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Source (engine)
Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve. It debuted as the successor to GoldSrc in 2004 with the release of '' Counter-Strike: Source'' and ''Half-Life 2''. Updates to Source were released in incremental versions, with the engine being succeeded by Source 2 by the late 2010s. History Source distantly originates from the GoldSrc engine, itself a heavily modified version of John Carmack's Quake engine with some code from the Quake II engine. Carmack commented on his blog in 2004 that "there are still bits of early ''Quake'' code in ''Half-Life 2''". Valve employee Erik Johnson explained the engine's nomenclature on the Valve Developer Community: Source was developed part-by-part from this fork onwards, slowly replacing GoldSrc in Valve's internal projects and, in part, explaining the reasons behind its unusually modular nature. Valve's development of Source since has been a mixture of licensed middleware and in-house-developed code. Among others, Source uses Bink Video f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, and digital distribution company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It is the developer of the software distribution platform Steam (service), Steam and the franchises ''Half-Life (series), Half-Life'', ''Counter-Strike'', ''Portal (series), Portal'', ''Day of Defeat'', ''Team Fortress'', ''Left 4 Dead (series), Left 4 Dead'' and ''Dota''. Valve was founded in 1996 by former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington. Their debut game, the first-person shooter (FPS) ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' (1998), was a critical and commercial success; with its realism, scripted sequences and seamless narrative, it had a lasting influence on the FPS genre. Harrington left in 2000. In 2003, Valve launched Steam, followed by ''Half-Life 2'' in 2004. With advanced Physics engine, physics systems and an increased focus on story and characters, ''Half-Life 2'' received critical acclaim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prima Games
Prima Games is a publishing company of video game strategy guides in the United States. Formerly, Prima was an imprint of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Penguin Random House, and produced print ''strategy guides'', featuring ''in-depth walkthroughs'' for completing games and other information, such as character sheets and move charts. Prima was acquired by Asteri Holdings in March 2019, which will transition the business to provide strategy guides in online form only, alongside other gaming news. The company was acquired by GAMURS Group in January 2022. History Prima Publishing was a small publisher working out of a residential-style home office in Roseville, California when in 1990 its owner, Ben Dominitz, contracted with author Rusel DeMaria to create a video game strategy guide imprint, initially called "The Secrets of the Games". At the time, DeMaria was senior editor for ''PC Games'' magazine and on the staff of '' GamePro''. The initial contract called for five books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Image-based Modeling And Rendering
In computer graphics and computer vision, image-based modeling and rendering (IBMR) methods rely on a set of two-dimensional images of a scene to generate a three-dimensional model and then render some novel views of this scene. The traditional approach of computer graphics has been used to create a geometric model in 3D and try to reproject it onto a two-dimensional image. Computer vision, conversely, is mostly focused on detecting, grouping, and extracting features (edges, faces, ''etc.'') present in a given picture and then trying to interpret them as three-dimensional clues. Image-based modeling and rendering allows the use of multiple two-dimensional images in order to generate directly novel two-dimensional images, skipping the manual modeling stage. Light modeling Instead of considering only the physical model of a solid, IBMR methods usually focus more on light modeling. The fundamental concept behind IBMR is the plenoptic illumination function which is a parametris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phong Shading
In 3D computer graphics, Phong shading, Phong interpolation, or normal-vector interpolation shading is an interpolation technique for surface shading invented by computer graphics pioneer Bui Tuong Phong. Phong shading interpolates surface normals across rasterized polygons and computes pixel colors based on the interpolated normals and a reflection model. ''Phong shading'' may also refer to the specific combination of Phong interpolation and the Phong reflection model. History Phong shading and the Phong reflection model were developed at the University of Utah by Bui Tuong Phong, who published them in his 1973 Ph.D. dissertation and a 1975 paper.Bui Tuong Phong, "Illumination for Computer Generated Pictures," Comm. ACM, Vol 18(6):311-317, June 1975. Phong's methods were considered radical at the time of their introduction, but have since become the de facto baseline shading method for many rendering applications. Phong's methods have proven popular due to their generally e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lost Coast
The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and undeveloped area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In addition, the steepness and related geotechnical challenges of the coastal mountains made this stretch of coastline too costly for state highway or county road builders to establish routes through the area, leaving it the most undeveloped and remote portion of the California coast. Without any major highways, communities in the Lost Coast region such as Petrolia, Shelter Cove, and Whitethorn are isolated from the rest of California. The region lies roughly between Rockport and Ferndale. At the south end, State Route 1, which runs very close along the coast for most of its length, suddenly turns inland at Rockport before merging with U.S. Route 101 at Leggett. At the north end, State Route 211 begins its journey at Ferndale, heading to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Color Correction
