Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles

[pedrocasilva]

Uh...the gun is basically a Wii remote.

I was reffering to other consoles and add-ons like the original guncoms, since compatibility broke with LCD's and Plasmas there's gonna be a revised guncom for PS3 and Time Crisis 4 who solves it, not a wiimote mind you. (although the solution is similar at least partially), and of course, the arcade, they are actually doing the same.

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ill say. It looks like a step above RE4 in the graphics department.

[pedrocasilva]

Ill say. It looks like a step above RE4 in the graphics department.

I disagree...

 

 

Their shadows are inadmissible, n64'ish even.

 

I mean...

 

 

Look at their casted shadows? and that's ingame on GC...

 

now...

 

 

What textures are these? And even the modeling, seems from a old model from REmake and RE0 and not RE4, RE4 ( who should have the same polycounts but look better)... And those textures... Wii not only has a load of extra RAM but also has 64 MB flash-ROM bank acessible for caching, there's no reason for these not to look better... (a lot better, actually)

 

For example, RE4 texturing:

 

 

Looks a load better than UC as at least they aren't stretching low-res textures all over.

 

We could say the low-res textures are a matter of efficiency but when you have a considerable amount of extra RAM there's no point in maintaining that, specially when the rest of the game doesn't look that detailed either.

 

Same for polygons, RE4 looked better with the same polycounts, the texture work was also better, so why is this not as good, or even a clear improvement? And IMO, UC is not.

 

UC's modeling is outdated:

 

 

Look at that arm, is it separated or what? (not to mention the textures) that's what you get from recycling REmake's 2001 models: (and not meant for close-ups too)

 

They're the REmake and RE0 zombies:

 

 

 

and another one:

 

 

 

And the fatso and the other in the back of that last one are also in REmake.

 

Hell, did they downgrade REmake's blurry textures into 8 bit color like they did for RE4 to run on PS2? (absolutely uncalled for on the Wii, I'd say) the textures were still blury and the models where the same, but at least the blood was red before.

 

Basically... Everything except the new scenario we've yet to see screens of, seems to be a last gen asset copy/paste into RE4 engine and when it comes to scenarios... geometry that could be done on PS2:

 

dumbed down CGI render:

 

 

look at the "supposedly" rounded ceiling (at the left) polycounts, also the horizontal stuff above the windows... can't they even use bump maps? the game looks so naked that it seems like they're dumbing it down for PS2. (it really is)

 

 

This is how it looked (low quality jpeg I know) on GC:

 

 

I know very well it's pre-rendered (just so no one sends that one flying on me, but the kind of polycounts they're using on the in-game one... are simply too low, it's not because "I see a polygon" it's really because "this is really low polygon" and there's absolutely no need to go that far.

 

This is GC level geometry:

 

 

I don't believe they had any polycount limitation to go to the point of having to do that train scene with that kind of compromises, it's just totally half assed.

 

also... using a dog like this is hideous:

 

 

Hell... not the same species or kind of infection... but haven't they heard of the RE4 dogs yet?

 

 

Seriously... 20 times better, because one was made for close-ups (when he bites) and in a full 3D game, and the other was made for a fixed angle with pre-rendered backdrops one, I can't compliment that approach, I just can't, at least retexture the d@mn thing. (same with Zombies, actually)

 

I'll buy UC, and I think it's looking better in the later areas, but I'm not sattisfied with Capcom's aproach; it's half assed, therefore not even rivaling RE4 at most parts; not a step up, looks like a step down considering the spec is higher too.

[Zechs Merquise]

Agreed, very good post Pedro, Capcom hasn't given this the attention it deserves, which is sad, as it may outsell RE5!

[...]

For example, RE4 texturing:

 

 

Man, this picture still looks mighty impressive today, for me anyway.

[Dante]

Sigh!

Lets moan about a game that is half done and show screenshots of other games that are not really in 3D style or done over 2 years.

[Hero-of-Time]

Agreed, very good post Pedro, Capcom hasn't given this the attention it deserves, which is sad, as it may outsell RE5!

 

I know that the Wii is the hot product at the moment but I just cant see RE:UC outselling R Evil 5. RE5 will launch on 2 platforms and it is a proper continuation of the R Evil saga, sure you get a new scenario on this but its just not the same. Regardless of this though I will still be picking this up as its R Evil

[Slaggis]

I know that the Wii is the hot product at the moment but I just cant see RE:UC outselling R Evil 5. RE5 will launch on 2 platforms and it is a proper continuation of the R Evil saga, sure you get a new scenario on this but its just not the same. Regardless of this though I will still be picking this up as its R Evil

 

There is no way it will outsell RE5. Down to the fact by the time RE5 is out lots more PS3's and 360's will be in people's homes.

[Demuwan]

Sigh!

Lets moan about a game that is half done and show screenshots of other games that are not really in 3D style or done over 2 years.

