I am a bit confused by the "Before" shots since my game isn't that dark. Does anyones game actually look that dark?
If you alt-tab out of the game while in full screen mode the gamma goes into ulta-emo-all-is-darkness mode until you tell it to get over it by nudging the slider in either direction in the options menu.
I hope the new engine takes care of that problem.
This is my Risian Corvette. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
"Bringing STO to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is super exciting for the team and it also gives us a great opportunity to make some graphical updates to the game that we’ve wanted to make for a while now. STO has been in development for over 7 years and during that time graphics technology has changed by leaps and bounds. Behind the scenes we’ve been doing a lot of work on the Cryptic Engine’s graphics capabilities. However, those updates had not been ported over to STO… yet.
On the art team we had two top priorities -
1) Picking the features that would make the game look as good as possible in the time we had.
2) Making sure that the changes we make wouldn’t adversely affect the game for players with older PCs."
Most PC's will be able to handle whatever modifications they make. Those that can not, simply modify settings until the game is playable for you. But with the accessibility of components today, there is no reason that a majority would not be able to obtain an upgrade or two. I just hope that they show the main PC version some love. Most of the people interested in Trek are already here, playing the game on PC.
It's confirmed right near the top of the latest blog post that these updates will be released for PC as well:
On the art team we had two top priorities -
1) Picking the features that would make the game look as good as possible in the time we had.
2) Making sure that the changes we make wouldn’t adversely affect the game for players with older PCs.
As far as "splitting" the development team to work on these new versions of the game, I am curious how many devs it takes to do something like that, because apparently they've been able to continue working on content for the regular game, and create a entirely new expansion, update the Risa summer event - and apparently there's still a ton of content coming in 2016. Doesn't seem like it's caused much of a slow down, if any.
I could be wrong, but I believe expansions are things they get extra resources from PWE, with the expectation that a successful expansion will make that money back (and more). That probably means some additional hires or distributing personnel from other projects to STO.
So that's why they can deliver all that. PWE and Cryptic are definitely betting on Star Trek Online here.
But of course, they don't need to split up the entire team. They need the programmers for the engine and also some of the artists to make do-overs over existing assets. But people that make systems (like Admirality or the new skill system) or write story content don't need to be split up. They are "reusable" across the platforms, so to speak. Which is also something we might all benefit from - if X-Box and Play-Station can generate similar income as the PC platform, then that could mean they might not just be able to hire the programmers handling the X-Box and Play-Station stuff, but also hire additional content designers and deliver more content.
Maybe. Perhaps. Always simplifying and guessing on operational details I have no insider clues about. Without knowing all the details. It could just be that the owner of PWE buys a bigger yacht and taco gets his fangs sharpened.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
I'm looking at a lightly used Lenovo Thinkpad with a 3rd gen i5 for processing, 8gb system ram, and the graphics are hybrid 1GB NVIDIA NVS 5400M / Intel HD Graphics 4000. It's going for 300 bucks. Would it handle STO at low to medium settings? Thanks again for the help.
Nope. NVS's are literally designed to make slide shows look good, so unless you really like slide shows...
(I am being completely serious. NVS's are designed for business laptops, for presentation type things like powerpoint. They are atrocious at doing any decent 3D)
I'm looking at a lightly used Lenovo Thinkpad with a 3rd gen i5 for processing, 8gb system ram, and the graphics are hybrid 1GB NVIDIA NVS 5400M / Intel HD Graphics 4000. It's going for 300 bucks. Would it handle STO at low to medium settings? Thanks again for the help.
geh... *IF* it loads sto I doubt itd be playable....
let me put it this way... http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/ gives the Intel HD 4000 a score of 451, the NVS 5400M a score of 742 and the GTX 650ti I mentioned a 2668 and the 650ti is a dated card and very good for a budget build desktop. Im sure there are similar for laptops.
