NaturalMotion Advances Animation: New Technology for next gen games

[Nza]

Quote: Originally Posted by ObiWanJenkins

Ea doesn't buy technology from other companies, it buys the companies. Licenses are completely different.

Well, EA bought a license to use a special video compression for its intro sequences etc (http://www.on2.com/), but I guess video isn't quite as important as game engine related technologies.

This technology wasn't invented by NaturalMotions nor are they really all that special for developing it - rag doll physics is not new in the gaming world, NM just packaged it into a business model. EA should be able to develop their own physics engine. It makes no sense what so ever - since NBA Live, Madden, NHL, FIFA etc are all based on planet earth and all treat the human body with the same level of gravity etc, they could develop the technology using the expertise and budget from their entire gaming range. Of course, it wouldn't be as evident in games other than Madden since they're not as physical, but it is the logical next step for every type of game, and yet EA have ignored it.

The biggest part I don't understand is why they wouldn't make it THE largest priority when going to next gen because it would rid of tedious work on developing painstaking lifelike animations. I would have thought any game developer was just begging for some serious hardware to get this started and now that we have it with the XB360, they can. Guess not in EA's case, but I can't say i'm surprised.

And it's not just the fact less focus would need to be put on animations (if any focus at all), this would allow a football game where size and strength actually matter. Imagine having injuries actually based on limb movements and impacts. If you wanted to get really advanced, you could make true to life human body models with all 206 bones and real muscle and nerve systems that react to their world accordingly. Why is it I feel this nirvana is now much further off than it would have been if the NFL didn't sell out? Bah.

[BOOKOO]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nza

Well, EA bought a license to use a special video compression for its intro sequences etc (http://www.on2.com/), but I guess video isn't quite as important as game engine related technologies. This technology wasn't invented by NaturalMotions nor are they really all that special for developing it - rag doll physics is not new in the gaming world, NM just packaged it into a business model. EA should be able to develop their own physics engine. It makes no sense what so ever - since NBA Live, Madden, NHL, FIFA etc are all based on planet earth and all treat the human body with the same level of gravity etc, they could develop the technology using the expertise and budget from their entire gaming range. Of course, it wouldn't be as evident in games other than Madden since they're not as physical, but it is the logical next step for every type of game, and yet EA have ignored it. The biggest part I don't understand is why they wouldn't make it THE largest priority when going to next gen because it would rid of tedious work on developing painstaking lifelike animations. I would have thought any game developer was just begging for some serious hardware to get this started and now that we have it with the XB360, they can. Guess not in EA's case, but I can't say i'm surprised. And it's not just the fact less focus would need to be put on animations (if any focus at all), this would allow a football game where size and strength actually matter. Imagine having injuries actually based on limb movements and impacts. If you wanted to get really advanced, you could make true to life human body models with all 206 bones and real muscle and nerve systems that react to their world accordingly. Why is it I feel this nirvana is now much further off than it would have been if the NFL didn't sell out? Bah.

Great post my dawg. Dude blood..those are my thoughts exactamoondoly. If the contact and hits were not just based on the weight of the player and speed..but they could throw in the strength rating and that would determine who winds out..ball carrier or tackler...and..3..4 man dog pile ups would happen naturally...after all..the AI determines when an object hits an object..doesnt matter how many objects are involved as is the case with Mo capping. you would be able to account for small guys like cadallac williams but have super strength...well..im sounding incoherently incoherent because Im excited sided about the possiblities of this new technology..maybe NASA will enter the fray and start to sell video games to pay for their vaunted blastoff exploding shuttles...we see shall!!

[Nza]

This is a quote from Jeremy Strauser in GamePro:

"We want this to be the football engine for the next decade."

LOL, looks like we're in for a long wait. Way to go EA. I could be mistaken but real world physics is a very intergral part of a game engine and would require a lot of fundamental redesigning to implement. Looks like Madden won't be getting a real world engine any time soon, how disappointing.

And for anyone who needs proof a real world physics engine would not only produce better gameplay but would be better in the long run for everyone involved including EA, here's another quote:

"Eleven thousdand mo-cap moves had to be shot over a month straight"

11,000 ! Imagine the time that could be spent on AI and the franchise mode if they didn't have to do that.

[ADW]

Who did IGN ask at EA? The cleaning crew? Security? Interns? I'm sure the technical folks at EA are fully aware of what NaturalMotion is.

[dagger55]

No doubt the natural motion system is a great looking technology, but people here seem to think you can just take that system, dump it in madden, and boom, best engine ever.


sure that looks good when one guy runs at another guy and hits him in that demo, but (being a programmer) i cant even begin to imagine programming that system into a football game, where the variables for each situation would be astronomical.

[SageInfinite]

Quote: Originally Posted by dagger55

No doubt the natural motion system is a great looking technology, but people here seem to think you can just take that system, dump it in madden, and boom, best engine ever. sure that looks good when one guy runs at another guy and hits him in that demo, but (being a programmer) i cant even begin to imagine programming that system into a football game, where the variables for each situation would be astronomical.

^Real Talk. We're talking about countless hours of just programming. People dont seem to understand that. Id love to see it in the future, but cmon. This technology was just released, people expect EA to already have jumped on it. Give this next gen sometime.

[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by dagger55

sure that looks good when one guy runs at another guy and hits him in that demo, but (being a programmer) i cant even begin to imagine programming that system into a football game, where the variables for each situation would be astronomical.

I'm not a programmer, but it seems like the beauty of it is programming a physics code and having everyone obey that code. No? And I would think that what NaturalMotion is selling is that code. It would just be up to EA to program size, strength, ect. Obvioiusly, I'm just guessing. Maybe you can give and EDUCATED guess on how this would be implemented.

If anyone has FACTS on how hard this would be to implement, I'm interested in hearing.

[GTheorenHobbes]

I'd settle for the same kind of tackling animations that Tiburon's competition came out with 3-4 years ago.