Hellooo Telltale, are those 2 CSI screenshots 'gameplay' ones?

[jp-30]

Lots of debate on AG (http://forums.adventuregamers.com/showthread.php?t=13226) about the 2 screenshots that surfaced here (http://store.ubi.com/item.jsp?item=68293) yesterday.

People are thinking they're concept art due to the, well, "arty" nature of the rendering. Me, I figure they're in-game shots due to the polys, closeness of release and use on a game sales page.

Can anyone in-the-know possibly make a comment either way?

[Alucard]

looks a little cartoony for csi but well I guess the other games kind of looked like that too. In that picture with Jim Brass in it his head just doesn't look right on his body.

[jp-30]

I think the visual style of the 2 shots looks great. Brass's head is fine, the only thing making it look odd is the brightness of the night-time location - bright heads, bright bodies everything... is that flashlight actually necessary?

Could just be ehanced for the screenshot I guess.

[anonima]

I think I'm gonna really like this game.. the first one looks like a screenshot from a cut scene and then the second one looks like it would be in the game.. guess we'll have to wait for the powers that be to reveal all

[artwking]

This might be of interest to some people. Jannar85 at the Adventuregamers forum found some screenshots at Ubi.com (although, not the English/US site).

http://forums.adventuregamers.com/showpost.php?p=251449&postcount=43

They're incredibly low res, but I guess as an idea of what maybe to epect, it works.

[Alucard]

interesting.

[jp-30]

Other than that one press release (http://www.telltalegames.com/pr/?permalink=CSI Announcement.txt&smm=y) this site is totally devoid of anything CSI related.

Not even a messageboard comment from anyone in the company.

So I assume the project was a 'gun for hire' type job, where everything's (marketing, promotions, support) being done 100% by Ubisoft.

Cool. More time to concentrate on the next Bone, Sam & Max and whatever else may be bubbling away unannounced in the TTG processors...

[anonima]

JP
You are right in that Ubisoft is handling the promotion on this one and we are waiting for their go ahead to start posting screens etc..

So far CSI has been a good project for us, and we are really proud of the work that has been done. I feel pretty safe in saying people here will enjoy it .

Dan

[jp-30]

Hey Dan, cool. Thank for the info.

Getting close to going Gold I guess?

[jannar85]

This might be of interest to some people. Jannar85 at the Adventuregamers forum found some screenshots at Ubi.com (although, not the English/US site).

http://forums.adventuregamers.com/showpost.php?p=251449&postcount=43

They're incredibly low res, but I guess as an idea of what maybe to epect, it works.

I'm here as well, y'know ;) Hehe.. Yey.
I'm so looking forward to everything Telltale related these days.

I'm hungry.

[artwking]

I'm here as well, y'know ;) Hehe.. Yey.

Whoops! I didn't think to look. It's all coming back to me now. :D

[jannar85]

I'm curious to see if these screenshots are WIP, and if it'll improve. There is a mixed feeling for some.

I, for one, can't wait to play it :D
Another CSI game, and Telltale is on it.. I mean.. so awesome.
And it'll undoubtly be better than the previous even if there are that real time 3d engine going on in it.

It's a such engine, is it not?

[jp-30]

There are 2 or 3 more shots (and a scheduled March 31 release date) up on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/videogames/B000CSGCP2/pictures/ref=dp_pics_smp/202-7933736-2354235)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000CSGCP2.02.PT01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000CSGCP2.02.PT05.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000CSGCP2.02.PT04.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[jannar85]

Damn! What an improvement!

According to fov at adventuregamers who contacted telltale, they said this about the first screenshots I found:

The CSI shots on that page are not current screenshots. Some are from the packaging (not in-game shots) and some are taken from Maya (dev system).

So it's really really awesome to finally get some real ones! Damn it looks sweet. Hurry up!

[anonima]

http://www.ubi.com/resources/binary/155/38897.jpg

Another screenshot from the Ubisoft site (http://www.ubi.com/US/Games/Info.aspx?pId=4323).

