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Playstation/Gaming Discussions => PS3 Discussion => Topic started by: MAKAVELIUK on March 14, 2003, 09:40:04 PM

Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MAKAVELIUK on March 14, 2003, 09:40:04 PM
Naughty Dog are back with JAX 2.

(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpub6.picturehost.co.uk%2Fsnap.jpg&hash=f515bef524a90cdf7fcce9aed4bf141cc2e910f2)
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Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Unicron! on March 15, 2003, 01:31:55 AM
OH MY GOD!!Thats beautiful!!!The characters\' expressions are looking a lot better and the arent as blocky as the first(remember how Jack looked in the first?).The enviroments judging from the pic are vastly improved.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Seed_Of_Evil on March 15, 2003, 02:44:29 AM
Ufff... The backgrounds will be a feast according to that last screen.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: 6(sic)6 on March 15, 2003, 04:12:54 AM
Holy Macaroni!! Saweeeeetah!! :D
I`m so looking forward to this game..
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Kurt Angle on March 15, 2003, 04:37:53 AM
Very nice.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 15, 2003, 05:08:47 AM
OMG! :eek: :eek:

:bounce:
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MAKAVELIUK on March 15, 2003, 06:00:17 AM
Game Informer are comparing it with

GTA
Devil May Cry
Ratchet and Clank

and Syphon Filter Omega Strain looks very good to.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: fastson on March 15, 2003, 06:58:27 AM
Jak n D II makes me go (https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tcwozere.co.uk%2F%7Ecracks%2Fcontrib%2Fblackeye%2Fdrooling3.gif&hash=36bb173b1bf49393803e1a388cd26d13b80bcb67)
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Bobs_Hardware on March 15, 2003, 07:14:45 AM
Where\'s the bump-mapping?
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: fastson on March 15, 2003, 07:44:34 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Bobs_Hardware
Where\'s the bump-mapping?


You think you could see it in those crappy images? :)
If there is any that is.. :sconf:
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Bobs_Hardware on March 15, 2003, 08:15:12 AM
Well, the first shot looks like there could be some BM in the backgrounds (behind Daxters head - and the white walling), though.. that\'s grasping at straws.

Characters look much improved from the original.  Was hoping for the old Bump-Mapping, though.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: fastson on March 15, 2003, 08:29:11 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Bobs_Hardware
Well, the first shot looks like there could be some BM in the backgrounds (behind Daxters head - and the white walling), though.. that\'s grasping at straws.

Characters look much improved from the original.  Was hoping for the old Bump-Mapping, though.


Agreed.

If they have bumpmapping in the game I doubt they will smack it over the whole game world.
Totally bump mapped worlds looks very unrealistic and plastic-like IMO.

Like in Delta Force BHD they only use bump mapping in a few places, like on the rifles or near light sources like a fire (to make it look like the stones on the ground cast shadows.. Looks really neat)
If bm is in Jak II I bet they only have it in a few places.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: (e) on March 15, 2003, 12:53:04 PM
Bad captures, but from what it appears looks good.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Living-In-Clip on March 15, 2003, 06:01:31 PM
Who cares? The first game was gorgeous, but at the same time it was nothing but a run-of the mill platformer - and not a very good one at that.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Unicron! on March 16, 2003, 01:59:26 AM
Quote
Originally posted by fastson
.

If they have bumpmapping in the game I doubt they will smack it over the whole game world.
Totally bump mapped worlds looks very unrealistic and plastic-like IMO.


But J&D2 isnt supposed to be realistic anyways.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: fastson on March 16, 2003, 05:37:14 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Unicron!


But J&D2 isnt supposed to be realistic anyways.


Yes I know, Im just saying :)
I cant stand the plastic look of totally bumpmapped-from-head-to-toe games.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: kopking on March 16, 2003, 01:25:31 PM
those are some bad screens, are they from a mag or something...... hope it does come out good, i never really liked platformers. played to many on megadrive...... but i enjoyed the first one.. well hope they put some new stuff in there for this
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Living-In-Clip on March 16, 2003, 03:34:57 PM
I just hope ND has some new tricks up their sleeves gameplay wise. There are so many decent platformers out there, J&D2 will need to undergo some kind of evolution to keep it fresh .

