Game cut scene - higher resolution?

[tomster2300]

Is there a way to make game cutscenes play in a higher resolution then the default low res? This would include the promo movie at the beginning of most games, and then the ones during the game. It does this on all my games btw.

Thanks.

[blue60007]

Doubt it. The intros are movie files encoded at a certain resolution (probably at the lowest required resolution) and are scaled up to fit on your screen...if they encoded them at higher resolution they'd take up a huge amount of disk space. Some of those long intros probably hit 100MB already...

[tomster2300]

Alright, well that's too bad. I was wondering because when you watch cuts of the same movies on tv (for a commercial), on GTv, etc. it's always high res. Perhaps they're sent better quality moves for promotion.

[Puma]

They probably look worse to you because you don't notice the imperfections as much when it's on tv. Your monitor displays it more accurately so you can see the pixelated parts better.

Try watching the shakey cam vs the high res video of the Crysis tech demo... in my opinion the shakey cam version makes the game look more impressive.

[blue60007]

You could try finding the movie files (in the game files) and try playing them in a seperate player at their actual resolution then they look nice...I usually figure out how to disable the movies anyways. I don't want to watch it everytime I boot up the game.

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by blue60007 You could try finding the movie files (in the game files) and try playing them in a seperate player at their actual resolution then they look nice...I usually figure out how to disable the movies anyways. I don't want to watch it everytime I boot up the game.

Yeah, well I mainly meant the ones that occur mid game and then the ending one when you beat the game. Just wanted to see how pretty they were.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Most prolly they will open in a very small window. If you switch your res to 640x480, *maybe* you'll be able to enjoy then in half their glory.

[blue60007]

Originally Posted by tomster2300 Yeah, well I mainly meant the ones that occur mid game and then the ending one when you beat the game. Just wanted to see how pretty they were.

Ah...

Most PC games anyway I've seen use the game engine, a map and some scripting for the cut scenes... of course, that doesn't account for many games though...

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by blue60007 Ah... Most PC games anyway I've seen use the game engine, a map and some scripting for the cut scenes... of course, that doesn't account for many games though...

The one in question is Empire at War. They have a fully rendered movie when you beat the game (2 of them, depending on who you win with). The short ones in the middle are done by the game engine, but the ending ones are not (I can't really tell since it's such poor quality).

[Stuey]

I've usually noticed that cut scenes are at higher resolutions since they're pre-rendered and thus require less processing power.

On a random note, I think that the most creative cut scenes I've ever seen were in Act of War where the cut scences are live action. When the game is installing off the DVD, there is a news report and pseudo-debate that makes me laugh a little bit. It looked a little corny but is better than sitting there watching a slide show.

EDIT: In response to EaW's cutscenes... the game details as is isn't fantastic so I wouldn't expect the cut scenes to be fantastic either. Having seen them myself, I'm just as not impressed as you seem to be. For a great game intro, check out Dawn of War. But those cut scenes are also pretty unimpressive.

Now that I think about it, all RTS games I'm familiar with have the type of cut scene that Blue mentions. FPS shooters (when they have cut scenes) have pre-rendered movies/intros/finales. BUT there's no real excuse for a RTS to not have a impressive cut scenes and finales. Starcraft had beautifully produced cut scenes and end-movies that put many of today's in-game scenes to shame.

[Two|Bit]

Try half life 2... no cutscenes, everything happens around you as you are playing. You can set the res to what ever you want

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by Stuey83 I've usually noticed that cut scenes are at higher resolutions since they're pre-rendered and thus require less processing power. On a random note, I think that the most creative cut scenes I've ever seen were in Act of War where the cut scences are live action. When the game is installing off the DVD, there is a news report and pseudo-debate that makes me laugh a little bit. It looked a little corny but is better than sitting there watching a slide show. EDIT: In response to EaW's cutscenes... the game details as is isn't fantastic so I wouldn't expect the cut scenes to be fantastic either. Having seen them myself, I'm just as not impressed as you seem to be. For a great game intro, check out Dawn of War. But those cut scenes are also pretty unimpressive. Now that I think about it, all RTS games I'm familiar with have the type of cut scene that Blue mentions. FPS shooters (when they have cut scenes) have pre-rendered movies/intros/finales. BUT there's no real excuse for a RTS to not have a impressive cut scenes and finales. Starcraft had beautifully produced cut scenes and end-movies that put many of today's in-game scenes to shame.

I'm not extremely impressed, just wanted to see if I could make the movies look worth watching. I thought about it and realized that the majority of games that do have these cutscene movies always show them in a very low res. BTW, I also have HL2.

[Stuey]

Originally Posted by tomster2300 I'm not extremely impressed, just wanted to see if I could make the movies look worth watching. I thought about it and realized that the majority of games that do have these cutscene movies always show them in a very low res. BTW, I also have HL2.

Nonono, I wrote not impressed when I should have said unimpressed. I was just agreeing that the quality is sub-par what is expected for a major game. I've got to go dig up my Starcraft CDs. I can't say for certain, but I think their end movies might be of better quality than EaW.

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by Stuey83 Nonono, I wrote not impressed when I should have said unimpressed. I was just agreeing that the quality is sub-par what is expected for a major game. I've got to go dig up my Starcraft CDs. I can't say for certain, but I think their end movies might be of better quality than EaW.

Lol, no problem. That's pretty bad when Starcraft beats you.

EDIT: I was actually surprised and let down with the overall quality of EaW. It was a heck of a lot more polished than Force Commander (that game was awful) but it still feels like there could be much more depth. I beat it pretty easily and was sitting there thinking...that's it? Albeit that was on easy, even when bumping up the difficulty it only lessens the amount of damage units inflict, forcing you to produce more / stronger units than your opponent...not something terribly more difficult than before. LucasArts just hasn't done much in my eyes in a long time. Remember the old Indiana Jones games? There were fun games. I'm talking about the old one, Fate of Atlantis more so than The Inferno Machine. I haven't played the newest one yet.