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Next-gen Racing Graphics Face-off | (Next-gen means current-gen)

Javin98

Banned
So who is willing to bet GT7 or Forza 6 will dethrone Driveclub from the graphics king?
GT7 has a very good chance of looking better in some areas. Although GT7 will be 60FPS, I'm quite sure Polyphony will no doubt blow minds again with their sorcery. I don't think real time global illumination will be implemented in GT7 though.

Forza 6, on the other hand, has little to no chance of dethroning Driveclub IMHO. It has to run at a rock solid 60FPS on weaker hardware.
 

ShamePain

Banned
Considering that PD are easily the studio that pushes PS hardware the hardest, I'll be surprised if it doesn't look significantly better than every other racer. Just look at the shitty GPU and crap split RAM pool in the PS3 and how impressive GT5/6 look, pushing some graphic tech that even current gen racers aren't pushing all at a resolution higher or similar to most Xbone games. What PD can achieve with hardware as powerful as PS4 is potentially a sight to behold.
 

MilkyJoe

Member
I finally got a chance to play Driveclub recently and the poor AA was the first thing I noticed. After watching so many videos online I was expecting a much cleaner image. However, once I started playing it wasn't very noticeable with the smooth frame rate and motion blur. All in all a fantastic looking game. From a pure graphics perspective the best looking racer so far this gen on consoles (in my opinion at least).

Me too. I thought there must be something wrong with the TV. I didnt want to mention it in case I got hounded
 
Considering that PD are easily the studio that pushes PS hardware the hardest, I'll be surprised if it doesn't look significantly better than every other racer. Just look at the shitty GPU and crap split RAM pool in the PS3 and how impressive GT5/6 look, pushing some graphic tech that even current gen racers aren't pushing all at a resolution higher or similar to most Xbone games. What PD can achieve with hardware as powerful as PS4 is potentially a sight to behold.

I'm not so sure that it will be mind blowing like they were in the PS3 era. The hardware was already there for a great game to be made, they just took the time to get to grips with it. With the PS4 it's said to be a lot easier which means that creating an engine should be easier too, with less performance to be found hiding away that lesser studios would miss.

I've no doubt it will be great, but I don't expect it to look much better than Driveclub.
 

asmudge

Banned
DCs AA solution works.......when ur driving. When ur standing still it fails badly especially on cars. Its still not as bad as it was at launch when even in motion it looked really bad.
 
Honestly, i don't consider forza and dc to even be in the same camp. I think the real battle there will be Horizon 3 and driveclub 2. Although DC benefits from closed circuits as opposed to fh's open world, I'm excited by the prospect of what greater familiarity with the respective hardware will bring.

In all fairness, while DC is currently the eye candy darling, a lot more credit has to go to F5 for the consistency of their presentation. It doesn't flinch from 60 Fps and it shows. It's not in your face arcadey like DC, but IMO I get a better sense of speed and the FFB provides a nicer sense of weight. To say nothing of how much Forza's sound design really supplements the visuals. I think Forza 6 will look incredible.

To that end, I finally got my T300RS yesterday and gave DC a whirl with the wheel. definitely a different world compared to the more simmy racers, but my first race during a thunderstorm was exactly as terrifying as i'd hoped :D
Forza 5 does look extremely nice in motion, despite what some may say I really think a solid 60fps makes a game significantly more enjoyable to look at and play. I don't know if Forza 6 can reach Driveclub of photorealism, but I'm sure colour saturation will have a lot to do with it also.
 

ShamePain

Banned
I'm not so sure that it will be mind blowing like they were in the PS3 era. The hardware was already there for a great game to be made, they just took the time to get to grips with it. With the PS4 it's said to be a lot easier which means that creating an engine should be easier too, with less performance to be found hiding away that lesser studios would miss.

I've no doubt it will be great, but I don't expect it to look much better than Driveclub.

Well, considering that GT5/6 don't look much different from 5 Prologue and even worse in many cases, I don't think architecture plays such an important role, it just takes skill to recreate all the detail, the way the cars look is still unmatched by even the most recent games like Driveclub, Forza, Pcars and so on. And we're talking a 2007 release here. They've maxed out the PS3 way early on and no game ever surpassed GT5 Prologue's graphics until very recently. PD likes to push PS hardware hard and I bet we'll see fruits of that soon(-isn).
 

