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Posted by u/mvit 15 hours ago 4 3 Long Post warning! An actual technical analysis of the whole reused model situation. Discussion /Venting Introduction Hey quys, I usually don't post here but rather lurk around. Recently, I've been noticing a lot of misconception and misinformation about the whole re-used model debacle, Hopefully, I can clear some things up. The model collection The plan to maintain a qrowing collection of "future-proofed" models started around the time Pokémon Black and White were in development. Pokédex 3D, by Creatures Inc, showcased a fraction of this collection first in June 6, 2011. After Pokémon Black 2 and White 2's release, the entire collection released in the form of Pokédex 3D Pro, also developed by Creatures Inc. Both Pokédex 3D and Pokédex 3D Pro refer to the team behind this collection as the Pokémon Art Team. Pokémon X and Y formally introduced the collection to the mainstream series and expanded it with Generation 6. The collection has since been re-used and expanded in the following mainline titles: Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Pokémon Sun and Moon Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee Sidenote: Pikachu in Sword and Shield Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee feature two unique models for the partner version of both Pikachu and Eevee In Pokémon Sword and Shield, Pikachu uses the normal model variant during battle, but switches to the Partner Pikachu model when in Dynamax form Ive included an imqur album for comparison: https://imgur.com/a/ahe2Vo H Who made the models? So far it might seem like Creatures Inc. has been solely responsible for the f these models. This statement is far from the truth. creation While the Pokémon Art Team curates the model collection, three studios create them. The studios are: Game Freak, handling the model sheets. Creatures, Inc., providing models and animations. Imagica Digital Scape Co., Ltd. Bauhaus Entertainment Division, providing models and animations. Sidenote: Credits, Credits, Credits.... It may seem that Creatures Inc. or Imagica Scape are not credited by company name in the mainline series's If you take a closer look, you'll find that Creatures Inc.'s Pokémon Art Team appears individually in the credits. As for Bauhaus Entertainment? Their website lists Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon along with other main series and spinoff titles, going as far as 2009's Poképark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. Perhaps this is the earliest instance of the model library? How are the models made? The process is detailed in CGWorld IP Vol.227.Luckilv, an online version is available, I'll do my best to break it down: 1. Model Sheets: The models begin with technical drawings showcasing the Pokémon designs in many angles. The qoal is to provide the model artist much reference as possible, streamlining the process as a result. with a 2. Modelling: The model artist then begins to shape the Pokémon in Maya. They work in quad mode, assuring the model can be subdivided, hence "future proofed". 3. Rigginq: The model artist then proceeds to add bones, ensuring that the Pokémon can animate according to it's proportions There's a biq step missing there isn't it? Texturing! That's because texturing hard to maintain in games, due to how graphics have evolved over the years, and the aesthetic choices that the art director demands. Texturing on the Wii With the Wii. the main shader models were the Lambert shader (Diffuse) or a Phong model (Specular). You cou ld get away with cel-shading with a texture wrap or rim liqghts with the appropriate shader. All you would really need then was a diffuse map (colors + some shade) and a specular map (how shiny some areas are), f the Pokémon would This jargon means that in the Poképark Wii days, most need two textures. Certain Pokémon, like Magnemite, also used an environmental reflection texture (a shiny ball image) to fake metalness Texturing on the 3DS The 3DS had completely different graphical capabilities. It featured a low level shading language that would allow you to make cool shading effects. Pokémon from this era featured: An albedo map: flat, unlit colors. A specular map: defines shininess. A normal map: provides extra shading detail. An emission map: makes certain areas glow. An environmental map: fakes metalness or other caustics (Lunaala's wings, for example). And that's just the common around between Pokédex 3D Pro and Pokémon Sun and Moon! Pokemón XY featured the "Monster Shader", made to emulate Ken Sugimori's unique artstyle, It was used in every mainline series title since up to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. achieve this style, even more textures are added to the mix: In order Tinted Shadow Maps: Ensures that the shaded surface color is defined by the artist. (Vanillite's blue hues, for example) Ambient Occlusion Maps: Ensures that certain areas are always shadowed, Object-space Normal Maps: Modified normal maps that simplify the shading information, resulting in cleaner cel shading Cel Shading Lookup Texture: Allows the artist to tweak Cel Shading parameters. Suddenly, the texture per Pokémon cost has increased hasn't it? Texturing on the Switch A new console generation has appeared, and it has brought a formal shading lanquage specification to it. You know what this means by now, More aesthetic freedom, at the cost of more texture work Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee feature a new aesthetic style, it's almost velvety looking at some points, and rubber looking at others. I recommend you download Partner Pikachu's model and explore the textures yourself. (I'll add some images about this soon, writing is tiring you know!) col), our Tinted Shadow Map sdw) and We have our traditional Albedo Object Space Normal (_nor) but our Specular maps are missing, what gives? Let's quickly see what textures have been thrown in the mix: Fur maps fur and fur_a): Partner Pikachu and Partner Eevee both feature fur textures. They're similar to how specular maps defined specularity, but in this case it defines how fuzzy something looks, and what color "bounces" off of it. Environment maps(_env): They're back! They're used a bit more sparingly this time, mostly for reflective surfaces such as Pikachu's eyes. Ambient maps (amb and ita): These replace our specular maps. Each color channel defines how each part of the hes le lit in the X. Y an Z axis, providing even greater artist control, such as a faint rim light or a distinct shadow on Pikachu's neck. The_ita map is very