Tilt Shift Photography and SimCity

[McMurray02 55]

I've heard a lot of folks dismiss the tilt shift effect as a way to simply water down the graphics on the upcoming SimCity. I happen to find it as a very cool form of art.

Here's a video by Keith Loutit which was released online today which features Singapore using Sim City like tilt shift photography at its best:

  Edited September 20, 2012 by McMurray02  

[snick25 384]

It can be very cool - that video is a good example. The problem I have with it, when used in a video game, is that it makes the city look more like a video game, and less realistic. Again, in that video, there were many times when one probably couldn't tell if it were real or a video game. There was one scene of a construction lot that looked like a model railroad set. Nothing wrong with that, and it's pretty neat if it's real life that's being altered to look like that, but IMO a realistic city simulation shouldn't look like a model railroad set. It should look like real life.

I'm sure they'll have the option to turn it off, though.

[Essex 322]

I personally have no problems with the Tilt Shift or the graphics.

There are much more important aspects about the game that puts me off buying it.

[GMT 389]

The problem I have with it, when used in a video game, is that it makes the city look more like a video game, and less realistic.

sometimes people need to be reminded that it's a videoGAME, not videoREALITY... just saying...

I mean, seriously, how realistic is it that you fly at an arbitrary height above an empty lot of land with pockets full of money and resources and start bulding a city out of nothing with traffic networks created in minutes rather than months/years and houses popping up out of nowhere and people moving to this city without any connecting ways to it?

my problem with the tilt shift is that it annoys after a while because you can't see everything. It's a nice catch for a screenshot (like in Anno2070) but nothing to be permanently bothered with

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Tilt shift is the Instagram of the video gaming world.

But seriously, as I said before: They were probably faced with the resources problem, so they had to find a workaround. Looks like they also found a good way to market that workaround.

[McMurray02 55]

Tilt shift is the Instagram of the video gaming world.

But seriously, as I said before: They were probably faced with the resources problem, so they had to find a workaround. Looks like they also found a good way to market that workaround.

I agree, it's a nice way to present and market a workaround. It makes me curious what limitations the game would have if there wasn't this workaround. Visual representation of what's going on with the Glass Box would probably be severely limited (and this seems to be one of the main features.)

I think given the changes since the last 10 years, it makes me wonder if we'll have to wait another 10 before computers we reach a point of not just photo realism, but fully animated video realism in our cities. Some very key factors have to take place, like simulating and animating with the integrity of what's really there. That hasn't happened before. Smoke and mirrors had to do, and we accepted that.

Even in real world tool, like Google Earth,which has only been around for 7 years, has had to overcome limitations. The 3D rendering of the buildings and terrain was "mind blowing" at the time, but it's still nothing like reality. Of course, there are some other platforms, some of which aren't available to the public (unless you pay a hefty price), that have stepped of the level of detail. Mapping, modelling and rendering is shifting from having individuals meticulously drawing each point, and adding textures, to having computers (and an array of gadgets) photograph, calculate and automatically create models or real world cities, for instance. That level of detail looks amazing, but they are always static, 3D renderings. I'm sure photo realistic animation (and more importantly real time animation is on it's way) but we're not there yet.

So, in a simulated environment (which all objects have to be not only rendered, but their behavior is calculated) this still remains a tall order for our current home gaming technology. So, for now, I'll accept the work around, knowing that it's freeing up resources and maximizing the capabilities of the game.

I think the same could be true for all of the other "features" that as a group we're either complaining, or worried about. There are still limits to the game based on the performance of the computers of average people. Those were calculated, and known limitations which determined things like the size vs. realism of what is simulated. Someday, that will change.

  Edited September 20, 2012 by McMurray02  

[Jazzmaster 716]

I feel like this would further impair the CPU because it's basically a Photoshop-like affect only instead of acting once, it acts constantly to account for camera panning etc....but who knows.