I'm looking forward to see these changes. As it will make the game look different. Some places I like it dark as it adds to the spooky appeal.
My PC is old, very old. So I'm glad they are looking at ways to make it still work for players like myself. I know my computer can't handle stuff, but I don't complain to cryptic about it. All I know is, once I get my new computer. It will be a huge difference, and talk about a WOW factor!
I would had a new computer, but my $ I was saving up went into a new well. The well for the house was going out. That was not a cheap fix. And running water out weighs a new computer. So back to saving up $ again.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
I'm looking at a lightly used Lenovo Thinkpad with a 3rd gen i5 for processing, 8gb system ram, and the graphics are hybrid 1GB NVIDIA NVS 5400M / Intel HD Graphics 4000. It's going for 300 bucks. Would it handle STO at low to medium settings? Thanks again for the help.
Yes, you will be able to play just fine with a combination of low and medium settings.
When testing STO on my Dell Latitude 3540 with a Core i5-4200u and using the integrated Intel HD 4400 graphics core instead of the Radeon HD 8850m dedicated GPU, I can run the game with a mix of low & medium settings at 1600x900 resolution. I haven't tried it at 1080p resolution, but at 1600x900 resolution the performance is pretty good. I do not have a FPS counter so I do not know my frame rate, but it is definitely playable.
The NVS 5400 is basically a nVidia GT 630m / 540m with graphic drivers that is not tweaked for the best graphics performance. Still, it's performance is basically similar to the nVidia GT 710m which makes the NVS 5400's performance between the Intel HD 4400 and Intel HD 5500; much closer to the Intel HD 5500. The Intel HD 5500 is roughly about 20% more powerful than the older generation Intel HD 4400.
Click link below for more detailed and technical information of the NVS 5400. There are also some game benchmarks.
One thing I should point out is that there is something I refer to as "requirements creep" which is somewhat analogous to power creep in a game. Most people know that power creep refers increasing DPS in games as new content is added. That new content can also increase the requirements necessary to play the game. I am 100% confident that I can say STO as it stands now requires a bit more processing and more graphics performance compared to when the game was initially released. Likewise, the new lighting effect can slightly increase the graphics requirements to a small degree even when using low settings, and new seasons can also increase processing and graphics requirements overtime.
While the ThinkPad with the NVS 5400 can certainly play STO decently enough with a mix of low and medium graphic settings, it is always a good idea to spend a little more money if you can afford to do so for a laptop with better graphics performance. That's because once games no longer run well enough to meet you own minimum expectations, then you need to buy another laptop.
Oh and I should state that while the performance of the Intel HD 4400 in my laptop is pretty good it is certainly not as good as as compared to the Radeon HD 8850m which basically performs marginally better than a nVidia 845m.
while the new lighting looks nice, from what the post said, its ground missions only. Here is the problem I have with it: No one plays ground missions except for the 3-4 times durring a new episode release. The rest of the time is spent in space.
while the new lighting looks nice, from what the post said, its ground missions only. Here is the problem I have with it: No one plays ground missions except for the 3-4 times durring a new episode release. The rest of the time is spent in space.
I don't think so.. the new lightning system includes many different aspects and just to quote one sentence..
We’ve also improved the quality of STO’s bloom which helps things that should appear to glow (like fire, ship nacelles and special fx) to really pop.
-> so nope.. this is not just for ground missions.
"We might get pretty singed at that range, but not as singed as they're going to get. Engage."
- Captain Six of Nine aka Ashley "Don't Call Me Ash" Campbell
while the new lighting looks nice, from what the post said, its ground missions only. Here is the problem I have with it: No one plays ground missions except for the 3-4 times durring a new episode release. The rest of the time is spent in space.
I play a lot of ground missions like Dyson Battlezone and Assault on Terok Nor Advanced and Brotherhood of the Sword Elite. Counterpoint Advanced is fun, but I like Assault on Terok Nor Advanced better. Brotherhood of the Sword Elite is quicker (~ 10 minutes) and easier than Gateway to Gre'thor Advanced (~20 - 25 minutes).
