We have an image of Munch HD running on the PlayStation Vita! From the OWI FaceBook page:

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To compare, here is an image from the original XBox Munch. It's about the closest match for what's on screen that I could find:

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The textures look WAY improved! You can definitely notice the difference between the character models, and the spooce looks as though it might not be as bright as before. I can't tell for definite since the comparison shot isn't the exact same location, but it looks like the rocks in the background may have a 'rockier' geometry too!

The camera looks closer as well. A comment from OWI said that the camera is controlled with the right analogue stick, so it's safe to assume this is going to be the same on PS3. I'm not sure if the Vita version is a direct port of the PS3 one, but this might look even better on a bigger screen through a PS3.

All in all, I think it looks great so far and I can't wait to see more :D

Not bad... Keep up the good work JAW!

Quite good JAW. IMO - maybe add some more details to the levels (more grass, rocks, some little bugs wandering etc).

Unfortunately, we can't add or alter level geometry.

Okay ;-) I've made some pic with my (dream) of Munch Oddysee HD. Please comment Wil. I've made it more dark (like Abe's Oddysee).

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9...ison2kopia.jpg

You've also added level geometry

Why?

Because they'd have to know how the game engine works

Essentially because the game is so old that the tools used to build it are near unobtainable and unsupported.

So the levels are just going to have textures of higher quality?

There's also mipmapping and the gamma has been adjusted, so there's that.

Plus don’t the character models have higher poly counts?

Oh yes, there's lots else besides, but character models don't generally make the environments look better.

Are you going to use parallax occlusion mapping?
http://kentie.net/article/d3d10drv/ - the last screenshot (bottom of the page, labeled as POM using external height map) looks nice, and it's not DX10 exclusive thing

Good luck to make it look pretty then guys. I am curious of what you'll come up with.

Just focus all of the advertising screenshots on the characters. As long as this sells, we don't really care. What with Munch being a not very good game and all.

Munch will be probably still not great game.

Well, you can't really polish a turd... But I have full confidence that they'll make it a lot more playable at least. :)

(Although I'm hoping it won't mar the image of the franchise as a whole to people who haven't heard of it before.)

Just ship it now, silently, and work on something relevant :p

That's my job. Which I did to the best of my ability when there was no other option available.

In all seriousness, there are a few game play tweaks that I think have made it feel more like you're playing the game, rather than fighting against it.

With the levels, you have no idea how hard we have tried to change the level geometry. At one point I had a virtual machine running windows xp, which in turn was running 3Ds max 3.1 and 3Ds max 4.0 (DOS version) in a futile attempt to get the original tools working. In the end it just wouldn't work.

And that one change i tried to make, just adding a few extra polygons? Innocent enough, but it ended up making all the actors in the level dissapear. Genius.

Oh the good old Netimmerse engine... Believe it or not, Skyrim uses this. I have an unbridled hatred for that damn game engine, and it means that I can't play Skyrim and enjoy it.
Note to game engine vendors: Changing the name of something does not actually make it new. EG 'Netimmerse' -> 'GameBryo' -> 'Creation Engine'. Not that I like most game engines, I find them damn annoying. For instance, UDK has a backwards UI, while Valve's Hammer makes sense, but then you get the endless compiling and fiddling with BSP and... *shakes head* Okay, rant over.

Aw man, you must've felt gutted to go to those lengths only for it not to work. You have my sympathy.

Although the game was made in 1999/2000. I wonder why the tools they were using were that dated even for back then.

Couldn't tell you. All I know is that I found a folder with the Munch tools in an old PC backup and there was a version for Max3.1 and Max4. Felt really lucky when I found them too. :fuzemb:

I agree with pretty much all of this, although I must say that my experience of engines that aren't open to public mods and such seem to be much better, and much simpler to work with. Even the SW engine was fairly pain free.

Ouch that must have hurt... well we can't realy blame you guys, looks like you have done all you could.

I have question. Do you have access to engine source code? Adding stuff like grass or a few shaders in some places could significantly increase visuals without having to modify many assets. Also some post process effects would be great

But unfortunately it reqiuires having in team somebody who have some experience with writing shaders and game engines.

[Totally unconstructive, off-topic and questionably witty comment here - ignore at all costs!]

If there's a physical release you could ship it with no disc in the case? Just a small tweak that I think could benefit the game a lot.

Why not create a new engine altogether? Or perhaps use unreal engine or unity?

Because then it would be a remake and not a HD remaster.

Yeah, Wil! Y U NO MAIK NEW ODDWORLD GAME?

What's wrong with a remake? It might appeal to a wider audience.

There’s a major difference in the development time and financial cost between tweaking an existing game and building an entirely new one.

Nothing wrong with it, it's just not what they are doing now.

I believe MO actually did use the Unreal Engine. Certainly they were talking about licensing it early on in the dev process.

No, it was built entirely in-studio.

Nate got schooled. I bet he's crying into his boyfriend's hairy barrel chest right now.

Your boyfriend is a bear, right?

... Is it bad that I thought you were making a Jew joke until the bottom line?

Yes. Yes, it is.

Well, they can jam it up their giant, hairy Israelite noses.

Delightful as antisemitism is, let's keep it out of Oddworld Discussion.