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Developers: STOP using Chromatic Aberration
- Thread starter Seanspeed
- Start date
civilstrife
Member
But it looks good.
You better get used to it because the reality is that in the videogame industry, most heads responsible for the visuals actually aren't experts in image --- to the opposite of movies and the only reason why effects in most movies aren't stupid.
We are JUST STARTING to get out of miss-used bloom and HDR lighting and it's been what... 15 years? So you better be patient. Those progs and effects guys will want to show their effects until they are tired of them, regardless it makes a game look good or not.
We are JUST STARTING to get out of miss-used bloom and HDR lighting and it's been what... 15 years? So you better be patient. Those progs and effects guys will want to show their effects until they are tired of them, regardless it makes a game look good or not.
CA and dirt/debris on the camera mudding up the IQ and making everything so hard to fucking see. I'M A HUMAN BEING WITH EYES NOT A FUCKING WALKING TRIPOD WITH A GUN.
And there's no way to turn any of this shit off, I can only think of Payday 2 and Lords of the fallen where you can turn off CA. Dirty lenses and shit effects everywhere else are permanent.
And there's no way to turn any of this shit off, I can only think of Payday 2 and Lords of the fallen where you can turn off CA. Dirty lenses and shit effects everywhere else are permanent.
ashecitism
Member
Just checked, they said natural and realistic.
TheChewyWaffles
Member
This is an example of a game(Alien Isolation) where people say they like it. I don't get it, but you can see what the effect is and how it ruins clarity at least:
That screenshot to the right makes me think I pulled off my old-fashioned 3D glasses in the day when they used red/blue to make it happen.
TheOohChild
Member
I'm not even really sure what I'm supposed to be looking at here
GameSeeker
Member
Fortunately, CA is only used by developers stuck in a 20th century mindset.
CA is caused by an optical defect in the lens system of a camera. Camera manufacturers go to great lengths to minimize CA in their lens design. The best lenses from Canon, Nikon, Leica, etc. exhibit very small amounts of CA. When we used analog film in the 20th century, this small amount of CA would sometimes be captured on film and was difficult to remove.
Fast forward to the 21st century and cameras are primarily digital. With the advent of digital processing in tools like Lightroom or Photoshop, almost all CA can be removed easily. There is no reason to have CA in any modern photograph (other than you are trying to emulate cameras from last century.)
Unfortunately, while the film industry had moved to digital and has tools to remove CA from virtually all images, several game developers are backward looking in their technology and haven't caught up with modern camera design. These developers still make the mistake of trying to emulate CA in their engine design. Fortunately, I predict that CA will be a passing fad and twenty years from now CA in game engines will be a historical footnote.
CA is caused by an optical defect in the lens system of a camera. Camera manufacturers go to great lengths to minimize CA in their lens design. The best lenses from Canon, Nikon, Leica, etc. exhibit very small amounts of CA. When we used analog film in the 20th century, this small amount of CA would sometimes be captured on film and was difficult to remove.
Fast forward to the 21st century and cameras are primarily digital. With the advent of digital processing in tools like Lightroom or Photoshop, almost all CA can be removed easily. There is no reason to have CA in any modern photograph (other than you are trying to emulate cameras from last century.)
Unfortunately, while the film industry had moved to digital and has tools to remove CA from virtually all images, several game developers are backward looking in their technology and haven't caught up with modern camera design. These developers still make the mistake of trying to emulate CA in their engine design. Fortunately, I predict that CA will be a passing fad and twenty years from now CA in game engines will be a historical footnote.
Summer Haze
Banned
100% agree, OP. I absolutely despise it and it's by far the most annoying thing about current-gen visuals so far imo. It's sudden inclusion in so many games this gen has truly baffled me.
WTF is this? Just why? If I wanted to be reminded of what 3D in the 90s looked like, I'd wear these:
Devs, pls. Stahp. Or at least give us the option to stahp it ourselves.
WTF is this? Just why? If I wanted to be reminded of what 3D in the 90s looked like, I'd wear these:
Devs, pls. Stahp. Or at least give us the option to stahp it ourselves.
Developers: Do whatever you want
I'll decide based on the final product if I want it or not.
I think CA in Bloodborne is not something you notice while playing because the effect is at the edges where you don't look unless you look at screenshots.
In The Order 1886 it looked fantastic.
I'll decide based on the final product if I want it or not.
I think CA in Bloodborne is not something you notice while playing because the effect is at the edges where you don't look unless you look at screenshots.
In The Order 1886 it looked fantastic.
This is one of the most interesting parts - they use it to make things look more 'cinematic' while displaying absolutely no appreciation of the fact that camera makers and photographers / film makers have been trying to get rid of it even since the medium went colour.
It's a decision you can only make if you don't know what the hell you're doing or why.
I guess its one of those things where you need to see it without to understand how much its ruining the image quality.
I am admittedly becoming more and more sensitive to it, though. It's becoming so prevalent and its becoming so annoying that it's very hard for me to not pick it out immediately and sigh in disappointment.
I understand many people will not notice it, but rest assured, it *is* hurting the clarity of the image.
Saint of Killers
Member
This is an example of a game(Alien Isolation) where people say they like it. I don't get it, but you can see what the effect is and how it ruins clarity at least:
Uh god. The screens in the opening post I can tolerate but with the side by side images... the one on the right is actually painful to look at.
General population aren't going to be affected by if a game has CA one way or the other. They are indifferent to it. They also bought games with ridiculous lens flares and bloom, but they didn't go "Oh shit, I'm buying Syndicate for its' eye shearing bloom!" Removing the CA would look good to consumers too. The only real affect it has on people buying games are those annoyed by it.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
Dictator93
Member
Yes, they really should stop. It covering the entire image at all times is rather unrealistic (every game released so far), it should be attached to depth field at best... and be found within it... not on infocus objects or characters.
