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Best Weather Effects in a Game

Uncharted 4 looks pretty great.

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Jacknapes

Member
Witcher 3 had some great weather effects, but for me Driveclub takes the top vote.

Have to mention MGSV, Arkham Knight and inFamous: Second Son. GTA V's weather on the PS4/XOne looks just as pretty.
 

rainz

Member
I know its not as technically impressive as Driveclub but I've always loved Forza Horizon 2's weather... Just something about the way a storm comes on and the way it goes back to sunlight/dries out afterwards. The feeling of it is really captured for me.
 

Ourobolus

Banned
I don't think I would consider it the best, technically, but man, storms in Morrowind were just incredible to me. Just wandering around during a thunderstorm was simply the BEST.

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Witcher 3 had some great weather effects, but for me Driveclub takes the top vote.

Have to mention MGSV, Arkham Knight and inFamous: Second Son. GTA V's weather on the PS4/XOne looks just as pretty.
GTA V is general doesn't have too special of weather IMO (and I'm a huuuuuuuge 1000+ hours plus GTAV fan that still loves the 'mood' of weather in the game) cuz a lot of it you can still tell was designed for PS3

but the one thing in GTA V that does looks amazing IMO even compared to other top new games is rain in LS at night anytime your downtown and there's a dozen different traffic light and neon light sources all reflecting off the rain puddles. game has probably one of the most beautiful 'rainy city at night' in a game.

in general, example below with rain, GTA V probably comes closest of any game to capturing that Michael Mann esque 'Los Angeles at night' feel

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

mostly referring to the ending 'shot' of the LS nightscape... add in the rain and some of the scenes feel shot right out of Collateral or the Heat intro or something
 

leng jai

Member
A crucial aspect of weather is the sound design attached to it. As good as Arkham Knight's rain looked the audio feedback for it was pretty pedestrian. The Witcher 3's storms sound incredibly enveloping with its rustling leaves, howling winds and dripping effects. RDR's storms were literally thunderous sounding and some of the deepest bass I've ever heard in a game (GTA5 was a big downgrade here). Mad Max's sandstorms were downright scary with how aggressive the wind and debris sounded.
 

SpotAnime

Member
Driveclub and Uncharted 4's rain sequence. Absolutely incredible!

MGS2's tanker weather was impressive for a game released in 2001. 1 year into the PS2's life cycle.

V53Bo8l.gif

To this day I feel like MGS2 captures the feeling of a Nor'Easter like no other game.

A co-worker once said to me when it rains like that, New York makes it's own gravy. So true.
 

Javin98

Banned
A ton of people mention stuff like Uncharted. yea that level looked amazing, but its not a dynamic weather built into the game world. I just can't consider it in the same way as driveclub or FH3.
Well, then, if we want to stick strictly to dynamic weather, a lot of the games mentioned wouldn't apply here. Batman Arkham Knight, Uncharted 4, Infamous Second Son, Metro Redux, MGS2 all have scripted weather systems. Hell, even Forza 6 doesn't have dynamic weather. OP didn't specify that he was referring to dynamic weather only.
 
This is an easy Driveclub pick for me. It's been the most impressive out of any game I've played.

I'll also give a nod to TW3, whose rain made the experience so much more enjoyable then daytime.
 

The Rizza

Member
100% with you on Mad Max. First time one of those storms came along I was blown away. More recently, the rain section of Uncharted 4 was pretty impressive. But man, the storms in Mad Max have caused me to press the share button a few times
 
I think DC is more impressive according to the fact that its clouds are volumetric, not Forza3.

Aren't the clouds in Forza Horizon 3 volumetric as well?

Either way it's really impressive to see all this in an open world driving game, likewise I'm still blown away whenever I see DriveClub 3's weather in action. Especially the windscreen wipers.
 

xion4360

Member
Well, then, if we want to stick strictly to dynamic weather, a lot of the games mentioned wouldn't apply here. Batman Arkham Knight, Uncharted 4, Infamous Second Son, Metro Redux, MGS2 all have scripted weather systems. Hell, even Forza 6 doesn't have dynamic weather. OP didn't specify that he was referring to dynamic weather only.

OP didnt and of course they count as 'weather effects in a game' its just for me personally I cant help but be more impressed by dynamic weather because of its changing nature. Seems easier to have uncharted 4's rainy level be amazing as it as all designed to look the way it looks, where in driveclub its all these different simulations working, and the sheer variety of how any one track can look at different times not just a particular scene.

