Graphics are stagnating.

So it has been nearly four years since Crysis came out and it is still the graphics king. Vanilla Crysis by itself looks better than 99% of games out there and then modded just takes it to a whole other level. So much so that I feel that even next gen graphics won't really be much better.

But, taking aside the fact that Crysis was a game light years ahead of its time, I am actually saying this because I feel that graphics are stagnating. Gaming started with graphics in Black and white and then moved up from 2D to 3D. It always had a lot of place to improve on as we've seen blurry 3D sprites evolve over the years into fully detailed characters that are getting closer and closer to real life graphics.

So as we are getting closer and closer to realistic graphics, what exactly are next gen graphics going to do to make graphics looks better than games such as Crysis fully modded? I doubt just pouring polygon over polygon at this point is going to make a difference. I also doubt textures and details are going to get much better.

So what is next really? 3D? That doesn't really add anything to the graphics per say. Virtual reality? I think we're still a bit far off from that.

There's still room for improvement. As it is, textures are still essentially paint on a canvas. Realistically, "textures" would be a part of the object in question, and change dynamically. We don't have anything remotely like that yet. That and everything is still made of hollow "meshes". Literally there is nothing on the inside of a video game character or object.Skittles_McGee

Of course there's still place for improvement. I just don't think we will ever see the kind of huge graphical leap from last gen to this current gen. Next gen games are just gonna slightly improve over time until the reach another peak.

[QUOTE="Skittles_McGee"]There's still room for improvement. As it is, textures are still essentially paint on a canvas. Realistically, "textures" would be a part of the object in question, and change dynamically. We don't have anything remotely like that yet. That and everything is still made of hollow "meshes". Literally there is nothing on the inside of a video game character or object.Eggimannd

Of course there's still place for improvement. I just don't think we will ever see the kind of huge graphical leap from last gen to this current gen. Next gen games are just gonna slightly improve over time until the reach another peak.

[QUOTE="Skittles_McGee"]There's still room for improvement. As it is, textures are still essentially paint on a canvas. Realistically, "textures" would be a part of the object in question, and change dynamically. We don't have anything remotely like that yet. That and everything is still made of hollow "meshes". Literally there is nothing on the inside of a video game character or object.Eggimannd

Of course there's still place for improvement. I just don't think we will ever see the kind of huge graphical leap from last gen to this current gen. Next gen games are just gonna slightly improve over time until the reach another peak.

[QUOTE="Eggimannd"]

[QUOTE="Skittles_McGee"]There's still room for improvement. As it is, textures are still essentially paint on a canvas. Realistically, "textures" would be a part of the object in question, and change dynamically. We don't have anything remotely like that yet. That and everything is still made of hollow "meshes". Literally there is nothing on the inside of a video game character or object.Skittles_McGee

Of course there's still place for improvement. I just don't think we will ever see the kind of huge graphical leap from last gen to this current gen. Next gen games are just gonna slightly improve over time until the reach another peak.

Hmm I don't see how characters/objects being hollow make any difference as to how they appear graphically.

Tesselation is still just getting started. The potential for better graphics using that technology is huge, but it's still rather demanding on today's video cards, not to mention many devs aren't bothering with it yet because it's not a technology that can be ported over to consoles for multiplat games. Also, DX10 was a giant fiasco on Microsofts part that most devs never got on board with so gamers never really saw anything great come from it. With DX11 seemingly having much more support I expect good things soon.

There's also the fact that devs who put out multiplats (which most games tend to be these days) typically design for the lowest common denominator which would be consoles. Once the next gen of consoles are released I think we'll see a jump in graphics shortly follow.

I personally think God of War 3 set the new standard as far as graphics and details go, more specifically with characters. But there's always room for improvement.TheMoreYouOwn

So it has been nearly four years since Crysis came out and it is still the graphics king. Vanilla Crysis by itself looks better than 99% of games out there and then modded just takes it to a whole other level. So much so that I feel that even next gen graphics won't really be much better.

But, taking aside the fact that Crysis was a game light years ahead of its time, I am actually saying this because I feel that graphics are stagnating. Gaming started with graphics in Black and white and then moved up from 2D to 3D. It always had a lot of place to improve on as we've seen blurry 3D sprites evolve over the years into fully detailed characters that are getting closer and closer to real life graphics.

So as we are getting closer and closer to realistic graphics, what exactly are next gen graphics going to do to make graphics looks better than games such as Crysis fully modded? I doubt just pouring polygon over polygon at this point is going to make a difference. I also doubt textures and details are going to get much better.

So what is next really? 3D? That doesn't really add anything to the graphics per say. Virtual reality? I think we're still a bit far off from that.