 

You've got to admit he's got a point though.

[pedrocasilva]

Sigh!

Lets moan about a game that is half done and show screenshots of other games that are not really in 3D style or done over 2 years.

It's coming out this year, RE4 looked better than it from the start, because it was made like that from the start. It's not 3 months from completion that they'll redo all their assets.

 

I showed the pre-rendered ones because they used the exact same zombies on RE UC, thing is... those zombies had textures to be seen from afar, not close-ups taking 2/3's of the screen, and even then... their modeling is really outdated now. basically I wasn't refering to the background, but to the exact same zombies that were imported into UC.

 

As for RE4 done 2 years ago on a console with 1/3 of the RAM and at least half the performance... REUC not reaching that standard is really a sign of Capcom being half assed.

 

I'll buy the game mind you, it still looks better than most Wii efforts and ports, but there's a lot of stupid compromises they're taking there, as well as too much recycling of previously done stuff; it's a cash-in, that said RE4 Wii was a cash in too and I liked the fact that it came, I like this too, but it's still half assed.

[IMJ]

Same fair point there Pedro. It's true some of the textures are kinda horrible when up-close. Same goes for the odd poly models every now and then.

 

You may consider a few things though. As far as I've seen, Wii screenshots look bad. Seriously bad. Nothing like the real deal. Can't remember the GC had such a problem.

 

You may also consider that RE:UC is a different type of game. You have no time to go explore. Each area is shown for a limited amount of time, it's much more fast-paced than RE4 ever was. So you may not notice when playing.

 

Finally, RE4 was in production for.. what? 4 years? RE:UC has been 2 at most, if not less.

 

All that said, I do think it's no excuse to expect anything less than the last generation. Hopefully RE:UC is only a sign of better things to come.

[pedrocasilva]

Same fair point there Pedro. It's true some of the textures are kinda horrible when up-close. Same goes for the odd poly models every now and then.

 

You may consider a few things though. As far as I've seen, Wii screenshots look bad. Seriously bad. Nothing like the real deal. Can't remember the GC had such a problem.

 

You may also consider that RE:UC is a different type of game. You have no time to go explore. Each area is shown for a limited amount of time, it's much more fast-paced than RE4 ever was. So you may not notice when playing.

 

Finally, RE4 was in production for.. what? 4 years? RE:UC has been 2 at most, if not less.

 

All that said, I do think it's no excuse to expect anything less than the last generation. Hopefully RE:UC is only a sign of better things to come.

RE4 was scrapped a lot of times though, and actually the hookman version had better graphics than the final RE4 build (because it had less draw distance and lesser enemies on-screen).

 

With RE4 they also had to build their engine from ground, something they aren't doing for UC.

 

All in all there's no excuse, they probably aren't that familiar with GC/Wii despite being using RE4 engine (production studio 2 is doing UC as far as I know, whereas production studio 4 did RE4) so they're scalling stuff down for PS2 standards, because they know for sure that Wii runs it with no problem (even GC would) and then spice it a little, like having more enemies on-screen and using the REmake zombies, who had quite high polycounts for their time (but the modeling aged badly) still, a zombie in this RE has as many polygons as snake in MGS2/3 and perhaps even using Jill, Chris, Billy, Rebbeca, Wesker models from REmake and RE0, this would, of course... be overkill, because as far as I know they're still records when it comes to polycounts in videogames, with a whooping 22.000 to 25.000 polygons per model. (double than what Capcom is using for their next gen games)

 

Still... this is copy-pasting, they're not optimizing their content, just making sure it runs.

 

If they're doing games with higher polycounts, geometry and better texture work for the HD platforms on REUC it would be no problem either, since RE4 pushed the boundaries a lot farther... and well, modeling isn't done on the devkits so they use pretty much the same tools they use for HD consoles.

 

Then it's budget, they're expecting to sell 620.000 units, worldwide, so their budget predicts they can have profit even if it underperforms, I wouldn't call it high budget (specially when they are basically recycling stuff and making a on-rails shooter of it).

 

As for screenshots I agree they don't make the game justice, but I'm not judging the lack of color depth in shadows or the ammount of jaggies, just judging the real faults of the game.

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

Well there is textures and there is artistic direction. Umbrella Chronicles seem to have nailed the creepy mood well. Its not always the textures that make a game look good.

[pedrocasilva]

Well there is textures and there is artistic direction. Umbrella Chronicles seem to have nailed the creepy mood well. Its not always the textures that make a game look good.

Hmmm, yeah they nailed the grunge/decay feeling, still... could look leaps and bounds better on the hardware it's running on, and their texture work could be a lot better, not above RE4 IMO.

 

Still, it's a game I'll buy, and I'm excited about it (hence why I want the best product possible and aren't satisfied with Capcom's approach to it), therefore I'm not praising the stuff I think they could have done a lot better.

