MODSonline - Call of Duty - World at War Modsonair Special Episode Technical Notes

Welcome Guest to MODSonline

Main-Menu

Tutorials

Members-Online

extremz0r	[Tutor]
Rasta	[Forum]

2 Members and 15 Guests

Chat MODSonline

0 People Now Chatting

MODSOnline TeamSpeak

download TeamSpeak

In-The-News

Friday, Aug. 29th
MODSonair Episode 142
Wednesday, Aug. 27th
Details revealed
Sunday, Aug. 24th
Mappers Guild AKA Help Desk
Sunday, Aug. 24th
MODSonair 142 LIVE
Friday, Aug. 22nd
MODSonair Episode 141

Latest Poll

Newsletter

Your Membership

User Name:
Password:
	Register.

In The Forums

Breakables eye candy ?
CoD 4 Level Desi.. Posts: (10) Views: (96) by one_richard

mp menue for player start missing options
CoD 2 Level Desi.. Posts: (1) Views: (10) by pmilton

Playermodels working but bent
CoD 4 Level Desi.. Posts: (3) Views: (48) by Sevenz

night vision help
CoD 4 Level Desi.. Posts: (3) Views: (37) by zurim

Forums

MODSonline.com Forums
Welcome to the MODSonline.com forums. Looking for Frequently Asked Questions? Check out our FAQs section or search it out using the SEARCH link below. If you are new here, you may want to check out our rules and this great user's guide to the forums and the website. For more mapping and modding information, see our Wiki: MODSonWiki.com
Jump To:

Forum:	All Forums : Call of Duty: World at War
Category:	CoD:WW General Gaming General game questions, comments, and chat.
Moderators:	foyleman, rEdrUmMDK, Foxhound, Rasta, StrYdeR, The_Caretaker, batistablr