Eggimannd

Still quite a long way. Remember the E3 Crysis trailer? We have yet to achieve that kind of quality. Of course you can argue that the difference between that and the retail version of Crysis is probably less compared to the gap between ps1 and say...ps2.

[QUOTE="Eggimannd"]

So it has been nearly four years since Crysis came out and it is still the graphics king. Vanilla Crysis by itself looks better than 99% of games out there and then modded just takes it to a whole other level. So much so that I feel that even next gen graphics won't really be much better.

But, taking aside the fact that Crysis was a game light years ahead of its time, I am actually saying this because I feel that graphics are stagnating. Gaming started with graphics in Black and white and then moved up from 2D to 3D. It always had a lot of place to improve on as we've seen blurry 3D sprites evolve over the years into fully detailed characters that are getting closer and closer to real life graphics.

So as we are getting closer and closer to realistic graphics, what exactly are next gen graphics going to do to make graphics looks better than games such as Crysis fully modded? I doubt just pouring polygon over polygon at this point is going to make a difference. I also doubt textures and details are going to get much better.

So what is next really? 3D? That doesn't really add anything to the graphics per say. Virtual reality? I think we're still a bit far off from that.

jhcho2

Still quite a long way. Remember the E3 Crysis trailer? We have yet to achieve that kind of quality. Of course you can argue that the difference between that and the retail version of Crysis is probably less compared to the gap between ps1 and say...ps2.

[QUOTE="jhcho2"]

[QUOTE="Eggimannd"]

So it has been nearly four years since Crysis came out and it is still the graphics king. Vanilla Crysis by itself looks better than 99% of games out there and then modded just takes it to a whole other level. So much so that I feel that even next gen graphics won't really be much better.

But, taking aside the fact that Crysis was a game light years ahead of its time, I am actually saying this because I feel that graphics are stagnating. Gaming started with graphics in Black and white and then moved up from 2D to 3D. It always had a lot of place to improve on as we've seen blurry 3D sprites evolve over the years into fully detailed characters that are getting closer and closer to real life graphics.

So as we are getting closer and closer to realistic graphics, what exactly are next gen graphics going to do to make graphics looks better than games such as Crysis fully modded? I doubt just pouring polygon over polygon at this point is going to make a difference. I also doubt textures and details are going to get much better.

So what is next really? 3D? That doesn't really add anything to the graphics per say. Virtual reality? I think we're still a bit far off from that.

SamiRDuran

Still quite a long way. Remember the E3 Crysis trailer? We have yet to achieve that kind of quality. Of course you can argue that the difference between that and the retail version of Crysis is probably less compared to the gap between ps1 and say...ps2.

So what is next really?

Eggimannd

[QUOTE="SamiRDuran"][QUOTE="jhcho2"]

Still quite a long way. Remember the E3 Crysis trailer? We have yet to achieve that kind of quality. Of course you can argue that the difference between that and the retail version of Crysis is probably less compared to the gap between ps1 and say...ps2.

mattuk69

Which is completely false of course. Not surprising however, since not so many people here have actual first hand experience with Crysis and mods.

graphics will continue to stagnate no matter what. the better they get, the slower the better they'll get. make sence?

graphics will continue to stagnate no matter what. the better they get, the slower the better they'll get. make sense

babybinky

No, because you spelt sense with a "C" :P

This gen? Not much more will happen. That said I think next gen the standards will be similar to that of Crysis with the Extreme quality mod, as well as tech demos like heaven. Both of these feature some amazing gaphics and in heaven you can see that tesselation and such are the next big thing to change graphics. PC just gets a sneak of what consoles are GOING to be :P.

lol @ Crysis. It's a fantastic looking game for sure (better than any console game in fact) but there are better looking games available now such as Metro 2033. Most games are developed for consoles and then ported to the PC (if they make it to PC that is) with only a few enhancements. If you look at the requirements for most PC games they're not much higher than what a console's hardware. Graphics on consoles are not going to get any better until they release new hardware.

I think Tesselation will be the biggest change to gaming in the next gen consoles which is a step forward in creating more realistic textures (again just look at games like Metro 2033). Of course when that will happen, I have no clue because it seems like the big three are stuck on motion controllers and appeasing the casual gaming market right now.

