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Graphical Fidelity I Expect This Gen

I don't mean to derail, but just wanted to make one last post on SSS and "diminishing returns". I was making dinner, turned around and saw light hit our little orange Home Depot bucket.

Just look at this glorious image. The SSS, the GI, the caustics…. 🤤 wake me up when games can look like this

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And, of course, actual SSS on leaves and foliage. I was staring at the leaves on an average potted sage plant the past weekend and was wondering why a single game in existence doesn't look anything like it. Literally not one game convincingly does SSS or reproduce the "waxiness" and specularity of an average green leaf that is lit well. Like... Look at it... Just... look at it...


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Or this:

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But yeah, we loosely throw around terms like "diminishing returns' while paying no attention to how far we actually need to go to mimic reality.
I certainly agree that it would be cool to reach this perfection in microdetail and SSS simulation. But on the other hand, there are so many more pressing matters in real-time rendering to address first that foliage actually sits very low on my priority list. This is mostly because I've been personally completely satisfied with plane-based foliage rendering in selected games for more than a decade. It started with Driveclub assets, which only truly shine in Photo Mode:"

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Then the ever present Uncharted 4:

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I remember I was SO impressed when I noticed in Uncharted 4 the SSS was actually "real", meaning you could physically occlude the translucency.

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Then the year later Horizon also had some very high res vegetation assets, with lovely SSS.

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Then Red Dead Redemption 2 (asset in the foreground, almost looks like a completely flat 2D photo but has some SSS properties):

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Then Days Gone blew my mind with the first ever screen-space shadows on vegetation:

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And this gen I was really impressed by the level of detail of some foliage assets in the, cross-gen, Forbidden West, all with lovely SSS too.

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Truth be told, I would be perfectly happy with Naughty Dog last gen foliage until we reach a perfectly stable and clean path traced lighting first.

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Or even Ghost of Tsushima to be perfectly honest, with its true 3D rendered grass and vegetation (although it can ironically look more distractingly low poly than the other games 2D planes).







Now the caustics you mentioned in your last post, but especially true water and fluid simulations.. that would excite me tremendously.
 
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I certainly agree that it would be cool to reach this perfection in microdetail and SSS simulation. But on the other hand, there are so many more pressing matters in real-time rendering to address first that foliage actually sits very low on my priority list. This is mostly because I've been personally completely satisfied with plane-based foliage rendering in selected games for more than a decade. It started with Driveclub assets, which only truly shine in Photo Mode:"


Now the caustics you mentioned in your last post, but especially true water and fluid simulations.. that would excite me tremendously.
Man, why do you remind me of Driveclub? My first love. 😭

Yeah I agree on priorities. In fact, once they get PT Nanite-like foliage mainstreamed next gen, what I'm dreaming of should be the last priority. Definitely fluid and volumetrics first, starting with water, smoke and fire. They still are at basement level in terms of maturity. Even the cool "advanced" smoke effect on 007 is still a kid's little party trick compared to how smoke really behaves. And don't even get me started on fire. And then all that shit needs to interact believably. Like… if I damage a tree or accidentally set it on fire, I should feel guilty. Hope I live to see it…

I remember being impressed with what they were trying with Star Citizen… (lol)
 
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4 years later and no one can match a cross gen game. why?

why cant the industry look at the gold standard and copy paste it 4-5 years later? apparently gg created an algorithm to generated these animations. why cant no one else? its been 4 years!!!
I'm not sure but If I remember correctly, in a GDC Talk or a documentary, Guerrilla explained that every single cutscene was motion-captured. Main quests, side quests, errands and even background game scenes were motion-captured.

I think they explained how they managed to complete the motion-capture sessions despite COVID and I believe that was also the principal reason why the game was delayed.

But if that's the case, it explains why other games don't do it, as it's a massive investment.
 
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I'm not sure but If I remember correctly, in a GDC Talk or a documentary, Guerrilla explained that every single cutscene was motion-captured. Main quests, side quests, errands and even background game scenes were motion-captured.

I think they explained how they managed to complete the motion-capture sessions despite COVID and I believe that was also the principal reason why the game was delayed.

But if that's the case, it explains why other games don't do it, as it's a massive investment.
That is correct. All mocapped. Only minor facial animations were automated. SlimySnake SlimySnake

We are nowhere near ready for AI-directed or procedural cutscenes. *shudders*

 
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lol no it isnt. did they even show gameplay? they showed link sleeping. and it looked like shit. what am i missing here.
Nothing, people are so starved for nintendo making good graphic that even a ps4 level pic with a character sleeping is a megaton.

We just treat nintendo as a cheap indie studios when it comes to graphic expectations.
 
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Umm...strong disagree?!

Devs should strive to make good combat systems in a damn ACTION-rpg...

That excuse is barely valid for something like zelda, but definitely not for something like fable.
I wouldn't call fable an Action-RPG. It is mostly an RPG with Action. That is why 25min of gameplay video was dedicated towards the RPG elements. If they nail the world interactivity(skeptical), I can forgive serviceable combat. I say this as someone who loves action games (Nioh, Khazan, Elden Ring ect)

Nowadays, I prefer games that does at least one aspect incredibly well compared to games that are good or ok across the board. KCD2 has shit combat, but it is still very enjoyable because the world is so alive with great characters that it makes up for the sub par combat

And expecting a good combat system from a developer who has never made a non-racing game is unrealistic. Especially melee combat systems. Not many studios, especially in the West, nail melee combat
 
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I wouldn't call fable an Action-RPG. It is mostly an RPG with Action. That is why 25min of gameplay video was dedicated towards the RPG elements. If they nail the world interactivity(skeptical), I can forgive serviceable combat. I say this as someone who loves action games (Nioh, Khazan, Elden Ring ect)

Nowadays, I prefer games that does at least one aspect incredibly well compared to games that are good or ok across the board. KCD2 has shit combat, but it is still very enjoyable because the world is so alive with great characters that it makes up for the sub par combat

And expecting a good combat system from a developer who has never made a non-racing game is unrealistic. Especially melee combat systems. Not many studios, especially in the West, nail melee combat
I get where you come from, but for 80 euros we should pretend games to do right in more than one aspect, especially a probable goty candidate like fable.