Author

Topic: Call of Duty - World at War Modsonair Special Episode Technical Notes

StrYdeR

Preferred PLUS Member
Since: May 11, 2004
Posts: 11317
Last: Jul 11, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Monday, Jun. 23, 2008 09:24 pm
Technical Longer Development Cycle Unlike Call of Duty 3, Treyarch has a full 2 year development cycle on Call of Duty: World at War. Not having to juggle simultaneous development of a next-gen console title and a completely different last-gen console title within an already shortened development constraint (11 months) has provided Treyarch a capacity to focus their team effort to deliver an exciting feeling and impressive looking title. Based on the Call of Duty 4 Game Engine Expanding upon the engine used to power the hit game Call of Duty 4 allowed Treyarch the opportunity to play test their model very early on in development. This is great for multiple reasons, the most important being that anything that didn’t look or feel right during development was addressed early on in the project. Accurate Core Scaling High end PC owners rejoice, as your investment in quad core technology is about to pay off. An accurate scaling of core performance is one perk of the overhauled engine, so no longer will a dual core outperform your four core machine. Increased Capacity of the Physics Engine Some of the most impressive things I saw had to do with the direction that Treyarch has taken the physics processing in World at War. One of the things that I really enjoy about games is their ability to draw the player into them, and in my view it is the little things that make the realism more apparent. Treyarch Technical Director Dave King has worked on implementing and perfecting a number of new features, the least of which is an increased capacity of the physics engine within the game. Those who have modded the CoD4 game know that material assets are assigned values that determine whether or not that particular surface can be shot through (eg. plaster and tin siding can be shot through whereas a plate steel door cannot). New with this title, the property physics will now not only include handling of destructibility (can you shoot through the material), but also whether the material is flammable (does it burn), whether the material floats, whether the material is flexible and whether the material will break. Also, the engine will compute how each material reacts to different conditions (eg getting shot at, burning, etc.) with all calculations being accomplished on the fly – without the aid of a physics processing chip. Individually, these may sound like no huge advancement – but imagine crawling through tall grass and having the individual blades of grass and foliage bend away and displace as you advance – very sweet eye candy. Water Processing Engine The water handling is realistic, and material interaction behaves as it would in the real world. Models, gibs, and objects float if they have that property, and also react with the waves that occur in the water body. One example showed a grenade being thrown into the water, and watching it slowly sink then explode – creating a shockwave that displaced the water and created an expanding wave in all directions. A burning building (or player) that falls into the water will be extinguished. Players can swim, and I am happy to report NOT shoot underwater. The view is obfuscated when looking out from the water. Bullet tracing underwater is another great piece of eye candy. Fire Processing Engine The fire engine handles all of the fire in the game. The fire is self propagating, and wind is taken into effect. Burning buildings can catch trees, crates, grass and players on fire, and propagate from there. The destructibility of environments just became more intense. Dynamic Lighting Dynamic lighting has been incorporated and adds another dimension to the immersion into the level. An example showed a light suspended from two ropes and as one rope was shot, the light fell away (gravity via the physics engine) and swung around with the light illuminating its swinging path. Improved Artificial Intelligence Handling The AI has had a total overhaul. They utilize more squad based guerilla tactics rather than standing and shooting in a drone-like fashion. They can play dead, hide, run for cover or distract to allow for flanking. The AI can also decide on a course of action based on what they are facing – eg. If their cover is burning away, they will have to decide whether to attack or look for new cover and move. The AI also will recognize that if they are being barbequed because you have a flamethrower – they will be less likely to fight to the death as ‘self-preservation’ will kick in. This weapon or predator recognition is a large step in the AI becoming more realistic. 5.1 Audio System The audio system is true 5.1 immersing you in a cacophony of sound. The background ambient tracks have been replaced with 96 channels of audio. While more time consuming during the mapping process, as each sound needs to be placed in the area it is to be originating in, the end result is big! The audio culling is great, and increases the projection of realism within the game. Improved Spawn-logic Handling The spawn logic received an overhaul, and no longer do you have to spawn into a barrage of bullets because someone has their sights trained on a spawn point, or a ‘frag-fest’ in a spawn area. No longer do you have to spawn at the very back edge of a map with a sniper who doesn’t want to advance, only to have to run all the way across the map to get close to the battle. The squad feature combined with the spawn logic allows for less static spawn locations, increasing game play enjoyability. The spawn logic will look at the location of enemies, likelihood of a spawn-kill occurring, closest teammate, and other factors – then decide the most appropriate location for a spawn. The spawn handling will in essence say – just because this is the closest spawn location – it may not be the BEST location. Weapons The team at Treyarch is working hard to balance the weaponry. The reintroduction of the flamethrower will play an integral part of not only the single-player and co-op missions, but multiplayer tactics as well. Molotov cocktails, and a couple of other ‘surprise’ weapons will ensure that you enjoy the gameplay in any event. Vehicles Vehicles in single-player, co-op and multiplayer are a nice addition. The multiplayer focus seems to be on heavier equipment (tanks, etc.) while leaving out the jeeps and motorcycles. Vehicles (as in CoD 4) will be destructible. Game Types DM, TDM, CTF, SD are confirmed, and hints of other games such as DOM, HQ & BAS were injected Game Modes Single player, co-op and multiplayer are confirmed Special Edition While likely, no details were provided. Tools & Modding Our Community Manager within Treyarch, Josh Olin (JDawgg or JD from CoDHQ and the CoD2 total conversion mod 2049:Unbound Forces), is FROM the community – and working together with Treyarch Studio Head Mark Lima, Treyarch Lead Scripter Mike Denny, and Treyarch PC Team Director Cesar Stastny are looking to support the modding community like no other title in the series. Mike Denny has said they are trying to accomplish a zero day release of the tools, and they may even come bundled on the PC version of the game. The mod tools I saw in use were very similar to the tools being used for CoD4 (Radiant based). Mike hinted at video tutorials, and possibly a walkthrough of creating a map from start to finish. There is also a possibility of a multi-level compiler front end, where new users will have less options to confuse them (click compile my map and that is all they do) to an advanced compile for the more experienced or savvy mapper. The modeling application that the artists (eg. Treyarch Lead Artist Brian Anderson) are using was Maya V8.5. For textures, Photoshop and Brian also showed us Crazybump (http://www.crazybump.com/) - for creating kickass normal maps in seconds. The scripting is similar to what we are familiar with for the entire CoD series, with some minor enhancements for the new/additional features.
Go ahead... You Play I Mod : MODSonline.com Support Modsonline by becoming a PREFERRED MEMBER today Have you heard the MODSonair Podcast?: www.modsonair.com MODSonair is a weekly podcast bringing you the news from a modders perspective. Tune in every Sunday at 4pm GMT to listen LIVE.

StrYdeR

Preferred PLUS Member
Since: May 11, 2004
Posts: 11317
Last: Jul 11, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Monday, Jun. 23, 2008 09:26 pm
Any questions you have - post them here and I will answer them if I can
Go ahead... You Play I Mod : MODSonline.com Support Modsonline by becoming a PREFERRED MEMBER today Have you heard the MODSonair Podcast?: www.modsonair.com MODSonair is a weekly podcast bringing you the news from a modders perspective. Tune in every Sunday at 4pm GMT to listen LIVE.

