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[LMJ]

Even if it was downgraded slightly, why does this matter exactly? The game looked amazing in the latest footage.

True enough (again that fire effect)

The game LOOKS incredible from and artistic and graphic standpoint

They need to drastically improve the structure of the gameplay in the new game.
Everyone knows why they scolded the first
The second time around, it's an interesting concept and some psychologism won't save it if the gameplay doesn't improve significantly.

Bingo, they need to improve upon the weakness of the first while expanding everything else, AKA it can't just be pretty but fun too lol

And yeah, this trailer told me nothing except it looks pretty (amazing actually), but it looked almost like very little tangible gameplay,...

Prove me right NT, prove me right

 

[RJMacready73]

Mentioned before but there's too much lens fuckery in the demo. It is impressive and definitely screams Next Gen but the IMO overuse of certain things like lens blur and chromatic abberation takes away from the visual flair.
There was none of this present in the first Hellblade 2 trailer which to this day is the most impressive graphics I've seen alongside the Matrix Awakens.

Look at that fucking forehead vein just popping out of her skull. What are the chances she's chanting to reduce the inflammation of her hemorrhoids so she can take a shit?

VS

Less detail in her face. Forehead vein? Might be lighting here but the above image is better than this one. Not by much but there's a difference for sure.

both look incredible, the top looks more horror the bottom more realistic, this is so obviously an artistic and stylistic change more so than a downgrade imo, the original trailer looked incredible, this new trailer looked incredible... how in this day and age muppets are still comparing new footage to old and whining downgrade when shit changes over the course of a year not just technically but from an overall astestic, i personally think it was the trailer of the show imo and as a PS5 owner im well jealous you guys get this day 1 on gamepass whereas Sony would charge me fucking £70 for it + £10 for the PS5 upgrade

 

[Black_Stride]

They need to drastically improve the structure of the gameplay in the new game.
Everyone knows why they scolded the first
The second time around, it's an interesting concept and some psychologism won't save it if the gameplay doesn't improve significantly.

Its not a beat em up its was never sold as a beat em up....should they improve the combat if theres a bunch of combat absolutely does it need to go full God of War absolutely not.
The genre of the game doesnt have to conform to whatever you want it to be, its up to the developers.
The experience is what made the first game great....I honestly dont even remember what the combat system was, block, attack(hold for heavy) and roll only I think.
But I remember multiple moments from the game that stuck with me.

If this game gives me more of that then im sold.
When I want to play a beat em up....ill get a beat em up.

 

[Clear]

Tell me more arm chair developer. Ninja theory is great at this type of tech they’ve been doing it since heavenly sword. This is their Vision why the tin foil hat that they’re creating this because they’re masking tech limitations ? Also this is one of the first games we are seeing thats built for just next generation from first party.

No armchair dev, did it professionally for years and I know what I'm talking about.

Let me just spell this out for you: In game dev nothing is free. Everything you do is subtractive to the finite resources of the target hardware profile. You have a vision and you seek to deliver that vision within those limitations, and as a result maximum impact for minimum cost is always the best option. Because it leaves you with headroom spare to do more on top, and there's always more you can do time permitting.

What you see as criticism on my part is actually admiration for making lots of smart creative choices. Creating something visually impressive isn't that hard, doing it economically and efficiently is the challenging part. And that's not just down to having access to the best tech, its knowing where to spend your resources and where not, which elements add the most "value", where you can dial it back to save render and production time and so forth.

Making every element the "best it can be" is not efficient, and ultimately can cause lots of problems in the long run because ultimately there's always a hard limit.

 

[leizzra]

