Gamescom 2017 reaction. The good, the bad, the ugly.

[Rear_Intruder]

PC gamer article from 10 hours ago is positive below is the summary. (This article was based on a private showing not the demo) More potential new backers will read this than watched the demo

"Star Citizen looks fantastic, and the fact that all this will be possible, all going to plan, within the same server blows my mind. It's made what feels like leaps and bounds since its Gamescom showing last year, and while keen to avoid tying himself to a specific date, Roberts reckons his September 4-8 estimate for the arrival of alpha 3.0 is about right."


http://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-expressive-faces-space-fashion-and-boldly-going-beyond-30/

 

[Talonsbane]

If they are more concerned with one crash during a Live demonstration than everything else they saw, then so what. Let them wait.


The key word --> ANTI ( It will make no difference what is presented).



Oh yeah........On both accounts.
I am now seriously considering getting TrackHat & I can't even afford that. Oh well, who needs food anyway?


I strongly disagree with you on this topic.
I have watched & been sorely disappointed by Demos for over 30 years.

As a Backer (2013) I want & expect to see actual game play as it is being developed. After all, we are part of that development by funding & testing the game as it is being coded. I don't care at all about 'fence-sitters'. It has been my experience that 90%+ of Gamers never participate in Alpha testing BECAUSE of the crashes.These people can wait until full release, probably in 2 years, and pay a great deal more and know nothing about how to play. Like they always do anyway & always will. They are no lose at this point. They will join eventually.


Don't read them or pay attention to anyone that does. Simple. 'F' them.
As I see it, this is my game and if someone does not like it, they can go to Hell. I don't care. If fact, I am better off without them playing Star Citizen. I never played EVE Online because I didn't like it. However, I didn't bad mouth it constantly to the people that did like it.


I am delighted to hear that.


Ask yourself one very simple question.......Of what value is the Pheonix in game or for your play style????
Is it an Explorer? A Cargo Hauler? A Fighting ship? Or is it just a fancy bit of wood & chrome for you to show off at least twice?
When the game launches, what will you actually do with it???????



Absolutely.
Hey, I didn't think about the cushions. Thanks. Tearing the couch (settee in England) apart now. :laughing:


*******************************************************
If anyone actually took the time to read my comments, you may have noticed a somewhat 'hardened' attitude.

I have heard the same Damn bitching for over 4 years now and quite frankly I am tired of listening to the whiners. I have waited over 30 years for this experience (not a game) and now that is approaching, I intend to enjoy it to the fullest with as many friends as wish to play with me.

I frankly no longer give a DAMN about the Whiners., Cry Babies (I spent money that I didn't have to so I am entitled) or just plain Haters.

Nobody ever ask you, or made you, spend more than $45 USD.
If you did, then Adult up and stop crying about it.
I have never spent over $40 USD for any game in my life but I have Pledged $1000 for SC and spent over a $1000 for Hardware.
Yes, I needed a new system in 2013. It was my choice and I am very Proud & Happy about it.

I find it interesting that people Bitch about getting their moneys worth quickly enough from CIG but every day they discuss what new WhizBang Hardware (fresh off the press) they are buying - Threadrippers, ToeStompers, GobSmackers etc etc etc......spending thousands of dollars to be the first. I bet they are Googling TrackIR right now. Oh and lets not forget all those pretty blinkie lights INSIDE the now see-through case so we can look at them instead of the monitor. Is your computer desk starting to look like a Bordello? Ha. Ha. Maybe that's the point. Hummmm.
Damn, I AM old. The 'game' is at least 2 years from completion and people are going broke now. I will never understand this.
btw - By the time SC launches your GobSmacker will be outdated. Just saying.

I have known for a long time now what was coming.
(And I know what else to expect in the coming Months - Don't you wish you did?)
Within a couple more weeks, Star Citizen shall begin with 3.0. I look forward to playing & having tons of FUN with you all.
You are welcome to join me on this GREAT ADVENTURE.
CityBoppin & BarHoppin Among many other wonderous things.
See you in the 'Verse.
Or not, your choice.
********************************************************

WOW, this has been some shitpost. Feels good to have said my peace. Ha. Ha.
@Blind Owl Is this what Shitposting feels like?

The best way that I can reply to this is saying, "Amen, I agree whole heartedly. Very well said."

