I'm actually looking forward to Mass Effect 2

[Texas Red]

Funnily enough, the graphical engines of today will looks as shitty to us in the future as the engines of yesterday do to us now.

Unless an indie guy manages to find or have some incredible artistic talent. Because even a very outdated engine can have wonderfull results with the right art direction. Unfortunately most idiots rather focus on the next tech gizmo instead of the artistic quality.

Damn, I actually ranted there.

Dunno. IE games, decade old, still look incredible.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

@ Azrael

Word. Gotta say, you can admire Bioware for lending a hand for other developers.

 

[Volourn]

"Dunno. IE games, decade old, still look incredible."

Only to the blind, stupid, the old, and the crippled.

 

[Lumpy]

"Dunno. IE games, decade old, still look incredible."

Only to the blind, stupid, the old, and the crippled.

No. Planescape: Torment looked awesome, and BG2 was pretty damn good as well.

As opposed to, say, NWN2:

Of course, it's much easier to make an artistic 2D environment than a 3D one.

 

[Trash]

Not really Trash. Obviously the difference in graphical quality will become less and less for the same period of time the nearer we get 'photo-realistic'. So while the graphics difference between a game made 10 years ago and a game made today might be huge, a game made 20 years from now might not look all that different from a game made 30 years from now.

20 and 30 years is a very long time ahead, especially concerning games. I wouldn't presume to know what gameing would look like then.

In the immediate future (the next 5 to 10 years at least) however I can give it a try. Even the newest 3d engines like the latest unreal engine have things that allready don't stand out. Think about the plastic look most characters have in the unreal engine. In a few years our current top shit will look even worse, possibly even horrid compared to what they have then as a middle of the range engine.

Of course, it's much easier to make an artistic 2D environment than a 3D one.

Exactly, that is the thing I tried to say. Games with 2d age a lot better than the latest 3d engines. Most 3d games from just a few years back allready look incredibly dated. Unlike most of the 2d ones. You can do a lot with a great art direction though, and I hope indie developers will realise this.

 

[Volourn]

"No. Planescape: Torment looked awesome, and BG2 was pretty damn good as well."

NWN2 has better graphics. Period.

 

[Jedi_Learner]

NWN2 has better graphics. Period.

Wrong.

 

[Trash]

NWN2 has better graphics. Period

Perhaps, but their art direction sucked in comparison with these older games.

 

[deuxhero]

*doesn't read*

Yeah, it is pretty much a a rule of videogames that a bad game will get a good sequel, so lets hope that stays true.

 

[aries202]

I have seen some screens of the game called 'wasteland' that was made over 20 years ago, I think. If you look at these screens or just look at the screens from the first Might and Magic game from around the same time, I think, there has been much progress made visually and graphically in games since 1988 or so.

If you look at the Infinity Engine from 1995-1996, it is amazing that this little engine actually was around for almost a decade, I think. The last game to be made with the Infinity Engine, I think was Lionheart: The Crusader ? And it released in what 2003? And the graphics in that game looked amazing and abselutely stunning. (the game had other problems such as very akward character animations).

When I played Icewind Dale and its two expansions I was amazed how much the devs. actually has managed to tweak this little (god) engine. You see this for yourself in the 'let's play Icewind Dale' thread. Ot just compare the PS: Torment screens with the one taken from NWN2.

The PS: Torment screens may not have as many details as the NWN2 does but it still really good to me. (and there's not as much bloom, if any )
The NWN2 screen has, of course, more depth (or field of vision?) in it compared to the two screens from PS: Torment. The trees and grass also looks more realiistic than in PS: Torment and the sky is rendered (or created?) in a much more realistic way than in the two screens from PS: Torment.

But how much realistic looking sky, grass and trees do we really need : It is fantasy after all - there need to be at least a little left to the imagination. And by that I don't mean that devs. don't try to push the visual quality forward in games; i just mean this: Does every f....ng game has to have or need to photo-realistic (glossy) graphics :

PS: Sorry, for the icons, but I just thought they sort of underlined my frustration over this i.e. the whoile photo-realism in games thing. Mass Effect seem to have this, too. And I guess ME2 will have photo-realistic graphics and visuals - just like the devs. are trying to making a movie, not a game.
Oh wait, the new MGS4 game has half its playtime as cutscenes - maybe we're getting their already :

NB:
As you can see I'm very upset with the way things are going...

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Oh wait, the new MGS4 game has half its playtime as cutscenes

Understatement.

Not that it bothered me.

 

[Aegeri]

"No. Planescape: Torment looked awesome, and BG2 was pretty damn good as well."

NWN2 has better graphics. Period.

I'm playing through IWD again at the moment and I am astounded how interesting and detailed some of the environments (even if it's just a dungeon crawl) actually are. They sure kick the shit out of the bland crappy looking environments of NWN2, especially considering the games age.

 

[DemonKing]

"No. Planescape: Torment looked awesome, and BG2 was pretty damn good as well."

