9 ms·

Restoring the Gold Filter in Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut

140 points by corysama 7y ago

chupa-chups 7y ago
Why is this on the first page of HN? Should we post hacks for WoW, mods for Kerbal Space Program as well? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- zdw 7y ago
  I found this article interesting. HN readers in general have a wide range of interests - example: 73 points, 62 comments on a link to an article on the history of Macaroni and Cheese: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22951281 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22951281
- MrL567 7y ago
  It's a interesting technical investigation that not only goes over the technology required to recreate the gold filter, but it's a nice explanation of how some imaging stuff works? And if the hack is interesting and well-written up enough, why not? This is Hacker News
  - chupa-chups 7y ago
    Fair enough. Let's define hacking as js-level patching of 3rd generation games :) Deleting my account now, this is getting ridiculous.
    - pedrocx486 7y ago
      Your own comparison between mods for KSP and this article doesn't make much sense, even if you take the technical aspects of it. One is hacking at a compiled code that is not well documented, and talks about the subject. The other is a mod, for a well documented game.
      - dang 7y ago
        Please make your good points without name-calling ("insane") and swipes ("reading comprehension"), regardless of how wrong another commenter is or you feel they are. That way the good point won't be outweighed by further damaging the thread. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
        pedrocx486 7y ago
        Made an edit, sorry about that! Replied without clearing my head first. :-)
        dang 7y ago
        Appreciated! It happens.
    - wishinghand 7y ago
      With an attitude like that, you won't be missed.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- serf 7y ago
  From your link : On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. I don't know what constitutes a good hacker, exactly, but I thought it was interesting. Having read your comments before I read the article I was expecting something much more simple.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- twic 7y ago
  Yes.
- NikolaNovak 7y ago
  >>Why is this on the first page of HN? Because audience of Hacker News forums found it interesting and upvoted it. Why did people upvote it? I imagine because rather than just being a link to a downloadable mod, it is a thorough diary/article on how a person researched, developed and implemented the hack. Precisely the kind of article HN tends to enjoy - regardless of exact subject: restoring old Xerox machines, creating a LEGO robot, etc. Rather than just colour shading, I think it's also fascinating they decided to remove / modify the bloom - one of the defining characteristics of DX:HR for many people.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
elteto 7y ago
I've never been an avid gamer, more of a casual one, but I am so glad I played Deus Ex: Human Revolutions all the way through. It didn't feel like a game, more like experiencing an interactive sci-fi book. The story, the settings, the _music_, absolutely fantastic. I still sometimes listen to the soundtrack when doing work (it is available in Spotify). I would encourage sci-fi fans to give it a try, you can pick it up for cheap nowadays and you won't need top hw to play it (although it won't hurt either). Edit: Then entire soundtrack is also on YT [0] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyG6YMLEWus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyG6YMLEWus
- Trasmatta 7y ago
  If you liked Deux Ex, I highly recommend checking out Prey (the 2017 one) and Dishonored. They share the same game design philosophy, the so called "immersive sim".
  - elteto 7y ago
    I have played Dishonored quite a bit too! Just never to completion :) I think Dishonored has some of the best gameplay mechanics ever and it is also really immersive. Prey I've never played, but I'll check it out. Ty!
    - Trasmatta 7y ago
      Definitely check out Dishonored 2, as well, I think it's even better than the first one! There are many more options for non lethal playthroughs and there are two optional characters. I've played it from start to finish about 8 times, and never get tired of it. Prey is fantastic too, and is from the same developer (Arkane Studios). It has quite a bit in common with System Shock, which was one of the earliest immersive sims.
      - elteto 7y ago
        I've been watching some Dishonored 2 and Prey gameplay videos based on the recommendation and they look great! Will definitely try them.
Barrin92 7y ago
Big fan of the game and I actually liked the gold filter a lot. The designers described the art style of the game as cyber-renaissance, mixing the premodern larger than life characters and themes of remaking mankind and so on with the technical futuristic stuff. I thought that was a pretty unique take and I found the art direction of the newer Deus Ex game to be bland in comparison.
- m-p-3 7y ago
  And the presence of triangle shapes throughout the environment, the design team did an amazing job.
  - bnjf 7y ago
    Indeed. While playing, I enjoyed taking a moment to stealth up and appreciate the level design, and so did a lot of other folks [1]. [1] - https://unrealitymag.com/the-strange-wonderful-ceilings-of-deus-ex/ https://unrealitymag.com/the-strange-wonderful-ceilings-of-d...
- Xelbair 7y ago
  art direction for DXHR was superb. Everything just clicked, perfectly. I just wish it had a few more months of development time - as you can clearly see that Upper Hengsha and Montreal were supposed to be another city-hubs. EDIT: I forgot to mention, but the idea that technology inclined areas have golden hue, while those further away have green-tint was great.
troughway 7y ago
One of the things I liked about the Bloom effect used in DXHR is that, in addition to the gold filter look, it gave the game a very "dream" like appearance, similar to how Prince of Persia Sands of Time did it. It used to be a very abused effect back in the mid-2000s when it first started to become popular with games like Tron, and to some degree DXHR abused it as well to achieve that aesthetic. However, I want to say that it did it tastefully nonetheless.
- stuart78 7y ago
  Seeing these screenshots reminded me of all that bloom-abuse, which feels like a hallmark of the xbox 360 era. Seeing these shots was a good reminder that it could be tastefully used.
rasz 7y ago
You say Gold Filter, I say game dev pissing directly into my eyes. Same with exaggerated blue/teal and orange color grading in movies.
- wishinghand 7y ago
  I never got why people were so upset about the filtering after the character got the sunglasses.
manigandham 7y ago
The original Deus-Ex is still one of my all-time favorites and a top 10 video game ever, right up there with Half-Life and others. What's especially crazy is how much of that story line has become true.
cartoonfoxes 7y ago
A funny easter egg mentioned in the developer commentary - if you look closely the empty paintbucket prop that can be found scattered throughout levels are colored as though they contained gold paint.
bmn__ 7y ago
You never asked for this, but Ross's Game Dungeon: Deus Ex - Human Revolution is a delightful critique of the subject matter (a.k.a. lemon blast mode): https://youtu.be/vYLEuQrvND0?t=351 https://youtu.be/vYLEuQrvND0?t=351
debug-desperado 7y ago
"I can’t explain what is going on here from the technical side, but I assume the shader got converted incorrectly from the source platform (possibly Wii U)." The consensus from Steam forum posts is that the Director's Cut version is littered with downgrades throughout: missing gold filter, lower res textures in places, lighting differences, etc. Also there are many patched-out bugs that had regressions with the Director's Cut. It's still a great game, and I applaud the author's efforts to restore it. I'd wager that the effort to bring this version of the game from Wii U back to PC was a merge from hell and too many things just got looked over.

