Why have graphics stagnated for almost 20 years?

Caporegime
Joined
17 Jul 2010
Posts
25,716
since 2004 is demonstrably wrong. I would say though, Ray tracing has really been the only real leap in graphics since probably 2015. Take Division 1, now 7 years old. it still looks amazing and even if it were released today people would still be wowed by the weather effects and lighting, even if it doesn't have RT. Unreal Engine 5 will help push things along no doubt but it feels all a bit stagnant recently.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
91,053
since 2004 is demonstrably wrong. I would say though, Ray tracing has really been the only real leap in graphics since probably 2015. Take Division 1, now 7 years old. it still looks amazing and even if it were released today people would still be wowed by the weather effects and lighting, even if it doesn't have RT. Unreal Engine 5 will help push things along no doubt but it feels all a bit stagnant recently.

Wish they'd remaster The Division 1 - with proper physics particles and fluid dynamics, etc. the weather systems and so on would look crazy good - something is just a little off with the snow and the smoke/steam breaks the illusion when it doesn't interact properly with the scene. Throw in ray tracing and while they are at it overhaul the game mechanics and make fuller use of all the street space and underground areas, fix the silly movement changes they made later in the game life and I'd buy it all over again.

Overall I think TD1 is one of the games which impresses me the most out of anything graphically in years - although there are some attention to detail issues like objects floating when they are supposed to be mounted on a wall, etc. what really elevates that game graphically is the little attentions to detail visually.

In some respects I don't entirely disagree with the OP as some of the older engines if you really push the boat out and aren't limited by the design considerations due to the hardware limits at the time can produce graphics not far off some of the latest and greatest engines - but certain advances like with real time indirect lighting and ambient occlusion and so on are hard to match.
 
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Soldato
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Posts
3,105
If OP said 15 years he would have at least a little bit a point because that is when Crysis came out, and Crysis was about 5 years ahead of its time and still looks pretty good today.

But even compared to Crysis, many games look vastly better today.

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