REAL rain! : V - Skyrim

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:34 pm

What I hated the most in Oblivion was how water would go straight through roofs and other surfaces in a really noticeable way. I agree with the rest too though.
Here is some more footage on how it should be done:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKHABmrTIn8
Rain stuff starts at 1:36.

Yeah, except STALKER games are notoriously buggy, regardless of their beauty.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:22 am

Yeah, except STALKER games are notoriously buggy, regardless of their beauty.

True, but so are Fallout 3 and NV, Bethesda's latest games. Yet even so, Skyrim has supposedly come pretty far by now, so they should have time to polish the game and lose most of the bugs.

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:29 pm

Also I registered specifically to make this post

And I made this post simply to give you a http://images.uesp.net//c/c4/Fishystick.jpg Welcome to the forums.

On topic, if Bethesda cant make rain fantabulously awesome, I atleast expect the minimum laws:

1. Rain must not pass through objects it would not normally pass through in real life. (Rain cannot go through cement roofs)
2. Similarly, rain must act accordingly when it is affected - or not affected - by an object in the game world. (Rain must make a tapping noise when landing on a cement roof)

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:27 pm

I absolutely agree. Weather effects in games can be stunning and really immersive. Oblivion was alright, but for the most part just unimpressive. I understand they were limited at the time though to what they could assume about the platforms they were developing for, but I really think some great weather effects could add alot.

Look at the rain in rockstar games - in particular, red dead redemption & grand theft auto 4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHoSMFSksFg&feature=related, especially, looks (in my opinion) fantastic, and doesn't scratch the performance. It's also done quite simply, ith shallow puddles appearing on the ground & overcast clouds etc.

Obviously I'm not suggesting something identical but it's a simple effect that looks amazing. Also, those videos in the OP are brilliant, I love how you can see the rain bouncing off the surfaces. Anyway, in conclusion I'd say that it's not essential to have good looking weather, but being that this will be a game in turbulent settings, we could do with a few nice weather effects to accompany.

Also I registered specifically to make this post

That rain looks really nice. Puddles are pretty cool imo.

Would be extra awesome if you're in a populated city in Skyrim...
I can imagine a muddy, gloomy day where its raining and you can see the rain hit everything, and see puddles. And then you go inside a house and watch (and hear) the rain hit the windows.
Things like that add a lot of immersion

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:52 am

I agree, but if we can at least hear it inside and it doesn't fall through roofs in Skyrim I will be very happy.

This

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:56 am

Like many of my posts I'm not here to argue for or against but to make a clarification. Rain in Oblivion didn't fall through anything because it wasn't a tangible 3d object, it was a screen effect.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:34 am

Well it is a new engine , we can only hope . I did find it funny in morrowind where the rain fell through the buildings.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:18 am

Like many of my posts I'm not here to argue for or against but to make a clarification. Rain in Oblivion didn't fall through anything because it wasn't a tangible 3d object, it was a screen effect.

Semantics. When it comes down to it, everything other than sound ends up as a screen effect, because video and audio are the only two outputs we have. And the end result that we see is rain falling through objects. And we want it to stop.

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:24 pm

Semantics. When it comes down to it, everything other than sound ends up as a screen effect, because video and audio are the only two outputs we have. And the end result that we see is rain falling through objects. And we want it to stop.

No, what you are seeing is a screen effect that falls in front of everything else. Like i said, I'm not arguing for or against but rather clearing up a misconception which is surprisingly coming from quite a few experienced modders. I think it's important If you want a change to be made you should know what your asking for.

"Real Rain" would constitute a mesh with physics for every rain drop. Alternatively they could develop a screen effect that is segmented with a detection system that shuts down portions of it according to what your looking at.

The former would be very resource intensive and the latter would be very development intensive. Is that to say either one of them couldn't be implemented? No. Do I care if either one of them are? No, not going to make or break the game for me.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:04 am

I agree, but if we can at least hear it inside and it doesn't fall through roofs in Skyrim I will be very happy.

+1

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:52 pm

Better weather effects? :thumbsup: What I want is to stick my tongue out catch snow flakes, this will be snowy Skyrim after all!

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:03 am

Agreed, but with a catch.

Your First and Fourth points should be first priority, something that must happen in the game.

Point number 2 is of moderate priority, something that should happen but is forgivable if absent.

The third one is low priority. It'd be nice, but not missed if not included.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:50 am

I am too of the practicality side - don't have it falling through stuff and I'm perfectly content.