140 points by corysama 7y ago

Why is this on the first page of HN? Should we post hacks for WoW, mods for Kerbal Space Program as well? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

zdw 7y ago
I found this article interesting. HN readers in general have a wide range of interests - example: 73 points, 62 comments on a link to an article on the history of Macaroni and Cheese: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22951281 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22951281
MrL567 7y ago
It's a interesting technical investigation that not only goes over the technology required to recreate the gold filter, but it's a nice explanation of how some imaging stuff works? And if the hack is interesting and well-written up enough, why not? This is Hacker News
- chupa-chups 7y ago
  Fair enough. Let's define hacking as js-level patching of 3rd generation games :) Deleting my account now, this is getting ridiculous.
  - pedrocx486 7y ago
    Your own comparison between mods for KSP and this article doesn't make much sense, even if you take the technical aspects of it. One is hacking at a compiled code that is not well documented, and talks about the subject. The other is a mod, for a well documented game.
    - dang 7y ago
      Please make your good points without name-calling ("insane") and swipes ("reading comprehension"), regardless of how wrong another commenter is or you feel they are. That way the good point won't be outweighed by further damaging the thread. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
      - pedrocx486 7y ago
        Made an edit, sorry about that! Replied without clearing my head first. :-)
        dang 7y ago
        Appreciated! It happens.
  - wishinghand 7y ago
    With an attitude like that, you won't be missed.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
serf 7y ago
From your link : On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. I don't know what constitutes a good hacker, exactly, but I thought it was interesting. Having read your comments before I read the article I was expecting something much more simple.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
twic 7y ago
Yes.
NikolaNovak 7y ago
>>Why is this on the first page of HN? Because audience of Hacker News forums found it interesting and upvoted it. Why did people upvote it? I imagine because rather than just being a link to a downloadable mod, it is a thorough diary/article on how a person researched, developed and implemented the hack. Precisely the kind of article HN tends to enjoy - regardless of exact subject: restoring old Xerox machines, creating a LEGO robot, etc. Rather than just colour shading, I think it's also fascinating they decided to remove / modify the bloom - one of the defining characteristics of DX:HR for many people.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

elteto 7y ago

I've never been an avid gamer, more of a casual one, but I am so glad I played Deus Ex: Human Revolutions all the way through. It didn't feel like a game, more like experiencing an interactive sci-fi book. The story, the settings, the _music_, absolutely fantastic. I still sometimes listen to the soundtrack when doing work (it is available in Spotify). I would encourage sci-fi fans to give it a try, you can pick it up for cheap nowadays and you won't need top hw to play it (although it won't hurt either). Edit: Then entire soundtrack is also on YT [0] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyG6YMLEWus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyG6YMLEWus

