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God Of War 3 Has Gone Gold - Lots of Reviews Out Already

Cyberia

Member
Michael McWhertor was just wrong. :p

That's the first boss fight in God of War III and whatever we can tell you in text likely won't match up to the playable experience. Truthfully, this is more God of War, a high-definition, high production value spin on the tried and true gameplay. But if that's the first 20 minutes of what God of War III has to offer, we can't wait to see what the next 10 hours has in store.

http://kotaku.com/5482858/
 
Ken Feldman said:
Hey Guys, 1st post on the forum - thanks to Will for setting up the account. We spend a lot of time on each character. Kratos being the main character probably gets scrutinized the most but every character is given a lot of detail. We have a heirarchy for detail. If we want to draw a number of grunts, dogs, harpies, etc on screen - they will need to have less polys, cheaper shaders, etc. 1 off character like Bosses, Gods, etc get as much detail as needed to be convincing. We have added a number of features to the engine since E3. The engine has also gone through a number of performance optimizations. Most important, the E3 content is over a year old. The team has learned a lot since then, so the final game should reflect that effort. off the top of my head, features added since E3 include: -anti-aliasing on the cpu - looks much better then the 2x at E3. -Motion blur that works for the camera, object and inner object. -lens flare/god ray tech -reflection and refraction - improved character lighting -improved texture streaming, the E3 demo was problematic and had blurry textures due to streaming not texture authoring. That has been fixed. Ken Feldman

Thats just awesome.

From the GOW forums btw.

http://forums.godofwar.com/t5/God-o...lopers-on-Forums-Right-Here/td-p/30061/page/6
 

Jb

Member
SolidSnakex said:
Stig interview

Stig.jpg

Stig in GoW3? GOTG confirmed.
 

JB1981

Member
wow i love reading about stuff like that.

More from Ken Feldman: http://forums.godofwar.com/t5/God-o...7;jsessionid=3CA407FC77520C30E3E190A12B5998E5


To add to my previous post. A significant improvement i forgot to mention is dynamic shadows. Ben Diamand one of our coders spent nearly the entire project writing shadow code. In the end it really paid off. The last couple months we had a couple tech artists dedicated to dialing in the tweakers so there would be no shadow pixelization in the game. A big issue i have is bad looking shadow casting on characters up close. When shadows are done right, you shouldn't even notice them. When they crawl, it becomes the focus and takes away from everything else. The final build of the game, i hardly noticed the shadows, they were so well done.
 
Ken Feldman said:
The team has learned a lot since then, so the final game should reflect that effort. off the top of my head, features added since E3 include: -anti-aliasing on the cpu - looks much better then the 2x at E3.


Sounds like this could be Saboteur-esque SPU based AA.

Jaggiless shadows are great news.
 

Hyphen

Member
I love reading about all the tech that goes into games. So thanks to all those who've copied and pasted comments from the developers. However, I haven't clicked any link that has been posted recently for fear of landing on a website that has a screenshot I haven't seen. I'm on a media blackout, so all I've experienced is the E3 demo related stuff. And I've stayed well clear of that 'other' (GTtv) thread. All I want is development-related info (graphics, sound, GB data etc.), but no specific details about what goes on in the game. So is it safe to click any of these recently presented links without being spoiled?
 

TTP

Have a fun! Enjoy!
jett said:
Guy doesn't say anything about the framerate, I wonder why. :p

I was wondering the same. Should I be scared? Very interesting reading tho. Especially the AA on CPU and fixed shadows parts.
 

Torrod

Neo Member
TTP said:
I was wondering the same. Should I be scared? Very interesting reading tho. Especially the AA on CPU and fixed shadows parts.

The german gamepro seems to be the only one who mentioned something about framerate-problems. I guess they only played pre release code. They are famous for doing so...
 

Huggy

Member
Yeah, well couldn't they update the demo I just downloaded? I don't consider myself to be an art connaisseur, but that ain't no painting.
 