Here\'s hopin\'!
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: kopking on March 16, 2003, 03:49:57 PM
yea..... i hope they make more sub games, to much jumping collect eco etc, can be boring
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MAKAVELIUK on March 16, 2003, 06:56:32 PM
This is no shit Game Informer are dubbing it Grand Theft Platformer saying you can go around blasting other life forms away with your shotgun and steal vehicles to drive round the game world which dwarfs the first game and it has a pic with Jax beaten up :laughing:
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 17, 2003, 05:38:51 AM
(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virtualdreams.fr%2Fjeux%2Fjakanddaxter2%2F01.jpg&hash=592b684a5398782c6580f7e7f1691863cdbbdf22)
(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virtualdreams.fr%2Fjeux%2Fjakanddaxter2%2F02.jpg&hash=4da782d540efe0e3fe60392698494e73ef0ed4d0)
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HOLY CRAP!!!!! I AM SOLD!
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Kurt Angle on March 17, 2003, 05:46:15 AM
Good god Phil, those new screens look awesome!!
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: 6(sic)6 on March 17, 2003, 08:14:41 AM
Ohh my Gawd! :D
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MPTheory on March 17, 2003, 08:33:05 AM
WOW, that looks cool.  Looks to me as if we will be seeing quite a bit of the White Materia in this one.  He looks like he transforms or something
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Unicron! on March 17, 2003, 09:15:51 AM
Beautifull.Simply GORGEOUS!!:eek:

I am picking this up!!
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MAKAVELIUK on March 17, 2003, 12:32:36 PM
Awesome!!
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MPTheory on March 17, 2003, 01:37:50 PM
yeah, so how long are we going to have to wait for this one to release?
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: fastson on March 17, 2003, 03:05:40 PM
Quote
Originally posted by MPTheory
yeah, so how long are we going to have to wait for this one to release?


September

MAKAVELIUK: Have you seen any scans of Syphon Filter yet?
I\'ve been to most big forums, havent seen a single screenshot.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Lord Nicon on March 17, 2003, 08:17:29 PM
DAAAAAAAMMMMMN! I cant wait :D. I thought the first one looked good. Good Gawd. Hey it looks like hes getting a mullet too. Damn soon everybody will have them, *the return of the mullet* DUn DUN DUN! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Bobs_Hardware on March 17, 2003, 09:31:07 PM
(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virtualdreams.fr%2Fjeux%2Fjakanddaxter2%2F08.jpg&hash=4a1a39de43bafbbada9bf1fb4fe4c41393a4c448)

Is that bump-mapping??
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 18, 2003, 03:28:02 AM
Hands-on Impressions by Gamespot! Enjoy :D

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/jak2/news_6023378.html

Quote
Sony and Naughty Dog unveil the sequel to the PlayStation 2 platformer Jak and Daxter.


more screens (9)
View the slideshow »
Screenshot Index »
 
At a press event earlier this month Sony took the wraps off of the sequel to Jak and Daxter, the Naughty Dog-developed platformer for the PlayStation 2 released in 2001. The game, slated to ship Fall 2003 and simply called Jak 2, has been in development at Naughty Dog\'s Southern California offices for the past two years. We had a chance to hear from the Naughty Dog crew and check out an early build of the game that features a darker look, tighter gameplay, and the next generation of Naughty\'s Dog\'s impressive graphics engine.

The game\'s story initially picks up just after the ending of Jak and Daxter as the pair investigates a strange energy portal which propels them 500 years into the future. Unfortunately the future isn\'t the fun place you\'d think it would be after the events of the first game. Jak is promptly attacked and captured by a mysterious group that puts him in prison. Daxter, in true form, saves his own furry butt and avoids being caught. The game then jumps ahead two years and follows Jak\'s Daxter-aided prison break. Apparently it\'s taken the furry chatterbox that long to get round to springing his friend. During the break we get a taste of what life in prison, and two years worth of unpleasant scientific experimentation, has done to young Jak as he transforms into a Dark Jak, a feral incarnation that feeds on dark eco. Following the prison break, the pair meets an old man, who fills them in on current events, and a mysterious young boy in his care. Apparently the future, in a rather unsurprising revelation given Jak\'s experiences so far, kind of sucks as a whole. The people are ruled by a shadowy figure called Baron Praxis, who was responsible for the experimentation done to Jak during his prison stay, and a mechanical menace called the metal heads looms over everyone. An underground resistance has formed to combat the Baron\'s rule and figure out a way to keep safe from the metal heads. But, whereas most platform heroes would nobly plan to help out the locals with their various problems, Jak is pretty unfazed and remains focused on two simple goals: revenge on the Baron for the two years of experimentation and imprisonment, and a return ticket to his time.

Now if the game\'s story sounds like a bit of a departure from the tone of the previous one, it is. Although the game\'s rating has yet to be finalized, Jak 2\'s darker tone and more mature approach to storytelling will likely make it the first T rated release in Naughty Dog\'s game catalog in quite some time. Jak 2 features a darker tone that is reflected in every aspect of the game. Jak\'s character model has been redesigned and sports a sleeker look. The various characters you\'ll encounter in the game, both good and bad, feature a mature design that skews older. Along the same lines, the world you\'ll be exploring will feature a darker tone overall and have a far colder feel to it. While many of the environments in the game will be much colder and more sterile than the ones in the previous game, even the more organic locales will be far less inviting thanks to a color palette that leans towards a darker look overall.