I'll write this only once as someone wanted anyone to pinpoint the differences. The most obvious is lighting quality (with it the shadows) and post process - 2019 trailer had fidelity of CGI productions, this don't. Look at the shadows softness, fine details on her bandana, how different light sources blends. Moreover subsurface scattering is not so great. In 2019 skin looked more lifelike (I don't think it was Subsurface Profile which is a popular solution for some time). Here we have somthing more in line with games nowedays, more subtle, not so defined, 'meaty'. Also Senua had more loose hairs that made the impression of realism even more. Facial animations where more detailed and lifelike - all the details in eyes movement, mouth area (mouth corners, how they react). It looks like muscles are working underneth the skin (jaws, cheeks). We don't have it here. This is strange because it should be done through blend shapes so it transfers to cut-scenes. Muscles systems are common in CGI movie productions. For the environment - look at the camera flyby and the ground - it looks flat especially at the distance. It's because of many of rocks are missing and you can clearly see when they are vanishing in the distance. In the end it seems that they maybe have worse quality in regards to shaders and lighting because of seamless transitions - just like in God of War, they can't do some fancy stuff because they don't have a camera cut. So it needs to be a gameplay ready quality, at least for first parts of the cut-scenes. In the end it really is a drastic difference. BUT still it looks good. And now I'm conviced that I'm looking at real deal. Really, accept it, there's nothing wrong with it. They made trailer in 2019 propably on high end PC (I don't think it was outside of Unreal, because it can output cinematic quality) and this is how it works with new generation of hardware. Good thing is that they are working closly with Epic on this. It'll be one of Unreal Engine showcases so they have great support. I'm writing all of this not only as an enthusiast but also as an chartacter artis working at the game industry.

 

[LeftThumbstick]

Mentioned before but there's too much lens fuckery in the demo. It is impressive and definitely screams Next Gen but the IMO overuse of certain things like lens blur and chromatic abberation takes away from the visual flair.
There was none of this present in the first Hellblade 2 trailer which to this day is the most impressive graphics I've seen alongside the Matrix Awakens.

Look at that fucking forehead vein just popping out of her skull. What are the chances she's chanting to reduce the inflammation of her hemorrhoids so she can take a shit?

VS

Less detail in her face. Forehead vein? Might be lighting here but the above image is better than this one. Not by much but there's a difference for sure.

I’d say it’s more to do with the environment change in the scene. In the original trailer she’s in an area where fire is making a lot of light happen and it is shading senua different from the screenshot below.

The first screenshot is much further zoomed in to her face and also has a sharper focus on Senua while the background is heavily blurred in comparison to the second shot. In the second shot there is less blur in the background meaning less sharper focus on just her face too, like 50/50 mix on focus.

Since there isn’t a release date yet (probably coming at E3), I’d bet they still have plenty time to make in-game match the “in-engine” shot.

that said, it looks so good that any live reaction I saw couldn’t even tell when it was switching between cutscene and gameplay. That’s an achievement on its own.

 

[GymWolf]

I'm the first one who says that the game look incredible and it was the best graphical showcase of the entire show, but the face is CLEARLY downgraded compared to that teaser when she scream.

 

[MonarchJT]

The shit literally looks real, and people are still like, downgrade and what about Alloy? Fuck outta here! lol

this

 

[bob_mugabe]

Apparently, the game would look much better to the eyes of many if it was multiplatform.

 

[rodrigolfp]

So. Is there another video where everything is not blurry???

 

[Gavon West]

both look incredible, the top looks more horror the bottom more realistic, this is so obviously an artistic and stylistic change more so than a downgrade imo, the original trailer looked incredible, this new trailer looked incredible... how in this day and age muppets are still comparing new footage to old and whining downgrade when shit changes over the course of a year not just technically but from an overall astestic, i personally think it was the trailer of the show imo and as a PS5 owner im well jealous you guys get this day 1 on gamepass whereas Sony would charge me fucking £70 for it + £10 for the PS5 upgrade

Correction; Sony won't be charging anything. In fact, they will freely advise you buy a Series X and sub to gamepass to play it. This one is a 1st party XGS banger.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Is Hellblade using TSR?

 

[Insane Metal]

Is there a better video source than that badly compressed YT video?

 

[WitchHunter]

I was also talking about the chipmunk PHDs who advised for the first game, and they got multiple awards and acclaim for their work. For HB2 they also brought in actual patients with first hand experience with psychosis as consultants, we should be in good hands. Point is, they obviously know what they are doing, so asking them to tone anything down is kinda silly. Depicted mental disorders/psychosis is sort of meant to make you feel uncomfortable (and even cringe) and I trust NT to do this justice again, so we should just "let" them tell the story their way.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Is there a better video source than that badly compressed YT video?

I looked around and couldn't find one. Looks like Ninja Theory doesn't put the video up on their site for direct download.

