Why Capcom will not go back to pre-rendered backgrounds

[biohazard_star]

Spoiler:

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But that would likely need a BluRay so 360 and wii are out per say.

I don't think media capacity would be much of an issue seeing as how REmake and Zero both fit on two 1.4 Gb Gamecube media disks. Bluray can definitely handle it, the 360 can just opt for a mandatory multi-DVD install to the HDD. As for the Wii, it only ever displays 480i/p so backgrounds can be just downsized and fit on a standard dual-layer DVD. Although I doubt Capcom will return to using pre-rendered backdrops. If they're gonna be remaking the older RE games, they are definitely doing it in the style of RE4/5/Revelations to be able to cater to a wider audience. Shooting mechanics from those games wouldn't work out without the over-the-shoulder perspective, which can only be achieved in 3D, so no pre-rendered remakes for us.

[Code_R]

1) It looks retro and won't sell. They are not making any survival horror games because of revenue, they won't do this
2) The same time it took to build the backgrounds in old style 90s Maya or whatever it was can now be spent making them in-game

[Chris' Boob]

If pre-rendered graphics was a way to 'illusion' and 'exceed' the graphics of the current console (N64/PS1), why could it not work NOW? On a PS3/360, think of it outside the box. REmake and Zero was VISUALLY beautiful. And that WAS ON A GAMECUBE.

If there was a dedicated Resident Evil with pre-rendered backgrounds on the PS3/360, it would destroy anything that Capcom has ever made, graphics-wise.

[MiLØ]

That's like saying we didn't need them post-PS1. Prerendered is useful because whatever point you're at with graphics on a system, prerendered can jump that gap by arguably another generation. Think of the backgrounds of the Playstation Resident Evil and Dino Crisis games; you would have been lucky to have games looking that good in realtime on the Playstation 2. The same for REmake/Zero; you'd be lucky to get a game that looked that good in realtime on the current gen systems. Consider, for example, how outstanding REmake still looks ten years later compared to the impressive by atmospherically lacking Resident Evil 5 Lost in Nightmares DLC, even with the bonus placed camera mode. Prerendered allows for an almost infinite amount of detail strewn about spaces, something that just isn't viably possible in realtime without diverting a ton of system power to what can be boiled down as atmosphere and set dressing, never mind the fact that consoles are usually stuck with limited RAM space that will always reduce your texture quality to a disappointing level that, while at the time may not be super noticable, with age will always stand out. Anyone who has played the Outbreak games recently or Code: Veronica HD will know what I'm talking about. The textures are the most damning thing that has aged in those games.

That's the reason I think prerendered backgrounds in some games should make a resurgence, because atmosphere and graphics matter hugely in horror games. There's nothing worse than seeing something in a game that completely breaks the immersion, which is why REmake is possibly still the king of survival horror. If you can't drape your horror game in a thick atmosphere, then you've failed. That's why REmake succeeds; the visuals are so perfectly cohesive with the experience of the player that it draws you into and keeps you in that world. It's also why the most common "classic trope of horror games", emulating film by using forced camera angles, was so effective.

I agree with you. Wholeheartedly. Period.

[SonicBlue]

Instead of waiting for something from Capcom I think it's better to look at the creator of the series:

http://tangogameworks.com/project/index_en.html

If they do semi-static cameras a la Dino Crisis/Silent Hill it will be the Survival Horror we have been waiting for.

[MiLØ]

Instead of waiting for something from Capcom I think it's better to look at the creator of the series:

http://tangogameworks.com/project/index_en.html

If they do semi-static cameras a la Dino Crisis/Silent Hill it will be the Survival Horror we have been waiting for.

Wow awesome find! I had no idea about this. Is that what Mikami is up to these days? - got his own studio and is back to horror.

Well at least concept art looks semi-static

[Black~Crow]

I liked the pre rendered backgrounds of past RE games. They looked better than regular 3D objects, they were sort of realistic and helped make the game seem darker. And they were interesting too look at too. I liked that games like RE Rebirth used animated pre-rendered backgrounds, this made a good effect, like trees blowing in the wind.

Past RE games also had the 3rd person camera angle. What I liked about this camera angle was that you can see the character you are playing as, instead of seeing the back of their head, like in Resident Evil 4. Don't get me wrong, I liked Re4, but I wish Capcom had stuck with the beta RE4 a.k.a Re3.5.

The pre-rendered backgrounds plus the 3rd person camera, gave the games a creepy atmosphere which help create tension. I read that this was intended to make the game like a horror movie, you didn't know what was lurking around the corner.