The only problem with BotS Elite is that a few times there seem to be neophytes that do not understand that the optional objectives are mandatory in Elite before shutting down the Iconian Devices in two of the four areas. But in GtG Advanced I sometimes end up with people who do not focus on the dreadnought and / or do not have enough firepower effectively damage the Dreadnought since it can heal itself pretty quickly.
One time in GtG Advanced I blew up ('cuz I attack the dreadnought at 2km or less) and got swarmed by the cruisers. I watched the other players attacking the dreadnought and noticed that dreadnought was repairing itself faster than the other players were damaging it. I do not fly an awesome DPS ship... no where near "awesome". It's built for fun but at least when I attack the dreadnought by myself (done that too many times), I can slowly damage it's hull.
while the new lighting looks nice, from what the post said, its ground missions only. Here is the problem I have with it: No one plays ground missions except for the 3-4 times durring a new episode release. The rest of the time is spent in space.
Graphics settings and effects are applied on a global scale as long as the source of light and shadows are there. It is not as if you can pick and choose when the lighting effects will occur if the source exists in both scenarios of space and ground. In that case, the lighting effects work in both space and ground but if space generally lacks the required sources of light and shadows then you will not see the graphical effect as much. But it doesn't mean it is not there and won't be rendered when these sources do exist.
You do not have a lot of shadows for space combat. The only source of objects that would cast this is your ship, enemies and larger objects like asteroids and what not. As far as lighting goes there isn't much of that either other than suns and your energy weapons and projectiles.
I am not sure what kind of wonders you are expecting.
Comments
If you alt-tab out of the game while in full screen mode the gamma goes into ulta-emo-all-is-darkness mode until you tell it to get over it by nudging the slider in either direction in the options menu.
I hope the new engine takes care of that problem.
"Bringing STO to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is super exciting for the team and it also gives us a great opportunity to make some graphical updates to the game that we’ve wanted to make for a while now. STO has been in development for over 7 years and during that time graphics technology has changed by leaps and bounds. Behind the scenes we’ve been doing a lot of work on the Cryptic Engine’s graphics capabilities. However, those updates had not been ported over to STO… yet.
On the art team we had two top priorities -
1) Picking the features that would make the game look as good as possible in the time we had.
2) Making sure that the changes we make wouldn’t adversely affect the game for players with older PCs."
Most PC's will be able to handle whatever modifications they make. Those that can not, simply modify settings until the game is playable for you. But with the accessibility of components today, there is no reason that a majority would not be able to obtain an upgrade or two. I just hope that they show the main PC version some love. Most of the people interested in Trek are already here, playing the game on PC.
So that's why they can deliver all that. PWE and Cryptic are definitely betting on Star Trek Online here.
But of course, they don't need to split up the entire team. They need the programmers for the engine and also some of the artists to make do-overs over existing assets. But people that make systems (like Admirality or the new skill system) or write story content don't need to be split up. They are "reusable" across the platforms, so to speak. Which is also something we might all benefit from - if X-Box and Play-Station can generate similar income as the PC platform, then that could mean they might not just be able to hire the programmers handling the X-Box and Play-Station stuff, but also hire additional content designers and deliver more content.
Maybe. Perhaps. Always simplifying and guessing on operational details I have no insider clues about. Without knowing all the details. It could just be that the owner of PWE buys a bigger yacht and taco gets his fangs sharpened.
Nope. NVS's are literally designed to make slide shows look good, so unless you really like slide shows...
(I am being completely serious. NVS's are designed for business laptops, for presentation type things like powerpoint. They are atrocious at doing any decent 3D)
geh... *IF* it loads sto I doubt itd be playable....
let me put it this way... http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/ gives the Intel HD 4000 a score of 451, the NVS 5400M a score of 742 and the GTX 650ti I mentioned a 2668 and the 650ti is a dated card and very good for a budget build desktop. Im sure there are similar for laptops.
