Lakeshore Entertainment’s horror thriller “The Cave” opens in North American movie theaters today. The movie’s principal visual effects (VFX) supplier, Luma Pictures, delivered more than 200 VFX shots — Luma’s largest effort to date — and many of them were created using a Macintosh-based workflow, according to the company.
Background: I use Macbook pro to develop java app, it works well. While, after i upgraded mac os from 10.x to the latest version Big Sur, mvn clean package threw below exception: ERROR Failed to. Apr 12, 2013 Originally Posted by Onegai: Genre(s): Action, 2D platformer, RPG components, non-linear plot Alternative Name(s): Doukutsu Monogatari Author: Daisuke 'Pixel' Amaya Platform(s): Windows Year of Release: 2004 Licence: Free (original version) Ports: WiiWare, DSiWare, Nintendo 3DS, Linux, Mac OS Spinoffs: Cave Story+, Cave Story 3D Background: Cave story was created entirely by 'Pixel' over a. Cookies and website data are deleted unless you visit and interact with the trackers’ websites. Always block cookies: Select “Block all cookies.” Websites, third parties, and advertisers can’t store cookies and other data on your Mac. This may prevent some websites from working properly. Always allow cookies: Deselect “Block all.
Visual effects houses have historically eschewed the Mac platform for large-scale film work, according to Luma, but the combination of the Mac OS X platform’s stability and Mac versions of tools like Shake are now making Mac OS X a viable platform for film production work.
To that end, Luma collaborated with Apple and several software vendors to set up a Mac-based production environment. The company ended up with about 60 Power Mac G5-based workstations, a “render farm” comprising Xserve G5s, and about 17 terabytes (TB) of storage.
All of the 3D work was done using Alias’ Maya software, according to a Luma spokesperson who spoke with MacCentral . Compositing was done using Apple’s Shake software and Autodesk’s Combustion. Rendering was accomplished using Mental Images’ Mental Ray software. All of the software was used on Macs.
“We concluded that Mac OS X was best suited to the way our artists work, and it has turned out great,” said Luma Pictures visual effects supervisor Payam Shohadai.
Luma has previously worked on features including Into the Blue, a Lot Like Love, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Crash.
Luma is presently working on the sequel to the vampire flick Underworld, “Underworld: Evolution.”
Featuring Cole Hauser and Lena Headey, PG-13-rated The Cave tells the story of a team of explorers who visit an underwater cave network hidden beneath the Earth’s surface in Romania. The explorers quickly discover that the caves are inhabited by nightmarish, bloodthirsty creatures.
The underground segments of the movie were shot on location in Mexico and in a giant water tank in Romania. It was Luma’s job to produce 3D of the creatures and 3D set extensions to help give the sense that the cave network was much larger than the existing set and budget would have allowed.
The creature effects in the movie combined actors wearing articulated body suitsw for closeup effects and 3D shots. “Once the director saw the level of detail and realism that Luma was able to achieve with the CG creature model, the decision was made to add VFX shots to showcase the creature even more frequently,” said Luma in a statement.
A QuickTime trailer of The Cave is available for viewing on Apple’s Web site.
Updated 1:50PM 8/26/05: Added information about Mac software used by Luma.
Originally Posted by Onegai:
Genre(s): Action, 2D platformer, RPG components, non-linear plot
Alternative Name(s): Doukutsu Monogatari
Author: Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya
Platform(s): Windows
Year of Release: 2004
Licence: Free (original version)
Ports: WiiWare, DSiWare, Nintendo 3DS, Linux, Mac OS
Spinoffs: Cave Story+, Cave Story 3D
Background:
Cave story was created entirely by “Pixel” over a period of about five years. During this time he created all the graphics, music and code needed to bring his vision to life.
Gameplay:
Cave Story’s gameplay is primarily somewhere between Commander Keen and Rockman. That’s jumping, shooting and using the right weapon — for the right enemy those who don’t know what I mean. But above this primary layer exists another, thinner layer of sophistication that one would find in RPGs and adventure game; the old find-that-item-talk-to-that-person routine. This is a good combination as it help break the monotony, integrates the story and gameplay nicely and helps separate the games into more distinctive segments. Though there are some other RPG elements, for the most part, the player must rely almost solely on his/her own dexterity to progress. For this reason, the game boasts some of the most fluid and intuitive controls I’ve come across. Still, for all the good there is some, albeit very little, bad. The game’s flaw lies predominantly in its inconsistent difficulty. While the first part feels a little tough, one soon finds oneself breezing through the game after gaining a rudimentary understanding of the mechanics. Then quite suddenly one reaches the final areas and finds oneself bombarded with handicaps and difficulties that include gauntlets of terrible battles with no save points in between. While this difficulty is actually a positive thing since most games today require nothing more than smashing random buttons to finish, the immense inconsistency almost detracts from the game. All in all, Cave Story still gets a gold star for being fun enough to play through several times. All in all, I’m giving the gameplay 9/10
Graphics:
Judging 2D graphics is difficult by today’s standards because of all the advantages that come with modern technology. Larger capacity allows a greater number of tiles, more colours and higher resolution graphics. Modern graphics editors, even basic ones, higher productivity rates with quick copy-pasting, flipping, colour adjusting and filters. Still, despite all the available technology, Cave Story keeps it fairly leans and simple, maintaining the retro look. But despite this lean approach, Cave story manages to produce rich and vivid environments with beautifully smooth parallax scrolling. Furthermore, the chibi-style of many of the characters captures their essence perfectly and is reminiscent of the old Famicom days. At the end of the game, the player is treated to an impressive slide-show of truly amazing pixel art (or is it Pixel-art). My only criticism would be that occasionally, in certain areas, it becomes hard to make out enemies clearly due the complexity of the the background, foreground and characters all working together but against one another. All in all, the graphics deserve an impressive 8/10.
Audio:
The style of the music and SFX in Cave Story is truly a journey back in time to my childhood. Filled with nostalgia and packing some awesome beats and great synth, Cave Story has one of the most excellent sound tracks I’ve heard in a long time. While the music occasionally not suit the environment, it does for the most part and helps create an intense atmosphere. The compositions themselves are great and pack such a powerful punch that it’s easy to get immersed in the rythm of combat and great tunes well into the early hours of the morning. For this and for originality, for sticking to the style and for fitting the rythm of the gameplay, the game’s soundtrack gets a solid 9/10.
The Lindwurm Cookie Cave Mac Os Update
Story:
The story itself is by far the most intense, complex and immersive I’ve ever encountered in a one-man indie game. The characters are all rish in subtle detail and exceedingly well-developed. The plot and setting are quite unusual as are the Mimiga race that play such a vital role in the story. This makes the game special and unique to anybody who’s creatively inclined. On top of all the story has to offer is the fact that it is not one but several endings derived from three primary plot-forks the player can follow. While multiple endings can often be seen as as sort of gaming fad, in Cave Story they are as much an essential component to the game as the gameplay itself. Cave Story’s story is in the same league as any AAA game title — better than most in fact — and earns a full thumbs-up rating of 9/10.
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Conclusion:Cave Story passes with flying colours at an average of 92% which earns it the A rank it deserves. There’s no wonder that this humble indie title has been ported to so many platforms and and received two commercial remakes. One of the few games that could silence even the most vocal of critics, this game is a must-play.
Download:
You can download this game along with the translation here.