While Jak 2\'s darker look is conveyed by the game\'s more mature designs and darker color scheme, Naughty Dog\'s impressive graphics engine pumps out a rich visual experience that blows the original Jak and Daxter completely out of the water. Thanks to a combination of Naughty Dog\'s own tinkering and some shared technology courtesy of its collaboration with Insomniac, Jak 2\'s graphics look as though they may well set new standards on the PlayStation 2. Characters in the game are incredibly detailed and made up of 10-15,000 polygons and move much more fluidly than in the original game. The massive environments in the game, which are much larger than those found in the original game, sport a higher level of detail and a host of new special effects such as lighting and a subtle but impressive technique to simulate eye moisture to name just a few. Couple all of the above with cleverly streamed loading to provide a seamless experience and you have a title that is shaping up to be quite a showcase for the PlayStation 2.

As far as gameplay goes, Jak 2 sticks closely with what worked in the original game and tweaks what didn\'t. Jak\'s core moves set has come over intact and has been beefed up with the addition of unique weapons and vehicles. Jak 2 will arm you with four guns that you can upgrade over the course of your adventures. You\'ll also be able to ride a hoverboard that will be integral to some segments in the game and a nice option to use in others. You\'ll also be able to make use of local vehicles for transportation if you\'re in a pinch. Jak\'s Dark Jak incarnation also adds a new element to the game thanks to its powerful attacks and invulnerability effect.

In terms of its structure, Jak 2 features some radical, and welcome, changes to its predecessor. The game will offer a less linear experience overall. Although the game\'s main narrative will require certain linear elements to tell the game\'s story, you\'ll find those instances limited to key points in the game. The rest of the time, you\'ll be exploring a number of open-ended options as you make your way through the game. You\'ll still have a mission-based structure in the game but the amount of collection you\'ll be doing in the game has been seriously cut back and simplified. Mandatory collection in the game is limited to one item; other items you\'ll find are optional. You\'ll also find a broader degree of freedom in the game thanks to the number of options open to you via the vehicles and weapons you\'ll be able to use.

Audio in the game is coming together pretty well. Gamers unnerved by Jak\'s near homicidal silence in the first game will find him to be one chatty dude in Jak 2. Unfortunately, given his desire for revenge and time spent in prison, he\'s not exactly a very happy guy. Daxter, on the other hand, is still his chatty self although thankfully he\'s far more tolerable in this outing. Thanks to the game\'s T rating the furry critter will be spouting some saucy one-liners that would have been impossible to do in an E rated game.

Based on our time with the game we have to say we\'re quite impressed by the promising state Jak 2 is in. The game handles great, moves smoothly, and has some pretty polished gameplay. There are a few rough spots, mostly focusing on the camera and some framerate issues, but nothing that can\'t be fixed by the game\'s anticipated fall release. Look for more on Jak 2 in the coming weeks.


(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimage.com.com%2Fgamespot%2Fimages%2F2003%2Fnews%2F03%2F17%2Fjak_screen003.jpg&hash=5e83074bb528b5fffad7d554eb0a715037f18f27)

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Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Bobs_Hardware on March 18, 2003, 05:48:54 AM
Seriously, ffs

(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimage.com.com%2Fgamespot%2Fimages%2F2003%2Fnews%2F03%2F17%2Fjak_screen005.jpg&hash=961150af01fa5db63dbb9cad624f7e5bc0519327)

Is that bump-mapping?  It sure ****ing looks like it.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 18, 2003, 06:23:47 AM
Quote
Is that bump-mapping? It sure ****ing looks like it.


Yeah, it could be. What ever it is, it sure looks very promising. It\'d be easier to judge if we had in-game video footage... ;)
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 18, 2003, 06:30:47 AM
Enjoy :D (Interview with Jason Rubin at GameSpy)

http://www.gamespy.com/interviews/march03/jak2/index.shtml

Quote
GameSpy: Jak II is graphically stunning. How difficult was it to coax such great performance out of the PS2 hardware?

Jason Rubin: We\'re always pushing the hardware. It\'s always hard no matter what system it is, no matter what we\'re doing. The nice thing about Jak II is the fact that since we already had a base engine, we weren\'t struggling to get gameplay up. The gameplay immediately came up under the old engine. At that point we could just improve. We could do more smaller special effects like lightning, distortions, the lens flares and glows that you see all over. The icing, as opposed to what we had to do in Jak & Daxter, which was just get a game up. So it really was nice to be able to do the more detail work this time around as opposed to the vital engine stuff that we had to do last game.
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GameSpy: So, a lot of the stuff from the first engine\'s come back for this second-generation engine?

Jason Rubin: Yes. Everything from the first engine game back, some parts were rewritten and improved, and then additional engines like the lightning you saw and then the glows that are happening everywhere. We have more glows onscreen than just about anyone else I\'ve ever seen -- stuff like that was additionally added on to the engine that was already there.

GameSpy: Why do you think other studios have trouble getting such performance out of the PS2?

Jason Rubin: The big advantage that Naughty Dog has is that Sony backs Naughty Dog with a huge amount of resources that we can spend on programming talent. We have a lot more programmers than most studios can afford; we have better programmers than a lot of studios can afford. It\'s not a level playing field in video games. There\'s smaller teams, there\'s bigger teams, there\'s publishers that help you out more, there\'s publishers that help you out less. Additionally, we have the advantage that we get to share technology across all of Sony\'s internal studios. Mark of Kri\'s sound tool is now our sound tool. The stuff that Zipper Interactive was doing with progressive scan, they sent us the code for it. And Insomniac which isn\'t even owned by Sony, and Naughty Dog share engine code back and forth. A lot of teams have an, "If it wasn\'t done here, we don\'t want it" attitude -- the programmers want to do it themselves. We have a, "If we can get it in the game, get it in the game" attitude. We don\'t care who did it ... so long as it\'s up for grabs, we\'ll take it. That gives us a great advantage.

GameSpy: Could you see having a possible future side business of licensing your technology to other developers?

Jason Rubin: I don\'t know whether we\'d ever license our technology to other development groups outside of Sony that involves a lot of maintenance and support and things like that that would probably cut into us making games. But we already share internally in Sony, and as we go forward and systems get more difficult, I can see Sony internally sharing more. It\'ll be harder and harder to make games in the future. This is not the pinnacle of difficulty, this is just the ramp-up toward the next generation and the generation after that, so I think you\'ll see a lot more sharing between companies.

GameSpy: Jak & Daxter ran at 60 fps, and Jak II will run at 60. Is there a certain design philosophy behind this?

Jason Rubin: The most important thing about running at a good framerate is that your button input is read at the framerate you\'re running. So when you\'re running at 30 frames per second, your character has the ability to change what he\'s doing 30 times per second. If you\'re 60 frames per second he has literally double the input, which is effectively saying he\'s twice as controllable. You have much more detail in what you\'re doing. Certain games do okay at low framerates, I tend to really steer away from slow framerate. I think as a company culture we don\'t like slow framerate games, so we always try to peg it at 60. There will be times because of the open nature of the game where if there\'s enough guys -- you can run away from guys and they\'ll keep chasing you -- so if you keep running you\'ll keep getting more and more guys around you and eventually it\'ll get to the point where the system slows down. So it is possible to run at 30 frames, but we try to maintain 60 as much as we can. I think especially in the character action genre that is an absolute necessity.

GameSpy: What is the single greatest improvement in Jak II?

Jason Rubin: That\'s a hard question to answer...

GameSpy: Just one.

Jason Rubin: I think the single most important thing that we\'ve done with this game is that we\'ve allowed the player to use all of the mechanics that we give them on all of the levels all of the time. So you can use all of Jak I\'s moveset, the guns, interangeably at any given time, the hoverboard, the Dark Jak moveset ... it\'s all around, all the time. It\'s not like you can only use Dark Jak in certain levels and only use the gun in other levels and things like that. We allow you an absolutely massive moveset by layering all those things on top of each other, and make the game truly integrated as opposed to a bunch of stuff strung together where we setup a puzzle, give you a solution, and let you go through it. We setup a puzzle, give you multiple solutions, and let you go through it. And that I think is the single most important differentiation between us and all other games out there.

Ratchet & Clank started to show some of that, we were really excited by it, but you still only could use your skate boots on the rail ... the rail boots, I don\'t remember what they were called. You could only use your magnetic boots in the magnetic area, so while you could change some of your guns you couldn\'t change everything all the time. We allow you to pull out your board in the most ridiculous situations in the world and use it, and if it kills you then you won\'t do it again. We really do allow you to do a lot more of that interchangeability and I think that\'s the single biggest improvement, and gamers will recognize that.

GameSpy: So do you think it\'s fair to say that while your story is linear, your gameplay is non-linear in a sense, because you have multiple ways to conquer the objectives...

Jason Rubin: Yes, exactly. The game overall feels less constrained even though from a story standpoint it\'s far more constrained. Having said that, there are still branches in the story. Sometimes you have two or three, maybe even four options that you can do at any given time. But it\'s not as open as Jak & Daxter; most people play through the game one time. If you play through the game one time it\'s always linear, right? Because you\'re always choosing one specific path. It only becomes non-linear if you go back and play a second time and decide to play it in a different order.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 18, 2003, 06:32:33 AM
Quote
GameSpy: What are your top three platform games of all time?

Jason Rubin: Let\'s see ... that\'s a difficult one. I was absolutely addicted to the first Donkey Kong Country. I really thought that the way they setup their gameplay -- which was the foundation for Crash Bandicoot really, more than Mario was -- was stunning. I liked a bunch of the Marios, I don\'t really remember which one I liked most. It\'s been a while and they all blur together. And I was a real big fan of the first Sonic.

3D, if you want to go into more recently, I loved Mario 64 but I wasn\'t wild about Sunshine. I didn\'t think that they had added enough to Sunshine to make it really that different. And I liked Spyro ... 2 the best of the Spyros. I really liked Spyro 2.

