Cut scenes

tmh88

In general, are cut scenes in videogames usually pre-rendered? I was just wondering because I was browsing the bungie forums and I came across a post that bothered me. I was under the impression that cut scenes are pre-rendered, and its kinda like watching a video. Most of the time they look alot better than the actual gameplay, but if it were rendered in real time with the games engine it would drop in fps.. am i right about this?

anyway heres the post that i came across that i wasnt sure about....

"im not an idiot

the cutscenes are rendered in real time using the same engine as the game itself. The fact that the graphics in the early development stages are better than the graphics in the final product makes me think that for some reason it couldnt have been as good as it was intended to be (aka the xbox wasnt good enough).

and FYI that cutscene is one of the first cutscenes in halo 2. The only thing is they changed it a tiny bit so that the bomb was in it for the final cut.

my point is, none of the content in halo 2 is pre-rendered, and so even the cutscenes will have the same graphical quality as the gameplay. So comparing screenshots from cutscenes and gameplay is perfectly legitimate."

can anyone tell me if this guy is way off, or am I.

RWB

Depends...

Final Fantasy usually had pre-rendered scenes that were made to blend in with the actual game. Most games these days though use the games engine and prescripted scenes like 3D Mark does which can allow for better graphics as the computer can anticipate what will happen next. But are generally done in REAL TIME. Halo and Halo 2 were done in real time, just pre-scripted. Same game engine, same graphics, same everything.

You can tell when it is done in real time for PC games by cranking up the graphics settings beyond what your computer can handle and watch a cutscene. If it is choppy like it should be in a norml game with higher than normal settings, you have a realtime rendered cutscene, if not it could very well be pre-rendered(a video)

Nomad

Cut-scenes used to be more often pre-rendered videos that they just plugged in. This was specifically true of games on the original Playstation like Resident Evil and, as RWB said, Final Fantasy. Most cut-scenes now are just simply scripted portions of the game that utilize a real-time engine since graphics are to the point where it's believable for the most part.

If you notice a significant increase in the quality of a cut-scene from existing gameplay, specifically in how round, smooth, or anti-aliased an object appears, you can basically guarantee it's pre-rendered.

V-P

Nomad wrote:

Cut-scenes used to be more often pre-rendered videos that they just plugged in. This was specifically true of games on the original Playstation like Resident Evil and, as RWB said, Final Fantasy. Most cut-scenes now are just simply scripted portions of the game that utilize a real-time engine since graphics are to the point where it's believable for the most part.

If you notice a significant increase in the quality of a cut-scene from existing gameplay, specifically in how round, smooth, or anti-aliased an object appears, you can basically guarantee it's pre-rendered.

So then how do they have pre-rendered cut-scenes in games like Grand Theft Auto III. I've seen in many places before it came out that the scenes where you get missions were pre-rendered. If they are, what about when you park your car close by, it shows up in the cut-scene, and if it is on fire before you go into the scene, it will even blow up DURING the cut-scene. Is GTAIII pre-rendered? FINAL FANTASY VII RULES!!!

leishi85

in GTA, those cut-scene are not pre-rendered, they are using the game engine to render in real time.

V-P

leishi85 wrote:

in GTA, those cut-scene are not pre-rendered, they are using the game engine to render in real time.

Oh, that explains some stuff...

RWB

As well when they show "Gameplay" footage of a game before it is released it is usually also pre-rendered using the models and textures of the game, but fully rendered which usually yeilds better results so it is hard to say if it is prerendered or not. I think Battlefield 2 did this, those models I saw before the game was released were much more crisp and clear than the actual game with maxed out settings even.

Nomad

leishi85 wrote:

in GTA, those cut-scene are not pre-rendered, they are using the game engine to render in real time.

Right.