Will the tech in LA Noire delay GTA Next?

[adam_fozz]

Last night I was watching some of the behind the scenes videos about the making of LA Noire. Several times the Rockstar reps mentioned how they can make realistic cities and they can make realistic cars but people are more difficult even with the power they can utilize from modern consoles.

 

My thoughts on this were immediate. This could be why we are waiting.

 

When I look from GTA IV to RDR I can see development. The environments are amazing and I think the graphics have improved somewhat. Im sure that these improvements will go into the next game but I cant help but think that they will want to push further.

 

We saw a trailer for LA Noire years ago and for one reason or another it has only just surfaced with a release date. I'm not saying that Rockstar would ever let this amount of time pass before the next GTA...I assume that they have a much bigger team working on their flagship title. However I really think they will want encorporate these improved facial graphics and prob some more tech we dont even know about yet.

 

The vibe I got from rockstar in the videos was "we can make a great game now...how can we make it even better".

 

The bottom line? I dont mind waiting so much when I know they are going to amaze us with a superior product.

 

 

What do you think?

 

Adam_Fozz

[cold fusion 33]

I'd like to think that MotionScan technology will surface into a GTA game. I think it probably will, too, Rockstar would be shortsighted to stop such a revolutionary technology from being implemented into what will be one of the world's most famous games.

[AussieDude]

You didnt hear Rockstar reps say anything in the vid, Why? BECAUSE ROCKSTAR IS NOT PRODUCING LA NOIRE, They are publishing it.

[Roland of Gilead]

I honestly don't think we'll see much of that tech in the new gta. The reason they used it in la noire is, because it's important for the storyline (detecting who is lying and who isn't)

The effort behind this, with all the motion capturing and then the face-motion capturing is too big. The cutscenes look good enough already. Yes, they could look better, but I rather have R* work on the gameplay and multiplayer than on this.

[cold fusion 33]

 

You didnt hear Rockstar reps say anything in the vid, Why? BECAUSE ROCKSTAR IS NOT PRODUCING LA NOIRE, They are publishing it.

So what? Does that mean that they 100% aren't and won't be using the technology?

Get real, this technology is the future of human facial animation in games and films. When you bring the argument up about how much time goes into this technology, let me put it this way:

In today's world, references and descriptions need to be gathered together for a game character in a game studio. These references will be given to a concept artist who will draw some mock ups of the character. These mock ups will be given to a 3D artist who will make this face in 3D, and let me tell you, this is not a 30 minute job in itself, it could take days or weeks to make the mesh of the face, both lowpoly and highpoly for a normal map bake. This face will then be sent to a texture artist, or the same 3D artist will texture it, again, this can be painstaking and time consuming. This textured face will be sent to a rigger who will prepare it for animation. It will then be given to an animator who will actually make it move realistically to the best of their capabilities, usually matching it to the already recorded sound clip. A cinematics artist will probably be at hand here to make sure it all looks ok and that the animations are sound. Now, what happenes when you get to the end of this long chain, and there's a game design change? The main character is supposed to have a facial disfigurement they didn't before. This whole process needs to be repeated.

 

 

The effort behind this, with all the motion capturing and then the face-motion capturing is too big. The cutscenes look good enough already. Yes, they could look better, but I rather have R* work on the gameplay and multiplayer than on this.

 

Now, with MotionScan, yes, it's a long process, but there are so many links taken out of the tedious and extremely long design process that in the end is usually less realistic anyway. There are even more benefits too, I think that Rockstar stated that they could produce about three minutes of facial animation per day, Team Bondi stated that they could produce 20. There's also the fact that you can just bring in any old person off the street and put them into a game, It's a win win for most (See end of post) involved and Rockstar, despite the fact that they aren't developing L.A. Noire, must have made many affiliations with Depth Analysis the company who make MotionScan and they must have learned a lot from it, setting them up nicely to use it in their next big project.

 

The only thing I will say that goes against this sort of technology is the fact that many people will lose their jobs, due to the fact that the traditional chain of making game characters will slowly fade out of existence.

 

CF33

Edited February 2, 2011 by cold fusion 33

[AussieDude]

 

You didnt hear Rockstar reps say anything in the vid, Why? BECAUSE ROCKSTAR IS NOT PRODUCING LA NOIRE, They are publishing it.

So what? Does that mean that they 100% aren't and won't be using the technology?

 

You read my post wrong.

[cold fusion 33]

Ok, ok, fair point, I did misread, but I think the points I made were pertinent to the matter about whether MotionScan will be in GTA at some point in the future and whther Rockstar have their sticky fingers dipped into Depth Analysis's jar of animation capturing goodness. Maybe it won't be in GTA V on reflection, because at the moment there is only one MotionScan facility in the world, but in the future, for sure it will be in GTA, or something very much like it.

[jnzooger]

As soon as Rockstar acquires Team Bondi, then you will see MotionScan in GTA. Until then, I wouldn't hold my breath.

[valensim]

I'm sure they are already working on the next GTA and as far as I know it will have the RAGE engine just like IV.

[Jabalous]

As soon as the tech allows the character artists to have freedom in editing the faces of the characters, then it would be used in Grand Theft Auto and other projects from Rockstar, maybe other companies will acquire the tech as soon as the next generation of consoles arrives. At that time, I believe it will be improved so that it can capture the whole body rather than the face only, and the artists will have access to edit and change the faces while keeping the captured animations of the faces.

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Scratch]

If they would use MotionScan then that means the charachters will look like their RL counterparts

[cold fusion 33]

 

If they would use MotionScan then that means the charachters will look like their RL counterparts

 

Surely that's not a downside. It gives oppurtunities for not only famous people to lend their likensses to GTA, but their actual faces too. Think Phil Collins in GTA: Vice City Stories.

 

 

and the artists will have access to edit and change the faces while keeping the captured animations of the faces.

 

 

If you mean the texture of the face, that can already be changed. Cole Phelps could be changed to have black skin quite easily as MotionScan creates not only animations, but the base polygonal mesh and textures.

[Jabalous]

 

If you mean the texture of the face, that can already be changed. Cole Phelps could be changed to have black skin quite easily as MotionScan creates not only animations, but the base polygonal mesh and textures.

 

I remember that I read the opposite of this statement.

Edited February 3, 2011 by FiS!!HeR

[VanZarko]

Ok, ok, fair point, I did misread, but I think the points I made were pertinent to the matter about whether MotionScan will be in GTA at some point in the future and whther Rockstar have their sticky fingers dipped into Depth Analysis's jar of animation capturing goodness. Maybe it won't be in GTA V on reflection, because at the moment there is only one MotionScan facility in the world, but in the future, for sure it will be in GTA, or something very much like it.

First of all I DON'T know if Team Bondi is the only video game developing company that has MotionScan, but in MY honest opinion I think that MotionScan NEEDS to be part of the next Grand Theft Auto game, because if you notice the cutscenes in Grand Theft Auto IV the way they move, the way the animations are presented it looks SO real, but sometimes some animations in GTA IV look too video game-ish, and take that realism OUT of the game. To me MotionScan SHOULD be part of the next GTA, but I DON'T know if it will. I'm saying that'd be better if it was. (In My Opinion)