GameSpy: A lot of those games are old -- this is really a classic genre. Why do you think platforming has seen a resurgence lately?

Jason Rubin: As a new system starts, these games ... different games take different amounts of work. A game like ATV though it\'s a brilliant game is much more constrained than a character action game. You make the ATV mechanic, you make the human on top of it mechanic, you make your levels, you\'re done. You don\'t have to do as much as we do for a game like Jak & Daxter, with a seamless world with different vehicle types, the enemy AI. The AI is much simpler in a racing game. I know this because we did Crash Team Racing, which is a much more constrained game. So it takes a while to design a new character and on a new system to get an engine powerful enough to show all this stuff.

One of the reasons I don\'t like a lot of the recent games is that people have decided that the character action genre is a specific type of game and they\'re not pushing the limits. Look at a game like Ty. It\'s just not exciting. It\'s old news. I don\'t like fuzzy characters anymore. I don\'t like animals with attitude anymore. It\'s been done, it\'s old, we\'re moving on, we\'re doing something new now. Personally, if I see a game that looks like a Nintendo 64 or PlayStation game in high-res, I\'m not excited by it. What could we do now that we couldn\'t do then? Jak II. And Jak I, too. And Ratchet is another good example of a game you couldn\'t do on the previous console, it just didn\'t have the power to do it. You could have done Ty. You could have done Sly Cooper, which is a good game, but to me it\'s a little old-generation with new graphics. Fixed movement through the worlds, very very straightforward gameplay. I like the game a lot, but it doesn\'t excite me the same way because it sort of hearkens back. Blinx was interesting, but it didn\'t come together quite right.

GameSpy: I ... didn\'t like Blinx.

Jason Rubin: Yeah, interesting idea though. At least they tried something new, gotta give them credit for that. They tried something that was truly original, it just didn\'t quite come together well.
GameSpy: Along those lines, where do you see the genre going in the future?
Jason Rubin: It\'s an interesting question. I think that the genre has to expand beyond simple levels and simple tasks, and that\'s what we\'re trying to do here. We\'re trying to create a story more like a Metal Gear, although it took 1,500 messages on message boards to figure out what Metal Gear\'s plot really was. But Metal Gear does have at least a story going with it. We\'re trying for something along the lines of the Onimushas or the Devil May Crys or something where you have that kind of story going along with it. And we\'re also trying to add a little of the excitement you get out of Grand Theft Auto being able to do things different ways. Throw on top of that the Tony Hawk ability to grind and just sort of have fun with the environments you\'re in, and the other stuff that we also throw in from other little games here and there and hopefully bring the genre into more of a world and less of a game with levels that are just set out there. So you feel like you\'re really in an environment as opposed to playing a game.

GameSpy: So you\'re navigating an environment and encountering challenges that grow naturally out of that environment.

Jason Rubin: Exactly. And there\'s things going on in the environment, plot points that are sending you in specific directions. But if you go somewhere else there\'s still a world there and there\'s still stuff going on. That\'s kind of what we\'re trying to do.

GameSpy: Do you see Naughty Dog remaining at the forefront of platform game development in the future?
 
Jason Rubin: It\'s hard to say what we\'ll do. At the end of every game we try to figure out what we want to do next, and at some point that may not be a character action game -- no promises. I think we\'ll continue to try to push forward whatever genre we work in. We try at this point to lead as opposed to follow, and I say that knowing that back in the days we were doing Way of the Warrior we were in a lot of ways ripping off everybody else. But I think now what we\'re doing with Jak II, we\'re actually pushing the genre as opposed to pulling along behind.

GameSpy: What were some of the new ideas that Mr. Yasuhara brought to the development process?

Jason Rubin: He brings a real openness to do kind of ... wacky stuff that we never would have done. We were much more structured than he is. There\'s this one thing that he put in the game in one of the levels that we haven\'t shown yet that reminds me of Yasuhara\'s style. We have a hoverboard, right? So he created a tube to go through that has holes in the sides of it and it rotates. And it\'s a simple thing, but it requires some pretty complex timing to get through. And it\'s just something we never would have done, because we never pushed. It required Andy, as a programmer, to totally redo the way board was done, because it meant that the board had to handle the rotating pipe that you\'re going through. But it was cool. It\'s visually simple, easy to understand what you need to do, but with very complex gameplay. That\'s the kind of thing he does. That\'s what he did with Sonic.

Visually it\'s very easy to see what you have to do, but it has complex gameplay. He\'s really, really good at that stuff. And he\'s really good at just kind of creating little mini-universes where things are kind of interesting in themselves. He did this one area where you have these floating boxes and it\'s a puzzle. And you just have to hit the boxes in exactly the right direction at the right time to open it up and create a path. That stuff is his hallmark. He does all that stuff.

GameSpy: You touched on physics a bit when talking about the rotating pipe. Do you think enhanced or better physics will be a large part of future platform games?

