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Watching JK1 Cinematics


Digital_Ronin

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For all of you who want to relive the drama of the OLD JediKnight's story without having to play it through again (maybe before starting a new instance of JediOutcast? :) ) I have uploaded a player that can handle the old ".smk" cinematic files that you will find on your JediKnight1 CDs.

 

("Smink Player", 544 kilobytes)

http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~uqlt/SMKplayer.exe

 

I just watched them ... and man, as good as JediOutcast is, it is still missing something in terms of story and drama. Not saying it is bad - quite the oppsosite, but it's not perfect - imagine a story like in JK1 merged with a graphical and gameplay feast like in JO.

 

Well, or maybe it would have already been enough not to use in-engine cinematics for JO. Most game companies tend to do that by now (in-engine clips), mostly because it is a lot cheaper than paying actors and renting studios ... but I consider that a very sad trend.

 

A well done cinematic with actors is just so much more immersive than even the best engine-scene.

 

Can you hear me, gaming industry?

Can anyone up there hear me?

Guess not. :(

 

Digital_Ronin

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Strange, mine is perfectly in sync.

 

*hmmm*, did you try checking the 'preload' and 'double buffer' boxes? I have them both on and that buffering might help keeping the sync?

 

What machine do you run it on?

I have XP and a PIII1000. Maybe some weird emulation thingy of that player eats performance?

 

Digital_Ronin

:tied:

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Well, apparently LEC found the original cutscenes in JK so terrible that they have sworn never to use real actors in any of their games ever again. (well besides voice actors ofcourse) I think that's a bit overblown, sure it wasn't as good as in the SW movies.. but they were by no means horrible ^.^

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There seems to be mixed feelings out there.

 

Most people I've seen post rather negative opinions regarding the JK1 cutscenes. Personally, I liked them. They added a truly cinematic feel to the game. The only two actors I did not like were Jerec and Boc.

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2nd thread i have seen like this. Anyhow, I thought the original cut scenes were very goofy. The animated ones aren't that much better, but at lest they flowed better with the game. Sorry to say this, but pornos provided better dialogue and "acting."

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It's Star Wars. What do you expect?

 

I liked the cinematics too. I usually like in-game cinematics, if they're done well, like Metal Gear Solid or Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The problem with JO's cinematics is mostly the character models. They move strangely and jerk when turning (a problem never seen in Q3 engine games before). Also, the characters look short and disproportional, for some reason. They don't act really life-like, mainly because the Q3 engine isn't really good at that anyways.

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*slaps nax*

Oh... wrong one.

Mmmm... asian beauty...

*slaps self*

D'oh!

 

I never got the impression that the acting was that bad. A bit overdone here and there, but Kyle gave a formidable show, didn't he?

He managed to pull me deep into the game for sure.

*ahhh, that rage...* ;)

 

Digital_Ronin

:tied:

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I hated the cutscenes in JO. That kissing scene with Kyle and Jan was so damn funny. Looked like one of those bugsbunny kisses. Or the equivalent of rubbing a couple dolls heads together. heh

 

Personally, I love live actors. Makes it feel way more like you're playing a movie, and it immerses you in the story far better, IMO. I especially loved the real video in games like c&c, tiberian sun etc. c&c was one of the first games I bought and when I saw real video footage and real actors playing on my old 486 it blew me away.

 

If you're not going to do live actors at the very least use pre-rendered cutscenes! Like what c&c renegade had. Maybe the game wasn't so great, but they did some decent cutscenes.

 

I'd even prefer max payne-style storyboard cutscenes.

Sorry, I just think scripted cutscenes suck ass. its just my opinion though, don't go nuts :)

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But you've gotta love the JK cutscenes... heh, I remember back in the day my roommate and I would make pop-corn and watch those over and over. To say nothing of the joke and "impressions" potential.

; )

 

Sure it's not Oscar material, but hey, it's fun!

 

The only reason you don't see that kind of cinema anymore is because it's so expensive and time consuming to make, most game companies just can't afford it.

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*hmmm* - someone said that live-actor-cutscenes would disrupt the immersion and make you notice that you're actually playing a game.

 

I say: quite the opposite. Such cutscenes make me project the 'movie' feeling into the rest of the game.

 

I mean, let's face it: JO graphics are indeed sweet - no, they are even breathtaking, but... they still are far from photo-realism. You might occasionally forget that you're playing a game, but this pertains to almost every engine since the 3d-Genesis.

 

Now IMO, cutscenes have two purposes: rewarding the player for his accomplishments and setting the mood of the game/immerging the player into the game's world. Now scripted cutscenes just don't look realistic, meaning that during the cutscenes I'm being reminded of it being just a game more than anytime else.

 

And for all who disagree about the realism thing, try this benchmark. THIS is what I consider close to photo-realism:

http://www.codecult.com/benchmarks/Codecreatures_Benchmark_Pro_Setup.exe

 

36MB and WARNING: works only with Geforce3 cards on high-end machines.

 

Digital_Ronin

:tied:

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