Have we hit the graphics ceiling this gen?

[mr stroke]

will anything look this good from here on out?


Is current tech able to produce anything better than what is currently out?(console) while there are some coming games in the next year that look good(nothing that better than Uncharted 2) is there anything in the foreseeable future that will push graphics or are we at the ceiling?

 

[imtehman]

alan wake? Crysis 2 maybe? rage?

Oh i get it, its one of those threads

 

[Wes]

Personally, I still think there's room for a loft conversion.

 

[SolidSnakex]

ND has already said that they can do better than U2.

 

[elrechazado]

hay guyz, I like uncharted, and want to make a post about how awesome its graphics are, because there is no official thread to talk about that in

fixed

Anyway, insert the 20+ quotes from devs from the last 4 years talking about how they've maxed these various consoles out. Yawn.

 

[Speevy]

I don't think anything will come out for consoles that will make Uncharted 2 look dated, if that's what you mean.

 

[NIGHT-]

Rage looks amazing and puts linear games to shame graphically.

 

[Yoshichan]

U2 isn't even the best looking game this gen. KZ2 achieves that.

 

[Zeliard]

fixed

Anyway, insert the 20+ quotes from devs from the last 4 years talking about how they've maxed these various consoles out. Yawn.

One of the key aspects however is the processing power of the PS3. Amy stated that initially the SPU’s inside their respective SPE’s were running about 30% capacity. This was due to more working being done by the PPE (and possibly the RSX) and less by the SPU’s. Now however more work is being done by the SPU’s themselves which are primarily designed for heavy number crunching but can process other types of data as well (which is inline with tip1 for Cell/BE best practices) and the percentage of usage has been “maxed out” which is assumed to be 100% (although she didn’t actually state a hard number).

Evan Wells: This has been a very confusing point for a lot of people. What we said was the Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was using only 30% of the Cell processor, not 30% of the power of the PS3. There are 6 SPU’s on the Cell and it takes quite a bit of effort to keep them all busy 100% of the time. With the first Uncharted, we were only able to keep them from being idle, about 1/3 of the time. So when we started production on Uncharted 2, our programmers dove in and started moving more and more of our systems onto the SPU’s and by the end of the project we were able to hit 100% usage.

Here ya go. HUNERT PERCENT MAXED OUT

 

[Souldriver]

So how awesome is Uncharted?

 

[Ninman]

I'll wait for mass effect 2 and Final Fantasy XIII, after that, hardly any game can see a significant improvement.

 

[elrechazado]

U2 isn't even the best looking game this gen. KZ2 achieves that.

Clearly the only way to settle this is with pages upon pages of killzone and uncharted gifs. GO!

 

[Speevy]

U2 isn't even the best looking game this gen. KZ2 achieves that.

How about no.

 

[NIGHT-]

Clearly the only way to settle this is with pages upon pages of killzone and uncharted gifs. GO!

:lol :lol

 

[Zombie James]

will anything look this good from here on out?

Yeah, Uncharted 3.

 

[silverbullet1080]

No, not yet. Uncharted 2 looks great, but it's plain as day that it doesn't look real at all. No game short of Crysis on uber mods look realistic.

Spoiler

we hit a graphics wall when games start having round wheels on the fucking cars

 

[luka]

This again?

 

[Amir0x]

oh yah definitely diminishing returns

*pulls out Nintendo PR talking points*

 

[H_Prestige]

For the most part, I think we're way past the point where the mass market even notices, let alone gives a crap. You only need to look at the best selling systems this gen, or even the best selling games on ps3/360 to see that.

But I do think there are a few games where graphics still matter. Something like Gran Turismo has a heavy emphasis on visual performance and I think the fans of the series always look forward to that aspect of the games.

EDIT: nvm, I see you were merely referring to this gen's consoles specifically.

 

[Robot 492]

No, not even close.

 

[expy]

Wait until the generation is over, then we can truly define the "ceiling".

 

[SnakeXs]

There's no such thing.

 

[baultista]

I think that the consoles have just about topped out in terms of visual fidelity. There might be a little more to squeeze out of each system, but I don't think that you're going to see a drastic improvement. Remember that devs, from here on in, will almost always be maximizing the use of resources that these consoles provide. If they can find a way to use them more efficiently, they can do more and thus improve image quality.

To be honest, I'd gladly have devs tone down some of the game effects to get them running at a higher resolution. As a PC gamer (primarily), I'm pretty sensitive to low-resolution grot.

 

[Log4Girlz]

Well, I think the real question is that have console graphics become sub-standard and worn out their welcome. The answer IMO is no. I'm happy at the prospect that replacement platforms are at least another 2 or 3 years away, I want a full, undisputed 10x or more performance improvement to justify new hardware and software.

 

[Warm Machine]

No we haven't. The current crop of consoles can do more than what we have seen so far. It is just going to take all these new methodologies and exploiting them harder.

 

[Nizz]

Let's wait and see what Crysis 2 brings to the table on consoles. I've been trying to stay away from a lot of media but the full Uncharted 2 game must really look good!

I played the beta/demo but from the limited time I had with the maps it looked great. I imagine the single player campaign looks even more impressive...

 

[JustHadToJoin]

No, not yet. Uncharted 2 looks great, but it's plain as day that it doesn't look real at all. No game short of Crysis on uber mods look realistic.

Spoiler

we hit a graphics wall when games start having round wheels on the fucking cars

I saw this in another thread, I don't get it. Isn't having round wheels good?

