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I'm crazy. I miss the "Dreamcast Look"
- Thread starter Wonko_C
- Start date
Also, the graphics in Border Break give me some strong Dreamcast vibes.
Border Break needs a proper console and/or PC port yesterday.
Thank you for this.
Mengy
wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Sega during the DC era was my favorite time in gaming. So many incredibly good games on the DC, many of which I still play to this day. I don't care if they aren't the most modern graphics today, they are still fun, fun games.
If the third party Sega of today was as productive as they were back in the DC era they would be a force to be reckoned with. Instead, they drastically shriveled up and withered into a shadow of their former glorious self.
Yeah, I miss Sega too.
The Albatross
Member
Sunset Overdrive reminds me of "the Dreamcast palette," with its bright colors, and stark, flat geometry.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
High framerates, interesting bright color pallets, and clean simple polygon art.
Some of us still remember.
RIP in pieces.
Was that Looney Tunes racer any good? I would love a next gen game like that.
''Expendable''
Sorry, I should abstain from posting when I'm waking up. D:
SEGA 3D games look amazing, they create with the idea that it's a game first and thus we get clean visuals, art styles and crazy awesome soundtracks.
It's not like N64/PS1 didn't have 2D games. I grew up with 3D titles and but I can see how fresh eyes will look back at PS1 era and see ugly games. I personally see a lot of creativity, passion, ideas and charm.
It's not like N64/PS1 didn't have 2D games. I grew up with 3D titles and but I can see how fresh eyes will look back at PS1 era and see ugly games. I personally see a lot of creativity, passion, ideas and charm.
The Dreamcast to me always had that quick arcade feel. Visuals were always very colorful, clean textures, and great music.
But above all was gameplay and how fun it was.
It's not so much what happened to games that look that that but games that look, play, and sound like that.
It's more like " I miss the Sega look" .
But above all was gameplay and how fun it was.
It's not so much what happened to games that look that that but games that look, play, and sound like that.
It's more like " I miss the Sega look" .
DryvBy
Member
What's crazy about the Yakuza games is that while they definitely don't look ultra-HD, the variety of textures of the characters they've built make the game feel like "cinematic" more than the excuse of 24fps. After a while of watching the cutscenes, I feel like I'm watching a good imported movie.
This is why I try and Yakuza beg to the west on Twitter as much as possible. Such a good series that I want to continue.
This is why I try and Yakuza beg to the west on Twitter as much as possible. Such a good series that I want to continue.
family_guy
Member
There's always Wii U.
jhmtehgamr20xx
Banned
There's a clear, clear difference between technical capability and artistic ability, so your statement is mostly only half true.
Altho there are artistically beautiful games like Vanillaware's stuff, Sunset Overdrive and Child of Light, Rime etc., they are few and far between compared to the # of artistically beautiful games we used to get.
I have only played titanfall on my xbox one but I have yet to play a ps4 game with shitty frame rate.
Are these games fairly successful worldwide and Japan. Nothing against them since they look like fun games but it boggles my mind sometimes that Sega can continue making Yakuza games, but won't fund anything to do with shenmue. Sure I want a shenmue 3, but an interactive story, or anime, or something to conclude this story!
So many legendary Naomi ports.
Crazy Taxi, Virtual On, etc. I feel like I could have continued to buy games from that era forever. The Dreamcast was a victum of unfortunate timing. I would have loved to have seen their follow-up console if they had had enough money to last that long.
Crazy Taxi, Virtual On, etc. I feel like I could have continued to buy games from that era forever. The Dreamcast was a victum of unfortunate timing. I would have loved to have seen their follow-up console if they had had enough money to last that long.
SneakyStephan
Banned
I'm with you op
all the color grading (turning everything into unicolor blandness, see bf3) and post process garbage is just noise that makes it harder to see what is going on
I too miss the days of clean looking colorful games where it was easy to see what is going on.
The first thing I do in modern games is turn off all the post process crap to try and win back some of the cleaner more functional look of the dreamcast era
all the color grading (turning everything into unicolor blandness, see bf3) and post process garbage is just noise that makes it harder to see what is going on
I too miss the days of clean looking colorful games where it was easy to see what is going on.
The first thing I do in modern games is turn off all the post process crap to try and win back some of the cleaner more functional look of the dreamcast era
djplaeskool
Member
I have to admit, I immediately missed the hard-hitting beats of Rez when playing Child of Eden. It completely lacked the punch needed to keep my attention.
Also, STILL waiting for Planet Harriers.
Anytime now Sega. Anytime.
Amazeballs
Member
The epitome of the Dreamcast aesthetic, IMO. You'd be hard pressed to find a game with the same amount of personality these days.
nkarafo
Member
Seriously, this. I'm sick of all these orange colored skies. Most 7th gen games look like they take part on Mars or something.
Emperor Bohe
Member
I know how you feel, OP.