When we've reached this level of graphics with objects that are fully 3D and destructible, only then can graphics slow down. Which one is the photograph? Which one is the raytracing?

http://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/2009/05/project-showroom-life-imitates-art-ii-the-empire-strikes-back.html

graphics will always get better

It's all on the devs on pc devs have to make sure the game can play on many systems. On multiplats devs have to make sure that the game has to play on consoles 1st before pc. When a pc dev decides to make a game that takes advantage of pc hardware you get a game like crysis. You also have many devs using games engines they licensed from another company to save money and time. On console graphics are pretty much maxed out on pc they are improving but very slowly. If a pc dev makes a only dx11 game then we will see a huge leap forward again.

Not just the graphics get better but games are also getting bigger worlds, better AI, better physics, real time(?) destruction, more players in a single game, customization, better animations, bigger draw distance, and more.PetJel

They've hit their peak, all devs can do to differentiate themselves now is come up with creative art styles and nice vistas (like ND). Japanese are usually better in this area since they're better at fantasy whereas west goes for more realistic graphics which simply has reached its peak.

That and everything is still made of hollow "meshes". Literally there is nothing on the inside of a video game character or object.Skittles_McGee

I don't think graphics are really stagnating, but you're kind of hard-pressed to revolutionize graphics right now, I think. I mean, we have HD and 3D now. The only revolution I can think of for graphics is complete photorealism or advancement in HD technology, like if it goes from 1080p to, say, 1440p or something like that.

Better graphics are more expensive to produce, yet games aren't really making more money. The industry couldn't really afford to get where we are now.

You know what would be amazing? CGI like graphics for a game, seems rather impossible thoughRoushrsh

CGI graphics are already happening, this video is two years old, THIS proves that consolization is affecting pc games.

You can thank consoles for hindering the advancement of graphics. Especially with MS and Sony extending the life cycles of their current systems to cash in on casuals.

The real issue isn't more powerful graphics, it's the time and recources it takes to make them . If the game fails, the developper goes broke . 100 man teams are normal today in big game studio's .

Crysis was a game made to be "ahead of its time." It was made for technology that didn't exist. It is the exception to the rule. And its console holding back graphics technology. There are always big steps forwards on PC.

graphics will always get better

GTSaiyanjin2

True, but lately I find myself skipping generations of Video cards because the "bump" in graphics just isn't there. I am waiting for ATI's next line-up of cards (I skipped the 5XXX's) but I am not entirely sure it will be worth the money. Maybe wait for ATI's 7XXX's?

BTW I blame consoles, even though I love my consoles.

So it has been nearly four years since Crysis came out and it is still the graphics king. Vanilla Crysis by itself looks better than 99% of games out there and then modded just takes it to a whole other level. So much so that I feel that even next gen graphics won't really be much better.

Eggimannd

I disagree. Everything in crysis looks "good", however there are games that narrow their focus and look "great".

The same goes for mods. Taken to an extreme, half-life2 modded up can have requirements as steep as 4+ gigs of memory.

Who would guess that was a going on 7 year old game?

Who would guess that was a going on 7 year old game?topgunmv

[QUOTE="topgunmv"]Who would guess that was a going on 7 year old game?bobbetybob

Are you talking about his suit? I think all the models look great, even the alyx ones, they just need to add in support to switch to the model they had that actually still looked like her for those who prefer it.

We are probably going to see texture increases and increased LOD change distances, lighting and shading but the major improvements will be things other than graphics things like animation, physics and things like that. For instance Crysis had some impressive physics but it's still fairly limited, the point where we go from breaking down a metal shed metal sheet by metal sheet to breaking down a building brick by brick is going to be a major jump.

It seems like they are mostly done doing those big jumps in technology ala Doom 3 or Crysis where they create a game for hardware that doesn't exist. They just wont see a return on the investment anymore, Crysis bit Crytek in the ass in terms of sales for the most part. It sold decently but not even close to what other games would sell on a console with less time and resources put into the technology.

[QUOTE="Eggimannd"]

So it has been nearly four years since Crysis came out and it is still the graphics king. Vanilla Crysis by itself looks better than 99% of games out there and then modded just takes it to a whole other level. So much so that I feel that even next gen graphics won't really be much better.

topgunmv

I disagree. Everything in crysis looks "good", however there are games that narrow their focus and look "great".

The same goes for mods. Taken to an extreme, half-life2 modded up can have requirements as steep as 4+ gigs of memory.

Who would guess that was a going on 7 year old game?

Modded HL2 looks great but the old engine is quite apparent when you actually play it.

I don't really see your point about Crysis. I thought Metro 2033 looked better fpr a while but then I got my Crysis modding together. (finding the PoM/Af mod, removing duplicate files from HD foliage/Rygels HD textures so the crappy Rygel foliage would'nt be used) and I can't really think of any games that does anything in particular better than Crysis does.

Sry bout the weird angles, head bopping.