This is what people are complaining about.I don't know how ya'll can tell me that the one on the right looks better than the one on the left, but whatever floats your boat.
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Digital Foundry: Journey Face-off (PS3/PS4)
- Thread starter Vashetti
- Start date
This is what people are complaining about.
Honestly, I think the less shiny desert looks much better.
And you're entitled to your wrong opinion!
Overall the PS4 version definitely looks better though.
Wowfunhappy
Member
Sportsfriends says hi.
Depends.
Look at Halo remastered. Absolutely hideous looking. They did ruin the design there but it was interesting.
Weltall Zero
Member
[watches video]
What the fuck did they do to the reflections in the sand? How can you mess up so badly a game when 50% of its appeal is how good the sand looked? Ugh.
What the fuck did they do to the reflections in the sand? How can you mess up so badly a game when 50% of its appeal is how good the sand looked? Ugh.
Me too. Played both, I prefer PS4 version.
I have to say they, for all the technical differences, the emotional impact of this game on me wasn't diminished by the less coarse sand, and it's kind of sad that it would be that big an issue that it could for anyone.
This is like re-reading a great novel and complaining that the print you've got doesn't have double spacing. I appreciate that gaming is a technical medium with a strong emphasis on presentation but to say you won't buy a game that is so much more than the sum of its parts on the basis of sand grain, sparkle & AA is like ignoring a great painting because it's a watercolour.
This is like re-reading a great novel and complaining that the print you've got doesn't have double spacing. I appreciate that gaming is a technical medium with a strong emphasis on presentation but to say you won't buy a game that is so much more than the sum of its parts on the basis of sand grain, sparkle & AA is like ignoring a great painting because it's a watercolour.
FunkyDealer
Banned
Jeez, disapointing.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
I don't think anyone said that the technical downgrades made Journey any less great, or that they couldn't emotionally connect with it any more.
You can criticize a game and still think it's incredible. I can say that a book has shitty spacing and typography. That matters. The book is still great. Journey is still great. No one is denying that.
Believe it or not I think these two pictures are one and the same effect. I believe the PS3 version sparkling like that at greater angles is actually an artefact of a less accurate approximation and a result of a resolution and precision difference. A lot of people seem to be making the claim that an artistic vision has been changed but without asking what the actual artist was aiming for you would not know what is a compromise being made trying to simulate a physical effect and what is intentionally that way as "art" in a game. In terms of being more physically real I would say the PS3 version isn't the more accurate version. For randomly orientated reflecting surfaces you would not get reflections that match the intensity of the low grazing incidence reflection angle at higher angles even at perfect orientation. This would only happen if you had a precision problem to deal with. You would not get regions of high reflectivity only at low and high angles. It would be high reflectivity at low angles and drop off at higher angles towards the edge of the screen. If you want my opinion I believe the PS4 version is more physically real. You would still get the glitter like you do on the PS4 with the reduced intensity. If you zoom in on PS4 screens you would see you still get glitter at reduced intensity and reduced size. The intensity would also be a far better gradient with increased precision instead of more coarse bright spot vs dark spot we see in the PS3 version. The best place to show you what I mean is if you look at the glitter in the trails the traveller leaves behind, notice glitter is often absent on the PS3. Another section that shows this well is this bit
Notice that there is glitter on the PS3 and there is glitter on the PS4 but the glitter on the PS3 is only the most bright reflection and the PS4 version has a far better gradient.
So while you may be making the argument for artistic vision take into account that you may be arguing for a compromise/inaccuracy the developer had to make trying to model a physical effect.
Edit: Just played this and noticed the intensity does not randomly change with position so a lot of it more than likely is just specular. There are two effects.
I can't believe some people are opting for the PS3 version instead of the PS4 version. Aside from running at 60FPS which looks butter smooth, the PS4 version also runs at a higher resolution than the PS3 version, which IMO is a bigger difference than the glittering sand. Seems like some people just want console wars.
More importantly, are people even still playing Journey on PS3? Besides people from this thread, I mean. The game is still fantastic played solo, but the biggest advantage the PS4 version currently offers over the PS3 version isn't a graphical feature; it's that the servers are chock full of players.
Really? Well, that's another great reason to play on PS4, then. Really have no idea why some people prefer to stick to the PS3 version.
I mean, in a perfect world both versions would have players around at all times, but Journey on PS3 released in early 2012. The PS4 port probably encouraged a few people to dust off their PS3 copies again, but I can't imagine they'll stick around for long, and the numbers will certainly be tiny in comparison to the PS4.
Lord Panda
The Sea is Always Right
I fired it up last night and the first thing I noticed was that the sand didn't have that shiny granular look. Glad I wasn't going crazy and sad to see it gone.
I see nothing wrong with opting for the PS3 version if someone considers something to be better about the original. Not everything is console war. I don't understand people's hyperbole about it being one of the worst remasters though.Pure hyperbole. Game is not broken, game has good performance with double the framerate, IQ is twice as good and best of all it's free for most people to upgrade and own both. That and it's an acclaimed game. So all we're left with to label this as one of the worst remasters is missing glitter. Which seems bizarre to me. This is a solid game and a solid remaster. Most who own and played it get it free, those who haven't either get both versions of the game if they own a PS3 or a good performing good looking game if they didn't have PS3 last gen but now have a PS4. Opting for the PS3 version is a perfectly valid opinion though.