Javin98

Banned
Honestly, i don't consider forza and dc to even be in the same camp. I think the real battle there will be Horizon 3 and driveclub 2. Although DC benefits from closed circuits as opposed to fh's open world, I'm excited by the prospect of what greater familiarity with the respective hardware will bring.

In all fairness, while DC is currently the eye candy darling, a lot more credit has to go to F5 for the consistency of their presentation. It doesn't flinch from 60 Fps and it shows. It's not in your face arcadey like DC, but IMO I get a better sense of speed and the FFB provides a nicer sense of weight. To say nothing of how much Forza's sound design really supplements the visuals. I think Forza 6 will look incredible.

To that end, I finally got my T300RS yesterday and gave DC a whirl with the wheel. definitely a different world compared to the more simmy racers, but my first race during a thunderstorm was exactly as terrifying as i'd hoped :D
I agree that Forza 5 looks great in motion because it is practically a locked 60FPS but overall its assets are nothing special, especially compared to Driveclub or even FH2. IIRC, Forza 5 doesn't even have a day and night cycle or weather implementation (someone kindly correct me if wrong) and the IQ is horrible.
And who could forget the 2D crowds?

Anyway, when (more like 'if' tbh) Driveclub 2 releases, I expect it to look better than FH3, though maybe not by the same leap as DC and FH2.
 

Javin98

Banned
Well, considering that GT5/6 don't look much different from 5 Prologue and even worse in many cases, I don't think architecture plays such an important role, it just takes skill to recreate all the detail, the way the cars look is still unmatched by even the most recent games like Driveclub, Forza, Pcars and so on. And we're talking a 2007 release here. They've maxed out the PS3 way early on and no game ever surpassed GT5 Prologue's graphics until very recently. PD likes to push PS hardware hard and I bet we'll see fruits of that soon(-isn).
LOL, here you go again with "GT looks more realistic than DC". Are you really even serious?
And maxed out the PS3? Dafuq is this shit?
 

ShapeGSX

Member
I agree that Forza 5 looks great in motion because it is practically a locked 60FPS but overall its assets are nothing special, especially compared to Driveclub or even FH2. IIRC, Forza 5 doesn't even have a day and night cycle or weather implementation (someone kindly correct me if wrong) and the IQ is horrible.
And who could forget the 2D crowds?

DC has 2D leaves that follow you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsKJ_qkpv90

Every game has its tricks.
 

ShamePain

Banned
LOL, here you go again with "GT looks more realistic than DC". Are you really even serious?
And maxed out the PS3? Dafuq is this shit?

Yes, GT has a more realistic art-style, feel free to deny it. And yes, they've maxed out the PS3 with GT5 Prologue, considering GT5/6 all took a hit in performance, IQ, textures, sounds and physics compared to it. GT5 P achieved a perfect balance of graphics/performance, GT5/6 pushed too hard and sacrificed image quality and framerate for extra effects.
 

sinnergy

Member
Me too. I thought there must be something wrong with the TV. I didnt want to mention it in case I got hounded

I got it recently and i was shocked that it looked so off, lighting seems wrong most of the time, cars look arcadey plastic, it really doesn't have a big up from Horizon 2 apart from the rain, which just distracts gameplay most of the time. And that it's 30 frames doesn't help either. It's great that they have all the technical features implemented, but the lighting just looks off to me, so does the sound, it's very soft and distorted in car.

And reading the above, I to think GT5 and 6 do a better realistic job, it's the art style.

So it's not my contender for best looking PS4 game, but I am looking forward to Project cars.
 
Well, considering that GT5/6 don't look much different from 5 Prologue and even worse in many cases, I don't think architecture plays such an important role, it just takes skill to recreate all the detail, the way the cars look is still unmatched by even the most recent games like Driveclub, Forza, Pcars and so on. And we're talking a 2007 release here. They've maxed out the PS3 way early on and no game ever surpassed GT5 Prologue's graphics until very recently. PD likes to push PS hardware hard and I bet we'll see fruits of that soon(-isn).

What does this mean? Do you mean the models of the cars, the way they look in certain lighting conditions? What?

Edit: Never mind, just saw your reply above.

I disagree entirely, btw, Driveclub's sunny conditions look so realistic to me, the way the light hits foliage especially. It just looks so right. And the overcast/stormy conditions are perfectly done. Scotland actually looks and feels like Scotland in this game. They've done an excellent job of capturing how places feel with the way they're lit.
 

orava

Member
So who is willing to bet GT7 or Forza 6 will dethrone Driveclub from the graphics king?

