October 2024 General Game Discussion Thread

[ZedClampet]

almost real

Wow. My laptop caught fire just watching that. Looks like I'll be in the market for an RTX 5090. I honestly need that anyway with all the AI I'm running.

You know what, though? I kind of like CP2700 graphics stylized as they are right now.

 

[BeardyHat]

almost real

Something about it seems... Off. Neat, if true, but feels suspect.

That said, I note that they don't include any NPCs walking the streets, which would completely and utterly destroy the illusion, as it does in the game now. Nothing takes me out of the experience more than seeing the same 8 NPCs doing the same 5 different animations.

I've been getting back into CP this week, but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have been better as a linear game.

 

[ZedClampet]

If you've had any curiosity about the shop games that came out this year, this is the one to try: TCG Card Shop Simulator is an awesome retail business game, and is getting better and better. Thousands of trading cards, all with original art. Soon you'll actually be able to sit with your customers and play the TCG.

But you sell 8 different packs of cards (soon to be 14). You can open packs of cards yourself, both to add to your collection and to find valuable cards to sell. You can put the cards you don't want into bulk card boxes for sale. You can also place tables and chairs for customers to come in and have a place to meet and play against other customers.

Besides packs and individual cards (plus bulk boxes), you sell various containers for customers to keep their cards in, plus the big collection books. You sell dice, tabletop games, comics, play mats and figurines. They are adding more all the time.

You can do all the usual retail things, like hiring different types of employees, running the register, ordering stock, expanding your store, buying and placing fixtures, etc.

Also, there is an active modding community.

 

[Colif]

That said, I note that they don't include any NPCs walking the streets, which would completely and utterly destroy the illusion, as it does in the game now. Nothing takes me out of the experience more than seeing the same 8 NPCs doing the same 5 different animations.

expect its more a show case. The GPU can do this but the CPU is another matter, so probably why there are duplicates as its easier to process. Hence no crowds.... its just, look how pretty environments and some things can be. Scaling it up is not there yet.

 

[BeardyHat]

expect its more a show case. The GPU can do this but the CPU is another matter, so probably why there are duplicates as its easier to process. Hence no crowds.... its just, look how pretty environments and some things can be. Scaling it up is not there yet.

It's just a frustrating aspect that drags me out of the game world whenever I play. I like the game, but it's weird how lifeless it feels, when the lack of NPC behavior isn't terribly different from other RPGs.

It's a confusing feeling for me when I'm simultaneously playing KOTOR2, which is just as lifeless, but doesn't feel that way. Maybe it's just the graphical fidelity of Cyberpunk really makes that issue standout.

 

[Colif]

Maybe it's just the graphical fidelity of Cyberpunk really makes that issue standout.

probably. I expect in a few years they can make believable crowds, sure beats cut outs like the ones in old racing games.

 

[Pifanjr]

(I wrote this reply for a thread about Satisfactory that got deleted, so I'm putting it here).

I've always thought Satisfactory seemed interesting, but I just realized something. While I like having my stuff automated in my current modded Minecraft game, most of the time I just can't be bothered to set it up. And it's because most games give you terrible tools to automate with.

I ran into this issue in Minecraft yesterday when I automated input into a machine from a chest. The machine can process different kinds of items, but only one type at a time. The problem is that for some item types it needs, for example, 5 items to start working, which means that if there are only 3 left in the machine it gets stuck even though there is a stack of a different item type ready to be processed.

But the game doesn't give you a way to solve this (easily). There might be a workaround possible but it's probably going to take more work than just making one machine per item type you want to process, which itself is a bother as well.

While writing code I have so much control over what I do with my inputs and outputs that it becomes really annoying when I don't have that control.

Another issue is that I don't like having to deal with wires and conveyor belts and such. In code I can just freely send input and output where it needs to go without having to worry about how much space it takes up or stuff getting in each other's way. And moving stuff around to free up space is usually a major hassle.

 

[BeardyHat]

probably. I expect in a few years they can make believable crowds, sure beats cut outs like the ones in old racing games.

I guess my problem with it is that I've seen better. I grant that these are significantly smaller games, but you have stuff like Gothic with NPCs that have routines, places to live, places to work, etc. That was 20 years ago.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance has the same and that was only 2 years before Cyberpunk.

I'd honestly be more willing to forgive this aspect of Cyberpunk if they did something like Hitman when it comes to crowds, but there are so few NPCs, it all feels very much like set dressing. I loaded my game yesterday only to see the same exact NPC 4 times only a few steps from each other. Again,I think I'd be more willing to forgive this if it was just generally more crowded, which would obfuscate the issue, but you really only have a handful of NPCs in any given area and the same goes for cars. I live in a midsize city and we have more traffic and people than is represented in supposedly packed Night City.

Again, still like the game. Even after loading that save, I still played for an hour, did some quests and enjoyed myself, eager to play more as I have time. It's just these weird little things that pull me out of the game I'm trying to come to terms with.

 

[Colif]

I guess the focus is on making them look real... sure, lots of clones. IN the past it was about making world seem believable based on actions of NPC, now its all about flashy graphics and making the futuristic city look real or close to real.

Gameplay taking back seat, still. Need more cores in CPU's and more games that use them all before we get realistic looking NPC who have entire life stories and work schedules. It will happen at some stage. Not while consoles only have 16 threads to use... need way more... 32cores/64 threads is probably enough to make a believable world.

 

[Zloth]

Gameplay taking back seat, still. Need more cores in CPU's and more games that use them all before we get realistic looking NPC who have entire life stories and work schedules. It will happen at some stage. Not while consoles only have 16 threads to use... need way more... 32cores/64 threads is probably enough to make a believable world.

Nah. X4 has thousands of NPCs flying around, doing all sorts of trading, which affects the economy of the entire universe. They even get into battles! And it's all done on one core.

The key is doing something a lot like the "level of detail" you see done with graphics. When they are close enough for the player to see, they get lots of detail in their calculations. Ship turrets have to take the time to point at their targets, ships need to fly around asteroids, and so on. Outside of that area, far fewer details are calculated, so ships can sail right through asteroids and each other.

The same could certainly be done for a game like Cyberpunk. It would be even easier, as the NPCs don't really fight or trade with each other, they just wander along a set path at set times. It wouldn't be easy, of course, just easier. If the player drives into an area with 40 cars that have been cruising right through each other and now need to fit on the road, it's going to take some fast calculations.