TTP

Have a fun! Enjoy!
Is this old?

http://www.playstationuniversity.com/sony-we-intentionally-slow-gowiiis-framerate-down-2763/

It’s interesting; God of War 2 had some tearing going on with it, but with GoW3 there shouldn’t be any tearing at all and the variable frame rate helps us out with that. We’ve also got some good code in place–that you can’t tell is working–which helps to make sure frame rate drops are gracefully executed. By graceful I mean that you won’t see any tearing.

In some respects—and I know I’m going to get shredded on the boards for saying this—we intentionally slow things down. We want to show you what’s going on in some scenes. A good example is this one huge creature who grabs Kratos and, if we showed that at speed, you would just never even see him. So we say, ‘ok slow the camera down, zoom in—there he is! Doesn’t he look cool?!’ and then we ramp the speed back up and put you back into the action. It’s a pacing thing.

Also, there are some small pauses in the combat that some people though were slowdown because there were so many guys on screen but it’s intentionally there because it makes the hits feel more impactful.

Wut, those ugly pauses are still there? I HATE them in the demo. I know they are not frame drops but I hate them! Kratos blades should not feel "impactful" but rather "slicing". Man I'm kinda pissed really.

I don't like how the whole screen trembles a little on each hit either btw
 
TTP said:
Wut, those ugly pauses are still there? I HATE them in the demo. I know they are not frame drops but I hate them! Kratos blades should not feel "impactful" but rather "slicing". Man I'm kinda pissed really.

I don't like how the whole screen trembles a little on each hit either btw
Those hit pauses are there in GoW 1 and 2 and I like them.
 

deepbrown

Member
TTP said:
Is this old?

http://www.playstationuniversity.com/sony-we-intentionally-slow-gowiiis-framerate-down-2763/



Wut, those ugly pauses are still there? I HATE them in the demo. I know they are not frame drops but I hate them! Kratos blades should not feel "impactful" but rather "slicing". Man I'm kinda pissed really.

I don't like how the whole screen trembles a little on each hit either btw

I loved it in the WindWaker and I love it in this game. Especially with the Cestus.
 

Mrbob

Member
TTP said:
Is this old?

http://www.playstationuniversity.com/sony-we-intentionally-slow-gowiiis-framerate-down-2763/



Wut, those ugly pauses are still there? I HATE them in the demo. I know they are not frame drops but I hate them! Kratos blades should not feel "impactful" but rather "slicing". Man I'm kinda pissed really.

I don't like how the whole screen trembles a little on each hit either btw

Is the game using triple buffering? This could help smooth out any framerate fluctuations.
 

Animator

Member
This is what one of the reviewer guys who already played and finished the final copy has to say, posted at something awful games forum thread:


Der Shovel posted:

Right, I've played and completed God of War III. The short version: this game is fucking amazing. It looks unbelievably good, plays really well and is fun as fuck. One of the absolute best games on the PS3, so if you've got the console you need to get this game. NEED TO.

Don't even doubt how amazing this game looks. At the start of the game (literally the first minutes) you're fighting on top of a huge Titan who is climbing Mount Olympus and the camera keeps pulling out to show you the devastation around the 500 meter tall Titan while still letting you control Kratos on her shoulder or where ever you might be.

Seriously, look at that animated GIF in the OP (all in game footage by the way) and now imagine the camera pulling back to show you a guy like that and five of his pals climbing up a mountain range, throwing fireballs and shit around WHILE YOU CAN STILL WALK AROUND AS AN ANT ON HIS SHOULDER. Is this blowing your mind because it fucking well should be!

Unbelievable stuff and I don't know how the fuck those dudes pulled it off.


Well the long version is the short version, except with me going "what the fuck how the fuck did they ... I don't even ... what the fuck" for a page or two and then collapsing in a pool of my own drool.