I love how AM2's post-Dreamcast output retained the classic SEGA-look.
Also, the graphics in Border Break give me some strong Dreamcast vibes.
I've already been in love with VF5 & Outrun 2/2006/Live Arcade, but damn does After Burner Climax looks great. I'm gonna have to check it out, I've been sleeping. and I consider myself a Sega fan too, haha. shame on me.
lensoftruth
Member
JimiNutz
Banned
I think part of the reason that im so excited for Sunset Overdrive is because it gives me that Dreamcast feel.
Hate the way that lots of modern games look.
I grew up with it too, and sure there are some 3D games in that era that are great, but it's hard to go back and play the bulk of that era these days. Meanwhile 2d from that era holds up just fine...we could have waited a bit longer for 3D IMHO of course.
Tigersuperman
Banned
So PC?
Christopher
BDE (Big Dad Energy)
Skies of Arcadia is dreamcast feel
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
this comes close, I think.
(Endless Ocean 2, Wii, 2010)
I'll never feel more "immersed" in an RPG than SoA. That and Sonic Adventures will never age for me...
I still love the Gamecube look as well, they both have some kind of intangible feeling that just works for me. There's something about the texture models and poly count that worked so well with the lighting- it's primitive by today's standards, but they're so satisfying in their own way.
Newer gamers can never understand the feeling of seeing NFL2K or SA for the first time. It was the most jaw-dropping gaming experience I can recall, outside of my first time ever playing an arcade game on a 2600 (maybe Donkey Kong or Moon Patrol)
I know, that's like saying you saw Jesus on a piece of toast, but remember: this was the 80's.
Sega were the vanguard of video gaming cool in the Dreamcast era, everything had so much pop and fizz to it visually.
I remember using a crappy RF adapter for years with my Dreamcast and it still looked amazing. Upgraded to RGB then later VGA - MIND BLOWN.
I don't know what they used for the video encoder but it must have been something special.
I don't agree with the Gamecube comparison however, something about the hardware always produced very banded washed out colours even in RGB, likewise the Wii in component looked pretty shit. I think a lot of games were still coded with CRT's in mind and had the flicker filter on. The PS2 often used worse textures with lower colour counts to save memory space but the colours still resolved better due to the way the Gamecubes framebuffer was set up.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere the DC PowerVR did some tricks with its colour output so even in 16-bit colour mode it looked more vivid, kinda like the original Voodoo 2 which looked worse in direct screen captures before final output to screen.
I remember using a crappy RF adapter for years with my Dreamcast and it still looked amazing. Upgraded to RGB then later VGA - MIND BLOWN.
I don't know what they used for the video encoder but it must have been something special.
I don't agree with the Gamecube comparison however, something about the hardware always produced very banded washed out colours even in RGB, likewise the Wii in component looked pretty shit. I think a lot of games were still coded with CRT's in mind and had the flicker filter on. The PS2 often used worse textures with lower colour counts to save memory space but the colours still resolved better due to the way the Gamecubes framebuffer was set up.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere the DC PowerVR did some tricks with its colour output so even in 16-bit colour mode it looked more vivid, kinda like the original Voodoo 2 which looked worse in direct screen captures before final output to screen.
DryvBy
Member
I don't think Yakuza is really popular outside of Japan. I wish it were. I think with streaming these days on consoles, more people would discover it. I was told about it because I love Shenmue. It's the closest thing I had, and now SEGA won't put the newer games in other countries. So lame.
I'm certain Shenmue will eventually hit. I think with the internet and Twitter support rising up, we'll get precious Shenmue HD/2/3 once SEGA figures out how to use the internet.
ComputerMKII
Banned
I know how you feel, OP.
I love how AM2's post-Dreamcast output retained the classic SEGA-look.
Also, the graphics in Border Break give me some strong Dreamcast vibes.
All those saturated colors *_*
MagnaderAlpha
Member
I think the problem with the "realistic approach" is that their perspective on "realism" is skewed. I think people start to think "realism" equals "dark, gritty, desaturated" looking art directions. Realism, as in the look of the REAL world, REAL life, has a wide array of colors. Life IS color. I think, sometimes people bank too much on mood = art direction. If we are going by ultra realistic standards, bad, horrible things happen while our world remains as bright and colorful as ever. The skies don't cease being bright blue, grass don't turn pale green. If anything, that shows the realism of actuality, positive and negative, grit and whimsical, dark and light, archaic and modern. And while it's fine to have a certain art direction, I just wish people wouldn't lump "realism" with "dark and gritty".
Besides, personally speaking, I think HD was made for full color utilization. If you are going to have crisp crystal clarity, why not make your world as visually stunning as possible, with colors galore? Bright, bold colors seem to fit HD like a glove.
PSO2 looks rather desaturated by comparison to the other examples you posted. Not enough of that "Sega sheen".