cod4guy

General Member
Since: Dec 28, 2007
Posts: 3
Last: Jun 23, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Monday, Jun. 23, 2008 11:15 pm
This is my article that I wrote about tonight's Podcast. Your eyes open and you look at your buddy right next to you and he is getting his lights punched out by a Japanese Kernel. You see the Kernel stick a cigar into your buddy's eye and he is just screaming. Then he slits your buddy's throat... CoD: WaW is said to make gamers get out of their chairs because of the amazement of the game. With the facts confirmed to us by StrYdeR, it may make you jump out of your seat, just by the facts brought to us. First the physics has been upgraded very much. For example, the grass will move if you crawl on it, and it makes actual sounds when doing so. You can blow through walls, and jump out and go through the hole in the wall in which you made. Lighting effects have been upgraded. Your eyes can be hurt by looking at the sun. The water engine has been upgraded so you can swim and you can be shot at underwater, but you cannot shoot under water. When bullets hit the water, they leave "bubble trails" after they and slow down under water. Grenades will send shock waves after being thrown at under water. For the weapons part of CoD: WaW, we know that there will attachments and one of them is a Bayonet on the top of the gun. We also know that molotov cocktails will be added, but they won't replace grenades. Flamethrowers can be exploded if you are holding one so you will have to be careful. The perk Bullet penetration was confirmed, but that was the only one that they knew of. Tanks was the only confirmed Vehicle for both SP and MP. But I think that planes may take a role in SP, but it was not confirmed. The AI has been upgraded in CoD: WaW. If you have a flamethrower, the AI are smart enough not to rush at you and try to attack you. Spawn points have been improved. You wont be spawned in a battle of bullets of Frag fest. They did not announce or say anything about a beta testing of the mod tools with select members, as they did with CoD4. They did say they are making the Mod Tools so easy for use in which for compiling a map, can be done with the click of a button. Maya is the confirmed Model tool and Radiant is the confirmed Mapping tool. That is all the information I have for now. Good night, and Git-Er-Done. -Larry edited on Jun. 23, 2008 11:17 pm by rosend511

Strelnieks

General Member
Since: Jun 15, 2007
Posts: 13
Last: Jun 23, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Monday, Jun. 23, 2008 11:37 pm
Hello Stryder, i have a question: I have seen hints and articles with a part of this included, but most likely, will the game be ranked/unranked?

peri

General Member
Since: Jan 23, 2005
Posts: 455
Last: Aug 23, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008 02:45 am
With all that physics, fire, water and dynamic lights, it sounds like it's gonna need quad core to get up and running :D

one_richard

General Member
Since: Aug 24, 2007
Posts: 248
Last: Aug 29, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008 06:42 am
¿will be possible to match up germans vs americans in MP?

StrYdeR

Preferred PLUS Member
Since: May 11, 2004
Posts: 11317
Last: Jul 11, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008 08:19 am
Strelnieks writes... Quote: I have seen hints and articles with a part of this included, but most likely, will the game be ranked/unranked? If by ranked you mean similar to the rank up system in CoD4 - then yes one_richard writes... Quote: ¿will be possible to match up germans vs americans in MP? Given how we know that team aspect is governed by what is in the .gsc - then I would probably safely assume yes, though not likely out of the box - it will take a custom map to make that happen
Go ahead... You Play I Mod : MODSonline.com Support Modsonline by becoming a PREFERRED MEMBER today Have you heard the MODSonair Podcast?: www.modsonair.com MODSonair is a weekly podcast bringing you the news from a modders perspective. Tune in every Sunday at 4pm GMT to listen LIVE.

Rasta

Preferred Member
Since: Apr 10, 2004
Posts: 4182
Last: Aug 29, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008 09:25 am
Any word on the sort of system specs we are looking at? all sounds great but looks like we have another crysis on the way. I mean its great to have top end graphics, physics and audio but not so great if you have to rent a server from nasa to get it all running.
Go ahead... You Play I Mod : MODSonline.com Support Modsonline by becoming a PREFERRED MEMBER today Have you heard the MODSonair Podcast?: www.modsonair.com We are game enthusiasts from the MODSonline.com community bringing you news, updates and opinions of the week's current events. Tune in every Friday for a new episode.

imkrazie

General Member
Since: May 4, 2006
Posts: 2
Last: Jun 24, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008 09:30 am
Rasta writes... Quote: Any word on the sort of system specs we are looking at? all sounds great but looks like we have another crysis on the way. I mean its great to have top end graphics, physics and audio but not so great if you have to rent a server from nasa to get it all running. It's the cod4 engine so same specs...maybe even lower if they optimized it some more

batistablr

Preferred PLUS Member
Since: Jul 12, 2005
Posts: 1869
Last: Aug 27, 2008
[view latest posts]

Category: CoD:WW General Gaming Posted: Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008 09:51 am
Yes - Stryder mentioned that if your computer can run Call of Duty 4 High Performance, then you can run Call of Duty:WW perfectly fine.