We know other games can do it so why not a 7 years in development triple A game made by a telented studios?
And tbf, the whole city simulation could just be a huge, scripted smoke and mirrors thing that is not as deep or dynamic as we think, until we play the game we cant be sure they made that aspect actually great.
 
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I get where you come from, but for 80 euros we should pretend games to do right in more than one aspect, especially a probable goty candidate like fable.


We know other games can do it so why not a 7 years in development triple A game made by a telented studios?
And tbf, the whole city simulation could just be a huge, scripted smoke and mirrors thing that is not as deep or dynamic as we think, until we play the game we cant be sure they made that aspect actually great.
The game was in development for 7 years, but it has clearly gone through lots of issues. It was announced to release in 2025, got delayed to 2026, and delayed again until 2027. I think it will review in low to mid 80's, imo. I am mostly worried about performance. We have only seen very slow scripted clips. Zero footage of just riding on horseback in the open world, which seems odd

Changing an engine designed around a driving game for a massive open world RPG sounds like a nightmare. There was rumors of Playground switching to UE5 a few years ago, but I don't think that would have been much better
 
Looks good but ground is absolutely flat:

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No tesselation, no POM, nothing.

Flat is the exact word and not just the ground but everything. But it is flat not in a bad way.
The countryside vistas are beautiful and they look like a theater set. Like they put several painted 2d planes on top of each other to give a perspective effect.
I find it very endearing and it goes actually really well with the spirit of the game.
 
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Flat is the exact word and not just the ground but everything. But it is flat not in a bad way.
The countryside vistas are beautiful and they look like a theater set. Like they put several painted 2d planes on top of each other to give a perspective effect.
I find it very endearing and it goes actually really well with the spirit of the game.
This is exactly why the world of Witcher 3 looks just so much more believable, because it's not flat.
 
This is exactly why the world of Witcher 3 looks just so much more believable, because it's not flat.
But the world of Fable has always had this tongue in cheek way of being self aware as theater play are sometimes, and voiced by classically trained actors. It always had this theater play vibe to me (maybe it's nostalgia talk). It doesn't make the world less believable, it just makes you believe in a different type of world.

And this superimposition of planes effect is very well done. The beginning of the demo when they make their way into town is very beautiful.
 
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But the world of Fable has always had this tongue in cheek way of being self aware as theater play are sometimes, and voiced by classically trained actors. It always had this theater play vibe to me (maybe it's nostalgia talk). It doesn't make the world less believable, it just makes you believe in a different type of world.

And this superimposition of planes effect is very well done. The beginning of the demo when they make their way into town is very beautiful.
Yeah it looks fine up to a certain distance, then the LOD gets too agressive. Let's hope there's options on PC to increase the grass and object draw distance.

Btw, i've never played a Fable game but this new one doesn't really speak to me, it just screams "made for a modern audience".

Yes, because I definitely want a game called "Fable" to be as believable as possible lmao

Right, because Witcher is totally not a Fantasy game.
 
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Yeah it looks fine up to a certain distance, then the LOD gets too agressive. Let's hope there's options on PC to increase the grass and object draw distance.

Btw, i've never played a Fable game but this new one doesn't really speak to me, it just screams "made for a modern audience".



Right, because Witcher is totally not a Fantasy game.
Brother I was pointing out that you've asked for believability in a game that's supposed to be like a fable, you're the one who brought The Witcher in the convo in the first place :D
 
Fable looks super weird.
I'd say that if it does have RTGI then it's something really low precision, probe and/or SDF based, similar to 007.
Zero small scale bounces in that video, loads of overdarkening and shadows where there shouldn't be any - which is usually a sign of SSAO being used.
Overall the details are nice but lighting looks previous gen to me.
 
I don't mean to derail, but just wanted to make one last post on SSS and "diminishing returns". I was making dinner, turned around and saw light hit our little orange Home Depot bucket.

Just look at this glorious image. The SSS, the GI, the caustics…. 🤤 wake me up when games can look like this

HEq1yd3fz7nacjaC.jpeg
Neural Rendering & much more powerful RT hardware are our only hope to make that a reality in the not so distant future. (with a side of pure copium) 😭🙏
 
I think Halo CE might be a sleeper hit graphically this year. All of the gameplay that's been shown off over the past few days has looked incredible imo. I can't wait to see this running natively on my PC in a month's time. It genuinely is the best looking FPS game on the market, period.
 
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Flat is the exact word and not just the ground but everything. But it is flat not in a bad way.
The countryside vistas are beautiful and they look like a theater set. Like they put several painted 2d planes on top of each other to give a perspective effect.
I find it very endearing and it goes actually really well with the spirit of the game.
My issue is that the game wants to look realistic while simultaneously having a whimsical art direction. And the end result can be a bit jarring at times. The art direction is not covering up areas that look flat and not great

I think of Ghost of Tsushima, which is not a technically impressive game, but it is one of the best looking games of last generation because it's art direction carried it
 
I don't mean to derail, but just wanted to make one last post on SSS and "diminishing returns". I was making dinner, turned around and saw light hit our little orange Home Depot bucket.

Just look at this glorious image. The SSS, the GI, the caustics…. 🤤 wake me up when games can look like this

HEq1yd3fz7nacjaC.jpeg
Viveks86:

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