
Call of Duty WW2 has made a significant step forward in face rendering - smacktoward
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/11/23/call-of-duty-ww2-graphics/
======
jdietrich
I think they were somewhat beaten to the punch by Ninja Theory's astonishing
work on _Hellblade: Senua 's Sacrifice_. They won the real-time award at
SIGGRAPH 2016 in triumphant fashion. Not only did they create a tremendous
technical achievement, but they produced a game with genuine artistic intent
on a fraction of a typical AAA budget.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yh-
zFCILR4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yh-zFCILR4)

[https://youtu.be/OMENy0ptoyM?t=48s](https://youtu.be/OMENy0ptoyM?t=48s)

~~~
yulapshun
> I think they were somewhat beaten to the punch by Ninja Theory's astonishing
> work on Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. They won the real-time award at
> SIGGRAPH 2016 in triumphant fashion. Not only did they create a tremendous
> technical achievement, but they produced a game with genuine artistic intent
> on a fraction of a typical AAA budget.

> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yh-
> zFCILR4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yh-zFCILR4)

> [https://youtu.be/OMENy0ptoyM?t=48s](https://youtu.be/OMENy0ptoyM?t=48s)

Their previous game "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West" also had pretty good
facial animation. Especially when compared with contemporary AAA titles like
Mass Effect.

~~~
ajeet_dhaliwal
As did Heavenly Sword

------
stonith
I had a similar reaction when I saw a video of snappers rig[0] in Unreal 4 a
couple of months ago - I don't really play many AAA games these days so I
guess I must have missed where the rigs advanced to the point where modelling
wrinkles in the face became feasible. Their tech[1] seems to be used in a few
AAA games and looks pretty convincing to me.

[0][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo_FALeUc8c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo_FALeUc8c)

[1][http://snapperstech.com/](http://snapperstech.com/)

~~~
nudiustertian
blendshapes

------
methodover
I played through COD WW2 a couple of weeks ago. The single player campaign is
great.

My dad and I used to play the original Call of Duty together when I was a boy.
Technically, we played CoD: United Offensive, which has the best multiplayer
in any video game ever, as far as we're concerned. We used to swap war stories
over dinner, much to my mother and sister's frustration, I'm sure.

COD: WW2's single player captures some of the original game's feel. And yes,
the faces are great. It helps draw you into the story between gameplay.

The multiplayer has sadly evolved into something much less interesting. My dad
and I won't be playing it together.

------
ovao
I feel pretty fortunate to have been a gamer during the transition from 2.5D
graphics, through the evolution of 3D graphics and the various levels of
generational advancement over the years. The characters became better looking
and more detailed over time, from sprites to models whose mouths would move in
a Kermit the Frog sort of fashion, but they were still hollow and unconvincing
puppets. It wasn't until Half-Life 2 that characters in games could properly
convey emotion through sophisticated facial animation and sufficient detail.
That, for me, was the first time I could emotionally connect with a character
in a game, and it was such a fundamental shift in my understanding of what a
game could be.

The evolution in rendering here is nothing short of amazing. For the most part
I've fallen out of love with gaming, just as a function of getting older or
getting burned out on it (or both), but new generations of gamers really are
very lucky to be able to have some of their first gaming experiences with
characters like this.

------
zenbob
An activision Dev/manager gave a talk in my graphics class earlier this year.
He said Activision had contracts wth the CIA/etc because Activision's facial
motion capture/analysis equipment is better than anything the gov has.

------
techjuice
This was something the hit the computer industry hard back in 2007 when Crysis
was released for the PC. I can only imagine what the will be available in
2020, seeing as most of the scenes in major action films are 100% computer
generated.

With the work being conducted to increase the capability of graphics rendering
while reducing power consumption, heat production and overall size VR, AR, and
MR applications will probably be very hard to tell the difference between what
is real and virtual.

~~~
sillysaurus3
_seeing as most of the scenes in major action films are 100% computer
generated._

Most action scenes mix in real life footage, which excludes them from the
"100% CG" criteria. Can you think of any that don't? (And ideally a segment
that goes on for longer than 30 seconds.)

~~~
leohutson
Your criteria are unclear, what counts as real life footage? Captured bdrf?
Photographic textures? Photogrammetry? Motion capture? Made by an artist
equipped with lots of reference?

~~~
sillysaurus3
Captured by a video camera.

But, those are all examples of why photorealistic CG is fiction. We've never
achieved it in video.

~~~
leohutson
I guess my thoughts are, why would you? The only time you would use VFX is if
you can't do something in real life cheaper, and since it's extremely
expensive that rules out filing the frame with mundane realistic objects.
Aside from time and budget, art direction and production design often rules
out a photorealistic look anyway, even if technology allows it.

I'd like to dig further into what you mean by photorealistic CG being fiction?
There are still tricky areas that are actively being researched, but I've seen
plenty of CG assets that are photorealistic.

What do you think is technically missing from CG video, that makes it lack
realism?

~~~
sillysaurus3
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=author:sillysaurus3%20CG&sort=...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=author:sillysaurus3%20CG&sort=byDate&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=comment)

[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=author:sillysaurus3%20%22real%...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=author:sillysaurus3%20%22real%22&sort=byDate&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=comment)

To answer your question precisely:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15294721](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15294721)

I'd love to debate this with you, but few people seem interested.

Here's the criteria for "CG video":
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15698859](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15698859)

If you approach the subject with an open mind, you'll find that we really
haven't achieved those goals. But the most I've managed to wring from people
is a grudging admission that even though we haven't done it yet, we _could_ do
it if we tried. I disagree.

------
alehul
Wow, this is incredible.

It's quite frightening and raises some issues, however, that as first-person
shooters evolve, we'll be desensitized to shooting more realistic humans.

~~~
aerovistae
Then we'll be desensitized. That's all there is to it. Nobody's going to put
laws in place limiting graphical rendering.

But, I don't actually think you're right, anyway. Crime rates have been going
down in the US and Europe, not up. It's just FUD. There's no correlation at
all.

~~~
graeme
I think OP was saying that the _new_ phenomenon of photorealistic faces will
have a different effect. So past crime rates wouldn't be an indication.

I don't think it's linked, but the US murder rate actually increased in 2016.
I couldn't find European wide stats, but the UK rate has been increasing:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/world/europe/england-
wale...](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/world/europe/england-wales-crime-
rate.html)

~~~
aerovistae
I would be surprised if that turned into a long-term trend. Let's hope I'm
right!

~~~
graeme
I hope so too! My expectation is also that it will generally keep going down.
And of course it’s still low compared to a few decades ago.

------
fulafel
It's sad that entertainment by violence and combat are the drivers for things
like this.

I wonder what far reaching higher order effects come from this selection bias.
Is it just a feedback cycle that could be broken? The makers of high budget
world-building projects are self-selected for this kind of content, leading to
consumers acclimating and demanding more of this, etc. It's already leaking
out of the games world: there's a major shift in Hollywood movies to superhero
movies centered around video game-style combat.

~~~
PeachPlum
You don't see the CGI on television, you're too busy watching the story.

[http://www.geekscape.net/youd-be-surprised-how-much-cgi-
goes...](http://www.geekscape.net/youd-be-surprised-how-much-cgi-goes-into-
your-favorite-shows)