Jason Rubin: Yes and no. The vehicles in our city are physics-based. The hoverboard is not physics-based, because it plays better as a classic hack, which is what Jak\'s movement is too. Jak is not physics-based, Jak is a hack. When you try to create a physics-based character, you end up losing the control that you have when you do a hack and allow, for example, the character to leap off the ground in the same frame that you hit the button. When you do a physics model he has to recoil and jump and that ruins the gameplay, because it takes too long and you have to think too far ahead.
GameSpy: In the early 1990\'s you made a game called Rings of Power that a rather risque Easter egg. Do you think that would fly today?
Jason Rubin: Yes, I think it would fly today, but I don\'t think we would do it. We\'ve grown up. We were 18 years old when we put that in and we did it because we thought it was cool at the time. I have new responsibilities as the president of a company owned by Sony. I don\'t really have a problem and I don\'t regret putting it in, but it\'s not the kind of thing that a company of 45 people with a multi-million dollar budget tends to do. It\'s the kind of thing that a couple kids sitting in their den do when they\'re 18 years old.

GameSpy: Who does your hair? It\'s ... fabulous.

Jason Rubin: I do it, what are you... Actually I haven\'t had a haircut in two months.

GameSpy: Oh, you ... you\'re dispelling the magic now.

Jason Rubin: It\'s true, I don\'t cut it.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MPTheory on March 18, 2003, 07:09:43 AM
Wow... I see a legacy beginning.  This will be a must buy for me.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: fastson on March 18, 2003, 07:18:26 AM
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!! :))

Looks better and better. :D
Me lowsy ND!

Thx for the interview Phil.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: nO-One on March 18, 2003, 07:18:37 AM
I don\'t like the green goatee
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Lord Nicon on March 18, 2003, 11:14:31 AM
Oh shit son!!!!!! Nicon gets goosebumps the size of Britney Spears\' tetas
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: kopking on March 18, 2003, 12:48:27 PM
WOW  those pics look amazing..... see there now gonna have weopons in it ala rachet and clank style..... looks very impressive, im suddenely a lot more intrested in it
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 18, 2003, 03:17:19 PM
Quote
Is that bump-mapping? It sure ****ing looks like it.

No, it isn\'t.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Echo on March 18, 2003, 04:38:55 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Nu

No, it isn\'t.


And you know this how?
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 18, 2003, 06:59:35 PM
Bump Mapping takes advantage of lighting to create the effect of bumps with shadows. That is nothing more than a texture that gives the illusion of height. You know, the basics of 2D drawing to make things appear 3D.

This (http://www.bungie.net/images/site/halo/screenshots/scrn_046.jpg) is Bump Mapping. Even if it was subtle, you\'d notice a big difference with that floor.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: (e) on March 18, 2003, 07:09:14 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Living-In-Clip
Who cares? The first game was gorgeous, but at the same time it was nothing but a run-of the mill platformer - and not a very good one at that.


lic, do you even like video games?

list some that you actually like! Im personally sick of your negative opinion Jak & daxter was a great game. Like i have said before- if you have a negative opinion on the game stfu and dont post in the corresponding thread.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 18, 2003, 07:22:33 PM
... Spudz, if it wasn\'t for the fact that myself and several million other gamers shared the same opinion as LIC, I would be assissting your flame with a bucket of gasoline. The first game wasn\'t all that great. It failed to deliver in a lot of areas.

The second game appears to be addressing these problems though. Very good...
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Paul on March 18, 2003, 08:10:54 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Nu
Bump Mapping takes advantage of lighting to create the effect of bumps with shadows. That is nothing more than a texture that gives the illusion of height. You know, the basics of 2D drawing to make things appear 3D.

This (http://www.bungie.net/images/site/halo/screenshots/scrn_046.jpg) is Bump Mapping. Even if it was subtle, you\'d notice a big difference with that floor.


Yep, agreed. Let\'s face it...the PS2 is NEVER EVER going to do bump mapping...it just doesn\'t have the feature nor enough power to do it in software without taking major performance hit.

Regardless, J&D 2 looks great bumpped or othewise. Still, I wonder how they capture those picture...there\'s like zero jaggies..maybe those are direct capture of progressive scan mode picture(whatever that means!!)??
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: nataku on March 18, 2003, 08:24:46 PM
PS2 won\'t ever do bump mapping?

Didn\'t JR say he wanted to put bumb mapping in J&D 1, but didn\'t have time?

I know for a fact that the engine supports it.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 18, 2003, 08:34:30 PM
There was a little bit of bump/spectral mapping present in J&D. Only on parts of the enviroment... To be more specific, the metallic parts.

And careful what you say, Paul. People have said the PS2 would be incapable of a lot of things, and have constantly been proven wrong. ;) I\'m sure there\'s a way of doing it without putting a strain on the PS2, developers have either not found that path, or have yet to show it off.

Quote
Originally posted by nataku
Didn\'t JR say he wanted to put bumb mapping in J&D 1, but didn\'t have time?