On consoles that's going to happen much sooner with some other game. There's always the next need for speed for example and i'd count dc graphics style closer to those games.
 

Flappy

Banned
I have a feeling that PD may push for 4K on PS4 and end up with the same issues as last gen (They have already been showing off 4K GT6 test footage at events).

PD need to learn how to give themselves realistic goals instead of pushing hardware to breaking point. Lock it at 1080p 60fps.
 

ShapeGSX

Member
Yet those leaves are some of the best in video games? Not sure what you're complaining about....
Did you check out the vegetation on the last page? Those were mind blowing.

Yup, like I said, every game has its tricks. You aren't likely to notice the 2D leaves that follow you or the 2D crowds while you are driving. I'd say that DC made some better trade-offs, overall.
 

nib95

Banned
DC has 2D leaves that follow you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsKJ_qkpv90

Every game has its tricks.

GT6 does this too afaik. It's a much much better implementation than many other games implore as you avoid seeing the nasty two dimensionality of textures that you sometimes get in games like GT5 and Forza 5. Side note, most other popular games use geometric trees/branches with 2D texture leafs too, it's just not always as noticeable because like DC, there are quite a number of layered textures instead of just two in a cross shape, the way some other racing games (especially in the past) used to do.

Examples of some of the trees/shrubbery in other games (Crysis, Skyrim etc).

3X3dP.jpg


tesv_2012_02_08_19_44_18_605.jpg


zecrysislooksgoodupclvypfl.jpg


iMAyVTbouTsdE.jpg
 

Javin98

Banned
Yes, GT has a more realistic art-style, feel free to deny it. And yes, they've maxed out the PS3 with GT5 Prologue, considering GT5/6 all took a hit in performance, IQ, textures, sounds and physics compared to it. GT5 P achieved a perfect balance of graphics/performance, GT5/6 pushed too hard and sacrificed image quality and framerate for extra effects.
Listen, I don't know if you know this, but there are other games that look better than GT6 overall. So while GT5/6 may look worse than GT5 Prologue, it doesn't necessarily mean the PS3 was maxed out

Yup, like I said, every game has its tricks. You aren't likely to notice the 2D leaves that follow you or the 2D crowds while you are driving. I'd say that DC made some better trade-offs, overall.
I think we can agree DC's trade-off's won't turn into recurring memes ;)
 

ShamePain

Banned
Listen, I don't know if you know this, but there are other games that look better than GT6 overall. So while GT5/6 may look worse than GT5 Prologue, it doesn't necessarily mean the PS3 was maxed out


I think we can agree DC's trade-off's won't turn into recurring memes ;)

Please remind me what racing games look better than GT 5 Prologue on PS3?
 

ShamePain

Banned
Why exactly do you insist that racing games are the most visually impressive games on a platform? I never even said any other racing games look better

So how exactly do you expect us to compare a racing game to a linear action adventure for example? Seems pretty ridiculous.
 

ShamePain

Banned
Yet people compare Killzone Shadow Fall to Ryse. Ridiculous too, right?

Well, that's still a closer comparison, apart from obvious gameplay and camera perspective they are both a linear action experience. But both are a far cry from a realistic racing simulator.
 

Gestault

Member
I'm a big fan of the up-close solution for foliage in Driveclub. Considering how effortlessly modern hardware can handle great quality 2D art, using tiles with the resolution/alpha detail they are is almost a perfect solution unless you're super far out or deliberately rotating around them in a way you never would in gameplay.
 

Noobcraft

Member
I'm a big fan of the up-close solution for foliage in Driveclub. Considering how effortlessly these systems handle great quality 2D art, using tiles with the resolution/alpha detail they are is almost a perfect solution unless you're super far out or deliberately rotating around them in a way you never would in gameplay.
Yeah. There are a few that are actually noticeable in gameplay (2D bushes at the end of the 1st japan track) but for the most part it's an excellent solution for racers. I actually started playing through all the tracks by just holding the accelerator today (you can actually finish every track in the game by just holding the gas down, no braking or steering required) just to take in the scenery.
 

CozMick

Banned
It;s gonna be a long long time before anything tops Driveclub in the visuals and sound department.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXkVSn-Srkc A 4 minute timelapse video I made at x30.

It's in the detail......