[James McGeachie]

Random comment but concerning RE4's character shadows, they're also circles. Only in cutscenes are they ever like stencil shadow shit, in game there's next to nothing but a small mark on the ground beneath them.

[pedrocasilva]

Random comment but concerning RE4's character shadows, they're also circles. Only in cutscenes are they ever like stencil shadow shit, in game there's next to nothing but a small mark on the ground beneath them.

I know, they also used more AA in cutscenes, but the RE4 envyronments were bigger and well, this game as is could pretty much run on GC, lacks geometry compared to RE4, they could have applied the shadows.

 

There's games with horrible graphics compared to this doing detailed shadows, and I bet they aren't wasting most of their resources on something like that (otherwise they'd invest that in other places), there's lots of ways of doing shadows too, look at TP doing shadows everywhere. Capcom could have pulled it easily with the extra roof they have while this game doesn't even reach the same standard RE4 established.

 

And that's a shame, we aren't even asking for them to push Wii into oblivion, more like using the hardware a little beyond RE4.

[Zechs Merquise]

I know that the Wii is the hot product at the moment but I just cant see RE:UC outselling R Evil 5. RE5 will launch on 2 platforms and it is a proper continuation of the R Evil saga, sure you get a new scenario on this but its just not the same. Regardless of this though I will still be picking this up as its R Evil

 

We shall see! It probably won;t due to REUC being so rushed, after Pedro's rather meticulous breakdown of it's gaphical issues, you can see the game hasn't had the polish it deserves. I'd ratehr they delay it for six months and get it right to be honest! Or better still re-release all of the original games on the Wii with better graphics and RE4 controls!

 

However, back to my point - if the Wii keeps selling like it is, and keeps outselling the oher two, it could well have a dominant market share which allows lesser games to outsell their superiors on other formats...

[Hero-of-Time]

We shall see! It probably won;t due to REUC being so rushed, after Pedro's rather meticulous breakdown of it's gaphical issues, you can see the game hasn't had the polish it deserves. I'd ratehr they delay it for six months and get it right to be honest! Or better still re-release all of the original games on the Wii with better graphics and RE4 controls!

 

However, back to my point - if the Wii keeps selling like it is, and keeps outselling the oher two, it could well have a dominant market share which allows lesser games to outsell their superiors on other formats...

 

Yeah but you have to remember the kind of people that the Wii is attracting. I think the Big Brain audience will probably give this a miss.

[david.dakota]

I wasn't too taken by this game to start with. Not because of visuals (which are by no means the worst on Wii, but are perhaps the epitome of laziness), but it just doesn't seem that entertaining. In fact, isn't Umbrella Chronicles simply a Wiimake of Gun Survivor series, or at least uses the basic premise?

 

I also happen to beleive that remakes in RE4 stylee of 0-3 would be more saleable - the engine is there, the game layout is there - if Silicon Knights (not a massive studio by any stretch of the imagination) can knock out a super-polished remake of MGS on GC in 18 months, i'm sure other developers would relish the opportunity to work with another established franchise.

[Zechs Merquise]

I wasn't too taken by this game to start with. Not because of visuals (which are by no means the worst on Wii, but are perhaps the epitome of laziness), but it just doesn't seem that entertaining. In fact, isn't Umbrella Chronicles simply a Wiimake of Gun Survivor series, or at least uses the basic premise?

 

I also happen to beleive that remakes in RE4 stylee of 0-3 would be more saleable - the engine is there, the game layout is there - if Silicon Knights (not a massive studio by any stretch of the imagination) can knock out a super-polished remake of MGS on GC in 18 months, i'm sure other developers would relish the opportunity to work with another established franchise.

 

It's not a re-make of Gun survivor, but it is played from that perspective. It's the best bits of the all the previous games played out in first person with a light gun.

 

Yeah but you have to remember the kind of people that the Wii is attracting. I think the Big Brain audience will probably give this a miss.

 

Probably so, but I contend that had REUC been the polished, complete product it could've been, with an easy and accessible control method, it could well, over the life of the Wii have out sold or equaled sales of RE5.

[pedrocasilva]

More images:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Demuwan]

Looking better.

[Goron_3]

Oooo the train section from Resi 0

 

It's not looking that bad in the graphics department, but really, it could be A LOT better tbh. I'm still quite disappointed by it, but I think that's because Resi4 set my expectations wayyyy too high.

[Mokong]

Is that meant to be a Leech Zombie in the first two screen?

 

Damn that looks a bit of an improvement on the GC model i think.

 

But crap i just remembered how much those Leech Zombies scare the shit out of me, i forgot they'd make a comeback in UC..... i'm getting nervous already

[Hellfire]

I don't know if they could be A LOT better with all the action going on at high speed, lots of enemies on screen and destructible environments.