[suggestion] Starcraft 2 in 3D?

[horror]

With the release of Avatar, and 2 feature length films to follow, 3D is making a comeback.
Would 3D work for Sartcraft 2?

3D is the New Waggle

This article is from IGN, about the rise in 3D technology for home entertainment systems, although the cons outweigh the pros. But, upon reading this, the most complained about downside was the extra pair of goggles a player would don, and that the extra clunkiness would take away the realism to an adventure and make the player look stupid in front of onlookers.

Now, I'm sure that many of you computer wizards, like me, don't have 20 people watching you play games (or more importantly, care about 20 people watching you play games, with dorky glasses on). As to the realism, I'm sure goggles, added to the headphones and microphone, would just complete the headset and make you the commander you always wanted to be.

This is probably a dumb topic, but with the drought of posts/topics, I thought I'd have my first stab at a thread.

[PhanttoM]

According to the NVIDIA 3D Vision list, there are quite a few games that already support 3D.
People just don't have the 3d glasses or the 120 Hz monitors nessesary for it.
I wouldn't be surprised if Starcraft 2 made it on the list.

I see many people calling 3D "just a gimmick" in a negative way.
I agree that as it is right now, it is just a visual gimmick. But lets remember, so is "better graphics" - It may not add anything to gameplay, but it will look cool.

[Edfishy]

Meant To Be Seen 3D is a great website to learn about the stereographic 3D (or S-3D) technology in video games, as well as get tips on the proper settings and eye-wear. The owner of the website keeps up to speed on the latest in the technology and does regular reviews of games that support S-3D technology, reviewing not only just the game but also how well the developers used S-3D within the game.

If you have some anaglyphic (Red/Blue) glasses (poor man's stereo 3D), you can watch some of their YouTube videos of the games running in S-3D, or download the "sView" application to view hi-res screenshots.

From personal experience, I found that the S-3D gets more "wow" factor from first/third person games, but in an RTS game like Company of Heroes the added depth can actually impact your tactical decisions in a very good way. Now, StarCraft 2 does not include as dynamic terrain or as much in-game realism as CoH to have depth terribly effect your game strategy in S-3D, but it may help to easily distinguish all those bunched up units a bit easier.

Interesting to note: big game developers had actually begun to really start supporting S-3D in the past year or two (before "Avatar" put the technology on the map) with games such as Resident Evil 5, Arkham's Asylum, H.A.W.X., and Left 4 Dead getting attention for any coding artifacts that may occur with the technology. Resident Evil 5 even had its cinematics rendered in both 'normal' and S-3D in anticipation of users using the technology more in the near future. Imagine if StarCraft 2's cinematics got the same treatment?

I've been a big proponent of S-3D for years now, and even though there are some glaring issues with the technology, I'm not seeing putting on the eyeware any less cumbersome or silly-looking then putting on some good gaming headphones. Both simply enhance your in-game perception (3D sound, 3D depth) and in my opinion is well worth it.

In anycase a race is on to develop an eyeware and sweetspot-free version of the technology. Only a matter of time.

[Gradius]

Story Mode in S-3D would be so amazing. And what about colossi stepping over cliffs?

[ArcherofAiur]

We had a thread on this over at TL. If you have the hardware (graphics chip, monitor, glasses). Then you will be able to play Starcraft in 3d.



Now if you could only get a 100 foot screen and Imax surround sound

[The_Blade]

Well, there are some new computers being developed by a group of students. They are basically tables that support touch and voice, yet they are aiming for real 3d graphics. This guys play warcraft, sooo... Guess they might work in inspiration of RTS games.

The video is quite primitive, yet this program went even farther as people started to donate.

I haven't followed the progarm lately (a year or so), yet Microsoft started working on their own softwares. Even if the first program was canceled, Microsoft should support this RTS gaming technology.

[TheEconomist]

All nVIDIA has to do is implement StarCraft 2 3D in their drivers. Blizzard doesn't have to do anything (other than give them some simple support if they need it).

Basically, it will be done.

[Norfindel]

I wonder why are 120 Hz monitors necessary, if cinema has only 24 frames per second.

[MattII]

I'm not sure I understand it totally, but the article here provides an explanation.

[GnaReffotsirk]

Well, there are some new computers being developed by a group of students. They are basically tables that support touch and voice, yet they are aiming for real 3d graphics. This guys play warcraft, sooo... Guess they might work in inspiration of RTS games.

The video is quite primitive, yet this program went even farther as people started to donate.

I haven't followed the progarm lately (a year or so), yet Microsoft started working on their own softwares. Even if the first program was canceled, Microsoft should support this RTS gaming technology.

I always thought of this a scam. They use a projector, and their "table" just assigns mouse movements. I gave up the fight as soon as there wasn't much to support my claim even to myself. But since multi-touch is there, I'd assume these guys have fallen behind the race.

All I'm saying is that they don't have to do things from scratch at this point.

On-topic, it seems this tech is yet too expensive and cumbersome. But it's a step to far greater things. I would rather have my RTS played in a totally virtual world, but that could be 30 to 50 years from now.

And that brain-to-game interaction could prove both enjoyable and stimulating when applied to RTS gaming.

Just keep the codes locked from responding to "I need more coffee" commands though.