Elite / Frontier Bring back the faces

[Prycon]

Hello I'm new to this forum. I am an old Frontier Elite II player, and I love this game even today. I still find myself playing it and I'm still amazed with the complexity of this game. And it fits on one disc! I also used to roam alt.fan.elite back in 1999 under my real name.

I can't help but feel a bit disappointed with First Encounter. They took out the faces and replaced them bad videos, I would like to see the faces return in "Elite 4". It felt more alive when you could relate to a face and pretend you where talking to a "real" person. Maybe they should make the faces in 3d, and make them more alive with facial movement. Like blinking with the eyes, smiling and moving their lips. But there should be many versions of faces like in FE2, different gender, hair color, heir cut, skin color and eye color.... You get the point.

So what do you think?

Stian Beinset
-Prycon

 

[Bounder]

FE2 used a 'photofit' style database of eyes, mouths, hair & hats etc to keep things a bit organic. Maybe they'll be pioneering procedurally generated unique face and body types for E4... But i hope they don't use real actors w/ repetative video or vocals.

 

[zmurf]

FE2 used a 'photofit' style database of eyes, mouths, hair & hats etc to keep things a bit organic. Maybe they'll be pioneering procedurally generated unique face and body types for E4... But i hope they don't use real actors w/ repetative video or vocals.

I agree 100%

 

[caol]

Procedurally generated faces - cool.

Actors - seriously uncool.

 

[Kipper]

I agree. Actors bad. Procedural faces good.

 

[Prycon]

I must also mention the mission system in FE2 and FFE, it feels like a conversation. You can even ask for more money, and half of the money, if you don't trust the person with the ad. I hope it will be like this in E4 if it ever comes out, I like the personal feeling in these games, so I don't feel aloen in space. In other games you have to accept or decline a mission, you can't even try argue over the price, this feels so static.

(Sorry about the spelling, I don't have Word on this computer)

Stian Beinset
-Prycon

 

[VR jefranklin18]

I agree. Actors bad. Procedural faces good.

I think E4 will set new levels for the amount of procedurally generated content (systems, faces, ecosystems, etc). It's why the previous games seemed so expansive, and I expect them to build on this further.

JamesF

 

[Prycon]

I hope they expand the starmap with more real solarsystem, I would like to visit more real stars then the ones in FE2 and FFE. I know it will change the Frontier universe a bit, old generated system will disapair and new real system will be put in. In my opinion it will be for the better.

 

[zmurf]

I hope they expand the starmap with more real solarsystem, I would like to visit more real stars then the ones in FE2 and FFE. I know it will change the Frontier universe a bit, old generated system will disapair and new real system will be put in. In my opinion it will be for the better.

Hear hear!

 

[Steve O B Have]

FE2 used a 'photofit' style database of eyes, mouths, hair & hats etc to keep things a bit organic. Maybe they'll be pioneering procedurally generated unique face and body types for E4... But i hope they don't use real actors w/ repetative video or vocals.

Agree, repitition is a game destroying aspect - See Darkstar One *yawn*

 

[Prycon]

I hope they will use this on cities as well. Have different buildings, houses, factories, streets, parks, lakes, rivers, bridges and monuments. Make them random from place to place, so that the cities all look different, and have different shapes. No one alike.

 

[VR jefranklin18]

I hope they will use this on cities as well. Have different buildings, houses, factories, streets, parks, lakes, rivers, bridges and monuments. Make them random from place to place, so that the cities all look different, and have different shapes. No one alike.

I read a paper (I think it was someone's BSc thesis) on the viability of procedurally generated cities for games development. I am sure that FDL have enough talented programmers to fullfill all of this.

 

[insidah]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nj.eccles/main.html

that should be a link to the faces and the video clips that you may all remember from FFE. IMHO i think that you should actually have the option to show the faces, or go straight upto an interactive window (to cut out the crap when you just want to trade or need something straight away - i hate most cutscenes)


bring on the randomly generated faces!!