Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 10:06:40 AM

Login with username, password and session length

The next generation of console games

Started by QDRPHNC, May 13, 2020, 08:09:57 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

QDRPHNC


Bazooka

Ps5 tech demo only came out today, yeah all looks pretty lovely, the way assets load in more seamlessly will be the big definer of the next gen, graphics yes of course but visual bound leaping gets slightly less apparent with each next generation.

peanutbutter

Looks very expensive for fuck all gain in terms of enjoyment.

Of course, I said this about the current generation, and I still think it so.... er... yeah.

Ferris


Abnormal Palm

I'll get em both, trade in the currently shit tier boxes. Decided not to have kids while Kawasaki syndrome gonna kill 99% of the kiddies so I'm gonna spunk every penny on these whole consoles.

Jim Bob

Quote from: QDRPHNC on May 13, 2020, 08:09:57 PM
The PS5 running the new Unreal Engine.

This all looks very lovely but I ask you, will these consoles be capable of love?  Will they awake you in the morn with a tender kiss and a croissant?  Will they be able to support you and take care of your needs when you're inevitably diagnosed with a rare fatal tropical disease of the anus?  I think not!

Our only hope lays with the PS6 now, I fear...

Mister Six

Quote from: QDRPHNC on May 13, 2020, 08:09:57 PM
The PS5 running the new Unreal Engine.

That looks impressive but it's a purpose-built tech demo, which means the processor doesn't have to worry about AI, building a world beyond the visible (eg. detail on the streets below, or even a back face on the cliff she flies out of, because they know the camera will never show that area) or probably even player input - I assume this is all canned animation.

Even beyond all that, devs are going to have to take what's there and make it 100,000 times bigger to make an actual playable game. Don't expect games to look this good for a long time, if at all.

For comparison, this is the Unreal Engine 3 tech demo from nine years ago. Do games look this good even now? https://youtu.be/wdwHrCT5jr0

Meanwhile, I'm having an absolute blast on Deadly Premonition, a game from 10 years ago that looks like absolute PS2-tier dogshit but is tons of fun because the writing and world building is fantastic.

Ferris

Skyrim is still absurdly engrossing even though it is starting to looks its age. The most fun I've had gaming fo the last few years have been on indie games that have made a point of not having flash graphics (west of loathing, 80 Days, return of the obra dinn).

The graphics are nice to have (they really enhance mindless FPS games like far cry, or sports games like MLB The Show both of which have taken hours of my life) but they seem like a massive development resource drain that is a) solely the preserve of AAA studios, and b) potentially taking dev time away from writing and game mechanics which are far more important in my view.

Lukewarm take, I know. I'm suitably ashamed. It's true though.

#8
I can remember the snes was about to come out and me and my friends were lying on the school field on our bellies in the sun, all cooing over the screenshots of this upcoming wrestling game in one of those magazines, probably CVG.
I think that's the last time I got excited about any sort of graphical leap.

I still get it up for good pixel art or a unique art style, but realistic rocks are about as exciting to me as the new tomb raider games.
I'd much rather play the block head ones with the fun jumping puzzles.


Still in the "believe it when I see it" camp about the new consoles.

Everyone hyping SSDs well beyond what they are capable of, which makes me worry games will transition toward open world sludge whether it makes sense or not because loading screens and transition masking will be seen as unacceptable because it doesn't "take advantage of the hardware".

Zetetic

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on May 14, 2020, 02:25:13 AM
potentially taking dev time away from writing and game mechanics which are far more important in my view
Not really dev time perhaps, but it certainly soaks up cash, and throwing billions of artist hours at the wall doesn't make developing and maintaining an interesting or novel art style any easier.

Ferris

Quote from: Zetetic on May 14, 2020, 11:15:16 AM
Not really dev time perhaps, but it certainly soaks up cash, and throwing billions of artist hours at the wall doesn't make developing and maintaining an interesting or novel art style any easier.

Yeah that's a better way of putting it

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I tend to feel that graphics got as good as they ever really need to be on the PS3/360 generation. Batman: Arkham City, for example, still looks great, with little details like the way the light reflects off the water that's seeped between the cobblestones and whatnot. I'm more interested in where physics simulation can go in the future - I'd love to see a new Red Faction game that really goes to town with the geo mod stuff.

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on May 14, 2020, 02:25:13 AM
The graphics ... seem like a massive development resource drain that is a) solely the preserve of AAA studios, and b) potentially taking dev time away from writing and game mechanics
I was only partially paying attention to the two boring blokes in the demo video, but I thought there was some talk of this new tech helping streamline the process of making graphics to some extent. That's what game engines are for, isn't it?

Also, Hellblade looks gobsmacking and it was made by an independent (albeit well established) studio.

Quote from: Mister Six on May 14, 2020, 01:37:06 AM
For comparison, this is the Unreal Engine 3 tech demo from nine years ago. Do games look this good even now? https://youtu.be/wdwHrCT5jr0
I reckon a lot do, but it's always harder to appreciate while playing compared to a cinematic presentation like that.

Mister Six

Hm, no, agree to disagree - the number of filters, light sources, textures, particles etc are above and beyond what you get during actual gameplay. Which is fine, it doesn't bother me, but the point is that these tech demos aren't really reflective of anything other than themselves.

purlieu

That PS5 video looks lovely, but the photo-realistic graphics clash so heavily with the still-a-bit-awkward character movements and totally unnatural camera movements that it actually took me out of the 'reality' of the video far more than it would if the visuals looked more computer gamey. No doubt it'd be better as first person rather than third, but overall it feels quite awkward to me.