Trasmatta 7y ago
If you liked Deux Ex, I highly recommend checking out Prey (the 2017 one) and Dishonored. They share the same game design philosophy, the so called "immersive sim".
- elteto 7y ago
  I have played Dishonored quite a bit too! Just never to completion :) I think Dishonored has some of the best gameplay mechanics ever and it is also really immersive. Prey I've never played, but I'll check it out. Ty!
  - Trasmatta 7y ago
    Definitely check out Dishonored 2, as well, I think it's even better than the first one! There are many more options for non lethal playthroughs and there are two optional characters. I've played it from start to finish about 8 times, and never get tired of it. Prey is fantastic too, and is from the same developer (Arkane Studios). It has quite a bit in common with System Shock, which was one of the earliest immersive sims.
    - elteto 7y ago
      I've been watching some Dishonored 2 and Prey gameplay videos based on the recommendation and they look great! Will definitely try them.

Barrin92 7y ago

Big fan of the game and I actually liked the gold filter a lot. The designers described the art style of the game as cyber-renaissance, mixing the premodern larger than life characters and themes of remaking mankind and so on with the technical futuristic stuff. I thought that was a pretty unique take and I found the art direction of the newer Deus Ex game to be bland in comparison.

m-p-3 7y ago
And the presence of triangle shapes throughout the environment, the design team did an amazing job.
- bnjf 7y ago
  Indeed. While playing, I enjoyed taking a moment to stealth up and appreciate the level design, and so did a lot of other folks [1]. [1] - https://unrealitymag.com/the-strange-wonderful-ceilings-of-deus-ex/ https://unrealitymag.com/the-strange-wonderful-ceilings-of-d...
Xelbair 7y ago
art direction for DXHR was superb. Everything just clicked, perfectly. I just wish it had a few more months of development time - as you can clearly see that Upper Hengsha and Montreal were supposed to be another city-hubs. EDIT: I forgot to mention, but the idea that technology inclined areas have golden hue, while those further away have green-tint was great.

troughway 7y ago

One of the things I liked about the Bloom effect used in DXHR is that, in addition to the gold filter look, it gave the game a very "dream" like appearance, similar to how Prince of Persia Sands of Time did it. It used to be a very abused effect back in the mid-2000s when it first started to become popular with games like Tron, and to some degree DXHR abused it as well to achieve that aesthetic. However, I want to say that it did it tastefully nonetheless.

stuart78 7y ago
Seeing these screenshots reminded me of all that bloom-abuse, which feels like a hallmark of the xbox 360 era. Seeing these shots was a good reminder that it could be tastefully used.

rasz 7y ago

You say Gold Filter, I say game dev pissing directly into my eyes. Same with exaggerated blue/teal and orange color grading in movies.

wishinghand 7y ago
I never got why people were so upset about the filtering after the character got the sunglasses.

manigandham 7y ago

The original Deus-Ex is still one of my all-time favorites and a top 10 video game ever, right up there with Half-Life and others. What's especially crazy is how much of that story line has become true.

cartoonfoxes 7y ago

A funny easter egg mentioned in the developer commentary - if you look closely the empty paintbucket prop that can be found scattered throughout levels are colored as though they contained gold paint.

bmn__ 7y ago

You never asked for this, but Ross's Game Dungeon: Deus Ex - Human Revolution is a delightful critique of the subject matter (a.k.a. lemon blast mode): https://youtu.be/vYLEuQrvND0?t=351 https://youtu.be/vYLEuQrvND0?t=351

debug-desperado 7y ago

"I can’t explain what is going on here from the technical side, but I assume the shader got converted incorrectly from the source platform (possibly Wii U)." The consensus from Steam forum posts is that the Director's Cut version is littered with downgrades throughout: missing gold filter, lower res textures in places, lighting differences, etc. Also there are many patched-out bugs that had regressions with the Director's Cut. It's still a great game, and I applaud the author's efforts to restore it. I'd wager that the effort to bring this version of the game from Wii U back to PC was a merge from hell and too many things just got looked over.