 

[John Wick]

Attention: Colin Moriarty.

This is why.

This is why Microsoft bought Ninja Theory.

Un fucking believable.

WTF where you watching?

 

[Black_Stride]

Is Hellblade using TSR?

I dont think youll find one Unreal Engine 5 game going forward that isnt using TSR.
Its too cheap an option to NOT use.

Even smaller games that can hit a native 4K will TSR to 5K or whatever cuz its too cheap and embedded in the engine to not use.
Think of it like how TAA and TAAU were in pretty much every Unreal Engine 4 game once TAA and TAAU were part of the Unreal main branch.
The current version of UE5ea has TSR so every dev has access to that version and wont be using an old branch.

 

[Black_Stride]

So. Is there another video where everything is not blurry???

The trailer from 2019?
The depth of field in this trailer is intense and Ninja Theory havent released to the public atleast a direct feed version of the trailer.

 

[rodrigolfp]

The trailer from 2019?
The depth of field in this trailer is intense and Ninja Theory havent released to the public atleast a direct feed version of the trailer.

No. The one from this thread. 2019 one is sharp.

 

[Silent Viper]

I wonder how many negative comments Hellblade II would have if it was a full cross-platform game and not owned by Microsoft.

Zero.


People would have gone nuts especially PS audience since 1st game was timed exclusive

 

[Silent Viper]

No. The one from this thread. 2019 one is sharp.

2019 was target render created using UE not real time or ingame

 

[SenjutsuSage]

I chuckle to myself whenever people do screen grabs (sometimes lower resolution ones) of things meant to be shown in motion and at higher resolutions due to how the post processing and other effects have been used in the scenes, and then use those still grabs with all that visual noise to claim something has been downgraded.

The reason her face is clearer in the original trailer is because that's how they made it.

Want to see an example of when they don't want her face to be as clear, and are using all kinds of post process and effects? All from the original trailer. How many, using the stills I grabbed, would refer to this as a downgrade had they shown this scene not in the original trailer, but during this gameplay segment?

 

[Black_Stride]

No. The one from this thread. 2019 one is sharp.

The depth of field in this trailer is intense and Ninja Theory havent released to the public atleast a direct feed version of the trailer.

,

 

[rodrigolfp]

Zero.


People would have gone nuts especially PS audience since 1st game was timed exclusive

No. It was PC and PS4 day 1.

2019 was target render created using UE not real time or ingame

What this has anything to do with this one being blurry as hell?

,

Depth of field should not affect the entire screen, even her face...

 

[SenjutsuSage]

And considering the size of this thread, Hellblade II certainly left an impact lol.

 

[Black_Stride]

Depth of field should not affect the entire screen, even her face...

Its super shallow but you can see the focal points.
When you get the game just turn off depth of field, motion blur and film grain....perfectly sharp the whole image through.

The first game also had really shallow depth of field for intense moments....its likely stylistic to impress upon us the claustrophobic feeling Senua has in these moments, I doubt the whole game will have DOF this shallow....that would fuck up your eyes no doubt.
It could even have just been turned up to 1million for the trailer but final isnt as intense.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Its super shallow but you can see the focal points.
When you get the game just turn off depth of field, motion blur and film grain....perfectly sharp the whole image through.

The first game also had really shallow depth of field for intense moments....its likely stylistic to impress upon us the claustrophobic feeling Senua has in these moments, I doubt the whole game will have DOF this shallow....that would fuck up your eyes no doubt.
It could even have just been turned up to 1million for the trailer but final isnt as intense.

Hmm. These are better shots. Indeed this can be just insane DoF. I will turn this shit off like always...

 

[remember_spinal]

im not even sure why hellblade 2 is being compared to horizon. one is coming out in two months and is cross-gen.

sony will have more ps5 games in 2023/2024 when this comes out to rightfully compare it to

 

[T0minator]

Zero.


People would have gone nuts especially PS audience since 1st game was timed exclusive

It definitely would have had negative comments either way. That's just how it is in this industry.

If it was a Sony game people would be yelling from the roof tops how it doesn't have "actual gameplay" and it's too cinematic and they want to play a game not watch it. Each of those statements would end with "" like most trolls use at the end of their comments

There's no satisfying gamers from either end. It's always filled with people bashing the "opposing" console and gamers feel the need to defend their purchase.