Dewt

Quote from: purlieu on May 14, 2020, 11:48:09 PM
That PS5 video looks lovely, but the photo-realistic graphics clash so heavily with the still-a-bit-awkward character movements and totally unnatural camera movements that it actually took me out of the 'reality' of the video far more than it would if the visuals looked more computer gamey.
Yeah exactly. We can push a lot of polys and shaders through graphics cards but that's only half the story. We could probably do Finding Nemo in real-time but without the animation behind it's still going to look flat.

rack and peanut

I just got a PS4 cheapo because it's banned from PSN for whatever reason. Been playing Horizon: Zero Dawn and wondering who really needs a new generation of consoles just for better photorealism right now? Didn't the Xbox 360/ PS3 generation last twice as long as usual because of the recession, which is surely about to be repeated or surpassed? Is that why they're trying to push this out now, while most people can still afford it?

Abnormal Palm

I don't think they're trying to push it out. They've been planning for a Christmas 2020 release for a long time. If anything, it's potentially going to be delayed, albeit it's still on track, apparently.

I agree that there's no graphical need for the next gen, though. HZD still looks remarkable and FF7R, which just came out, is better than any game needs to look for me, at its best. I've also been playing RDR2 on the One X again the last few days and it is fucking incredible. It seems to me that it's not the tech but the manpower which is the most significant variable at this point.

Enjoy the PS4, it's a hell of a system. Bloodborne, The Last Of Us Remastered, Rez Infinite, Uncharted 4, The Last Guardian, GT Sport, FF7R and Persona 5 are all well worth your time and money. Plenty of other recommendations too beyond my particular tastes.

Timothy

Already have the new Playstation pre-ordered with the money I'd otherwised used for a holiday.

Can't wait. I love new consoles.

peanutbutter

Given how much life there was in releasing remastered versions of last gen games on the current gen, I wonder if the next year or so is gonna see deliberately scaled back versions of games on PS4/Xbox One purely to make the next gen update more significant. This would be already happening if it was gonna be a thing, I guess

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: Mister Six on May 14, 2020, 01:37:06 AM


For comparison, this is the Unreal Engine 3 tech demo from nine years ago. Do games look this good even now? https://youtu.be/wdwHrCT5jr0



Not sure about consoles but definitely PC. I was playing the latest Star Wars and was marveling at how real some of the environments looked, on the ultra settings.

As others have said, the scenery looks real but the characters never quite look 100% authentic which throws it off a bit. I'm not sure if they'll ever get there. This is where it's at atm and it's amazing and everything but there's millions of almost imperceptible movements that a person's face and body makes which they just can't replicate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHNneM3Vgk

Edit: actually this is from six years ago and looks even better. But it's just a few seconds that took aeons to make, I'd imagine a long way from being viable for a video game character

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=HjHiC0mt4Ts&feature=emb_logo

Mister Six

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on May 17, 2020, 02:21:23 PM
Not sure about consoles but definitely PC. I was playing the latest Star Wars and was marveling at how real some of the environments looked, on the ultra settings.

Hm, okay, maybe? But it's taken nine years to get there, then. So the belief that some people have that this kind of thing will be playable in a year or two seems very misguided.

Jim Bob

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on May 17, 2020, 02:21:23 PM
Not sure about consoles but definitely PC. I was playing the latest Star Wars and was marveling at how real some of the environments looked, on the ultra settings.

As others have said, the scenery looks real but the characters never quite look 100% authentic which throws it off a bit. I'm not sure if they'll ever get there. This is where it's at atm and it's amazing and everything but there's millions of almost imperceptible movements that a person's face and body makes which they just can't replicate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHNneM3Vgk



Mr. Bean!

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth


El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: Mister Six on May 17, 2020, 02:56:22 PM
Hm, okay, maybe? But it's taken nine years to get there, then. So the belief that some people have that this kind of thing will be playable in a year or two seems very misguided.

Probably. Famously the Madden trailer for the Xbox 360 and PS3 back in 2006 fooled everyone into thinking they were going to get photo-real (for the time) graphics. Took about 10 years to actually get this good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02ajPL3Kna4

Abnormal Palm

Graphics now are probably the best they'll ever be. Can't imagine anything better than we have now.

Brundle-Fly

That Scorn trailer looks amazing. The HR Giger estate should sue though.

Jim Bob

Quote from: Abnormal Palm on May 17, 2020, 03:43:18 PM
Graphics now are probably the best they'll ever be. Can't imagine anything better than we have now.

Not sure if serious.

Eventually graphics will be indistinguishable from real life footage.  It's not a case of if, but of when.

Abnormal Palm

Not at all serious, but I would also say that I actually can't imagine what the next steps will be. Ray tracing seems to be the thing, plus the asset streaming of SSD, but games currently look better than they need to be for me.

Actually, I would say that facial animation is still a bit shit. I look at RDR2 and Uncharted 4 and the worlds are almost better than life, at times, but I'm brought down to Earth by the facially textures. The animations are actually great but the textures look like wax. FF7R possibly has the best facial textures ever, but it's got the luxury of being very anime so the super smooth, soft skin and stuff works much better than it would in something more grounded. I fully expect TLOU2 to have the best faces ever, actually.