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Pre-beta features: Difference between revisions
added a lot more rationale to Rationale
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When contemplating why various graphical effects below were removed, it's important to keep in mind that VRAM on graphics cards often ranged from 16-32MB at the time of Oni's release, and the game was likely developed with that range as a target. As [[Alex Okita]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20170705124855/http://www.glixel.com/interviews/oni-bungies-classic-inspired-by-ghost-in-the-shell-w474297 later recalled], "we had one thing in mind when we were going into it, thinking that video cards would catch up. But then halfway through, Apple hands us this iMac, and our bar just sort of dropped on top of us. We're trying to figure out how we're going to get anything to run on it. They had this, I don't know – [[wp:IMac G3#Second generation|eight-megabyte video card]] or something? It was pretty miserable." | When contemplating why various graphical effects below were removed, it's important to keep in mind that VRAM on graphics cards often ranged from 16-32MB at the time of Oni's release, and the game was likely developed with that range as a target. As [[Alex Okita]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20170705124855/http://www.glixel.com/interviews/oni-bungies-classic-inspired-by-ghost-in-the-shell-w474297 later recalled], "we had one thing in mind when we were going into it, thinking that video cards would catch up. But then halfway through, Apple hands us this iMac, and our bar just sort of dropped on top of us. We're trying to figure out how we're going to get anything to run on it. They had this, I don't know – [[wp:IMac G3#Second generation|eight-megabyte video card]] or something? It was pretty miserable." | ||
An anecdotal report [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=1612 here] from a forum member indicates that Bungie may have had frame rate troubles as well. Even watching the [[1999|1999 trailer]], one can see segments which seem to be running as low as 10 frames per second. | The PlayStation 2 was [[wp:PlayStation 2 technical specifications#System memory|even more limited]], with 32 MB of main system RAM and 4 MB of VRAM. Bungie West never blamed the PS2 port, which was performed by an outside studio, for any changes to the game or its release date, but considering the simultaneous release of the Windows, Mac and PS2 versions, and the [[Oni (PlayStation 2)#Visual differences|small cuts]] made to content in the PS2 version on account of limited RAM, as well as Take-Two's emphasis on the PS2 version in their advertising, it's possible that there was (at best) a lack of interest on Take-Two's part in adding niceties to the PC versions which PlayStation owners would not be able to experience. Likewise, multiplayer was not a common part of the PS2 gaming experience in 2001 (the Network Adaptor being an optional attachment), so it might not have seemed worthwhile to extend development just to make multiplayer happen. | ||
An anecdotal report [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=1612 here] from a forum member indicates that Bungie may have had frame rate troubles as well with earlier builds of the game. Even watching the [[1999|1999 trailer]], one can see segments which seem to be running as low as 10 frames per second. Hardy LeBel, the Design Lead, commented on Oni Central Forum that they had issues with performance due to the use of glass in some areas (see {{SectionLink|Pre-beta content|Decline in appearance}} for quotes). If simple glass was causing performance issues, we could imagine that performance was also a likely factor in killing some of the fancier features above. | |||
Apart from all the above issues, we should keep in mind that Oni was rushed to completion. The game was taking far longer than expected to complete, and the Microsoft acquisition of Bungie happened three years into Oni's development. This required all staff to move to Redmond and work on other projects, primarily Halo. In the limited time remaining to them, the Bungie West staff put in serious crunch time in order to complete and polish as much of the game as they could, but difficult decisions had to be made such as cutting multiplayer and the unfinished BGI level. With that in mind, we could easily explain all cuts to the game as the result of rushed development without even needing to point to game systems' technical limitations of the day as a further rationale. | |||
[[Category:Oni history]] | [[Category:Oni history]] | ||