[jannar85]

Looks really great. Still, Grissom's face looks weird. (It WAS Grissom yes?)

[anonima]

Hello Telltale & CSI fans -

My name is Greg, and I am the writer & designer for CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder.

Standby for the Official CSI Thread coming soon on the forums!

These shots all used our actual 3D models, and were assembled in Maya/Photoshop by the Ubisoft marketing team. While the shots are not directly captured from the game, rest assured the characters & environments look as good or better in our real-time 3D engine.

We did a lot to make the player feel like they're in the show. We bring you right up close and personal with these characters - and their detail is amazing. Plus, just wait til you see them moving & talking, with moody real-time lighting and TV-like camera cuts...

PS - For all you forensic experts out there - I bet you noticed something "unusual" in the picture of the phone... NOTE: We handle this differently in the actual game!

[anonima]

Thanks for the info Greg.. I like the style you got going for this game..should work well with the story.. What I love about this release is it will be available march 31 around the world in a store in a box, so no one has any excuse not to buy it. The CSI games are like the only PC games out of 4 or 5 I see on the shelves of all stores.. If the sales match the distribution Telltale should be doing the next one..

[Udvarnoky]

For release dates I've heard March 7th, 14th, 21st, and 31st. What do I believe?! (Answer: the day my Ubiosft preorder ships.)

[anonima]

Thank you for clarifying, Greg. There has been a lot of confusion about those screenshots. I'm going to repost the info at Adventure Gamers.

[anonima]

Thanks, all.

From what I know, the game will most likely be out between the 14th and the 21st.

One more clarification - my comments were specifically responding to the pics displayed in the thread, and the 2 in the "forums" of Adventure Gamers.

There are a few shots around that were apparently taken during a gameplay session, though they are in low-res and were made with a build of the game that's about a month or 2 older.

Gameplay shots
- Warrick close-up w/ white text onscreen
- Al Robbins alone with the body in the morgue
- Jim Brass in his office
- Lab computer

Some real, current screenshots will be posted on our site shortly!

[anonima]

yeah i noticed what you are hinting at on the cell phone picture.........you do not swab a fingerprint brfore it is lifted

i am going to send what you said about those screenshots to my forum over at csigamer.com (www.csigamer.com/forums)

i have a couple of questions as well,
what format is the new game going to be on...cd or dvd ?
and when will the system requirements become public ?

based on what you said i suppose that this screenshot is from an old build of the game as well
http://i2.tinypic.com/or5e6a.jpg

[anonima]

CSI:3 will be in CD format, at least for the U.S. launch.

I'm not sure when ubisoft will release the system requirements. I'll see if they will allow us to post them this week. However, it was important to us to be able to include as many fans as possible. We targeted the Sims 2 requirements, so it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of that.

The Grissom & Car screenshot looks like it was made using relatively current models. I'd say within the last month of production.

-greg

[anonima]

so which of the 2 shots is closer to what the finished game will look like?

the one on amazon with warrick, grissom and the car

or the one in my earlier post with just grissom and the car

because you say the one i posted was a recent screenshot
but you say that the amazon screenshots used the actual in-game models

well, they look nothing alike even from a developers stand point

so which is closer to the final appearnce of the game?

[anonima]

Thanks for the question, Dangerzone.

The picture of "Grissom and Car" looks the closest to the final game.

Fortunately, screenshots taken directly from gameplay of the final game will be up on our site in the near future! Hopefully that will clear up some of the confusion around the various images going around.

[anonima]

thanks for clearing that up, i will spread this info to my forum

any idea if we will see the shots before the release date?

and do you have any idea if there will be an official website for the game on ubisoft.com?

thanks

[anonima]

Actually, I've two questions: @ Doesn't boxart reflect scenes from the cases?
b) Is the screenshot of Sophia Curtis kneeling down next to the vic's body with Sergeant Riley shining his flashlight upon the victim's face in the games or is it obsolete?

