What's the pinnacle of game graphics ?
Discussion
Have graphics really improved much over Half Life 2, released 12 years ago?
PS4 games look like PS3 games in slightly higher res to me - we seem to be at a point of diminishing returns.
Then again I remember being in awe of OpenGL games running on early hardware accelerators vs software (in, say, MW2 or Quake), whereas today the difference is nothing to write home about.
PS4 games look like PS3 games in slightly higher res to me - we seem to be at a point of diminishing returns.
Then again I remember being in awe of OpenGL games running on early hardware accelerators vs software (in, say, MW2 or Quake), whereas today the difference is nothing to write home about.
Wadeski said:
Have graphics really improved much over Half Life 2, released 12 years ago?
PS4 games look like PS3 games in slightly higher res to me - we seem to be at a point of diminishing returns.
Then again I remember being in awe of OpenGL games running on early hardware accelerators vs software (in, say, MW2 or Quake), whereas today the difference is nothing to write home about.
There is only so far we can go. The differences between consoles like the NES, SNES, Playstation 1 then Playstation 2 were absolutely massive, but after that it's more a gradual improvement that you may not see at first glancePS4 games look like PS3 games in slightly higher res to me - we seem to be at a point of diminishing returns.
Then again I remember being in awe of OpenGL games running on early hardware accelerators vs software (in, say, MW2 or Quake), whereas today the difference is nothing to write home about.
Wadeski said:
Have graphics really improved much over Half Life 2, released 12 years ago?
PS4 games look like PS3 games in slightly higher res to me - we seem to be at a point of diminishing returns.
Yup. I regularly flip between the two and I can't say I notice much or any difference. PS4 games look like PS3 games in slightly higher res to me - we seem to be at a point of diminishing returns.
For me this is the wrong question.
The question should be which has the best gameplay with good graphics. I am convinced that the insatiable drive for better graphics (which most people cant appreciate) means that too much effort is directed here and not enough on the fun of the game; which when all said and done is surely the point??
The question should be which has the best gameplay with good graphics. I am convinced that the insatiable drive for better graphics (which most people cant appreciate) means that too much effort is directed here and not enough on the fun of the game; which when all said and done is surely the point??
skeeterm5 said:
For me this is the wrong question.
The question should be which has the best gameplay with good graphics. I am convinced that the insatiable drive for better graphics (which most people cant appreciate) means that too much effort is directed here and not enough on the fun of the game; which when all said and done is surely the point??
A lot of triple A games spend too much time with OTT Michael Bay style cutscenes whose composures could surely have been better spent elsewhere. The success of Minecraft, FNAF, Shovel Knight, Undertale etc have shown people are not just interest in pure graphical power.The question should be which has the best gameplay with good graphics. I am convinced that the insatiable drive for better graphics (which most people cant appreciate) means that too much effort is directed here and not enough on the fun of the game; which when all said and done is surely the point??
Mr Snrub said:
skeeterm5 said:
For me this is the wrong question.
The question should be which has the best gameplay with good graphics. I am convinced that the insatiable drive for better graphics (which most people cant appreciate) means that too much effort is directed here and not enough on the fun of the game; which when all said and done is surely the point??
A lot of triple A games spend too much time with OTT Michael Bay style cutscenes whose composures could surely have been better spent elsewhere. The success of Minecraft, FNAF, Shovel Knight, Undertale etc have shown people are not just interest in pure graphical power.The question should be which has the best gameplay with good graphics. I am convinced that the insatiable drive for better graphics (which most people cant appreciate) means that too much effort is directed here and not enough on the fun of the game; which when all said and done is surely the point??
Still, interesting to see what can be done at the cutting edge, might get myself a new gaming machine but worried I might not use it, kind of preferred gaming when it wasn't everywhere, have several consoles, can play games on phones and tablets, it's a bit over facing.
CrutyRammers said:
I think that rather than just upping polycounts, it's other stuff which is now adding to the overall feeling of immersion. Better environments with better physics, more destructable objects, bodies which don't just fade away as you watch, lighting effects, all of that sort of stuff.
Yep totally agree with this. Having more stuff to interact with in a realistic manner, regardless of it's usefulness to the actual game, contributes more towards the feeling of being properly immersed than pin-sharp graphics in my opinion.Benchmarks for me in that regard included Half-Life 2- having objects with pretty realistic physics properties in the game world, and the first Deus Ex game that let you interact with almost everything in the game, even to the point of picking up and throwing a basketball or hacking an ATM. My mind was blown away by this, having been used to games where pretty much everything except npcs, weapons, or open-able doors were simply fixed meshes.
That new Deus Ex screenshot on the previous page is pretty amazing though. Even just thinking of the hardware needed to run that level of resolution/detail at 60fps is making my wallet cry.
It's a tough balance to strike unless you have very deep pockets. My personal preference has been to only spend top money on components that aren't going to go out-of-date so quick (I've had my RAM, power-supply, case etc for almost 8 years now).
I've then periodically updated my GPU & CPU (and motherboard as required) whilst selling off the parts they replace.
Doing this I've got away with spending around £500 (net spend after selling the prev components) every 18 months or so and this has been the sweet spot for me.
Crucially though I've stuck with a 24" 1080p screen, and my current system will still get 60+ fps at this level on new titles (FX-8350, R9 290, 8gb RAM).
The problem is, I want to make the step up to 28" and 1440p. Which means that this year's upgrade is going to need almost an entirely new system, along with the new monitor itself. And given that I've had almost 10 years out of my current monitor, I'm determined to go with exactly the one I want (28" IPS, G-Sync) on the basis that I should get another half-decade out of it at the very least.
So I'm going to be looking at £1,500+ for the system & monitor whilst recouping possibly £350(?) for my current system- and on top of that the clutch has just decided to go in one of my cars
I've then periodically updated my GPU & CPU (and motherboard as required) whilst selling off the parts they replace.
Doing this I've got away with spending around £500 (net spend after selling the prev components) every 18 months or so and this has been the sweet spot for me.
Crucially though I've stuck with a 24" 1080p screen, and my current system will still get 60+ fps at this level on new titles (FX-8350, R9 290, 8gb RAM).
The problem is, I want to make the step up to 28" and 1440p. Which means that this year's upgrade is going to need almost an entirely new system, along with the new monitor itself. And given that I've had almost 10 years out of my current monitor, I'm determined to go with exactly the one I want (28" IPS, G-Sync) on the basis that I should get another half-decade out of it at the very least.
So I'm going to be looking at £1,500+ for the system & monitor whilst recouping possibly £350(?) for my current system- and on top of that the clutch has just decided to go in one of my cars
Gassing Station | Video Games | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff