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Half-Life 2 - Lost Coast Details

Posted by Zonk on from the too-much-flare!-i-can't-see! dept.

Eurogamer.com has some more details on the mini-expansion cum tech demo that is "The Lost Coast". The release will be specifically for high-end PCs, and is intended to show off the places that Valve can stretch the Source technology into. From the article: "If you jump out of a dark space into a light area you're going to be blinded. It's going to be really bright until your eyes adjust. It can be used the other way around, too. Hide from a monster in a dark area and it will take a couple of seconds to go from a silhouette to detail..."

9 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Flashbangs... by Nos. · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If you jump out of a dark space into a light area you're going to be blinded. It's going to be really bright until your eyes adjust Is this really any different than flashbang grenades we've seen in CS?

    1. Re:Flashbangs... by Grygonos · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually yes it is...I can't remember specifics.. but I had the misfortune of watching Attack of the Show on what used to be TechTV. They previewed the technology and it was quite amazing. The light is just hotter (if you understand hot in terms of light) than light without that technology. Very interesting stuff, but hard to describe until you see it.The flashbang effect is a whiteout, that fades back in. this is totally different.

    2. Re:Flashbangs... by smallguy78 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's not been mentioned that HDR effects aren't going to be visible on flatscreen lcd screens, because of the limitations of the brightness scales they can display.

      More details: here

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      Nothing costs nothing
  2. High-End PCs by Mumpsman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The release will be specifically for high-end PCs

    Great! I look forward to playing this in 5 years when the components become affordable. That is if Steam is still running...

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    No battles to the death are recalled. Mumpsman can hit to attack and cause brainsmashing.
  3. Re:So where are the screen shots? by avalys · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Or you could walk into the bookstore, grab a copy of PCGamer, look at the screenshots, put it back on the shelf, and walk out.

    All for free.

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    This space intentionally left blank.
  4. Interesting... by wowbagger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've been saying for some time I'd like to see a FPS incorporate light discipline and sound discipline - in other words, standing in a doorway with bright light behind you makes you a good target for the bad guys, waving your flashlight around needlessly lets the bad guys know where you are, making lots of noise lets the bad guys know where you are....

    Imagine having to dive from a brightly lit room into a dark room quickly (in order to not get shot when you are in the door), then having to wait for a while to let your eyes adjust, then flipping a light switch and watching the bad guys shoot out the lights....

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  5. Are they trying for realism? by ivan256 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If you jump out of a dark space into a light area you're going to be blinded. It's going to be really bright until your eyes adjust. It can be used the other way around, too.

    It seems to me that in real life, it's not the ambient light where your are that causes your eyes to react, but how bright what you're looking at is. Why should it make any difference that you've moved from/to a dark/well-lit area if you're still looking at the same object that is still illuminated the same way?

  6. Everquest by Kaenneth · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Everquest had the player characters 'eyes' adjust for many years now, when you step into a cave, the brightness slowly rises, when you step out, the glare slowly fades...

  7. Strategies by phorm · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Advanced lighting introduce a lot of new gaming strategies that correspond to real life.

    How about having a level wherein a realistic sun moves over time (as it gets towards night). Shadows will move, causing good sniping spots to come and go. On a bright day, you might even want to sit in a corner right near the sun, so anyone looking towards you will be blinded as you snipe em.

    A new function key could be added as well. How about closing your eyes so that you don't get blinded, or perhaps so that you can adjust for an upcoming dark room. Maybe a "shades" item might come in handy.

    A lot of real-life tactical situations can evolve around light and shadows, so they would definately add a lot to FPS games, and perhaps even other genres such as RTS (moving in for the kill when the sun is positioned so that you have shadow from a mountain, etc)