Is it possible to bring AH graphics engine up to par?

[titanic3]

sounds okay then. Been a fan since the ps1 days.
Any change in actual game play/mechanics as oppose to the ps2 games?

A lot more focus on archery, quick and silent takedowns rather than gun blazing (at least on hard difficulty), cover is more important. A hint system to help you through puzzles, a lot more customization (guns, passive bonuses, upgrades, outfits).

I think it was an awesome game. Graphics were decent although the color scheme reeked brown and gray which detracted from the beauty a bit but fits the atmosphere. A little short, I wouldn't have paid full price but if you catch it on sale from Steam, get it. Some action sequences were way way over the top (I mean c'mon, dodging a plane sliding down a mountain?), and you get thrown around like a rag doll payer somehow survive. But other than that, the story was a solid 8/10, gameplay was a 9/10, graphics 8/10, and replay value 7/10.

[bj229r]

How many of those games have 400-500 people in the same arena, with 40-50 within icon range? Lots of little dotty things to move around

[uptown]

The solution is pretty simple actually. If you don't like the terrain graphics, get some altitude. 

[bozon]

One day I will write an AH clone rendered entirely in ASCII animation and blow HTC out of the water. Every 386 processor in the junkyard will be able to run my game! Just imagine tapping into the huge potential player base in Africa and south America that can only afford a computer they found in the OECD states trash and a 33600 modem.

Jokes aside and look to the future. Not many people are going to buy gaming computers in the next years. The weight has shifted to consoles and squealing smartphone apps. It will get more and more difficult to justify upgrading your computer. AH is practically the only "contemporary" game I play. Will I buy a new laptop just to run AH? It is already very difficult for me to justify buying a desktop computer. If I do upgrade, it means I am willing to put up a few hundred $$$ more just for this game. I can afford it, but I cannot justify it.

Normally I play the games that I can run on my current machine, not buying a machine to run the current games.

I suppose that at some point in the not so distant future, HTC will have to consider consoles in order to attract new customers. That is when the graphics bar will be raised and we (I) will have to either buy the appropriate console or not play.

[titanic3]

How many of those games have 400-500 people in the same arena, with 40-50 within icon range? Lots of little dotty things to move around

Is it really all that different from a furball in any other flight sim? Sure they don't have 300-400 people in one server, but that doesn't mean AH renders ALL of them at the same time. 40-50 people sounds the exact same number as a furball in any other flight sim, and that's pushing it. A regular skirmish in AH maybe has 20-30 people. A 40-50 furball happens very rarely and is almost always spread out way past icon range.

[madrid311]

The solution is pretty simple actually. If you don't like the terrain graphics, get some altitude. 

exactly what I was thinking uptown! 

[Zacherof]

A lot more focus on archery, quick and silent takedowns rather than gun blazing (at least on hard difficulty), cover is more important. A hint system to help you through puzzles, a lot more customization (guns, passive bonuses, upgrades, outfits).

I think it was an awesome game. Graphics were decent although the color scheme reeked brown and gray which detracted from the beauty a bit but fits the atmosphere. A little short, I wouldn't have paid full price but if you catch it on sale from Steam, get it. Some action sequences were way way over the top (I mean c'mon, dodging a plane sliding down a mountain?), and you get thrown around like a rag doll payer somehow survive. But other than that, the story was a solid 8/10, gameplay was a 9/10, graphics 8/10, and replay value 7/10.

Sounds good. I'll deffinatly give this classic a chance

[Tank-Ace]

What I'm wondering is if it would be possible to update the engine, but leave it at our not great but pretty-damn-good-when-maxed graphics.

Keep current levels, but provide room for future improvement.

[Fruda]

Or, how about leaving the current graphics engine as a scale option for users with slower systems, while having a new engine for users with better specs?

It's something to think about, considering the fact that updated graphics does not mean any kind of advantage whatsoever, other than it makes the game look better.

[Gman]

While home PC sales have fallen, PC gaming is still fairly strong, with companies like nVidia, ATI, etc still coming out with newer and faster technology.

QuakeCon this year had more participants and others in attendance in its over ten year long history.  Big games like StarCraft 2 and such are still selling millions of copies.  Chris Robert's Wing Commander startup "Star Citizen" has blown everyone away and exceeded their goals and stretch goals every time they set them.  They started at 2 million, and now after raising the bar umpteen times they are closing in on 20 million in donated funds from the gaming community. 

So, I agree, crappy home PC sales may disappear, but custom and gaming PC sales aren't going anywhere.  Having had a look at some of the new console stuff coming in the fall, it still isn't as good as current PC games, much less future ones.  Check out the number of units and complex stuff going on in Rome 2 when it is out next month, and you'll see what I mean. 

If consoles ever get it together on the controllers and offer a keyboard/mouse option that isn't just a gimmick, but a really well designed setup supported by the games and the consoles, then you may see PC gaming be cut to the bone, but even then, i doubt it.

[Karnak]

What I'm wondering is if it would be possible to update the engine, but leave it at our not great but pretty-damn-good-when-maxed graphics.

Keep current levels, but provide room for future improvement.

Per HiTech this is already the case.

[Fulcrum]

Check out the number of units and complex stuff going on in Rome 2 when it is out next month, and you'll see what I mean. 

Damn....I forgot that was coming out next month.  Looks like something might actually cut into my AH time....

[zack1234]

I presume there is a version of AH that has the graphics level of other flights sims, but will impact on those that don't have the high end pcs

I have a high end pc and everything is on high, there is not that much difference graphics wise between AH and ROF.

Its all good fun as Little Carl Carlton said "Competition aint nothing!"

[Zacherof]

I thought he said pies are poo
 

[Wiley]

It's something to think about, considering the fact that updated graphics does not mean any kind of advantage whatsoever, other than it makes the game look better.

That's not true.  Take for example terrain geometry and GVing.  You can't have a hill that is shaped differently on a low end PC than it is on a high end PC.  Otherwise, on one end he's hidden on the other end he isn't.  Or, in aircraft on one end, the guy flies around a hill that appears to be solid from the other end.  Same with clouds.  If the clouds don't look the same on both ends, on one end he'll be obscured, not on the other.

If the models are different shapes on both ends, there would also be discrepancies.

Wiley.