That he did. Not seeing it though... Maybe they\'ll have it on large bosses, or some vehicles and weapons.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: IronFist on March 18, 2003, 09:12:51 PM
The metallic parts in J&D1 did not have bump mapping.  They just had a neat reflective/translucent-texture effect.  

But like already said, it doesn\'t matter if J&D2 has bumpmapping.  From what has been shown, this game looks great even without it.  This is my most anticipated game of 2003 so far.  I can\'t wait.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: (e) on March 18, 2003, 09:23:48 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Nu
... Spudz, if it wasn\'t for the fact that myself and several million other gamers shared the same opinion as LIC, I would be assissting your flame with a bucket of gasoline. The first game wasn\'t all that great. It failed to deliver in a lot of areas.

The second game appears to be addressing these problems though. Very good...


Having not known you and your past videogame experiences I have little to judge upon you. The game itself was a load of crap to me. I personally dislike platformers, but as a gaming community it was accepted throughout and hailed as a great title. I therefore not having much of a platform know-how accept their ideas as it being a great title. Even though Im not a fan of it, I can recognize something that strikes gold in fans of the series.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 18, 2003, 09:51:56 PM
Quote
Originally posted by IronFist
The metallic parts in J&D1 did not have bump mapping. They just had a neat reflective/translucent-texture effect.

Alright then. I saw it so rarely, and never took much time to examine it carefully. Thank you for the correction.

Quote
Originally posted by Spudz
Having not known you and your past videogame experiences I have little to judge upon you. The game itself was a load of crap to me. I personally dislike platformers, but as a gaming community it was accepted throughout and hailed as a great title. I therefore not having much of a platform know-how accept their ideas as it being a great title. Even though Im not a fan of it, I can recognize something that strikes gold in fans of the series.

A great title it was. Just not as great as some reviews/impressions would have you believe. It was... How should I put it?... Too simplistic? Not very challenging, very linear, sidequests were very few, not much to do beyond the short, boring main quest besides collect those orbs. And when you did get them all... Psh... -_-

Yay for J&D2 fixing this. Maybe.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MAKAVELIUK on March 18, 2003, 10:22:01 PM
Looks bump mapped to me and the snow looks bumpy to.

(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpub6.picturehost.co.uk%2Fjax.jpg&hash=c5e5c2a62673dc233dc733596898788dfedae317)
(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpub6.picturehost.co.uk%2Fjax23.jpg&hash=22d5ce189eb12ba347afb730a416263dbcda18d9)
(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpub6.picturehost.co.uk%2Fjax234.jpg&hash=dd73c1622ee99d97141d62afc91adc3f2a5bfeec)
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Peltopukki on March 18, 2003, 11:05:23 PM
hmm..
Shiny metal looks like enviroment map with a Gloss map made with destination alpha. tough the gloss map is made to look bumpy. probly with photoshop.

snow is just a good texture.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 19, 2003, 04:44:21 AM
Quote
Bump Mapping takes advantage of lighting to create the effect of bumps with shadows. That is nothing more than a texture that gives the illusion of height. You know, the basics of 2D drawing to make things appear 3D.


That\'s about correct, although you will only know for sure once you see the game in motion. Looking at still frames, anything could be either bump mapped or done using high res textures. There are examples of bump mapping be more distinct and some to a lesser degree - if Jak 2 uses it will be left to see once we have the first video featuring in-game stuff. At first sight, that could be actual bump mapping.

Then again, as IronFist puts it - who cares? What ever it is, it looks great, let it be bump mapping or not. ;)
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Paul on March 19, 2003, 05:24:21 AM
"To Bump or Not to Bump, that is NOT the question"

William SONYsphere

:D
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Bobs_Hardware on March 19, 2003, 06:47:43 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Nu
Bump Mapping takes advantage of lighting to create the effect of bumps with shadows. That is nothing more than a texture that gives the illusion of height. You know, the basics of 2D drawing to make things appear 3D.


Which games have been doing for years, but none ever successfully make it look as though the ground has bumps and indentations in it.  Rather, dark and light patches on a flat texture.

Those shots actually look to me as though the bumps are 3Dimentional, not just lighting prebaked into the textures.

Could be wrong, though.  But just because it isn\'t done as blatantly as a game such as Halo doesn\'t mean the effect isn\'t being used.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Bobs_Hardware on March 19, 2003, 06:50:22 AM
And Paul, that was so lame.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 19, 2003, 06:54:16 AM
Quote
Originally posted by seven
Then again, as IronFist puts it - who cares? What ever it is, it looks great, let it be bump mapping or not.

True that, seven. True that.

By the way, you were on that PS2 forum with MessD, psx2champ, and Reno, right?
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 19, 2003, 07:00:31 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Bobs_Hardware
Which games have been doing for years, but none ever successfully make it look as though the ground has bumps and indentations in it. Rather, dark and light patches on a flat texture.

Which is why I think they are just hi-res textures. The placement of the shadows on the floor is completely different than the one Jak is casting.