Barkley's Justice
Member
Crimson Dragon is terrible.
jhmtehgamr20xx
Banned
Same. It's in my Top 5 of most visually impressive next-gen games right now. My others are MGS5:GZ, Rime, Child of Light, and GG Xrd. It narrowly edges out #Driveclub imho.
Some people get hard-ons for The Division,...I don't. Those games are technically incredible, but they don't do anything creative visually to interpret reality, just merely emulating it.
Banded colors probably doesn't have much to do with the flicker filter, the GameCube rendered into a tiny framebuffer memory. Typical colour depth was 24 bits per pixel. You could use RGB8, which was fine, but that meant not having any destination alpha. If you wanted destination alpha, you wound up with RGBA6, which isn't all that big of an improvement over classic 16-bit R5G6B5.
HueyFreeman
Banned
I still remember the first time seeing Sonic Adventure and NFL 2K on launch day at a blockbuster video. Face melting. For me, it was (and it looks like will remain) the biggest visual leap for any given generation.
God only knows what this console could have been capable of if it had been given 5 good years.
God only knows what this console could have been capable of if it had been given 5 good years.
captmcblack
Member
Yep.
The day I saw Sonic run away from that whale with my own eyes, and not just via some video, I was willing to do ANYTHING to have it. Damn near tried to trade every game I owned to get a Japanese one so I could play 4 months before Xmas 1999 (when I got a US Dreamcast).
Each generation wows me with the jump in visuals...but the jump from PS1/N64 to Dreamcast - literal day-and-date arcade perfection/parity for the first time basically EVER - was just something else, man.
PeakPointMatrix
Member
Absolutely not. There is a lost beauty in the PSX's limited use of polygons. A well art directed game with smart use of the in game visuals produced aesthetically pleasing results that have aged extremely well, if not retained a vibrant appeal that we've all but lost today.
Not to forget 90s Arcade Racer!
EDIT: Aaaarghh, already mentioned on the second page http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=111585460&postcount=62
pizzapizza64
Member
That's a great point! I've been thinking the same thing.
Wonko_C
Member
I would like to add Child of Eden by Q Entertainment. Great game, 60 fps, crisp visuals, even some nice FMV thrown in for good measure. Also, the music has that Dreamcast feel; japanese dance music with lyrics about BELIEVING WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL2od1AF_Cs
I forgot about this game, Child of Eden definetly gets it, both in look and feel.
Assault Android Cactus.
petran79
Banned
I remember when I picked a Dreamcast in 2003, my friend decided to buy a PS2 in 2004.
but the available games didnt interest him.
he had so and so games like Matrix and Minority Report. So till 2004 we played a lot of Dreamcast games. But it was after 2005 where the really amazing games started to appear for the PS2 (MGS3, SOTC, Ghost Hunter, GOW, COD, Cold Winter etc). At that time I had forgotten about the Dreamcast. It was those games that had much better graphics and made a difference. But with the advent of PS3, I felt like going back to it again.
PS2 took the remaining part where Sega were king, namely arcade ports. there was nothing else for Sega anymore.
We had played a lot of PS2 games without issue on an old 30" SCART CRT TV, they looked good.
But playing PS3 games on the same TV I felt they looked worse than their PS2 counterparts. Dead Space had such a tiny text that it was unreadable.
It seems the developers hadnt those old TVs in mind when they developed the game.....
but the available games didnt interest him.
he had so and so games like Matrix and Minority Report. So till 2004 we played a lot of Dreamcast games. But it was after 2005 where the really amazing games started to appear for the PS2 (MGS3, SOTC, Ghost Hunter, GOW, COD, Cold Winter etc). At that time I had forgotten about the Dreamcast. It was those games that had much better graphics and made a difference. But with the advent of PS3, I felt like going back to it again.
PS2 took the remaining part where Sega were king, namely arcade ports. there was nothing else for Sega anymore.
We had played a lot of PS2 games without issue on an old 30" SCART CRT TV, they looked good.
But playing PS3 games on the same TV I felt they looked worse than their PS2 counterparts. Dead Space had such a tiny text that it was unreadable.
It seems the developers hadnt those old TVs in mind when they developed the game.....
Oh man, I understand this feel too much.
I remember playing Sonic Adventure for the first time in a flea market when the DC just came out. The guy was saying it was selling like fresh, hot bread. Shit was magic and I was under it's spell, totally.
I tried times and times again to convince my mother to buy one, but she never wanted. So I played on my friend's DC during all that hype-time when it came out.
Whether a seventh-gen game looks decent on an SD CRT can depend on the game.
Some visual styles survive it gracefully, giving a nice downsampled image, enjoying the luminance response of a CRT.
But many games have details that just plain don't resolve well at 480 lines. Or were designed for screens with crappy static contrast. Or have extremely small text.
Yep I remember playing too a demo of Emerald Coast and thinking "shit cant get any better". What an awesome Christmas the one I got my DC....