@Kartoffel: For the case you haven't stumbled over it yet: http://www.iryoku.com/stare-into-the-future

looks really interesting, thanks.
but I'm not sure if it's usable for games with the current hardware :S

I think I'll try to get the best look with my cheap approximations, first

(atm. the cryengine uses the best in-game character rendering I've seen so far:)
afaik they're using some kind of screenspace subsurface scattering for the skin

more skin rendering:
improved overall appearance, implemented specular lighting and added even more crappy approximations (screen-space sub-surface scattering and stuff like that)

(but again, everything except the skin looks ugly as f*ck (hair, eyes, etc.), sorry for that)

edit: specmaps were too high...
here's a newer (better) screenshot with comparison between default shading, and skin shading:

SSSS is state of the art for some time now.

@kartoffel: How does it look in motion?

Yeah, but my approach uses the simplest approximation possible

I think I'll post a vid soon.

a little test of the current very basic group control (to be replaced soon) of my little RTS project:

http://youtu.be/g7dPzT2ZEm4

video incoming... currently uploading to youtube
I hope the colors stay the same, even after the conversion.

@sivan: nice! looks pretty solid... how's the performance?

thanks. the scene produces an acceptable fps depending on quantity of visible characters, collisions, and path recalculations, approx. between 23-35 (the average is 27-28).
the new group "class" will hopefully result in better group cohesion and performance...