 

[CosmicTrader]

PC gamer article from 10 hours ago is positive below is the summary. (This article was based on a private showing not the demo) More potential new backers will read this than watched the demo

The best way that I can reply to this is saying, "Amen, I agree whole heartedly. Very well said."

It's people like you guys & the other posters here that make me PROUD to be a TESTie.
:heart_eyes:

 

[makute]

I wasn't too happy with the face ware or more importantly its purpose for implementation. Character detail looks too poor to implement facial expressions without making a smile look creepy.

That seems to be the general consensus, but maybe it just turns out to be something we all end up using and not thinking about later on.

Personally, I loved that part. Not just for the technological breakthrough in itself, but because it opens a lot of gameplay opportunities (Mako live-feed directly into Mobiglass anyone?), and answers several ages old questions, like: what's the point of the Herald being able to hack into a comm channel when no one's will use ingame chat? Because ingame chat's will be f*cking awesome.

Also, if facetracking allows me to peek around a corner in first person mode I'm gonna shit myself.

Edit: my only [concern] about FOIP is, what happens with VR now? Half your face is obscured with the visor, so it seems pretty excluding :/

 

[Blind Owl]

If they are more concerned with one crash during a Live demonstration than everything else they saw, then so what. Let them wait.


The key word --> ANTI ( It will make no difference what is presented).



Oh yeah........On both accounts.
I am now seriously considering getting TrackHat & I can't even afford that. Oh well, who needs food anyway?


I strongly disagree with you on this topic.
I have watched & been sorely disappointed by Demos for over 30 years.

As a Backer (2013) I want & expect to see actual game play as it is being developed. After all, we are part of that development by funding & testing the game as it is being coded. I don't care at all about 'fence-sitters'. It has been my experience that 90%+ of Gamers never participate in Alpha testing BECAUSE of the crashes.These people can wait until full release, probably in 2 years, and pay a great deal more and know nothing about how to play. Like they always do anyway & always will. They are no lose at this point. They will join eventually.


Don't read them or pay attention to anyone that does. Simple. 'F' them.
As I see it, this is my game and if someone does not like it, they can go to Hell. I don't care. If fact, I am better off without them playing Star Citizen. I never played EVE Online because I didn't like it. However, I didn't bad mouth it constantly to the people that did like it.


I am delighted to hear that.


Ask yourself one very simple question.......Of what value is the Pheonix in game or for your play style????
Is it an Explorer? A Cargo Hauler? A Fighting ship? Or is it just a fancy bit of wood & chrome for you to show off at least twice?
When the game launches, what will you actually do with it???????



Absolutely.
Hey, I didn't think about the cushions. Thanks. Tearing the couch (settee in England) apart now. :laughing:


*******************************************************
If anyone actually took the time to read my comments, you may have noticed a somewhat 'hardened' attitude.

I have heard the same Damn bitching for over 4 years now and quite frankly I am tired of listening to the whiners. I have waited over 30 years for this experience (not a game) and now that is approaching, I intend to enjoy it to the fullest with as many friends as wish to play with me.

I frankly no longer give a DAMN about the Whiners., Cry Babies (I spent money that I didn't have to so I am entitled) or just plain Haters.

Nobody ever ask you, or made you, spend more than $45 USD.
If you did, then Adult up and stop crying about it.
I have never spent over $40 USD for any game in my life but I have Pledged $1000 for SC and spent over a $1000 for Hardware.
Yes, I needed a new system in 2013. It was my choice and I am very Proud & Happy about it.

I find it interesting that people Bitch about getting their moneys worth quickly enough from CIG but every day they discuss what new WhizBang Hardware (fresh off the press) they are buying - Threadrippers, ToeStompers, GobSmackers etc etc etc......spending thousands of dollars to be the first. I bet they are Googling TrackIR right now. Oh and lets not forget all those pretty blinkie lights INSIDE the now see-through case so we can look at them instead of the monitor. Is your computer desk starting to look like a Bordello? Ha. Ha. Maybe that's the point. Hummmm.
Damn, I AM old. The 'game' is at least 2 years from completion and people are going broke now. I will never understand this.
btw - By the time SC launches your GobSmacker will be outdated. Just saying.