[anonima]

Hi Poseidon,

As Greg said earlier in this thread, many of the first pictures that were released were put together by Ubisoft's marketing team, using the actual backgrounds and characters, but not from the cases themselves. So I don't think they necessarily reflect scenes from the cases.

As for the woman with the flashlight, I think that's Catherine.

[anonima]

FOV is correct.

Catherine is the one kneeling down near the body, with Capt. Jim Brass.

To speak to Poseidon's first question: Boxart "sometimes" reflects shots taken from the actual game, but it's not a hard rule.

In CSI3, Ubisoft decided to evoke a "feeling" rather than exactly capture the "visual look" of the game. So what you are seeing in the box art is not literally what you will see in the game. It's a composition, just like many movie posters are.

[anonima]

ok, one last question

from the various screenshots i have seen, it looks like you play each case with a few of the characters not not just one character per case like the last few games

can you confirm this, or is it like the past games and you only work with one character per case

and thank you for answering all of my past questions

[anonima]

Since when did Captain Brass ever have hair that short?

[anonima]

poseidon, it was an early shot and was not necessarly true to the appearnce of any characters (if it was even from the game)

it was either taken from a very early build of the game

ir it is some concept art for one of the game scenes

from what i have seen the characters look very close to their on screen counterparts

and it is hard to render a face, let alone any object in 3D

[anonima]

To answer Dangerzone's question: in general, each case has one CSI partner like the other games, but fans can expect MANY MORE interactions between CSIs than previous games had.

In fact, you will notice a dramatic improvement from the very beginning of the first introduction to Grissom!

There are some great surprises in there.

-greg

[anonima]

ok, thank you for the info

can you confirm that ubisoft sent the game out today?

[anonima]

According to the CSI Gamer forum, Dangerzone got his shipment of CSI copies in (he's a retailer).

I'm not sure when they are supposed to start selling copies. But hopefully asap! I want to give one to my parents!

[Udvarnoky]

My Ubisoft preorder shipped.

[anonima]

yes, i will confirm that the game is in stores

(my store got them around 6:30 last night)

and most pre-orders should be in everyones hands before the end of the week

there is no sell date, as soon as the stores get them, they can put them on the shelve

[anonima]

But..... A fan ?? That sounds very strange indeed! I'm a bit old-fashioned. Like to have a little order---like Dangerzone.

[anonima]

Hi there everyone..


I got my game through Play.com yesterday and after playing upto the 5th case (which I now have hit a preverbial brick wall) I would like to say those screenshots at UBI are not in the game.


The picture of grisom in front of a vehicle is in the game at the start of the 5th case.


Now back to finding out how to finish this last case.


On a side note, this has been a better experience than the previous CSI games, the 3 dimensional aspect of evidence collecting is more enriching, nice to see they used wordplay on the game title also to tie in with the type of game it is. Very Clever.


But like other CSI games, I found this one is easy enough to run through and less enfuriating than the others, CSI: Dark Motives was annoyingly frustrating when you hit a brick wall.


But overall it is an enjoyable experience and well put together, lets hope telltale will expand on this with future CSI games and possibly make them a bit more difficult. To annoy me of course ;)

[anonima]

So, uh, any chance of a demo any time soon?

[anonima]

Thanks for the positive response, DABhand - glad you are having a good experience.

It was a definite goal for us to reduce frustration for the games.

And yes, Junkface - a demo is in the works. It's coming soon, in downloadable form. It will likely be early to mid April!

[anonima]

good game i like it alot

one question

i noticed this shot from the pre release screenshots
http://i1.tinypic.com/rlw8za.jpg

i recognise the character and the scene but what is with the body?

thwere is no body in that scene in the final game

did you guys have a case that you cut out of the game?

[anonima]

I think thats the asian girl forgot her name now :P

[anonima]

That pre-release screenshot is actually one of the Marketing Screenshots discussed eariler in the thread - the Ubisoft team created it using our models...

Notice it's actually victim from another case, with different colored clothes & hair! Tricky!