Quake 2 engine (unmodified) can actually look quite good even today - sure you are missing advanced shader effects and realtime lighting but most engines of that era even at their best just look utterly woeful in comparison heh.
Graphics not improving much over the years...
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Quake 2 engine (unmodified) can actually look quite good even today - sure you are missing advanced shader effects and realtime lighting but most engines of that era even at their best just look utterly woeful in comparison heh.
Agreed. Would be nice if a new CryTek type company appeared with a Crysis-esque tech demo turned game. Crysis was huge, it ruined systems for years and had this awesome mythical status. The whole "Yeah, but can it run crysis" thing went on for ages.
I loved that, it was great. Every new card I had until the 7970, the first thing I'd do would be try Crysis.
I loved that, it was great. Every new card I had until the 7970, the first thing I'd do would be try Crysis.
I was thinking of this same topic when I was resurrecting my 'old' PC. The PC in question was purchased in 2014 and plays most games at 1080 very well (Arma 3 etc).
When looking back, my first PC was purchased in the nineties (386) and cost my parents a few quid - it was virtually obsolete within 18 months! Progress in the nineties was phenomenal - 486, Pentium etc.
Apologies - old fart mode: Back then, the release of the latest racing or flight sim, usually entailed jaw dropping graphics and heralded a new upgrade was on the cards. Nowadays, I rarely see a game provoke the same level of awe (Arma 2 was the last for me). However as a result, PC gaming is a lot more wallet friendly than it once was!
When looking back, my first PC was purchased in the nineties (386) and cost my parents a few quid - it was virtually obsolete within 18 months! Progress in the nineties was phenomenal - 486, Pentium etc.
Apologies - old fart mode: Back then, the release of the latest racing or flight sim, usually entailed jaw dropping graphics and heralded a new upgrade was on the cards. Nowadays, I rarely see a game provoke the same level of awe (Arma 2 was the last for me). However as a result, PC gaming is a lot more wallet friendly than it once was!
That's why I'd like another ballsy startup to come along and do another system killer and shake things up. Crysis was years ahead of its time, it'd be good if that came around again.
I think that's going to be the VR games.
but depending how far the headsets get i imagine even modest graphics are going to be challenging with dual 4k eye screens.
so it might be a way off
You are probably right. At the moment it will be a leap too far. Maybe 2020 ish and the time will be right.
This tbh, unless you've somehow massively swerved every good looking title in the past 10 years.
For me, games have improved massively. However I'm also a designer so I know what to look for.
However, when games move closer and closer to photo realistic visuals, people are essentially going to be taking from granted what they see. They aren't going to pick up on or notice the things they see and expect in every day life, because they don't truly know what they're looking at as it's on a subconscious level.
Things the brain uses as cues so it knows how to process what it's seeing.
Too lazy to optimise their games properly.
Soldato
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sorry but have you seen star citizen? Chris Roberts is pushing pcs to their knees with the graphics in it.
^^^ not got all of the fancy graphics on in this patch either.
A few of my screenshots
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there has been improvement, but i think it's a case of the law of diminishing returns, each new effect seems to cost more and more resources for smaller and smaller results.
i think for me games that have highlighted great graphical effects:
-assasins creed 3: the whole running through snow thing was really incredible when i first saw it
-assasins creed 4: the water effects and the general level of visual spectacle that goes in with a massive ship battle
-battlefield 1: the addition of the mud effects for vehicles and weapons
-heavily modded skyrim- i once spent 5 minutes staring at the ants crawling over a tree stump wondering what mod it was made it look so good.
that said, hellblade takes the cake for me when it comes to modern graphics.
i think the thing is you don't need photo-realistic graphics to make a great game, for example the borderlands series don't look much worse on minimum versus maximum settings because of the way the style is implemented and regardless they're a fun series.