I have known for a long time now what was coming.
(And I know what else to expect in the coming Months - Don't you wish you did?)
Within a couple more weeks, Star Citizen shall begin with 3.0. I look forward to playing & having tons of FUN with you all.
You are welcome to join me on this GREAT ADVENTURE.
CityBoppin & BarHoppin Among many other wonderous things.
See you in the 'Verse.
Or not, your choice.
********************************************************

WOW, this has been some shitpost. Feels good to have said my peace. Ha. Ha.
@Blind Owl Is this what Shitposting feels like?

I just re-read this, in a far more sober light, and I have toi say Cosmic, I concur. Wholeheartedly and with gusto. Well said dear friend.

I'm a DRAKE fan and I love the new Origin ship :slight_smile:

Must be something in the water

Haha, ugly is the new beautiful! I think she's gorgeous. (I'm also a Drake fanboy)

Read the whole thing. Even about the Threadrippers. I agree 100% and the only thing I can add to that is I'm happy to be able to watch all of this stuff happen.

I really enjoyed the presentation and I was amazed by the face features. With what CIG already had done for their actors, it wasn't much for them to have that other company push the technology to be able to work for our citizens. It's going to really push the immersion.

I'm so freaking stoked for 3.0 now. The presentation blew my mind. Happy happy happy.

PC gamer article from 10 hours ago is positive below is the summary. (This article was based on a private showing not the demo) More potential new backers will read this than watched the demo

"Star Citizen looks fantastic, and the fact that all this will be possible, all going to plan, within the same server blows my mind. It's made what feels like leaps and bounds since its Gamescom showing last year, and while keen to avoid tying himself to a specific date, Roberts reckons his September 4-8 estimate for the arrival of alpha 3.0 is about right."


http://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-expressive-faces-space-fashion-and-boldly-going-beyond-30/

Thanks for posting this.

t's people like you guys & the other posters here that make me PROUD to be a TESTie.
:heart_eyes:

Amen to this!

 

[Lorddarthvik]

Overall I gotta agree with those who say that enough with the bitching already, let cig do the innovative things.
As for the presentation...
The good: Beautiful graphics, and amazing tech that can pull this off!
The bad: I had a very rough and low quality connection, so I may have missed it, but I didn't see anything about going forward and what's next in detail. Also some more tangible facts about what will happen, and when they aim for would have been nice. I feel like I need some solid promises that the bullshitting us with the "soon" estimates stops. Basicly I would really love to see chris finally say that's "this is the feature list for the next two years, we work on this. Nothing more." Yes, the foip is cool, but unnecessarily implemented at such a level at this point. Also,I'm kinda tired with "little changes" that take a year to implement, that we never asked for.

The ugly: The scripted demo as a whole. Omg the cringe, then crashing... Yes there is a lot more objects in the game, and it looks better, but still nothing works as intended. This is not solid progress, this is just adding content to an engine that's still in pieces and breaks all the time. I watched the live streams and even on the private server with onlz 2 players, the physics keeps breaking down. It works as bad as in 2.6 for gods sake. Making and adding ships is easy and not progress. I was hoping to see something where the backbone is getting more stable, instead I saw an Ursa crashing through a ramp. Yes, it looked amazing, but still disappointing.

 

[Thalstan]

Overall I gotta agree with those who say that enough with the bitching already, let cig do the innovative things.


The ugly: The scripted demo as a whole. Omg the cringe, then crashing... Yes there is a lot more objects in the game, and it looks better, but still nothing works as intended. This is not solid progress, this is just adding content to an engine that's still in pieces and breaks all the time. I watched the live streams and even on the private server with onlz 2 players, the physics keeps breaking down. It works as bad as in 2.6 for gods sake. Making and adding ships is easy and not progress. I was hoping to see something where the backbone is getting more stable, instead I saw an Ursa crashing through a ramp. Yes, it looked amazing, but still disappointing.

Supposedly, this was the first time they tried driving up the ramp.
As for physics break downs...yep. That's why they are now in the cleanup phase on 3.0. They have a lot of tech in there right now and it's time to push to a new alpha release. I've taken a look at the progress reports and most stuff is in the bug-fixing phase. Once these have been taken care of, I expect to see a roll-out to the evocati, and then to the rest of us after a short test period.

 

[Montoya]

Supposedly, this was the first time they tried driving up the ramp.