Since Morrowind (which recently, the community fixed this with the Morrowind Code Patch), we've been plagued by terrible rain implementation. (Hell, Fallout 3 and New Vegas didn't even have rain at all, AFAIR) Just having it stop falling through things, and still be visible on the other side and I'm solid. That gets done and I'm back to chanting for more stealth stuff.

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:06 pm

To anyone saying that this is a waste of resources or anything else, c'mon.. This would make the game a lot more realistic and a whole lot more aesthetically pleasing.

That being said, I'm pretty sure that this has already been incorporated into the game. I just can't see Bethesda skipping something like this, seeing as Oblivion was the "prettiest" game of it's time. I don't think we'll be let down by the visuals in Skyrim, guys.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:05 am

I agree that rain should fall, but not fall through objects. However, I think that rain collecting on the ground in puddles would be a bit unnecessary. I could see them applying a shader effect to outdoor objects in the rain to make them appear wet though.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:22 am

To anyone saying that this is a waste of resources or anything else, c'mon.. This would make the game a lot more realistic and a whole lot more aesthetically pleasing.

That being said, I'm pretty sure that this has already been incorporated into the game. I just can't see Bethesda skipping something like this, seeing as Oblivion was the "prettiest" game of it's time. I don't think we'll be let down by the visuals in Skyrim, guys.

Yeah I agree...
It's a nice improvement in visuals. And it's immersive and it "strengthens" the atmosphere.
The technology is out there. It has been.. for several years.
Doesn't seem very resource heavy either. Most newer code is so efficient and "clean" things like this barely make any difference in resources. Even older games in 2007/08 have implemented things like this with no trouble.
I really see no reason not to implement it. It's definitely not a waste of resources since this poll clearly shows that we all here on the forums would love it, or would at least partly love it

If game developers would think like this (calling it a waste of resources), then graphics would almost never improve

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:29 am

I could not care less about rain in skyrim, seriously if this is one of the things you want improved, then you need to sort of you're priorities.

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:21 pm

I agree that rain/snow should not go through roofs and trees, even Gothic had this covered.

I don't mind if the rain doesn't make pools and reflect light and stuff

, its OK if it just make nice noise on armor/ground/roofs.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:31 am

I could not care less about rain in skyrim, seriously if this is one of the things you want improved, then you need to sort of you're priorities.

Why not improve something when it can be improved rather easily with long existing technology?
And who says all threads have to be about huuuge topics? What's so wrong with focusing on something specific, rather small? It doesn't necessarily make it less important.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:14 am

There are many things that can be done to make Skyrim more immersive then Oblivion, and I think better rain would be nice, but it would use up a lot of processing power that can be better utilized for other improvements.

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:02 am

I though the rain was done well in Gothic 4, even if the final game wasn't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0PIlQtThgg

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:10 am

Red dead redemtion rain.It didnt fall through roofs of outside buildings like stables,it collolected in places,and the sounds changed depending on where you were.It would be good, but what Id rather see is water that moves like water.It was wierd that the water in the sea near Anvil looked so calm,and there was no waves,even in a storm.

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:11 pm

if even some of this can be put in it would be great. however only if it doesn't take too much time away from other areas or make the system requirements go through the roof

» Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:40 am

I could not care less about rain in skyrim, seriously if this is one of the things you want improved, then you need to sort of you're priorities.

Yeah, lets dump all graphical improvements and make Skyrim a text-based adventure, with great gameplay mechanics! Is that what you want? Different people at Bethesda do the graphical stuff and others do the coding, so adding improved rain won't interfere with the developement of gameplay mechanics or storywriting.

» Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:09 pm

One thing from ME2 that remains fresh in mind was a particular spot in one of the missions. Interior of a damaged building, corridor, roof partially blown out, raining outside. You could hear the ambient rain, but more noticeable, the sound of droplets landing in puddles in this corridor, as well as the occasional pings of droplets hitting metallic objects. It added so much to the environment where I literally just stopped and listened for a while. I thought it was the coolest thing

And it made me a little more cautious continuing... it just svcked me in that much more.

Needless to say, I'm in agreement with the OP's thoughts. I'm a big fan of realistic environments since they can add so much to immersion. 3rd person games, not so much. It's a different feel to the game. But 1st person games where YOU are the character, I think this kind of stuff is very important to help bring the world to life around you.