as others have said vr will be the next big step once it starts being implemented on a bigger scale (ie basically every title having a vr mode), and especially once we figure out better ways of being immersive (ie requiring people to run, jump, carry objects etc) without the limiting factors of space as is current (my bet's on some kind of automated treadmill and robotic force feedback arms to simulate carrying objects, of course that would be mega expensive with current tech)
i think for me games that have highlighted great graphical effects:
-assasins creed 3: the whole running through snow thing was really incredible when i first saw it
-assasins creed 4: the water effects and the general level of visual spectacle that goes in with a massive ship battle
-battlefield 1: the addition of the mud effects for vehicles and weapons
-heavily modded skyrim- i once spent 5 minutes staring at the ants crawling over a tree stump wondering what mod it was made it look so good.
that said, hellblade takes the cake for me when it comes to modern graphics.
i think the thing is you don't need photo-realistic graphics to make a great game, for example the borderlands series don't look much worse on minimum versus maximum settings because of the way the style is implemented and regardless they're a fun series.
as others have said vr will be the next big step once it starts being implemented on a bigger scale (ie basically every title having a vr mode), and especially once we figure out better ways of being immersive (ie requiring people to run, jump, carry objects etc) without the limiting factors of space as is current (my bet's on some kind of automated treadmill and robotic force feedback arms to simulate carrying objects, of course that would be mega expensive with current tech)
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You mean the virtuix omni?
pretty much yes, although they'd still need force feedback for the arms.
Graphics are really secondary to me, OK I'm a backer of Star Citizen but mostly due to the gameplay and ideas behind the game, the graphics whilst stunning are just a bonus. My favourite games are Rimworld, Factorio (I'm garbage at it..) and other indy games where graphics are more about being functional than stunning usually and always secondary to gameplay and fun.
I do love me some fidelity but if it's graphics or gameplay, I'd always pick the latter.
On mobile sorry for any typos!
I do love me some fidelity but if it's graphics or gameplay, I'd always pick the latter.
On mobile sorry for any typos!
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my own personal thought is that this is something thats going to trickle down from something nasa have on the iss albeit setup differently..
The weightlifting bench they have
Uses a series of pistons inside vacuums to create resistance. If set up in such a way to be adjustable on the fly by the game this could make for some excellent forcefeedback especially if put together in an exoskeleton style frame.
Just my own little theory of how it could be done.
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Cheers for the views, lots of interesting points.
Disagree, the improvements have been minimal for a long time now. I frankly can't understand how anyone could even begin to claim graphics have improved massively in the space of the last 3-4 years unless they have low expectations to begin with. Alternatively maybe I expect too much.
We're still miles off getting to graphics that are genuinely 'next gen' and look to be on a different level to anything thats been made in past decade.
Sure there are improvements but not significant jumps. It all just feels like minor polishing of what we already have rather than any game changing leaps.
Disagree, the improvements have been minimal for a long time now. I frankly can't understand how anyone could even begin to claim graphics have improved massively in the space of the last 3-4 years unless they have low expectations to begin with. Alternatively maybe I expect too much.
We're still miles off getting to graphics that are genuinely 'next gen' and look to be on a different level to anything thats been made in past decade.
Sure there are improvements but not significant jumps. It all just feels like minor polishing of what we already have rather than any game changing leaps.
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i'm thinking more like just standard industrial robot arms with handles on the end, they can be programmed to provide force feedback to the appropriate levels and will have the dexterity to maintain this within the range of motion required.
of course the downside to this is that whilst its possible with current technology, it'd be massive and also prohibitively expensive (hundreds of thousands at least), we'd need to see massive cost-downs in this kind of tech before it would become even mildly viable (and that's not even including the horsepower you'd need to co-ordinate it)
the other option is simply to have multiple controllers for various in-game objects, for example in an fps you'd need a rifle controller (specifically so you can shoulder it properly), a pistol controller, and controllers for any other in-game equipment, but then that's not exactly going to be cheap or space freindly either.