No, they knew the ramp was glitchy. It most likely needs to be on completely flat ground to be able to get an object onto its physics grid.

You can tell they knew it was an issue because the passenger jumped out of the rover ahead of time so he can proceed up the ramp on foot and continue with the demo in event that the rover did not make it.

 

[Radegast74]

If they are more concerned with one crash during a Live demonstration than everything else they saw, then so what. Let them wait.

<snip>

I have heard the same Damn bitching for over 4 years now and quite frankly I am tired of listening to the whiners. I have waited over 30 years for this experience (not a game) and now that is approaching, I intend to enjoy it to the fullest with as many friends as wish to play with me.

I frankly no longer give a DAMN about the Whiners., Cry Babies (I spent money that I didn't have to so I am entitled) or just plain Haters.

Nobody ever ask you, or made you, spend more than $45 USD.
If you did, then Adult up and stop crying about it.
I have never spent over $40 USD for any game in my life but I have Pledged $1000 for SC and spent over a $1000 for Hardware.
Yes, I needed a new system in 2013. It was my choice and I am very Proud & Happy about it.

I couldn't have put it better myself!

WOW, this has been some shitpost. Feels good to have said my peace. Ha. Ha.
@Blind Owl Is this what Shitposting feels like?

Hey, it ain't shitposting if it is the truth!

 

[AstroGimp01]

So I sat down last night and watched the recorded stream and I have mixed feelings. Like others have said, while it is great to see substantially more content it is CONCERNing to still see so much instability at what would appear to be a foundational level, eg. ramp physics, sync issues between players, collision detection, general platform stability, etc.

I am also starting to get more than a bit dismayed that the resources spent on commercials for new pixel ships could be focused on completing the pixel ships many of us are waiting for (ready for my damn Carrack, and Dragonfly, and Terrapin, and Polaris - not to mention those who pledged for Redeemer, BMM, Reclaimer, or who are waiting for updates to the Mustang line, or the Tali, etc.).

I understand the need to keep cash flowing in but long term backers are getting tapped out (at least speaking for myself) and pushing new pixel ships when the game itself has been stagnant for roughly a year (in terms of progress we as players can enjoy, I acknowledge the huge amount of work moving engines, etc.) does not seem like the best strategy to attract new backers (I would focus on gameplay so more people become backers).

[RANT]Getting very tired of every new ship being 'something something beyond its' class' - if every ship does something something beyond its' class, it is in another class, and is average for that class - enough with the breathless marketing - give the previously announced ships some love![/RANT]

The FOIP is awesome tech and seems to be reasonably well executed but is also totally unnecessary at this point and as others have pointed out, may cause issues for deaf players, as well as eventual VR implementation. This could have waited in my opinion.

That said, the new content (Levski, Daymar, MobiGlas, etc.) was gorgeous and reminded me in part of what I hope for Star Citizen, so much so that I have sat through the Cringe Level Expert demo several times. The Scourge anti-ship railgun is very scary, hopefully there will be balance because right now 3 guys with those and a case of ammo could stop anything short of a planetary invasion scale landing (worse than RPG's in the real world).

The piece de resistance however, was the 70's disco music having, ball slapping, full frontal Idris capital ship combat porn - holy shit what a thing to behold. I am guessing shields were inop since it seemed like every shot caused damage, and a cap ship battle lasting 4-6 minutes will probably be a disappointment to the folks buying them, but the death of an Idris is a terrifying spectacle of beauty and destruction.

Carry on

'Gimp

 

[The Chaos Pope]

Regarding the buggy demo and crashing: they weren't working with a 3.0 build but a build with features planned for later implementation (3.1 or later) so that they could show off the very cutting edge of what they're working on. The fact that they only got the Idris flyable in game a week ago and they showed their first live capital ship battle yesterday was pretty damn brave. After Chris mentioned that, I was pretty astonished that we only saw one major crash in the demo. They had to restart the demo to get past it, but it was a client crash and not a server crash. I loved that it was a live demo and they had a team of a dozen people just to show it off.