I do not think this style is "old school" either. It is just another way to experience a game. Not all games need to be 1st person shooters. And 1st person shooters have been here a long time too, and no one seems to be calling them "old school"either?

Anyway, The old style is what I have come to like and expect from future RE games. Unfortunately, the new RE games seem to be more action packed shoot ' em up, than survival horror.Why can't future RE games have some elements of the older games?

[Vixtro]

Consider, for example, how outstanding REmake still looks ten years later compared to the impressive by atmospherically lacking Resident Evil 5 Lost in Nightmares DLC, even with the bonus placed camera mode.

Going into that DLC I was only thinking one thing; "How will this mansion setting compare to REmake". I was (expectedly) disappointed. The tone was set right away after noticing the same few paintings recycled in every other room, current gen simply cannot produce the quality of REmake/RE0's pre-rendered backgrounds in real-time.

The thing is, it's not always about pure power and capability, with pre-rendered backgrounds, it's just one image that can contain anything and still be a tiny file size when compared to the massive amount of textures that would be needed with real-time rendering.

Whilst I would love to see another Resident Evil with pre-rendered backgrounds, it's just not the way forward thinking realistically. The only reason they were used to begin with was because of the hardware limitations at the time. RE4 was right to change the was we play Resident Evil in terms of how the player controls the character, just everything else has been wrong with the series since.

Without going into too much of another "RE4 fucked everything up" rant, I'll just simply say that Resident Evil lost it's identity with that game. IMO, CODE: Veronica is the only Resident Evil game fully rendered in real-time that still feels like a proper Resident Evil game atmospherically. To some extent, the Outbreaks do too, but the fact that they're side games with new characters that don't really have any relevance to the main plot, doesn't help.

[yurieu]

consoles cant render the mansion in real time with that quality, at least, not with the capcom's software. i believe Capcom cant deliver something better than the whole RE5 gold edition visuals. the dlc was just ordinary and the game boring.

better if they try 2 more times, with static cameras(i believe they will state "static camera is back!!!")
and with cinema shots like the mindblowing RE4 beta.

[killer7ITA]

Today, a Resident Evil with pre-render backgrounds, would be like this:

http://www.bioflames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=42186&highlight=#42186

Really impressive uh?

[yurieu]

thats a nice house, is it yours?

[killer7ITA]

thats a nice house, is it yours?

No, it's Roman Losev

http://www.creative-3d.net/3DGallery.cfm?Artistid=3738

http://www.creative-3d.net/3dlinks/3dtutorials/maya/GalleryDisplay.cfm?artistid=3738&startrow=1

[Det. Beauregard]

current gen simply cannot produce the quality of REmake/RE0's pre-rendered backgrounds in real-time.

Graphically, I disagree. RE5's graphics were higher quality than Remake's by far.

I think the problem with RE4 onwards is that the pace of the game is so sped up that the atmosphere never really sets in like it did in the classic games. The player is simply much more agile and empowered; the overwhelming focus on the melee crap doesn't help, either. Imagine a game with the new camera system, but where each room loads separately. Most gamers today would not play it (they need their fast-paced twitch gaming), but graphically it would be amazing. It would force the player to slow down and actually notice the detail, as opposed to something linear and boring like RE5 where the immersion is lost because the player is just passing through.

I think a game like RE3, if it were to ever be remade, would benefit from this style.

Capcom won't go back to pre-rendered backgrounds because of two reasons. In the past, hardware limitations wouldn't let them make games in 3D (something which changed just a few years after the original with Code Veronica). Secondly, navigating through pre-rendered backgrounds is simply too complex for the average Joe gamer of today. Nowadays, if a game isn't like almost every other game out there, it's doomed to fail (especially a game in such a popular franchise as Resident Evil).

[yurieu]

i really agree with the Beauregard dude, the pre rendered is not for the "joe gamer"(in brazil we have the same expression eheh), in fact pre rendered become a indie game, like "Gray Matter", but, since there is a lot of crap released by Capcom, like rail shooter and like ORC(i have not included the infinite crazy versions of RE4), they should give it a try in the era of the high resolution.


so, that house photos are pre rendered visuals? thats crazy eheh, but those need a bigger field of view.

[Vixtro]

Graphically, I disagree. RE5's graphics were higher quality than Remake's by far.

I'm a bit lost with your statement, are you saying that RE5's real-time environments look more detailed than REmake's pre-rendered backgrounds?... That's what I'm talking about. I'm not comparing character models or the like.