But hey, nevermind it. It looks great. :)
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Echo on March 19, 2003, 07:15:09 AM
Jak\'s shadow isn\'t cast according to light sources. It\'s just like the first time, just straight down. But in a platformer where you need to be able to see where you\'re about to land it\'s better that way. But maybe they\'ll change it so his shadow is cast according to where the light source is.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 19, 2003, 10:08:19 AM
Quote
By the way, you were on that PS2 forum with MessD, psx2champ, and Reno, right?


Hehe, NOW YOU REMEMBER!!!! Yeah that\'s me... but I think I was known under the name "Phil" (just like at Beyond3d and GameTrigger) overthere... anyway, I remember having some goog debates with you about Xbox during those times... ah the good old times. Heh, I think I came a long way since then... :D

BTW; do you know what happened with Reno? I had some occasional contact with Majorgamer (one of the most respected people at PS2web, heh, IronFist somewhat reminds me of him)

Quote
True that, seven. True that.


Heh, my comment was rather directed at Bobo for bringing it up in the first place.. hehe. :D BTW; I am pretty sure that Baulders Gate has bump mapping done in a few areas. The underground passage in world 2 comes to mind, where you have the light following you. The floor has these amazing bumps that in my memory react to the different light sources. I\'m just playing BA: DA now, but there\'s still some bit to go til I reach that part (I\'m playing on extreme)...
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Nu on March 19, 2003, 10:57:18 AM
Quote
Originally posted by seven
Hehe, NOW YOU REMEMBER!!!! Yeah that\'s me... but I think I was known under the name "Phil" (just like at Beyond3d and GameTrigger) overthere... anyway, I remember having some goog debates with you about Xbox during those times... ah the good old times. Heh, I think I came a long way since then...

Right, right. Phil. :D That was a long time back, I knew there were one or two PS2web members here, I just couldn\'t recall. Console debates were nice there. We had some nice discussions. And... Xboxhater... :D

Quote
BTW; do you know what happened with Reno? I had some occasional contact with Majorgamer (one of the most respected people at PS2web, heh, IronFist somewhat reminds me of him)

I was going to ask you the same thing, actually. I remember speaking with him in an AIM chat way back when. Lots of old PS2web members were there, but I forgot to add him to my buddy list... Never heard from him after that. A shame too, I owed him an ass whooping in Armored Core. ;) It is online now, isn\'t it?
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: 6(sic)6 on March 19, 2003, 11:54:56 AM
Where is the pre-order button? :D
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MAKAVELIUK on March 19, 2003, 01:00:52 PM
Fast

Gamefront.de have a crappy little scan of Syphon Filter anyway proper hi-res screens are supposed to be released tomorrow
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: (e) on March 19, 2003, 09:24:11 PM
no its no bumpmapping.

quit making up excuses. their is none.
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: seven on March 20, 2003, 03:13:27 AM
Quote
Right, right. Phil.  That was a long time back, I knew there were one or two PS2web members here, I just couldn\'t recall. Console debates were nice there. We had some nice discussions. And... Xboxhater...  


Yeah I know. Great community as I remember it. A shame taht one day it was gone (shortly later, I registered here). Heh, I remember you registering at PS2web and trying to convince a few of us that Xbox wasn\'t that bad. Hehe, we had a few of those talks. We also had quite a lot of DC fans... we had endless debates with them. :D Reno always did a wonderful job setting them right.

Quote
I was going to ask you the same thing, actually. I remember speaking with him in an AIM chat way back when. Lots of old PS2web members were there, but I forgot to add him to my buddy list... Never heard from him after that. A shame too, I owed him an ass whooping in Armored Core.  It is online now, isn\'t it?


Majorgamer, last I spoke to him, he had just joined the army, so I really can\'t be sure what\'s up with him. I\'ll try to look him up under ICQ and perhaps he knows what happened with the other members such as Reno. 182ways is also an ex PS2web member, maybe he knows more?
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: JP on March 20, 2003, 08:27:06 AM
I was there too for a long time but i can\'t remember my nick hehe. Think I\'m getting alzheimerz early. oh well
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: MPTheory on March 20, 2003, 09:45:27 AM
lots-O-info on the game
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/389/389772p1.html
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: 6(sic)6 on March 20, 2003, 10:59:07 AM
WOw, Jak`s got big eyes! :surprised
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Paul on March 20, 2003, 05:58:16 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Bobs_Hardware
And Paul, that was so lame.


Well, at least I\'ve given my share of the literature contribution...

Not just complaining with no contribution...shame on u.

:D
Title: Jax 2 screens
Post by: Lord Nicon on March 21, 2003, 08:31:54 AM
Wow. PS2WEB. I used to be on there as well. I just remembered that place. Man it seems so old school. I think i stopped going there when they were trying to revamp the site and forums etc. It was closed for such a long while that i just came here but never signed up till much later when i got my lazy ass up to register