VoIP and FoIP: Holy Fuckin' Shit. In the demo, the FoIP looked really rough with some serious uncanny valley around the animations but again this is 3.1 or later and a really early build of the technology. The video with Sean Tracy specifically showing off aspects of the tech looks phenomenal. I expect this technology to grow in capability and functionality in the future. The fact that they're doing this with an off the shelf webcam was astonishing, I won't have to draw dots on my face, attach something to my head or do anything beyond a calibration to get it to work (Ok, I'll have to buy a webcam too, but a webcam isn't a single use product like TrackIR). The fact that it's also doing head tracking is icing on the cake. FoIP isn't something that they have a team of engineers building from scratch, they're using an already existing third party tool; someone else has already done the heavy lifting on this. This is adding middleware, not a full feature build.

New mobiglass interface with new options for customizing character appearance: Pretty fucking baller IMHO. I'd like to see some options for customizing the display implemented, but what we did get to see looked good. The fact that I can look over someone's shoulder and read their mobiglass is really fucking cool and I can see it opening the door to a lot of emergent gameplay, particularly espionage and bounty hunting.

People complaining about adding new features to the game that aren't "core": Alpha is when you add features and fix bugs. Beta is when you lock down your feature set and concentrate on fixing bugs. With a team as large as CIG is today, you can't have everyone working on the same parts simultaneously.

I'm more salty about things we didn't get to see or even hear about: Specifically Squadron 42. I would have loved to see a slide that just acknowledged it's existence as a thing that is being worked on. Maybe outlined some of the things that they're working on and what's slowed them down (i.e. replacing hard scripting of NPCs with Subsumption AI). I'm hoping that CitizenCon will show off some of this.

 

[Toihva]

I will have to concur with Cosmic Trader. The anti's remind me of Capt. Sobel from Band of Brothers while at Curahee. The man just LOOKED for a reason to revoke your pass. Same goes with people like Derek. IF the game didn't crash he would have bitched about the following:

-Clothing just popped on and off.(and ignore that's how games actually do it for the most part)
-FPS lag in Idris vs. Idris combat (Even though before CIG said having trouble with Cap. Ship combat)
-FOIP wasn't mouthing the words the players spoke in perfect fidelity
-When the Connie entered the atmosphere there wasn't enough fire on the shields to mimic 'real' re-entry.
-Any of a few clipping/pathing issues (even though this issue is even prevalent in modern MMO's).

List could go on and on.

The live demo was important to show it was actually a playable game. Doing this gives supporters more ammo to rebuke the whole 'vaporware' label the game has to some.

Another thing, and by that an good unintended consequence, is to get the backers to calm a bit for 3.0. When Chris was up there and the game crashed, the comment of "And this is why it isn't released yet' was said in jest, but also seriousness. And having had to do live instruction etc like that, it is VERY common to do dry runs through it.

If CIG did a recorded vid of the 3.0 demo, labels of vaporware would still be out there, and more importantly, the inane cry for the game to be released to us.

I am in the camp with Montoya, in that the demo has me REALLY excited about the game.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

I think that was a good analysis, and good guesses as to how the various community components will respond. Certainly there was too much to lose and too little to gain by doing a live demo.

If it were me, I would make a very public explanation of how I am hiring at least 3 more workers for each of the 4 centers. What these would be paid in the next two years is insignificant compared to how much they would step everything forward and we are not seeing nearly enough productivity to reach Beta in 2 years time. They can't even get the ships done by then. Roberts needs to spend more to get more, IMHO. His teams are not large nor productive enough and this is why he misses nearly every deadline.

 

[hardroc77]

Sure, Derek Smart would have a field day and send out a tweetstorm about how 3.0 is vaporware because there was a prerecorded video shown, but to the people who just want to see something new, it matters not.

I think that was one reason they went with a live demo. They probably felt that Tribe of Haters would bitch no matter what.

Now I have to go ponder if getting rid of my Pheonix for the 600 Explorer is a good idea or not.

I feel that way about exchanging my Carrack for the 600 Explorer. But I think I'll stay with the Carrack. Sometimes size matters.

The faceware thing, Its cool but I have to question why time was devoted to putting it in and showing it NOW. Why not put it off to down the road some time in a patch focused on character stuff? I do like the camera though, looks good and seems very functional. Having said that, looking around the cockpit alone may be worth it. It certainly will help look at those displays.

Because they knew it would work in demo so they wanted to showoff? But is it really just a plot by the Government to get us to do a facile scan for they're database?

If anyone actually took the time to read my comments, you may have noticed a somewhat 'hardened' attitude.