Also: the combat isn't ezmode. OK, it's streamlined: the weapons share combo inputs which produce similar results (L1 + square is always an AOE attack around Kratos) but this is a good thing becaue the scenarios are so much more demanding. Imagine a fight with a couple of cyclopses, some flying wraiths and about 40 skeletons swarming at you, while half the screen is on fire. That's what life is like in God of War.

It's not a question of remembering what "square square triangle square square hold square L1" does, it's a question of knowing which weapon to use and how to just SURVIVE.
 

TTP

Have a fun! Enjoy!
I assume the frame rate fluctuations are akin tho what happens at the end of the demo, when you start the ascending section. It basically goes from 30 (the moment you arrive) to 60 (when the camera rotates around Kratos after having jumped) and back to 30 (during the gameplay sequence) without looking ugly. If they got rid of the stuttering occurring during the rest of the demo, I'm fine with that.

The added motion blur should make transitions even less apparent.
 

Animator

Member
From the gamespot preview:

The package is topped off by some jaw-dropping lighting effects, smooth animation, and a steady frame rate that we haven't seen waver--even when things onscreen are going nuts.
 

thcsquad

Member
Demo spoilers, even if I can't imagine anyone is remotely interested in the game and hasn't at least seen the E3 demo.

Am I the only one who thought the ascending 'Icarus Pit' (not sure on the second word) section was WAYYY harder than anything else in the demo? It took me about ten tries to pass.
 

Bloodrage

Banned
thcsquad said:
Demo spoilers, even if I can't imagine anyone is remotely interested in the game and hasn't at least seen the E3 demo.

Am I the only one who thought the ascending 'Icarus Pit' (not sure on the second word) section was WAYYY harder than anything else in the demo? It took me about ten tries to pass.
One more crash probably would have killed me but I think I remember passing through all the way to the end on my first try.

Here's the source of Animator's above quote. http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/godofwariii/news.html?sid=6252626&tag=topslot;img;1&mode=previews
 

jett

D-Member
TTP said:
Is this old?

http://www.playstationuniversity.com/sony-we-intentionally-slow-gowiiis-framerate-down-2763/



Wut, those ugly pauses are still there? I HATE them in the demo. I know they are not frame drops but I hate them! Kratos blades should not feel "impactful" but rather "slicing". Man I'm kinda pissed really.

I don't like how the whole screen trembles a little on each hit either btw

That's just the same ol' triple buffering that was in the demo. I'd rather have the game locked at 30.
 
thcsquad said:
Demo spoilers, even if I can't imagine anyone is remotely interested in the game and hasn't at least seen the E3 demo.

Am I the only one who thought the ascending 'Icarus Pit' (not sure on the second word) section was WAYYY harder than anything else in the demo? It took me about ten tries to pass.
That was the only part I died on. It probably took me about 7-10 tries, but once I got through it once, I never died again (replayed 6 or 7 times).
 
thcsquad said:
Demo spoilers, even if I can't imagine anyone is remotely interested in the game and hasn't at least seen the E3 demo.

Am I the only one who thought the ascending 'Icarus Pit' (not sure on the second word) section was WAYYY harder than anything else in the demo? It took me about ten tries to pass.

I got thru on the first try i failed trying to shoot down Apollo in his little carriage many more tries (i was thinking to much, instead of just shooting when he was right in front i was trying to time it more :lol )
 

KuroNeeko

Member
Rugasuki said:
The budget of the game was less than $44 million according to the Director of Product Development, John Hight. Also, the game engine is based on the code from GOWII.

Just curious but do you have a source for this? Was this mentioned in an interview somewhere? I can't seem to find any mention of a development budget.
 

VaLiancY

Member
My only concern so far was it being button masher like the past two, I can sleep easy tonight knowing the God of War package is complete with some depth to combat finally.
 
DualShadow said:
I got thru on the first try i failed trying to shoot down Apollo in his little carriage many more tries (i was thinking to much, instead of just shooting when he was right in front i was trying to time it more :lol )

I did the same exact thing. Took a few tries until I realized it was so simple.
 