similar to the Cel Shading Lookup texture, using all three color channels for individual tweaking of each axis. In my opinion, these new textures require higher amounts artist input to do. It's one thing to slap some noise to make fur, but it's a completely different beast to make those ambient maps. Imagine the amount of handiwork behind I of the Pokémon's textures just for this one title's new aesthetic redoing Sidenote: So what about Pokémon Sword and Shield's textures? I'm glad you asked! It seems like Pokémon Sword and Shield is going back to the Cel-Shaded style albeit with some added tinted rim-light, tinted outlines and finer shadow control. My personal theory, since I don't have access to Sword and Shield's files yet, is that the Ambient man system from Let's Go is being brought back to control said rim-light and Cel-Shading. The fur map is likely being replaced with a rim light contribution and tint map, similar to Persona 5's approach This has the caveat that every Pokémon in the collection needs to have their textures redone for this new title. Oh mori: On Omori's remade model comments which Omori We have probably all read the infamous Famitsu interview be redone for Pokémon Sword and Shield. stated that every model had It's actually really easy to debunk this. The models are "future proofed" by being made in quads. As a matter of fact here's how one would realistically update the models for higher fidelity. It took me around 20 minutes to quadify Pikipek, and two seconds to subdivide So some with this going statement from Omori The missing link: Game Engines So far we've seen no evidence suggesting this remade model statement is been withholding some information from you guys. remotely true A model is a representation of points and faces, and can be stored in an exchangeable form, for editing purposes. Yet they can also be stored in a more convenient read only form, for game engines. And guess what? Pokémon XY, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, and Pokémon Sword and Shield all use different game engines. Pokémon XY's engine was shared with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, even sharing model and map compatibility between the two. The model format used for this engine is BCH, similar to A Link Between World's models, too. Pokémon Sun and Moon scrapped the previous engine, instead focusing on a new one with file streaming, for example. The maps aren't a single mesh anymore, instead certain props get loaded up individually as your player approaches them, models? Game Freak opted for their own format, the gfmodel format. r get replaced with imposters the further you go. As for Supposedly this engine move was due to loading speed, Z-move animations and performance reasons. Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee have a brand new engine.... well is it brand new? It's really a Frankenstein engine. It features code from the Nintendo SDK (used for BotW and Mario Kart 8), it features file formats from Lunchpack (Splatoon 2's engine) and it features Game Freak's own additions, along with Game Freak's new model format, gfbmdl, or Game Freak Binary Model. It actually doesn't share much with the previous gfmodel incarnation, eliev not Could it be then that they're using a brand new engine again for Sword and Shield? It's very likely that Game Freak has went ahead and removed their Nintendo SDK and Lunchpack dependencies, and along with it, streamlined their gfbmdl format some more. Under this assumption, sure the models could've been remade tl;dr What remade models probably mean Wow, we're finally here in the end. If you've read up to this point, you probably know what the difficulty in bringing all the Pokémon to the new games is But for those of you that skipped, worry not! I summarize it real quick: Technology, Time and Money The new aesthetic style, allowed to flourish thanks to the new technology, I over again for the entire collection, meaning implies redoing textures there's more time and money constraints added to the mix. A new model format implies reconverting all of these models, skeletons, animations and more along with bug testing every single one of the model converters, loaders, new animations and whatnot. This might sound simple on paper, but I assure you it's not, a lot of complications might pop up unknowingly. Here's an (hilarious) example of what happens when a new animation and model format is being debugged, from Sony and Marvel's Spider-Man http://youtu.be/KDhKylZd308?t=2433 (40:33) What can we do about it? Does anyone remember the good old times when a Pokémon title d that Pokémon ti up thre les ry f have her come annual releases now? That's where the issue lies. Another franchise that switched to an annual schedule was Assassin's Creed. and the quality of the releases since had gone down. But quess what? So did sales. Ubisoft took notice, and quess what? Assassin's Creed will not be returning to yearly releases. This is definitely a time management issue, not a development issue, new technology won't alleviate them. Traditional Pokémon games are no longer viable with this time scope and it's either time we accept that, or time that management takes notice that fans are not happy and sales are going down. But then again, those new games are looking good no? Maybe if they had put the development time in, they would've been even better.

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An actual technical analysis of the whole reused model situation.


Uploaded by Moltz Jul 23, 2019 at 08:24AM EDT

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In case you were holding out: hope, dashed. Speaking to Inside Gamer, Pokemon boss Junichi Masuda re-confirmed that yes, there are no plans to add the National Pokedex into Sword and Shield. Although there were some "maybes" thrown out since the news came back in June at E3, Game Freak is now sticking to their guns and eliminating the prospect altogether. Masuda states: "We now have no plans to make the Pokemon that are missing in the Galar Pokedex in- game available. That is an approach that we want to continue with Pokemon games in the future. Of course, up to now it has not been possible to encounter every Pokemon in every game, so people had to transfer it from old games via Pokemon Bank to the new game, for example."
PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT HOW BAD POKEMON SWORDAND SHIELD LOOKS IM TRYING TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU
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Uploaded Jul 23, 2019 at 08:24AM EDT

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