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Pre-beta features: Difference between revisions
what the heck, let's be thorough and add a "hype"-othetical section; p.s., I know I've read a quote from a Bungie dev about "water physics" or "liquid physics" but for the life of me I can't find it now, so I can't cite that statement
m (added supporting citations for performance issues and VRAM requirement) |
(what the heck, let's be thorough and add a "hype"-othetical section; p.s., I know I've read a quote from a Bungie dev about "water physics" or "liquid physics" but for the life of me I can't find it now, so I can't cite that statement) |
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{{Hatnote|This article is about changes in the game engine during development. To learn about changes made to the levels and other game assets, see the [[Pre-beta content]] page.}} | {{Hatnote|This article is about changes in the game engine during development. To learn about changes made to the levels and other game assets, see the [[Pre-beta content]] page.}} | ||
Below we discuss features that were cut from Oni before release. | Below we discuss features that were cut from Oni before release. The focus is on features for which we have documentary evidence (screenshots, video), not features that were only teased in interviews, however those teased features are collected in the final section. | ||
{{TOCfloat|side=right}} | {{TOCfloat|side=right}} | ||
==Multiplayer== | ==Multiplayer== | ||
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==Inverse kinematics== | ==Inverse kinematics== | ||
[[wp:Inverse kinematics|Inverse kinematics]], also promised in Oni's [[Oni/Positioning|positioning statement]], was planned in order to allow complex melee interactions | [[wp:Inverse kinematics|Inverse kinematics]], also promised in Oni's [[Oni/Positioning|positioning statement]], was planned in order to allow complex melee interactions including "smash[ing] your opponent’s head into a nearby wall". IK was removed when Bungie West found that it wasn't necessary to perform throws and disarm moves, as explained by Bungie spokesman Matt Soell [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4166 here]. Environmental interactions such as damaging impacts with walls were never implemented. | ||
==Rationale for cuts== | ==Rationale for cuts== | ||
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Apart from all the above issues, we should keep in mind that Oni was rushed to completion because of the Microsoft acquisition, which happened three years into Oni's development in June of 2000. All staff were going to have to move to Redmond, Washington and contribute to Halo so it could be an Xbox launch title. In the limited time remaining to them, the Bungie West staff put in massive 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. Even if Take-Two had decided that they wanted to extend Oni's development by another six months in order to polish the game, the question would be "With what staff?" Bungie West's staff had quit or merged with Bungie HQ in Redmond by the end of 2000. The entire game would have needed to be handed off to a new team that was totally unfamiliar with the engine. Keeping this timeline in mind, we could easily explain all cuts to the game as the result of rushed development without even needing to point to technical limitations in computers of the day as a further rationale. | Apart from all the above issues, we should keep in mind that Oni was rushed to completion because of the Microsoft acquisition, which happened three years into Oni's development in June of 2000. All staff were going to have to move to Redmond, Washington and contribute to Halo so it could be an Xbox launch title. In the limited time remaining to them, the Bungie West staff put in massive 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. Even if Take-Two had decided that they wanted to extend Oni's development by another six months in order to polish the game, the question would be "With what staff?" Bungie West's staff had quit or merged with Bungie HQ in Redmond by the end of 2000. The entire game would have needed to be handed off to a new team that was totally unfamiliar with the engine. Keeping this timeline in mind, we could easily explain all cuts to the game as the result of rushed development without even needing to point to technical limitations in computers of the day as a further rationale. | ||
<references/> | |||
==Hypothetical but unseen== | |||
A short collection of features that were promised, but which we have no visual evidence for: | |||
*The "neural net" AI. The AI was originally planned to be able to: | |||
**experience fear and run for help when outmatched, | |||
**fight as a group, | |||
**take cover when under fire, | |||
**and generally demonstrate emergent behavior. | |||
:This is [http://web.archive.org/web/20000815110700/http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/99/pease/pease_interview.shtml claimed] to have been working in the office, but after the first AI programmer was fired, these plans seem to have evaporated. Oddly, the AI code as it was shipped was incapable of taking cover from enemy fire, and instead ran blindly into your gunfire, but after a patch was made by a fan they were able to take cover intelligently. The code had been there all along but a simple blunder prevented it from activating. Was this the result of the second AI programmer lacking familiarity with the code? How much other working code was lost in the migration from "AI" to "AI2" code? | |||
*The initial press release from 1998: [https://web.archive.org/web/20000422020741/http://pc.ign.com:80/news/5839.html "If the action gets too hairy, kill the lights, prime a concussion grenade and dive through a window while the room explodes above you."] Oni, of course, has no grenades, and you can't dive through unbroken windows or turn off lights. | |||
*Bungie's [[Oni/Positioning|internal positioning statement]], not released to the public, mentions "destructible environments". It's doubtful that this feature was actually worked on besides allowing doors to be broken down, which was a canceled feature. | |||
*There was a mention of water physics made in an early interview. This was actually worked on by Bungie West but canceled at an unknown point in development. | |||
[[Category:Oni history]] | [[Category:Oni history]] | ||