Thats just my opinion. Aside from DC It would be Uncharted 4's storm and ROTTR's blizzard.
 

shandy706

Member
I think DC is more impressive according to the fact that its clouds are volumetric, not Forza3.

Being volumetric doesn't mean it looks better or more realistic. Impressive in the fact that it IS volumetric I suppose, but not necessarily the most convincing. I believe Playground games actually videotaped days (weeks?) of cloud formations, night skies, storms, etc... in Australia for Horizon and used them to create some kind of dynamic "real" clouds. The sky is literally a real sky...hard to beat a real sky at being real or convincing. Haha
 

bennibop

Member
Being volumetric doesn't mean it looks better or more realistic. Impressive in the fact that it IS volumetric I suppose, but not necessarily the most convincing. I believe Playground games actually videotaped days (weeks?) of cloud formations, night skies, storms, etc... in Australia for Horizon and used them to create some kind of dynamic "real" clouds. The sky is literally a real sky...hard to beat a real sky at being real or convincing. Haha

You are right Evolution probably never bothered doing the same..lol
 
Putting my name in for The Division. When doing anything at street level the time of day and local weather has significant impacts on combat situations. The other day I was testing out a sniper build and a thick blizzard rolled in mid-mission completely obscuring my view. The particular mission has you defending a bridge and the long run-up to your location lets you pick guys off well enough that you don't get overrun. The weather basically turned it into close quartered combat, which was considerably more harrowing.
 

leng jai

Member
Putting my name in for The Division. When doing anything at street level the time of day and local weather has significant impacts on combat situations. The other day I was testing out a sniper build and a thick blizzard rolled in mid-mission completely obscuring my view. The particular mission has you defending a bridge and the long run-up to your location lets you pick guys off well enough that you don't get overrun. The weather basically turned it into close quartered combat, which was considerably more harrowing.

It's bemusing to me that the game has amazing snow tech but then somehow it omits rain altogether.
 
It's bemusing to me that the game has amazing snow tech but then somehow it omits rain altogether.
Agreed, especially since when it's NOT snowing and it's a sunny day, the half-melted stuff on the roads and objects look absolutely convincing. They've got the "wet tech" down, but maybe the rain was just too much for the engine? Who knows.
 

Thabass

Member
MhEjmuC.jpg


I've always liked when it rained at Mother Base at night in MGSV because it always gave me a sense of The Big Shell at night and rain. I always loved the atmosphere of it.

Also: DriveClub the thread.
Also also: Red Dead Redemption had the best thunderstorms of any video game ever.
 
Lol fair. Was arrogant of me to assume everyone has played it. Everyone who has though doesn't need a better jpeg.

As long as you don't look at the horribly bad 2D Mist clouds that come off the cliffs in that scene... the rain looks gorgeous, but the effects on the ground yeeesh. (maybe it was a lightning bug, wouldn't be the only one in this game)
 

SomTervo

Member
The game I'm helping with - The Solus Project - has some pretty intense weather effects which directly impact gameplay.

- whenever a storm rolls in you often get a tornado too - terrifying, huge things that can pick you up and toss you really far (probably but not always killing you)
- large-scale meteor showers at random, with genuinely fatal explosive impacts
- thick hailstones which can hurt you
- nights are freezing and days are boiling (complete with heat effects, panting in high heat, etc)
- high winds make you colder
- tides rise and lower, sometimes impacting travel or gameplay situations

Apparently tornadoes in VR are a sight (and sound) to behold
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I feel like the best Drive Club weather gifs havent been posted yet. The game looks its best when there is snow during daytime. Rain effects are cool, but snow accumulates on trees and is a bit thicker than rain drops which gives it an even better look.

OHkvN9S.gif


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I also like how rain makes the most mediocre looking india levels the best looking levels in the game.

5012060_driveclubs-insane-weather-update-makes_t11dfd82.gif


Truly remarkable stuff. Batman AK, Need For Speed, Uncharted 4 Chapter 13 and GTAV look amazing too.
 
1 zillion" screen? o_O

It's a projector-screen, of course.

Which makes Driveclub even more impressive, considering how imperfections are amplified by a big screen.

Another game that has great weather effects I've recently been playing is Submerged. It's technically out-dated (it's a small game) but it can pull off some good sights, having a full day-night cycle and dynamic weather.
 

Tosyn_88

Member
It's all a matter of preference but objectively speaking Driveclub runs a dedicated weather simulation so it's no surprise it has the best of the lot. In terms of preference, I much prefer how it's used in MGSV
 
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