 

[newsguy]

I'd like to believe we haven't, but hot damn Uncharted 2 blew my fucking mind.

 

[speedpop]

Not until a lot more companies begin to use proper animation rather than eye candy.

Am I also the only person who wasn't blown away by the graphics in Uncharted 2?

 

[Blizzard]

I saw this in another thread, I don't get it. Isn't having round wheels good?

Yes it is. He was pointing out that a lot of games that otherwise look good (like Crysis or Mirror's Edge) have really obvious "round" objects (like wheels and pipes) that aren't round, for polygon count/efficiency/lazy modeler/whatever reasons.

 

[Pimpbaa]

We are starting to see diminishing returns. But there is still room for lots of improvement, especially in regards to image quality.

 

[Zeliard]

I think that the consoles have just about topped out in terms of visual fidelity. There might be a little more to squeeze out of each system, but I don't think that you're going to see a drastic improvement. Remember that devs, from here on in, will almost always be maximizing the use of resources that these consoles provide. If they can find a way to use them more efficiently, they can do more and thus improve image quality.

To be honest, I'd gladly have devs tone down some of the game effects to get them running at a higher resolution. As a PC gamer (primarily), I'm pretty sensitive to low-resolution grot.

I wouldn't mind slightly less visual fidelity on consoles in return for a consistent 60 FPS for a few genres. Let the PC handle both high graphical quality and high framerates simultaneously - the consoles of this gen clearly have difficulty managing both, and I'd much rather they try to go for the latter since there has to be a compromise.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

nah. Uncharted 3 is going to look better than Uncharted 2.

 

[H_Prestige]

Not until a lot more companies begin to use proper animation rather than eye candy.

Am I also the only person who wasn't blown away by the graphics in Uncharted 2?

No. It's a nice looking game, but it doesn't wow me like KZ2 or GT5.

 

[DR2K]

Uncharted 3.

 

[Messypandas]

what would people consider the pinnacle game of PS2 and other consoles graphics, and how far into their life cycle were they just for comparison?

 

[baultista]

I wouldn't mind slightly less visual fidelity on consoles in return for a consistent 60 FPS for a few genres. Let the PC handle both high graphical quality and high framerates simultaneously - the consoles of this gen clearly have difficulty managing both, and I'd much rather they try to go for the latter since there has to be a compromise.

I agree.... I'll take 60fps at lower quality than bouncing between 10-30 with mind blowing graphics.

 

[EarsOfASnake]

what would people consider the pinnacle game of PS2 and other consoles graphics, and how far into their life cycle were they just for comparison?

Gamecube: RE4/Rogue Squadron 3
PS2: Black/GOW2
Xbox: Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I agree.... I'll take 60fps at lower quality than bouncing between 10-30 with mind blowing graphics.

or above all of that, I'd take a solid 30 with v-sync and mind-blowingly good visuals, like UC2

 

[newsguy]

I'd like to take a poll to see if the people who prefer KZ2's graphics to Uncharted 2's graphics see the full range of colors. Technically KZ2 may be superior but there's nothing that "pops" in that game.

 

[imtehman]

Gamecube: RE4/Rogue Squadron 3
PS2: SoTC
Xbox: Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

fixed

 

[baultista]

or above all of that, I'd take a solid 30 with v-sync, like UC2

30 w/ V-sync would create input lag, no?

I'm actually not too sensitive to image tearing in most games. Crysis drove me nuts on my PC, and PGR3 on my 360 was pretty bad as well.

 

[mr stroke]

what would people consider the pinnacle game of PS2 and other consoles graphics, and how far into their life cycle were they just for comparison?

ps2- God of War(2 looked great but nothing miles better than 1)

it feels like we have reached that GOW point. Little improvements but nothing night and day, even all the current engines are starting to look crusty(Unreal, Madden, Halo, etc)

 

[Deleted member 30609]

30 w/ V-sync would create input lag, no?

I'm actually not too sensitive to image tearing in most games. Crysis drove me nuts on my PC, and PGR3 on my 360 was pretty bad as well.

with triple-buffering? I think there technically is, but I find it mostly negligible when using a dual-analogue setup.

 

[imtehman]

fixed

Anyway, insert the 20+ quotes from devs from the last 4 years talking about how they've maxed these various consoles out. Yawn.

i like how the OP totally dismisses any games that look good coming out next year.

At least he's fighting the good fight

 

[elrechazado]

fixed

SOTC might be one of the most artistic games out there, but I think you'd be pretty lonely on the list of people who think that's the most technically advanced game on the ps2

 

[templeusox]

SOTC might be one of the most artistic games out there, but I think you'd be pretty lonely on the list of people who think that's the most technically advanced game on the ps2

that's incorrect

 

[SolidSnakex]

SOTC might be one of the most artistic games out there, but I think you'd be pretty lonely on the list of people who think that's the most technically advanced game on the ps2

This only shows that you don't know much about what SoTC is doing. SoTC, despite it's framerate problems, is one of the most technically advanced games on the system.

 

[Zeliard]

SOTC might be one of the most artistic games out there, but I think you'd be pretty lonely on the list of people who think that's the most technically advanced game on the ps2

SotC actually pushed a lot of tech, and it practically broke the PS2. It buckled under the weight.

 

[brain_stew]

Not even remotely close, the fact that Pixar still manage to make huge strides with each release should show you how crazy such a statement is.