So yea, 100% it would get negative comments either way

 

[Negotiator101]

The gameplay style of Hellblade 2 will be very similar to the gameplay structure of The Order 1886.
Cinematic cutscenes with spurts of gameplay.

Are you trying to troll on purpose? Tread carefully my friend, mods aren't playing around anymore.

 

[Negotiator101]

I'll write this only once as someone wanted anyone to pinpoint the differences. The most obvious is lighting quality (with it the shadows) and post process - 2019 trailer had fidelity of CGI productions, this don't. Look at the shadows softness, fine details on her bandana, how different light sources blends. Moreover subsurface scattering is not so great. In 2019 skin looked more lifelike (I don't think it was Subsurface Profile which is a popular solution for some time). Here we have somthing more in line with games nowedays, more subtle, not so defined, 'meaty'. Also Senua had more loose hairs that made the impression of realism even more. Facial animations where more detailed and lifelike - all the details in eyes movement, mouth area (mouth corners, how they react). It looks like muscles are working underneth the skin (jaws, cheeks). We don't have it here. This is strange because it should be done through blend shapes so it transfers to cut-scenes. Muscles systems are common in CGI movie productions. For the environment - look at the camera flyby and the ground - it looks flat especially at the distance. It's because of many of rocks are missing and you can clearly see when they are vanishing in the distance. In the end it seems that they maybe have worse quality in regards to shaders and lighting because of seamless transitions - just like in God of War, they can't do some fancy stuff because they don't have a camera cut. So it needs to be a gameplay ready quality, at least for first parts of the cut-scenes. In the end it really is a drastic difference. BUT still it looks good. And now I'm conviced that I'm looking at real deal. Really, accept it, there's nothing wrong with it. They made trailer in 2019 propably on high end PC (I don't think it was outside of Unreal, because it can output cinematic quality) and this is how it works with new generation of hardware. Good thing is that they are working closly with Epic on this. It'll be one of Unreal Engine showcases so they have great support. I'm writing all of this not only as an enthusiast but also as an chartacter artis working at the game industry.

Paragraphs are your friend.

 

[DForce]

im not even sure why hellblade 2 is being compared to horizon. one is coming out in two months and is cross-gen.

sony will have more ps5 games in 2023/2024 when this comes out to rightfully compare it to

If the last Horizon trailer is any indicator of how it's going to look int he final product, then I would argue that the model detail is actaully better.

 

[Negotiator101]

If the last Horizon trailer is any indicator of how it's going to look int he final product, then I would argue that the model detail is actaully better.

Actually better than what?

 

[Mister Wolf]

Actually better than what?

I hope they not saying better than Hellblade.

 

[DForce]

Actually better than what?

Than HB2

 

[Negotiator101]

Than HB2

I hope you're not being serious?

 

[Negotiator101]

I hope they not saying better than Hellblade.

We've now moved into the realm of the absurd

 

[DForce]

I hope you're not being serious?

I am, but you can explain to me why the character model is not.

 

[Negotiator101]

I am, but you can explain to me why the character model is not.

Well I have eyes and 20/20 vision. The HB2 model is a generation ahead of HFW Aloy, higher quality facial expressions, better motion capture. Far better hair and cloth physics, much better lighting. I'm not sure what you're even looking at? The only in game character models we've seen comparable to HB2 is the Matrix demo.

 

[Gravemind]

If the last Horizon trailer is any indicator of how it's going to look int he final product, then I would argue that the model detail is actaully better.

My god. Just stop, man.

Please.

 

[DForce]

Well I have eyes and 20/20 vision. The HB2 model is a generation ahead of HFW Aloy, higher quality facial expressions, better motion capture. Far better hair and cloth physics, much better lighting. I'm not sure what you're even looking at? The only in game character models we've seen comparable to HB2 is the Matrix demo.

Lighting is based on the enviorment that the character is in. The actual model and surface shaders will react to the lighting within the enviorment.