Color correction is a process used in stage lighting, photography, television, cinematography, and other disciplines, which uses color gels, or filters, to alter the overall color of the light. Typically the light color is measured on a scale known as color temperature, as well as along a green–magenta axis orthogonal to the color temperature axis. Without color correction gels, a scene may have a mix of various colors. Applying color correction gels in front of light sources can alter the color of the various light sources to match. Mixed lighting can produce an undesirable aesthetic when displayed on a television or in a theatre. Conversely, gels may also be used to make a scene ''appear'' more natural by simulating the mix of color temperatures that occur naturally. This application is useful, especially where ''motivated lighting'' (lending the impression that it is diegetic) is the goal. Color gels may also be used to tint lights for artistic effect. Correlated color ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High-dynamic-range Rendering
High-dynamic-range rendering (HDRR or HDR rendering), also known as high-dynamic-range lighting, is the Rendering (computer graphics), rendering of computer graphics scenes by using computer graphics lighting, lighting calculations done in high dynamic range (HDR). This allows preservation of details that may be lost due to limiting contrast ratios. Video games and Computer animation, computer-generated movies and special effects benefit from this as it creates more realistic scenes than with more simplistic lighting models. Graphics processor company Nvidia summarizes the motivation for HDR in three points: bright things can be really bright, dark things can be really dark, and details can be seen in both. History The use of high-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI) in computer graphics was introduced by Greg Ward in 1985 with his open-source Radiance (software), Radiance rendering and ''lighting simulation'' software which created the first file format to retain a high-dynamic-range im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Half-Life 2 Episode One Citadel Base
Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable atoms survive. The term is also used more generally to characterize any type of exponential (or, rarely, non-exponential) decay. For example, the medical sciences refer to the biological half-life of drugs and other chemicals in the human body. The converse of half-life (in exponential growth) is doubling time. The original term, ''half-life period'', dating to Ernest Rutherford's discovery of the principle in 1907, was shortened to ''half-life'' in the early 1950s. Rutherford applied the principle of a radioactive element's half-life in studies of age determination of rocks by measuring the decay period of radium to lead-206. Half-life is constant over the lifetime of an exponentially decaying quantity, and it is a characteristic unit for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mod (video Gaming)
Video game modding (short for "modification") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general modding. Mods may range from small changes and tweaks to complete overhauls, and can extend the replay value and interest of the game. Modding a game can also be understood as the act of seeking and installing mods to the player's game, but the act of tweaking pre-existing settings and preferences is not truly modding. Mods have arguably become an increasingly important factor in the commercial success of some games, as they add depth to the original work, and can be both fun for players playing the mods and as means of self-expression for mod developers. People can become fans of specific mods, in addition to fans of the game they are for, such as requesting features and alterations for these mods. In cases where mods are very popular, players might have to clarify that they are r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Orange Box
''The Orange Box'' is a video game compilation containing five games developed and published by Valve. Two of the games included, ''Half-Life 2'' and its first stand-alone expansion, '' Episode One'', had previously been released as separate products. Three new games were also included in the compilation: the second stand-alone expansion, '' Half-Life 2: Episode Two'', the puzzle game ''Portal'', and ''Team Fortress 2'', the multiplayer game sequel to ''Team Fortress Classic''. Valve also released a soundtrack containing music from the games within the compilation. A separate product entitled ''The Black Box'' was planned, which would have included only the new games, but was later canceled. ''The Orange Box'' was first released for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360 in October 2007, while the PlayStation 3 version, developed by EA UK was released in December 2007. A digital ''Orange Box'' pack, containing the five games, was released in May 2010 for Mac OS X following the rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Episode One
''Episode I'', ''Episode 1'' or ''Episode One'' may refer to: * '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'', a 1999 film * '' Half-Life 2: Episode One'', a 2006 computer game sequel * "Episode 1" (''Ashes to Ashes''), (2008), the first episode of the TV series ''Ashes to Ashes'' * "Episode 1" (''The Casual Vacancy''), (2015), the first episode of the TV miniseries ''The Casual Vacancy'' * "Episode 1" (''Humans'' series 1), the first episode of the TV series ''Humans'' * Episode 1 (company) Episode 1 is a venture fund set up to invest in early-stage technology companies based in the UK. The three partners behind the fund – Simon Murdoch, Damien Lane and Adrian Lloyd – are experienced entrepreneurs and investors, and have been thro ..., a UK investment company * ''Episode 1'' (EP), an extended play by Broiler * "Episode One" (''Dark Matter''), the first episode of ''Dark Matter'' * "Episode 1.1" (''Secret Diary of a Call Girl''), the premiere episode of ''Secret Diary o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steam (service)
Steam is a Digital distribution of video games, video game digital distribution service and storefront by Valve Corporation, Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games, and expanded to distributing and offering third-party Video game publisher, game publishers' titles in late 2005. Steam offers various features, like digital rights management (DRM), Matchmaking (video games), game server matchmaking, Valve Anti-Cheat, anti-cheat measures, social networking service, social networking and video game live streaming, game streaming services. It provides the user with automatic game updating, saved game cloud synchronization, and community features such as friends messaging, in-game chat and a community market. Valve released a freely available application programming interface (API) called Steamworks in 2008, which developers can use to integrate Steam's functions into their products, including in-gam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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