~Kinggi~

Banned
Cyberia said:
Michael McWhertor was just wrong. :p



http://kotaku.com/5482858/
That shit is risky making something so amazing for the first 20 minutes. It really makes me excited about the rest of the game. These guys should be smart enough to know it's not a good idea to have a downhill experience the rest of the way. GOW 3 is probably gonna be better than expected.
 
~Kinggi~ said:
That shit is risky making something so amazing for the first 20 minutes. It really makes me excited about the rest of the game. These guys should be smart enough to know it's not a good idea to have a downhill experience the rest of the way. GOW 3 is probably gonna be better than expected.

Man, did you not play GOW2? The first half hour of that game is well known for being amazingly amazing. The rest of that game did an excellent job keeping up the pace.
 

skee

Neo Member
CrayzeeCarl said:
That was the only part I died on. It probably took me about 7-10 tries, but once I got through it once, I never died again (replayed 6 or 7 times).

I have never died on that part, yet I had a hell of a time (5 or 6 tries) trying to rope in those harpies while crossing that chasm. :lol Strange how certain parts will effect people differently
 

monocromo

Member
thcsquad said:
Demo spoilers, even if I can't imagine anyone is remotely interested in the game and hasn't at least seen the E3 demo.

Am I the only one who thought the ascending 'Icarus Pit' (not sure on the second word) section was WAYYY harder than anything else in the demo? It took me about ten tries to pass.

I liked that part a lot. First time I died, then I realized that
you can invert the flight controls in the pause menu :lol ... and it's a LOT easier. I can go trough it without being hit once without a problem.
 
VaLiancY said:
My only concern so far was it being button masher like the past two, I can sleep easy tonight knowing the God of War package is complete with some depth to combat finally.

What difficulty did you play on by chance?

Edit: Scratch that. The game is impossible to beat if you are just going to mash square all day.
 

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
Anyone ordering the ultimate edition with Amazon.com? Does it give you the option for release date delivery?

Thanks in advance.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
neojubei said:
Anyone ordering the ultimate edition with Amazon.com? Does it give you the option for release date delivery?

Thanks in advance.

I don't see it available for my order, placed on Oct. 2009, and I'm an Amazon Prime member. I have a free 2 day option, and a $3.99 1 day option.
 

Jas

Member
neojubei said:
Anyone ordering the ultimate edition with Amazon.com? Does it give you the option for release date delivery?

Thanks in advance.

I just checked and it doesn't give me the option on my pre-order. I have prime and can do overnight delivery for an extra $3.99 but that's the best Amazon is offering for the Ultimate Edition. Amazon isn't taking any more orders for it now so I doubt it will change before it releases :(

Edit:Beaten
 

Dogenzaka

Banned
TTP said:
Is this old?

http://www.playstationuniversity.com/sony-we-intentionally-slow-gowiiis-framerate-down-2763/



Wut, those ugly pauses are still there? I HATE them in the demo. I know they are not frame drops but I hate them! Kratos blades should not feel "impactful" but rather "slicing". Man I'm kinda pissed really.

I don't like how the whole screen trembles a little on each hit either btw


Good grief, people will whine about anything.

I don't know about you, but to me, combat wouldn't feel as satisfying without those screen pauses during my hits. It makes attacks feel powerful.
 

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
Mejilan said:
I don't see it available for my order, placed on Oct. 2009, and I'm an Amazon Prime member. I have a free 2 day option, and a $3.99 1 day option.


Jas said:
I just checked and it doesn't give me the option on my pre-order. I have prime and can do overnight delivery for an extra $3.99 but that's the best Amazon is offering for the Ultimate Edition. Amazon isn't taking any more orders for it now so I doubt it will change before it releases :(

Edit:Beaten


Thanks guys. I have mine pre-ordered but I want it sooner. I opted for the 2-day delivery. 7.99. Thought it would be possible to get release day delivery like the regular game, oh well. I will be a bit jealous on the 16th at everyone's impressions.
 
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