God rays and volumetric clouds reflected into the puddles on the track.
God rays affecting the lighting when passing over the track.
"rainbow effect" when god rays pass through the rain.......and then reflected in the puddles on the track :O

Windscreen wipers sound changing depending on rain intensity.
Engine ticking over when at a stand still.
Rain, wind and lightning/thunder sound effects.

Goddamn this game is good looking.
 

Fezan

Member
It;s gonna be a long long time before anything tops Driveclub in the visuals and sound department.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXkVSn-Srkc A 4 minute timelapse video I made at x30.

It's in the detail......

God rays and volumetric clouds reflected into the puddles on the track.
God rays affecting the lighting when passing over the track.
"rainbow effect" when god rays pass through the rain.......and then reflected in the puddles on the track :O

Windscreen wipers sound changing depending on rain intensity.
Engine ticking over when at a stand still.
Rain, wind and lightning/thunder sound effects.

Goddamn this game is good looking.

Can you please take screenshots from the video to show the effect
 

Fnord

Member
I'm not so sure that it will be mind blowing like they were in the PS3 era. The hardware was already there for a great game to be made, they just took the time to get to grips with it. With the PS4 it's said to be a lot easier which means that creating an engine should be easier too, with less performance to be found hiding away that lesser studios would miss.

I've no doubt it will be great, but I don't expect it to look much better than Driveclub.

If nothing else, the car models should be pretty noticeably better than anything else out there. PD has been building their models with the future in mind since before GT5 was released, so we haven't even seen how good the existing models can look. And no one else does car models better than PD. They're borderline nuts.
 

Fnord

Member
I have a feeling that PD may push for 4K on PS4 and end up with the same issues as last gen (They have already been showing off 4K GT6 test footage at events).

PD need to learn how to give themselves realistic goals instead of pushing hardware to breaking point. Lock it at 1080p 60fps.

On the other hand, they could do what they did with GT4 (with HD) and have a select few tracks set up for 4K with a limited field, just to show it off in 4K, but not really being part of the "real" game.
 
On the other hand, they could do what they did with GT4 (with HD) and have a select few tracks set up for 4K with a limited field, just to show it off in 4K, but not really being part of the "real" game.

I doubt 4K will be something that they'll even attempt. Yoshida has said that Polyphony was a studio that they'd use for showing off tech that the company was pushing. 1080p was something that was mentioned often on the lead up to the PS3. So it's no surprise that PD pushed for that resolution since they have the most visible series from Sony. The only tech that Sony's really pushing now is Morpheus, and that's already a fairly obvious thing for GT7.
 

Noobcraft

Member
Can't wait to see rally in GT7 (GT6 has rally still right?), it was so good in GT5.

Also some shots I took today in Forza Horizon 2:
GetPhoto.ashx

GetPhoto.ashx

GetPhoto.ashx
 

nasanu

Banned
DC's visuals are amazing but are far from perfect. Imperfections are everywhere and I expect DC to be blown away by the inevitable DC2.

Areas where DC is weak graphically:

Environment details - Sometimes very poor, boxy low res buildings, cars etc.
Clouds - Sometimes these look horrible and have strange colors.
Rain - Especially noticeable at night, the rendering of rain is just wrong and looks nothing at all like reality. They do however have a better rain effect when the spray comes up from wheels so there is hope.
Snow - As with rain, it's just wrong and especially problematic at night. The main problem here is the way it appears to move at speed. When driving in snow at night and traveling at warp speed on the enterprise look identical something is wrong. It is especially strange that all snow and rain comes from some sort of space-time hole above and in front of the car (perhaps not really the case but that it how it looks).

Other effects need to be reconsidered also. The game should not do what the eye does automatically. I have never seen everything turn to white in real life just because I came out of a tunnel. It is bizarre and I don't know why EVO copied PD to introduce this effect. And if there is no lens then no lens effects please.
 

CozMick

Banned
DC's visuals are amazing but are far from perfect. Imperfections are everywhere and I expect DC to be blown away by the inevitable DC2.

Areas where DC is weak graphically:

Environment details - Sometimes very poor, boxy low res buildings, cars etc.
Clouds - Sometimes these look horrible and have strange colors.
Rain - Especially noticeable at night, the rendering of rain is just wrong and looks nothing at all like reality. They do however have a better rain effect when the spray comes up from wheels so there is hope.
Snow - As with rain, it's just wrong and especially problematic at night. The main problem here is the way it appears to move at speed. When driving in snow at night and traveling at warp speed on the enterprise look identical something is wrong. It is especially strange that all snow and rain comes from some sort of space-time hole above and in front of the car (perhaps not really the case but that it how it looks).