My PC is old, very old. So I'm glad they are looking at ways to make it still work for players like myself. I know my computer can't handle stuff, but I don't complain to cryptic about it. All I know is, once I get my new computer. It will be a huge difference, and talk about a WOW factor!
I would had a new computer, but my $ I was saving up went into a new well. The well for the house was going out. That was not a cheap fix. And running water out weighs a new computer. So back to saving up $ again.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
Yes, you will be able to play just fine with a combination of low and medium settings.
When testing STO on my Dell Latitude 3540 with a Core i5-4200u and using the integrated Intel HD 4400 graphics core instead of the Radeon HD 8850m dedicated GPU, I can run the game with a mix of low & medium settings at 1600x900 resolution. I haven't tried it at 1080p resolution, but at 1600x900 resolution the performance is pretty good. I do not have a FPS counter so I do not know my frame rate, but it is definitely playable.
The NVS 5400 is basically a nVidia GT 630m / 540m with graphic drivers that is not tweaked for the best graphics performance. Still, it's performance is basically similar to the nVidia GT 710m which makes the NVS 5400's performance between the Intel HD 4400 and Intel HD 5500; much closer to the Intel HD 5500. The Intel HD 5500 is roughly about 20% more powerful than the older generation Intel HD 4400.
Click link below for more detailed and technical information of the NVS 5400. There are also some game benchmarks.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-NVS-5400M.76731.0.html
While the ThinkPad with the NVS 5400 can certainly play STO decently enough with a mix of low and medium graphic settings, it is always a good idea to spend a little more money if you can afford to do so for a laptop with better graphics performance. That's because once games no longer run well enough to meet you own minimum expectations, then you need to buy another laptop.
Oh and I should state that while the performance of the Intel HD 4400 in my laptop is pretty good it is certainly not as good as as compared to the Radeon HD 8850m which basically performs marginally better than a nVidia 845m.
I don't think so.. the new lightning system includes many different aspects and just to quote one sentence.. -> so nope.. this is not just for ground missions.
I play a lot of ground missions like Dyson Battlezone and Assault on Terok Nor Advanced and Brotherhood of the Sword Elite. Counterpoint Advanced is fun, but I like Assault on Terok Nor Advanced better. Brotherhood of the Sword Elite is quicker (~ 10 minutes) and easier than Gateway to Gre'thor Advanced (~20 - 25 minutes).
The only problem with BotS Elite is that a few times there seem to be neophytes that do not understand that the optional objectives are mandatory in Elite before shutting down the Iconian Devices in two of the four areas. But in GtG Advanced I sometimes end up with people who do not focus on the dreadnought and / or do not have enough firepower effectively damage the Dreadnought since it can heal itself pretty quickly.
One time in GtG Advanced I blew up ('cuz I attack the dreadnought at 2km or less) and got swarmed by the cruisers. I watched the other players attacking the dreadnought and noticed that dreadnought was repairing itself faster than the other players were damaging it. I do not fly an awesome DPS ship... no where near "awesome". It's built for fun but at least when I attack the dreadnought by myself (done that too many times), I can slowly damage it's hull.
Graphics settings and effects are applied on a global scale as long as the source of light and shadows are there. It is not as if you can pick and choose when the lighting effects will occur if the source exists in both scenarios of space and ground. In that case, the lighting effects work in both space and ground but if space generally lacks the required sources of light and shadows then you will not see the graphical effect as much. But it doesn't mean it is not there and won't be rendered when these sources do exist.
You do not have a lot of shadows for space combat. The only source of objects that would cast this is your ship, enemies and larger objects like asteroids and what not. As far as lighting goes there isn't much of that either other than suns and your energy weapons and projectiles.
I am not sure what kind of wonders you are expecting.