Also, this is technically a variation of tilt-shift photography called the miniature effect...tilt-shift was originally invented to make the vertical lines in a photograph appear perfectly straight, instead of angled & distorted by perspective. *photography snob*

[Ocram's Razr 963]

That is a pretty neat video! I assume that the blurry parts of the screen would be rendered with low LOD, freeing up resources.

--Ocram

  Edited September 20, 2012 by OcramSeattle  

[T Wrecks 10,209]

I feel like this would further impair the CPU because it's basically a Photoshop-like affect only instead of acting once, it acts constantly to account for camera panning etc....but who knows.

Well, we don't know if the underlying graphics are first calculated and rendered completely and then blurred - which would indeed be an additional effect that would cause more strain - or whether the graphics are built up in a sequence according to their importance: Basic outlines first, then details, then additional props, then animated cars and Sims, etc. If the latter was true, then it might be possible that the game first does the basics everywhere and then determines (based on your current position) what's too far away, which then gets blurred before the finer details are even loaded - pretty much like the fog effect in 3D games with large outdoor levels.

Also, this is technically a variation of tilt-shift photography called the miniature effect...tilt-shift was originally invented to make the vertical lines in a photograph appear perfectly straight, instead of angled & distorted by perspective. *photography snob*

Very true, thanks for bringing that up.

[Bipin 3,402]

I'd say tilt-shift is OK for a video game, simply because you can never be 100% accurate to "the real thing" with rendered graphics, so you might as well make the game look as though it's a real-life scene with a tilt-shift edge to it, helping blur the line between graphics and an image of "the real thing".

[McMurray02 55]

Well, we don't know if the underlying graphics are first calculated and rendered completely and then blurred - which would indeed be an additional effect that would cause more strain - or whether the graphics are built up in a sequence according to their importance: Basic outlines first, then details, then additional props, then animated cars and Sims, etc. If the latter was true, then it might be possible that the game first does the basics everywhere and then determines (based on your current position) what's too far away, which then gets blurred before the finer details are even loaded - pretty much like the fog effect in 3D games with large outdoor levels.

Based on the little snippets of videos (or animations) that I've seen, I'm inclined to think that low level details are rendered first for all objects, and then all objects are split into two groups: those in the background where the tilt shift effect is added, and those up front where further details are added (as you've suggested in your second thought.) I also would imagine that any graphics processing to apply the tilt shift effect is considerably less than if it were fully rendered. (Ultimately, the effect allows for the parts that are in focus to be rendered in a higher detail than if the processing power had to be distributed equally to all objects.) Since adding the tilt shift effect essentially blurs the background, it wouldn't make sense to fully render those and then apply the effect (as Jazzmaster suggests). That's taking two or three steps forward, then one step back, which when it comes to budgeting graphics processing power, that doesn't make sense. So, this is my basis for this thinking.

Now, consider this:

After watching this animation, I'm reminded that our eyes can only focus on just a small portion of our total field of vision. Watch it, and you'll find yourself drawn to the action around the intersection and not the stuff in the background. Although we're aware of objects around what we are actually focusing on, our eyes aren't focusing on it. Perhaps our brain is artificially filling in the gaps and we're not even aware of it. We may not even care that the background portion of your visual field is blurred. If there's one thing I've learned about how illusionist work. it's that they take full advantage of this knowledge. SimCity creators are also taking advantage of this principle. It just happens to be that what we are looking at is ultimately being rendered on a flat, static surface (computer display) and we have the option of looking beyond the intended focal point on the screen. I would imagine that after a few minutes of game play, most people won't even notice. I would also imagine that the creators would have tested this effect on a group of people to see if it felt natural and would have made adjustments accordingly. To me it does seem to be natural, and hopefully to most, that is true as well.

In any event, I would imagine there will probably be an official blog entry to shed light on the decision making that took place to lead the developers to the solutions that were made. For every feature and quirk that someone has found to complain about, I can't help but think that each piece was given thought and specific consideration all the while being reigned in by the current limitations in the world of processing power (graphical or otherwise). In my opinion, the use of tilt-shift was an ingenious way to solve the problem of maximizing the graphical details of the game.

