Game Guides Archive
Thread: How about our own personal in-game photographs?
Sinara-Snake
Wed Nov 17, 2004 9:47 am
#14
I'd like that, that way only SWG pictures can be used, and no copyright infringement toward any unauthorized avatars.
JakinIrali
Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:09 am
#15
Well ultimately we'd need access to server stats, it'd be much easier to figure out how bad it'd be. First find outhow often someone d/l's data on the interior of a house and how much data gets sent. Then look at what would happen if you added the download of a couple highly compressed low-res jpgs (we'll do a worst case scenario and assume every single house contains a full complement of that player's available images - and of course there'd be some PA's who would set up art galleries in their guild halls and whatnot). I really don't know if it'd hurt the server considerably or not.
Now I'm pretty sure there'sa coupleMMORPG'sin which players actually get to custom-paint the textures on their character for completely original clothing. City of Heroes I think was one of them, I saw a screen of a custom character once (unless he hacked the game files and the character only looked that way on the local computer).
But if that weren't the case, if it were really that big of a deal, heck, theimages could just as soon bestored onthe Sonywebsite instead of the game server. Then the only extra data the 'galaxy' itself would have to sendto a player is a coupleimage links, which the local computer could then request from the website.
Message Edited by JakinIrali on 11-17-2004 10:10 AM
Wokka
Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:35 am
#16
This is a wonderful idea and I think the job should be given to the Image Designer. they should have a photo booth in their tent where they take the pics, and then give them to an artisan of some sort to put it in a frame.
But now, thats good for an individual snapshot, but what if you wanted a cool pic of scenery that isn't in the ID tent?
Well, maybe the ID can sell you a one-shot camera that you can use. Much like the holoemotes item they have. Or perhaps a craftable camera that keeps the pics in-game for the ID to look up and develop for you?
I can see a problem with having your own bitmaps that originate out-of-game, but my idea here would keep the data in-game so it can be loaded on other peoples screens by the server. (thats the problem with your own photos, I dont expect the server to go and download every pic a player takes of himself)
Wokka-wokka
But now, thats good for an individual snapshot, but what if you wanted a cool pic of scenery that isn't in the ID tent?
Well, maybe the ID can sell you a one-shot camera that you can use. Much like the holoemotes item they have. Or perhaps a craftable camera that keeps the pics in-game for the ID to look up and develop for you?
I can see a problem with having your own bitmaps that originate out-of-game, but my idea here would keep the data in-game so it can be loaded on other peoples screens by the server. (thats the problem with your own photos, I dont expect the server to go and download every pic a player takes of himself)
Wokka-wokka
Wokka
Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:47 am
#18
Cry4Dawn wrote:Or just do what I do and post them in your signature
Well, as much as I like your pics, we're looking for a way to have some put on the wall of our in-game houses.
Cry4Dawn
Wed Nov 17, 2004 2:50 pm
#19
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ok now thats vain 
hehehehehe So self pics 
hehehehehe So self pics I dunno about that, I am cute but I dont want to look at myself all day long
BadKarma777
Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:00 pm
#20
This idea had actually been discussed in the past. The problem is, unlike a crafting schematic which can be categorized by 'type', that each image would be a distinctly unique item.
Imagine the database that would be required to pull this off. heck, let's be conservative and say each player get 5 screenshots (and no, that wouldn't be enough, there would be 1000's crying that they needed space for 50... or 500) that could be mounted in their homes.
How many SWG players are there? Multiplied by 5? Multiplied by the number of bytes required to store the image?
Starting to see my point?
JakinIrali
Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:53 pm
#21
Hrm? Why couldn't it be categorized by type? It's furniture. That wouldn't be a problem. The crafting schematic for it would be of the picture frame itself, but without the image texture. The texture would bebe applied to the item had been crafted and then a player used it to take a snapshot just like a rifle in the game before you add a scope to it
But if what you mean is that each one would be unique due to the texture, well that's technically true of all items in the game. Every single item in the game has it's own serial number,who made it, if it's been sliced, they each have their own attributes (and who knows how many other transparent statistics are kept for it that we can't see via the interface). If we could see the raw data for a single item like a starship, it might prove to take up just as much space as a little jpg.
As for people complaining about not having enough pictures.. well so what?Players complain about everything at one point or another. They'd just have to dealwith only having 5 pictures, and only being able to have 3 ships in the datapad, only 60 items in the inventory + 50 in the backpack and can onlywield one weapon at a time. I'dbepleased if I were allowed just ONE picture. But anyway, what'shard-diskspace these days? Disk space means nothing in the internet world now. You can get a free website with 1GB of available space - it's the bandwidth they kill you with now. And that's where the ultimate feasibility lies I think.Not whether or not they have the disk space to contain it, but whether the servers can handle the additional data being transferred (unless it was all handled through a separate server in which case it'd be easy as pie).
Message Edited by JakinIrali on 11-17-2004 02:56 PM
Hillslayer
Wed Nov 17, 2004 5:35 pm
#22
JakinIrali wrote:
They'd just have to dealwith only having 5 pictures, and only being able to have 3 ships in the datapad, only 60 items in the inventory + 50 in the backpack and can onlywield one weapon at a time.
You forgot another 50 items in droids. 
Nabodia_Norilles
Thu Nov 18, 2004 1:03 am
#23
I think that is a wonderful game idea. I have serveral screenshots I wish I could add as pictures in my house. As far as server and bandwith and all that technical mess. What kind of bargain basement garage sale servers are these guys running the game on? Is it all held together with duct tape???
Sheesh!!
Put a limit of say 2 or 3 paintings per player and/orper house or something so the freggin hampsters don't go on strike and the servers crash.
JakinIrali
Thu Nov 18, 2004 9:22 am
#24
Hillslayer wrote:
You forgot another 50 items in droids.
Heh, sry...
My point is though thatconsidering the amount of game data that is already stored for each player (avatar, skills, email, quest journal, profile, inventory, lots, and all the extra invisible stats that only the devs will ever get to see), I doubt adding a couple would make much of a noticable difference. Each time we play, our character's file probably gets bigger anyway just by the system recording the date&time we logged in and tracking that we've read our new email.
TheBratman
Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:52 am
#25
I like this idea! This could be created by Archeticts from a holo-disk (or something like that) that would store your image. The Architect could then use thatdisk to create your painting.
JakinIrali wrote:
No, I don't mean being able to takesomething with your webcam post it somewhere in the game.. censorship people would have a field day with the can of worms that would open up from that. But imagine this..
An in-game camera item that allowed us to take a screenshot, but instead of it getting saved to the harddrive, it gets uploaded to the game server and becomes a painting item that we could place in a structure?
So a disgusting amount of diskspace doesn't get used up overnight, players would have something like lots limiting the number of photos that could be taken (higher rez or bigger paintings would use more lots). If you want a new pic, you'd have to drop one of your old ones.
This way you could have a group picture of their guild, or a 'vacation' pic of yourself standing at the crater rim of the volcano on Lok, or if you're just not happy with the selection of paintings available in the game, go into space and grab a shot of that really cool nebula with the Endor moon behind it.