I know I promised you guys a beta around the start of April but due to MAJOR developments on Eduke32 (the engine Duke Theft Auto is using) side of things this has been delayed because of the new rendering system for Eduke32 called Polymer. Developed by one man known as Plagman (Should be God in this case) the build engine can now utilize per-pixel lighting, normal mapping, parallax mapping and real-time shadows. (who ever said the build engine was dead can go eat their Source engine cake)
You can watch a demonstration video of the new renderer below.
What does this mean for Duke Theft Auto?
It means alot and may concern some of you waiting to play the mod. To use Polymer you need a video card that supports Shader Model 3.0, If you don't have one and want to make use of the new renderer , now is the time to upgrade.
But don't worry if you can't, Duke Theft Auto can still be played with out it and will look just like the pictures and video's you have seen so far. Maps made for the new renderer will have there own seperate episode.
If all this rendering stuff is a little confusing for you to get your head around, then this little guide might help ease the pain.
Software: This is the classic render that you would remember Duke Nukem 3D looking like when you first played it back in the day. (DUKE THEFT AUTO WILL NOT RUN IN THIS MODE)
Polymost: This is the renderer that Ken Silverman released after 3D Realms released the source code to Duke Nukem 3D. Unlike most games today this one uses OpenGL instead of Direct3D, It allowed for Hightile Replacement. (Replacing them 8bit sprites with proper 32bit images) and .MD2 and .MD3 models. (This is what most people play Duke Nukem with today)
Polymer: The brand new anounced renderer that also uses OpenGL utilizing per-pixel lighting, normal mapping, parallax mapping and real-time shadows.
The new renderer has not been publicly released as of now so I can not release the beta untill it has and I have worked out a few more bugs here and there in Duke Theft Auto. (namely frame rate issues)
So sit tight and enjoy these few pictures and a special demonstration video of Duke Theft Auto using the Polymer render. :)
Also a special thanks goes to stenchy for the mention of DTA in his Article, Creativity in Constraints
The Commander
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I dunno, I myself preferred the more cartoony look. All this fancy new lighting really diminishes the nostalgia hit and really changes the mood. I think the renderer would be great for projects developed with it in mind but personally I am looking forward to playing DTA with graphics more similar to the games that inspired it. There's no shame in not using the updated renderer - creativity in constraints!
I understand what you mean, this is why I will suport both modes (and it's not hard at all to do) all the player will need to do is go to options and turn "Polymer" off (it's off by default anyway) and it's back to normal. :)
What Polymer does though is it makes it somewhat resemble GTA II (has lighting if you use "dusk" mode)
The only constraint I have at the moment is the lack of real model hit detection, but just like with the lighting system (which everyone said would be impossible with the build engine) it will come.
Thanks again for that Article.
I agree with stenchy. Excellent decision you made. Selecting both rendering modes can be a nice option to keep these old-school graphics we still love.
The new renderer looks fantastic. Nice work!
Yeah I have to agree too. The new lighting itself looks great, and being to get all these new effects working in Build Engine is fantastic. However, it basically creates another different style on top of the original, and I don't think they mix as it creates a lot of inconsistencies. Just being able to see Duke3D blended with GTA1 is great enough I think :).
The new effects are interesting, though perhaps only in terms of experimentation.
Not that I think im gonna play is, but im still waiting for progress.
It's a fresh idea that is going well it seems.
..Good luck :)
Good luck with bug fixing!
I'd probably play it without the fancy lighting (seems too dark for my tastes), but it looks cool nonetheless! Maybe if you brightened it up a ton...
As I said, you can turn the lighting off and it will look just like the classic setting. (no fancy lighting and normal looking GTA stuff.)
Its gorgeous.
As long as ya don't make the grass look like freaking plastic then I think it'll be okay.
heh, maybe it's been raining and the light has reflected off it.
Yeah, I know only *some* textures will look good bumped.
who would have thought this was possible?!? wonderful.