Other effects need to be reconsidered also. The game should not do what the eye does automatically. I have never seen everything turn to white in real life just because I came out of a tunnel. It is bizarre and I don't know why EVO copied PD to introduce this effect. And if there is no lens then no lens effects please.

I tried to take you seriously until I read the bolded, then I knew you were taking the piss....................right?
 
This thread's missing some actual faceoffs, so here's a comparison between some tracks from Forza 5/GT6:

Indianapolis



Bathurst



Silverstone



Laguna Seca

Personally, I think GT6 looks far better than Forza 5 in those shots. The lighting is better but this could be due to the time of day in GT6. Elsewhere, in the Silverstone shots, the one with the bridge in Forza 5 looks very poor. And there's something going on with the grandstand opposite the pit building that looks better in GT6. It looks too big and too close to the track in Forza 5.
 

ShamePain

Banned
Personally, I think GT6 looks far better than Forza 5 in those shots. The lighting is better but this could be due to the time of day in GT6. Elsewhere, in the Silverstone shots, the one with the bridge in Forza 5 looks very poor. And there's something going on with the grandstand opposite the pit building that looks better in GT6. It looks too big and too close to the track in Forza 5.

I think this just goes to show that track based racers have kind of run themselves into a corner when it comes to accuracy, I've watched some comparisons lately and honestly all these racers have reached a point when they all very similar to each other and tracks in particular look 1:1 identical. Hell, these screenshots show that apart from obvious texture resolution upgrades that 5 gb of ram brings there isn't some huge difference in geometry or detail.
 
This thread's missing some actual faceoffs, so here's a comparison between some tracks from Forza 5/GT6:

Indianapolis



Bathurst



Silverstone



Laguna Seca

Obviously Forza looks better in terms of texture detail and resolution, etc, HOWEVER... I'm Australian, been to Bathurst many times for V8 Super Cars. GT most definitely got the landscape far more accurate. The shrubbery (trees, bushes, foilage) actually look Australian. Half-assed effort on behalf of Forza.
 

Yiazmat

Member
Obviously Forza looks better in terms of texture detail and resolution, etc, HOWEVER... I'm Australian, been to Bathurst many times for V8 Super Cars. GT most definitely got the landscape far more accurate. The shrubbery (trees, bushes, foilage) actually look Australian. Half-assed effort on behalf of Forza.

Also on the Bathurst pictures, notice how the transition from grass to asphalt in GT6 is much more natural. PD's attention to detail is just crazy.
 

eso76

Member
This thread's missing some actual faceoffs, so here's a comparison between some tracks from Forza 5/GT6:

As usual, difference being that while FM has a much Greater level of detail on a technical level, GT manages to look 'real' in small pics/if you squint.

PD's priority was always getting the overall look of things 'right'. Working on the ensemble.

FM works on individual elements, achieving an impressive level of micro detail here and there. but usually missing the mark when everything is put together
 

ShamePain

Banned
As usual, difference being that while FM has a much Greater level of detail on a technical level, GT manages to look 'real' in small pics/if you squint.

PD's priority was always getting the overall look of things 'right'. Working on the ensemble.

FM works on individual elements, achieving an impressive level of micro detail here and there. but usually missing the mark when everything is put together

GT6 has better looking skyboxes but otherwise I'm not seeing a difference in attention to detail. Both are crazy good, this level of fidelity is what I'd consider good enough and I hope they don't rework these tracks from scratch anymore and focus on adding new ones.
 

le-seb

Member
GT6 has better looking skyboxes but otherwise I'm not seeing a difference in attention to detail.
Are you blind?
Can't you see what Yiazmat's pointed out?

It looks rough in FM, with zero transition from asphalt to grass (just dump your textures here, breh).
While in GT, there are irregular cuts on the sides of the tracks, making the transition look smoother and more believable.
 

ShamePain

Banned
Are you blind?
Can't you see what Yiazmat's pointed out?

It looks rough in FM, with zero transition from asphalt to grass (just dump your textures here, breh).
While in GT, there are irregular cuts on the sides of the tracks, making the transition look smoother and more believable.

You've never seen asphalt that has grass next to it without a smooth transition in real life?
 
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