[Art]

Anyone tried Entropia? I think it was available before SL if not mistaken.
http://www.entropiauniverse.com/en/rich/5000.html

Real transactions are made to your bank account (deposits, withdrawals, etc.)
Buy, Sell, Trade...survive!

[Maviarab]

Well just from the hoe page looks a lot more 'fun' and 'gritty' than SL/Kaneva

Will try it out next week when get my PC back up and running.

[Freddy]

Looks interesting and appears to be graphically superior to SL.  It's on my list of things to try.  Thanks again Art 

[Freddy]

I have installed Entropia and me and Mav are going to check it out.  The installation is around 1GB in size and takes a few hours to download.  We'll let you know how we get on.

btw here is their entry on WIKI, it contains some useful background information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropia_Universe

[Freddy]

Maviarab sent me this link.  It contains some examples of the graphics generated by CryENGINE 2, a state-of-the-art graphics engine.  Why?  Well because by mid-2008 they hope to have upgraded Entropia to make use of this graphics engine.

To me they look like the most realistic game graphics I have so far seen, infact it looks more like a straight renderer it is so good.  I can't wait to see this in-game as to me some of the images are near impossible to tell from reality.

So my schedule is set for my next new PC or upgrades... I'll start saving for Mid 2008!

[Freddy]

Doh!  Forgot the link...here it is:

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=754668

And here's a screen shot of a mans face rendered by the CryEngine 2...

[Maviarab]

Aye, that engine looks the bomb when it comes don to crispness and realism...have to see how it all pans out

[Freddy]

Yup, I think this engine is a real water-shed.  We all knew that computer graphics would eventually become totally realistic in appearance.  It's seems like that time is nearly here.

[Maviarab]

And to think, the old war of the games machine is still going on. ROFL, silly people, show me a console that can match the PC for gaming

Your link which shows screenshots proves that the mighty PC will never die when it comes to cutting edge technology and graphics

[Freddy]

Aye and in the days of old when I used to worship my ZX Spectrums and Atari ST's I was totally opposed to the notion of a PC.  Independent machines were the future I thought!  But then as time went on the humble PC seemed to me like the Swiss Army Knife of computing and I caved in and got one and never looked back.

I still like to have a games console handy though as they rarely crash and it's so much simpler just to whack in a CD and you are off.  It will be a while before I get a new console but I have an urge to replace my PS2 with the PS3...maybe when the price comes down and more shops stock game titles...

Try this for nostalgia : Play Jet Set Willy

Sorry it's off topic but I couldn't help it!

[Maviarab]

Jet Set...an all time classic if there ever was one

Good find. 

[Freddy]

An update on this.  Finally they upgraded to the Cry Engine 2 - I think this was fairly recent.  From the look of the few screenshots I have seen over there, it definitely gives them the edge over other virtual worlds.

Here's a link to one of their worlds called Calypso - they are planning others :

http://www.planetcalypso.com/home/

From there you can find a few images.  I still haven't found time to try this, but maybe I will now.

It would be interesting to find out if you can script bots and things in this game.  I wonder if this would make a good virtual world for something like that.

[lrh9]

Oh man. I know most of these posts were here a few years ago, but I think the realism barrier is very close to being broken.

I'm a gamer, and I've been keeping up with Mass Effect 2 and I saw an advertisement for Army of Two.

http://masseffect.bioware.com/video/246/
http://www.armyoftwo.com/us/media

I think EA is going to be the first publisher to break this barrier, seeing they published Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Crysis, and they are coming out with Crysis 2.

I'm also pleased by the short time between DX10 and DX11.

[Maviarab]

Yeah just a pity EA bought out Bioware....

Bioware are an amazing developer...ME2 'shold' be excellent, but remember...its in EA's hands now

[lrh9]

When I buy Mass Effect 2 I'll be sure to let you know how they did with it.