XPost: alt.games.phantasy-star   
   From: sheath@gamepilgrimage.com   
      
   Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:   
   > In article ,   
   > Scott H   wrote:   
   >>  I would expect the stages to be smaller, but I think I should also   
   >> expect the character models to be indistinguishable on the small screen.   
   >>  You mentioned 3DO, are the monsters pre-rendered?   
   >   
   > No, they're polygonal too, but they're shockingly simple. The desert field   
   > has these snake and vulture creatures that look like they're no more than   
   > twenty or thirty polys total, each. However, their motion is pretty   
   > convincing, and it looks like they recycled some of the pathfinding and   
   > character tracking from PSU to accomplish that.   
      
   I'm basically indifferent to whether an object is fully polygonal,   
   sprite based, or a combination as long as it comes across as something   
   distinct and memorable.  Sadly very few 3D models I've seen in the last   
   fifteen years fall under that description.  Everybody remembers the   
   ghosts in Mario 3, or the slime in Dragon Warrior, or that spiked   
   caterpillar in Sonic 1.  Try to remember what the standard enemies in   
   any 3D game are though, after not playing it for a few years.  I'd bet I   
   could count them on two hands without recycling.   
      
   >>> -KKC, who wonders if Monster Hunter Tri will inspire Sega to make a   
   >>> Wii-centric Phantasy Star game.   
   >> I've been waiting for Sega to land an A-Bomb of classic quality for   
   >> about eight years now.  I'm thinking about recording the credit scrolls   
   >> of ever Sega game I ever liked, and trying to track down where the bulk   
   >> of their talent ran off to.   
   >   
   > Did you play Yakuza? That series is probably the closest they've come in a   
   > long time, but it appears the game has no appeal outside of Japan. There   
   > is a small fanbase in the States that's demanding the PS3 games get   
   > released, but it's looking increasingly unlikely.   
      
   I demoed it in a store, found the gameplay interesting enough and then   
   got sidetracked by Spikeout: Battlestreet.  The plethora of F-Bombs also   
   deterred me from picking this one up.   
      
   > As for their talent? It looks like Sega's real effort is being focused   
   > on their arcade cabinets again. Sega Racing Classic is what they're   
   > calling the next Daytona because NASCAR licensing prevents them from   
   > reusing the name of the city. It's only an HD remix of the original game,   
   > but the footage I've seen is heart-stoppingly good. It's not exactly a   
   > novel or creative effort to do that though.   
      
   I meant the actual talent employed by Sega during their console days.   
   I'd like to know all of their names and who they are working for today,   
   right down to the graphics designers and game testers.   
      
   > -KKC, who doesn't know why he's up at 6:00 on a Saturday.   
      
   4:54AM my time, nutso.   
      
   --   
   Scott   
      
   http://www.gamepilgrimage.com   
      
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