A few more comparison screens, from this video (disclaimer that the PS3 was captured in 720p but upres'd to 1080). Colour correction seems different:
(Best viewed without the quote tags)
(Best viewed without the quote tags)
biglittleps
Member
For me PS4 version looks better overall.
DirgeExtinction
Member
This may be all it is.
Cheeseman Battitude
Member
I'm still more interested in the PS3 version. I like the motion blur and it looks as if the glittering sand is a result of the lower resolution and gives an effect that lends itself to the game.
Yep. I got the meet 10 random strangers trophy in 1 and a half of playthrough. 2x fasrer than in ps3.
Oh, it's perfectly fine to opt for the PS3 version, especially if that person doesn't have a PS4, but it's ridiculous to opt for it just because of a few missing visual effects when the PS4 version has a higher res and much smoother frame rate.
Cheeseman Battitude
Member
Let's say McDonalds "improved" the Big Mac by making it twice as big but didn't put the special sauce on. I'd buy the original.
So the secret sauce of Journey is the larger effect of shining sands and motion blur?
lol
I didn't know you could taste the special sauce more than you can taste the patty. Maybe you should have a whole jar of sauce instead of that burger.
Cheeseman Battitude
Member
There's obviously more to the game than that but I was illustrating a point, again, quite obviously : /
PdotMichael
Banned
I would argue that the higher resolution and higher frame rate of the PS4 version are somethings you will feel instantly compared to the original PS3 version.
While the more subtle used effects aren't something you will see without comparing it to the PS3 version side-by-side.
It's a silly discussion at this point.
While the more subtle used effects aren't something you will see without comparing it to the PS3 version side-by-side.
It's a silly discussion at this point.
matrix-cat
Member
Yeah, not on board with that. Your job as a dev hired to remaster a game should be to preserve the original look at higher fidelity, not to go around 'improving' another developer's work at your own whims. They've taken it from a really distinctive artistic style to, like they said, just sand. Guess they won't be patching it then, if that's their attitude.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
Has there been a single port this gen that improved on the previously released version? Metro Last Light is the only that comes to mind, but apart from that, absolutely nothing else. What an awful porting job all around publishers, christ.
Brad Grenz
Member
So they should have artificially rendered things at a lower resolution to preserve the chunkiness of the original effect? That's absurd. You think thatgamecompany wasn't involved and didn't approve of the new version? They've done exactly what you've asked for, presented the same game at a higher fidelity in both resolution, frame rate and effects. The game looks immaculate. Even DF's claims that the anti-aliasing is substandard strike me as preposterous. The presentation is impeccable and the game is as powerful as ever. If you want to play it in the original form, it's still there on PS3.
I don't think the changes that were made were decided independently and it's quite likely it was approved by J Chen as well.
But the whole comment says they worked hard to preserve the original look at higher fidelity and framerate, they very clearly didn't go around changing things on a whim. The whole point was that the original sand texture was actually a compromise due to PS3 hardware and they wanted the sand to look like sand.
This is a bit glib. I can think of a good deal of ports/remasters that are improved over the originals from last gen.
Brad Grenz
Member
God of War 3
Journey
The Last of Us
DmC
Devil May Cry 4
Metro 2033 & Last Light
Flower
InJustice
Final Fantasy XIV
as of the latest patch: Ultra Street Fighter 4
matrix-cat
Member
They should have done whatever they needed to do to make the PS4 game look like a 1080p, 60FPS version of the PS3 one, down to the very last detail. By simply increasing the resolution of the sparkly sand effect, they've effectively made it much more subtle and noticeably changed the look of the game, so yeah, I think they should have done it differently.
Frankly, I don't think that matters. That original compromise led to a really distinctive and well-loved visual style which has been changed (for the worse, in my opinion) in the remastered version.
And we are back to subjectivity, halo ruined by one person is another's looking way better. So it's all subjective?.
Brad Grenz
Member
And we know just how out of place subtlety is in a game like Journey...
The Last of Us Remastered absolutely shits on and mops the floor with the PS3 release. GTA5 PS3 -> PS4 is also a pretty nice bump.
Dr_Biscuit
Banned
I understand the choice to remove the motion blur but I would prefer to let the player choose with an option.
I disagree, of course it matters. There would be no point of a remaster then because you could argue that 30fps gives it a distinctive look, that 720p poor aliasing/shimmering etc is part of the original vision. There is a distinct difference between hardware compromise and artistic vision.
Stilton Disco
Member
I decided since my PS3 and PS4 are hooked up to the same TV, with the same display settings, to actually compare the two myself.
PS4 looks and plays better, hands down for me. There's small differences, sure, but DF seems to be making a mountain out of a molehill on this one IMO.
PS4 looks and plays better, hands down for me. There's small differences, sure, but DF seems to be making a mountain out of a molehill on this one IMO.
CaptainGyro
Banned
Huh that's weird. Maybe it's because I played the ps4 version on a 55 inch 1080p tv and the ps3 version on a 37 inch 720p tv, but the blue sand really caught my eye/ stuck out to me more in the ps4 version compared to the ps3 version
ShadowKingpin
Member
Exactly. The game looks incredible and plays very, very well.