly-by image. They showed what Stranger says they should show: a real-time view of the link-in point.

And what I meant with the whole "it might be harder to do a fly-by" thing is that Atrus' Ages were small, entirely self-contained worlds that could easily be shown in their entirety without spoiling anything. I just meant that it won't be as simple.

Sensei, take a deep breath and relax. I reread the entire thread, and nowhere do I get the sense that people think you can lift animations directly from the Myst games. You seem to be on guard over this whole thing. Take a chill pill, and remember, typing in ALL CAPS (which is usually interpreted as shouting) and insulting people's intelligence/education/whatever doesn't usually go over well.

ThedStranger · **Posted:** Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:58 pm

hjavascript:emoticon(':arrow:')ehe... real linking books... :lol:

Sorry. Had to say it.

Anyway!

I got some ideas for the whole linking thing. Maybe I'll post them later.

And by the way: yes, there are no problems with the game's linking stuff today. But if it can look/sound better, why not?

Dr. Worm · **Posted:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:49 pm

Yeah. I was laughing when I typed that.

Poll: New linking effect?

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