Yep, that's chromatic aberration in a nutshell. The little red lines really don't bother me nearly as much as the blur it introduces. People complain about FXAA and say its like smearing vaseline on the screen, but this is several times worse and unlike FXAA, it does provide any sort of benefit.
DirgeExtinction
Member
Same.
The way I see it is if you don't hate it that much, don't buy games that have it. It's as simple as that.
bananafactory
Banned
Agreed with Bloodborne. The screenshots I see look far more distracting but I don't notice it much during playing because it's mostly relegated to the edges while my view is focused on the center.
I'm of the opinion that most devs that implement dirty screen effects have glasses. Since I wear glasses, those effects seem natural to me.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
I love it. It can be used incorrectly or over done, but when used properly, its glorious. ZombiU uses it so fucking well.
The CA along with the DoF blight is why I couldn't play The Order for more than 30 minutes without getting an eyestrain headache. There are people stopping playing Bloodborne for similar reasons too. Devs should not be forcing peoples eyes out of focus, it's just stupid.
I didnt know what this was until I played Lords of The Fallen. I kept wondering if my eyes were getting bad, if my TV sucked, or something else. They eventually put out an update in which you could turn it off, and behold.. it looked much better.
So yeah, I agree OP. If youre gonna put it on the game, give us an option to toggle it on/off.
In Bloodborne, its much harder to notice in some areas. I think thats the first game so far where it hasnt bugged me. Although, im playing it on my PC monitor, so everything looks amazing on it.
So yeah, I agree OP. If youre gonna put it on the game, give us an option to toggle it on/off.
In Bloodborne, its much harder to notice in some areas. I think thats the first game so far where it hasnt bugged me. Although, im playing it on my PC monitor, so everything looks amazing on it.
IcyBlueStrawberry
Member
I liked the effect in Alien because it matched the visual style of the game (which was that of an 80's sci fi film), and it didn't hinder The Order too much, but it looks bad in most cases.
I wish Bloodborne would at least tone it down a bit.
The best solution would be to include an option to disable the effect in-game.
I wish Bloodborne would at least tone it down a bit.
The best solution would be to include an option to disable the effect in-game.
Nobody is forcing you to do anything. Don't play it.
Does that matter? It's an artistic tool if the artists want to put it into their game then that effect represents how they wanted to present their world.
You're talking about 'improving' a totally subjective thing. Like people will argue that Lens flare is a defect inherent to photographic lenses but others will say that's it's totally awesome.
And anyway:
http://www.telescope-optics.net/eye_chromatism.htm
The human eye has a lot of chromatic aberration which our brain has to correct for. So if anything it's more realistic! =D
DirgeExtinction
Member
Preach.
bananafactory
Banned
Pretty much. It's a stylistic decision to achieve a certain look, like films that use intentional grain or colour correction to achieve a certain appearance.
You don't have to like it, but it's not a 'flaw'
This is an example of a game(Alien Isolation) where people say they like it. I don't get it, but you can see what the effect is and how it ruins clarity at least:
This is an example where the effect is used properly imo. The point is to achieve a sort of 80's film like quality, not necessarily to be crisp 20/20. I think it works. But yea, I get your point.
Summer Haze
Banned
It's one of those 'what has been seen cannot be unseen' things. But even so, the examples in the OP were mostly very subtle.
IcyBlueStrawberry
Member
Implementing a toggle seems like a better compromise than "don't play half of the games this generation".
Compared to excessive lens flares, bloom, and motion blur, chromatic aberration is infinitely more tolerable. Its like people don't understand how to apply these things with any subtlety and just have the effects be so in your face that it begins to detract from the experience as well as make the player wonder if they're starting to go blind.
BlastProcessing
Member
The thing is, for a dev, the ideal Image Quality is whatever they decide it is.
This thread actually makes me want to add gobs of CA to my next game.
I think it's okay to have an opinion, but let us not tell artists how to paint or what colours to use.
CA does seem to be the new lens flare, but I think on whole it's great to see developers experimenting with visual effects and aberrations most commonly associated with photography and film. Just like DOF and bokeh it's takes a certain artistry to get it right.
On the other hand as gamers our reaction to these effects can be a tad overblown, I hear the same arguments about DOF. Gamers are used to a world where everything is in focus it can be jarring to introduce selective focus to field of view.
As with all new things, a delicate hand is needed, but a measured reaction too?
CA does seem to be the new lens flare, but I think on whole it's great to see developers experimenting with visual effects and aberrations most commonly associated with photography and film. Just like DOF and bokeh it's takes a certain artistry to get it right.
On the other hand as gamers our reaction to these effects can be a tad overblown, I hear the same arguments about DOF. Gamers are used to a world where everything is in focus it can be jarring to introduce selective focus to field of view.
As with all new things, a delicate hand is needed, but a measured reaction too?
What if I wanted to play a game without ruined image quality though? CA in particular is such a thoughtless and borderline selfish inclusion when it causes problems for so many people.
It could very easily be fixed with pressure put on devs to make it optional. Once it's optional I don't even care if the default is on, just let me kill it so I can enjoy your game. Games shouldn't be designed to cause headaches and eyestrain.
Saint of Killers
Member
I was blown away when that HDR patch hit HL2. I was squinting like I would be at actual an bright light source! xD I mean that at least makes sense in that it's a FPS and that how light can affect you, whereas CA is what you'd see if your eye was a camera lens or something. (unless I read up on the wrong kind of effect.)
Stone Ocean
Member
Chromatic Aberration looks great when used properly
I think it looks amazing in Bloodborne
I think it looks amazing in Bloodborne
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