NWN2 has better graphics. Period.

As pointless as it is arguing with Volo...I have to disagree to some extent.

I can't think of any moment in NWN2 where the graphics blew me away (maybe coming across a certain dead god in MotB perhaps...), but there are countless locations in the old IE games that were very memorable.

As others have said, the art direction was a lot better in the IE games. Of course, generally the player models look better in NWN2 but a lot of the monsters and the backgrounds in particular from the IE games were fantastic.

 

[Jaime Lannister]

Do we have to have this argument again? 3D art design can be as good as 2D.

Proof:

The Witcher:

Half-Life 2: Episode 2

Team Fortress 2:

Age of Conan:

In short 3D=2D roofles.

 

[Texas Red]

Haven't played any of those games except The Witcher. While it does look good, it still doesn't have the variety and detail of IE. Athkatla or how it's spelled or Clerk's Ward are a lot more atmospheric and just look better, more realistic even(not everything is so bland and samey).

 

[MetalCraze]

Proof:

The Witcher:

if only The Witcher indeed looked like that

 

[Suchy]

if only The Witcher indeed looked like that

It actually did... (my screencaps)

Art direction DOES fucking matter... Same engine as NWN2

 

[RK47]

put them side by side, no one would say 'WoW these two are made by the same engine, Must BE!'

if i told someone NWN 2 took Witcher engine. They probably would believe me more lulz.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

"No. Planescape: Torment looked awesome, and BG2 was pretty damn good as well."

NWN2 has better graphics. Period.

I'm playing through IWD again at the moment and I am astounded how interesting and detailed some of the environments (even if it's just a dungeon crawl) actually are. They sure kick the shit out of the bland crappy looking environments of NWN2, especially considering the games age.

IWD is easily one of the best looking games i've ever played, i played it for the first time about 3 months ago and the environment art in that game is incredible. Especially if you couple it with the widescreen mod.

NWN2 has atrocious art, terrible character modelling and animation, piss poor performance and overuse of jizzmapping.

Volourn once again show's he's a clueless mongtard.

 

[Volourn]

"are a lot more atmospheric and just look better"

L0LZ

 

[easychord]

Looking at those screenshots critically, the only ones that looked good to me were PS:T and Team Fortress 2. The rest were kinda don't want. I'm speed tree and normal mapped out.

I'm sure that game studios have some really impressive art asset pipelines and 3d engines that are a techno-fetishists dream come true. I mostly don't care unless they manage to do something awesome that justifies their approach and really makes more things possible, like Dead Rising.

 

[Texas Red]

"are a lot more atmospheric and just look better"

L0LZ

Lolz what? Did you happen to get a feel of a newly rebuilt, troubled city in NWN 2? Did you at all have any feeling or did just seem more like a bunch of clone buildings stacked together in no particular style? TW was a little better but I wasn't exactly attacked by a city suffering from plague or monsters. Now care to imagine Clerk's Ward. The district beams of aristocracy(and what a contrast to Blacklake) ; it gives you a sense that TNO, in his savage apparel, doesn't belong there. At the same time it is WEIRD and you are always followed by the feeling that this place is truly alien, yet amazing because on every corner there is something to discover. It's difficult to put to words, but if you fail to appreciate PS:T with its "dated" engine graphics less than NWN 2 or some other 3D game, then your place belongs with sports games.

 

[Texas Red]

Is this game about the attack of clones?

 

[yarpen]

ME ending is cool. I mean, sure, it's cheesy and Hollywood-ish, but it works. You look at Shepard standing there with his gun, planet in the background, music kicks in and you cant help but wonder how bad-ass you look Any ending that leaves me with the "giev sequel NOW" feeling does its job. ME did it.

 

[RK47]

ME ending is cool. I mean, sure, it's cheesy and Hollywood-ish, but it works. You look at Shepard standing there with his gun, planet in the background, music kicks in and you cant help but wonder how bad-ass you look Any ending that leaves me with the "giev sequel NOW" feeling does its job. ME did it.

no. I'd much prefer Witcher's Ending. Get back to work on the sequel dammit. ME ending cinematic was near non existent. It's just like a movie credit roll. Compared to that kick-ass cinematic Witcher had of Geralt duelling in the throne room, this shit is not that good. The build up was good, you let the council die, and make humanity play a bigger part. After that. That's it. 'I'm going back to kicking geth's ass, yo mothafuckas'.

 

[MetalCraze]

yeah ME ending sucked major balls compared to TW. go back to making TW2 you faggit. ME ending gave me nothing but lulz. and not in a good way.

also I don't remember that photorealistic sky from the previously quoted (by me) screenshot. and TW generally looks better there with more NPCs walking the streets, better lighting etc. is it a specially premade PR fake for TW or a screenshot from TW: EE?

if i told someone NWN 2 took Witcher engine. They probably would believe me more lulz.

better say NWN1