  Edited September 22, 2012 by McMurray02  

[RyanMorgan95 144]

If they include the option to toggle tilt-shift on and off, and perhaps even allow one to vary the degree of the effect, then everyone is happy!

  Edited September 25, 2012 by RyanMorgan95  

[McMurray02 55]

If they include the option to toggle tilt-shift on and off, and perhaps even allow one to vary the degree of the effect, then everyone is happy!

If there are enough systems that could allow for it, and if adding the ability to adjust this setting it fairly easy to implement, then why not.

That said, back in the day when we were exploring the exemplars that controlled the various pieces in SC4, I came across one value that configured the maximum area that you could drag out for new zones. Thinking that it would be nice to allow larger areas, I increased the value and tried it out. What I soon came to realize is that there is a fairly significant range of calculations that needed to be made (configuring roads, and smoothing terrain, etc.) When I created an area of zoning that was much larger than originally allowed, not only was it much slower, but eventually, my game crashed.

Now, I learned from trial and error what the limitations were, and adjusted it back down (but still kept it larger than the original.) The developers, however, know the limitations they must deal with, and set each piece of the game accordingly. This means being able to support the lowest end on their system requirements. We take for granted that most things will run smoothly when playing, but this is because things are not allowed to creep into a range that could crash the game (or significantly impair game play.)

Now, as you can imagine, if a variable setting isn't allowed, someone in the modding community will probably tackle this. It may cause some problems for some, but it'll be an option that wasn't available before. Several years down the road, computers will allow for a much higher level of detail on all things rendered, and perhaps then, that modification will make much more sense.

[baertooth 330]

I think the whole reason for the tilt shift aspect in the first place, also one of the things I like about the game above SC4 (I think is in the game but not totally sure that is) is it looks like the region will be displayed while playing instead of the apron and space like in SC4. But It's way too much overhead to try to render the distant cities with full detail so this was a way to render the cities with an acceptable overhead while still being aesthetically pleasing. And then they just adjusted the tilt shift into the city view as it made sense to blur the city line against the distant region view. Plus it saves CPU/GPU cycles. Win/win.

I also think it gave the developers the overall sense of being connected and wanting to relate that experience because you can see the surrounding region from within your city while playing. I just don't think they've ever properly articulated that aspect of the "connected" feeling you get from playing SC2013.

Of course this is me trying to be a mind reader so I'm more than likely completely wrong.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Good posts there, McMurray. I agree with you, and I'd like to thank you for the time and effort you put into your replies.

[Xyloxadoria 1,099]

Just so you know they confirmed early on when they annoced tilt shift that it would have an on off button.

[McMurray02 55]

Just so you know they confirmed early on when they annoced tilt shift that it would have an on off button.

Ah, very nice, that's great information. Thanks for letting us know.

[SoftcoreGamer 352]

Nice video of Singapore, thanks!

Tilt shift is one crippled interface/aesthetic/function feature being shamelessly framed as a "trendy" selling point. It forces bandwidth overhead conservation on even the most capable PC, into SC2000 level resolution LOD, and DOF (depth of field) effect. DOF, an old cinematography technic is now overused to fake analog filmic feel on digital reels. Tilt shift's force-shrinking of viewable city area also disguise the reality of tiny map size, an unexciting regression 10 years after the last version. Cities permanently shrouded in haze lose that expansive feel of seeing your creation into the horizon. The effect is distracting and claustrophobic, as its space compression quality cartoonizes the already cartoony visual. Overall another avoidable compromise from forcing a massively complex SOLO game online before the world is technologically ready.

The worst scenario is SimcityOnline2013 players stuck with fixed tilt level calibrated not to individual user speed/power but server traffic congestion. But if wisdom prevail at Maxis, SimcitySandbox2013 will come with adjustable multiple tilt shift level.

  Edited September 29, 2012 by SoftcoreGamer