You can disagree without being combative, but I don't personally see it. Aloy face model has hair follicles that are present on her skin and eyebrows. Often characters have eyebrows that are just part of the skin texture, but they're actually individually modeled. It's very easy to see since she has very thick eyebrows. The hair follicles are also easy to see, which can be seen under her chin, cheeks, under her lips, and around her nose (you can see it poking around the nostril area)

The face pait is very similar to HB2, but the cracks add more depth, which is mostly present under her eyes and near her cheek/mouth. It is an earlier build while HFW is releasing in a few months, but as it stands right now, I just don't see how it's a generation ahead.

 

[Gavon West]

It definitely would have had negative comments either way. That's just how it is in this industry.

If it was a Sony game people would be yelling from the roof tops how it doesn't have "actual gameplay" and it's too cinematic and they want to play a game not watch it. Each of those statements would end with "" like most trolls use at the end of their comments

There's no satisfying gamers from either end. It's always filled with people bashing the "opposing" console and gamers feel the need to defend their purchase.

So yea, 100% it would get negative comments either way

TF?? LOL! Why you be lying my dude?? You know damn well...

 

[T0minator]

TF?? LOL! Why you be lying my dude?? You know damn well...

Care to explain what was so funny about my comment and what I should "know damn well"

 

[Sacred]

Lighting is based on the enviorment that the character is in. The actual model and surface shaders will react to the lighting within the enviorment.

You can disagree without being combative, but I don't personally see it. Aloy face model has hair follicles that are present on her skin and eyebrows. Often characters have eyebrows that are just part of the skin texture, but they're actually individually modeled. It's very easy to see since she has very thick eyebrows. The hair follicles are also easy to see, which can be seen under her chin, cheeks, under her lips, and around her nose (you can see it poking around the nostril area)

The face pait is very similar to HB2, but the cracks add more depth, which is mostly present under her eyes and near her cheek/mouth. It is an earlier build while HFW is releasing in a few months, but as it stands right now, I just don't see how it's a generation ahead.

This is a Hellblade 2 thread, stop making baseless and ridiculous comparisons with a Playstation game. You will not last long here if you keep doing this.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Well I have eyes and 20/20 vision. The HB2 model is a generation ahead of HFW Aloy, higher quality facial expressions, better motion capture. Far better hair and cloth physics, much better lighting. I'm not sure what you're even looking at? The only in game character models we've seen comparable to HB2 is the Matrix demo.

Why even compare these two games.
One is a cross gen game and the other a next gen exclusive.
One is open world and the other linear.

I mean, FUCK...

 

[DForce]

This is a Hellblade 2 thread, stop making baseless and ridiculous comparisons with a Playstation game. You will not last long here if you keep doing this.

Someone said it was a cross-gen game, I disagreed that it doesn't matter if its cross-gen or not and I gave my opinion. If you disagree then that's on you.

 

[Hayabusabruh]

Hellblade 2 vs Horizon Forbidden West
Or
Unreal Engine 5 Matrix Awakens demo vs watch Dogs Legion.

 

[xPikYx]

Many compared just the model of Senua with the initial trailer but what about the rest?

Anyway after the matrix this is the first absolute example of next gen, finally people can understand what I meant when I was saying that so far everything was underwhelming, but finally next gen is kickin in, I think if this is the level the next gen 8s reaching PS6 will surely be affected by diminishing return

Now we have a proper fuckin generational leap like Killzone Shadow fall

 

[SlimySnake]

I cant get over how good the fire effects are in this game, and how well the lighting engine 'retains' the glow of it. Those little smoke and fog particles remain illuminated even after the fire is extinguished. Just like they would in a well-lit movie. This is hollywood quality stuff.

Many compared just the model of Senua with the initial trailer but what about the rest?

Anyway after the matrix this is the first absolute example of next gen, finally people can understand what I meant when I was saying that so far everything was underwhelming, but finally next gen is kickin in, I think if this is the level the next gen 8s reaching PS6 will surely be affected by diminishing return

Now we have a proper fuckin generational leap like Killzone Shadow fall

Fuck me, the lighting is a massive leap. It's crazy how dull and drab the lighting has been in last gen games. We really missed realtime GI this gen.

Her character model is also a massive leap over the original which looks kinda bad now lol

 

[xPikYx]

Yeah and also animations are on another level too