I did read the complete post. Twice, actually. Add me to the list of those who agreed with you. You read my mind completely. Now stop reading my mind before you get to the dark places, please.

It's people like you guys & the other posters here that make me PROUD to be a TESTie.

Actually it's people like you and the others make me feel that way. You are sane and rational voice of knowledge in this group. How the hell did you get in this Org,anyway? I look forward to flying along side of you in the Verse.

 

[maynard]

...Roberts needs to spend more to get more, IMHO. His teams are not large nor productive enough and this is why he misses nearly every deadline.

it's not about the talent or productivity of the programmers

it is common to underestimate the complexity of something that has never been done before

this issue goes back at least as far as the early mainframe era

more manpower will not solve the problem - The Mythical Man-Month explains why

 

[Doc Shaftoe]

You know what impressed me the most about this demo? The little technical things they've added. The interaction system and the movement system rework. The fully modular clothing system and the swanky new Mobiglas being visible to other players. I wasn't expecting to see an Idris, let alone two of them, but seeing people running around on the surface of a planet and getting into a fight with other players was spectacular. I know we've already seen a lot of this stuff in the AtVs over the last few months, but we've never really seen it all working (mostly) together.

The FOIP thing is really cool, and while it seems like an unnecessary feature, it answers a question I've had about this game for a long time. I mean, they've been selling near total immersion from the get-go, but if your characters just stare at each other blank faced the entire time you can kiss that immersion goodbye. I was not expecting the player to player video comms, but it just makes me that much more excited to mess around in 3.1 and 3.2 whenever they drop.

I have to agree with those of you saying that this year didn't have the same level of "wow" as the first time we saw the 3.0 prototype, but I have to argue that this was the first time we've ever seen what the final game might really look like. There's still years of work ahead, but Star Citizen is really moving beyond what I'd imagined. And for a project like this, that's quite the accomplishment.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

. . .more manpower will not solve the problem - The Mythical Man-Month explains why

This is true, but with exceptions. It is objectively true they can add people to work on more ships at once, for example. Right now, there is no hope to have all the ships flyable in 2 years, and most of the ships offered and paid for are never going to be ready by Beta. That is something Roberts can and should fix. He has already been sued for bad faith, in not doing what he can to get things done on time.

There are many things that cannot be fixed by adding people. When you scrap whole sections of coding in favor of say, item 2.0, that is a ton of work done again. You can't fix that by adding people, but you can fix old ships needing to be brought up to new standards by adding people.

And just saying, Roberts has plenty of money to accelerate this where he can, and he is not doing it. We should be seeing new ships come into service every month, and it ain't happening. If he doesn't do something, he's going to be back in court. While I'm not all pissy and don't have any money in the game, people who paid for a Carrack, really need to see that happen in more reasonable time. It is a "good faith" issue, which if not adopted, will be dealt with through the courts.

 

[CosmicTrader]

Add me to the list of those who agreed with you.

Added.

Actually it's people like you and the others make me feel that way. You are sane and rational voice of knowledge in this group. How the hell did you get in this Org,anyway? I look forward to flying along side of you in the Verse.

I tripped.
I look forward to flying with you as well.
Thanks for the kind words. The beer is on the way. Ha. Ha.

 

[maynard]

...When you scrap whole sections of coding in favor of say, item 2.0, that is a ton of work done again. You can't fix that by adding people, but you can fix old ships needing to be brought up to new standards by adding people...

you yourself make the best argument against adding people to work on new ships

until all the foundational code is in place and tested, any work on ships would just have to be redone

I have first-hand knowledge of large, complex software development projects from working at Motorola's Iridium satellite factory back in the day. Mass clusterfuckage is the norm. I am in awe of Chris Roberts' project management skills based on what we've seen of SC's development. I trust his decision making and priorities based on the constraints the project faces.

 

[Talonsbane]

No, they knew the ramp was glitchy. It most likely needs to be on completely flat ground to be able to get an object onto its physics grid.

You can tell they knew it was an issue because the passenger jumped out of the rover ahead of time so he can proceed up the ramp on foot and continue with the demo in event that the rover did not make it.

In my opinion, when I saw the Ursa fail at "ramping things up", I suspected that it might have had something to do with the fact that they left the thrusters of the Idris activated which was stirring up a lot of dust effects which might have caused the physics engine to become blurry, so to speak.