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ECTS 1998 Ubi Soft Enter…inment Press Kit (Europe)
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00004_Field_RFG.txt
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1998-08-21
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Real Feel Golf Interview
Q1. How much of the game has been
developed so far ?
A : We began the project 18 months
ago and we are at about 50 %
completion. The game should be
finished by the end of the year and will
be released in the first quarter of 1999.
Q2 Is this a Ubi Soft developed title ?
A : Real Feel Golf has been developed
in collaboration with a team of very
creative developers (Vertex Multimedia
who are based in the Oxfordshire
countryside) which is headed up by
industry veteran N. Ishihara. Ubi Soft 's
contribution is as co-producer and
adviser . Ubi Soft has a lot of technical
know how which we share with our
developers.
Q So, what is unique about this game
compared to the others that are out or
are coming out ?
A: Real Feel Golf is one of the very first
golf games to be created in complete
real time 3D. This will allow us to
obtain realism and freedom of
movement never before seen in a golf
game…. The feeling of realism will be
further enhanced as a result of our
unique "Real Feel" control system
which can reproduce a real time golf
swing like no other game. So we will
therefore be able to appeal to players
who want a simulation experience but
with an arcade pace (faster moving to
keep the player interested in the game).
Golf games available on the market are
slow in speed and graphically not
accessible to consumers. Our aim is
to make one of the most playable,
realistic and accessible golf game ever
produced.
Q4: Why 3D ? What benefit does this
bring to the player ?
A: Well, in all other golf games we have
2D golfers set in a photo realistic
environment and have a situation
where each screen has to be redrawn
after every shot of the ball which
causes a kind of unrealistic delay
which basically unacceptably slows
down the game. We call this the
"classic trilogy ". If you want to see this
in action just look at Links Golf! So for
this first time the player will be able to
control a 3D character (made up of over
500 polygons) which is completely
integrated into the 3D background and
whose movements can be controlled in
real time.
We have created a credible
environment as a result of the
implementation of many animations
and dynamic cameras (using the
I-CAM TV system ). All information will
be available on screen. So the player
will not need to flip from screen to
screen to get the information he
needs. (wind, distance, undulations,).
The end result of our method is a fluid
3D environment and a fast paced game
without the irritating lapses between
each swing experienced in the 2D
games.
Q5: Tell us more about this "Real Feel"
control system.
A: The "Real Feel" is an innovative
method which acts as a more user
friendly alternative to the classic
"double click" (however for those who
prefer the old way we will keep that as
an option too). This lets the player
control in real time the 2 major
parameters of the golf swing: the angle
of the shoulders and the angle of the
wrists.. Thus our system will neither
use the "power meter" nor require
quick mouse movements. Thanks to
the real time factor, you will be able to
decide the strength and direction of
your shot just by observing the posture
of your character on the screen.! If you
use an analogue joystick the swing
feeling is just amazing !!!
Q 6: Why did you choose not to use real
courses ?
A: We chose not to use existing
courses so that we could create
original and challenging golf courses.
You will see holes you have never seen
before for example double fairways or a
green on an island.. This ads to the fun
factor we were looking for in the
computer golf game.
We used our freedom to create the
most suited golf courses for computer
games rather than to simulate real golf
courses which may not have fitted so
well on screen.
Q7: What was the biggest hurdle you
have encountered so far?
A: When we embarked on this project
we knew that we would encounter
some major technical issues to
solve… The main hurdle to overcome
was the integration of the soft jointed
character, which is animated in real
time, with the 3D engine. To get the
swing to work smoothly involved a
delicate and intricate understanding of
exactly how each of the human
muscles and joints work together to
produce realistic movement. To model
the soft jointed character, integrate
animation system in the model, texture
the body and input all these data to our
3D engine took us more than 6
months. This allows to simulate joints
and muscle movements. The result is
an impressive piece of animation
wizardry.
Q 8: Could you summarise the
strengths of the game ?
- Real time 3D environment (no
redrawn time of holes from shot to
shot. Fast pace game.)
- Innovative "Real Feel" control system
- Incredible TV style "I-CAM" camera
movement
- Superb graphics of non-digitised
original golf courses
- Soft-Jointed 3D characters