Well, the debate about graphical fidelity can only go so far before it starts repeating over and over. And, when you discuss graphics in certain games, it's only natural for people to drift into talk about those games. Personally, I would rather talk about the games. Graphics are great, but, they don't make a game. I've played plenty of amazing looking games that were absolutely terrible. But, I've played even more fantastic games that countered their brilliant gameplay/story and characters with solid art style and direction to work within their technical limitations.
I wish that more games pushed the boundary with AI rather than graphics, in a lot of cases I am still seeing AI that I have already seen in video games present on the Nintendo 64.
^^^ Yes. And in a similar vein, more thought into level design... creative uses of gameplay. Look at what Titanfall 2 and DisHonored 2 did with level design and gamepaly mechanics. I'd rather have more exploration into that level of creativity then games that look like DICE's titles.
Better AI has always been in the talks, but what exactly would better AI do for a game? I bet that most gamers would rage on the forums due to the game being too hard if the AI suddenly starts playing like a SWAT team. There are games like GTA where I can think of the pedestrians acting more humanlike would do alot for the game, but I doubt having "smart" AI in shooters would make it anymore fun. Same deal with physics, blowing up buildings and such can do alot for a game. I loved Bad Company 2 due to the destructibility, and think the other games regressed in that regard. Otherwise, shooting down trees like in Crysis rarely affect gameplay in anyway, and when they do, they're set-pieces. And if you actually could destroy everything in GTA, the world would just become a mess and you'd have to start over.
Im excited for what next gen consoles will bring to overall market and multiplatform (read: vast majority) of games. Zen 2 and Navi are much more powerful tech than current gen. also ssd for big worlds/streaming
Andromeda was a good example. if you played\saw it on 4K with eye candy settings, that's a very very nice thing to see. but when the game is empty, what's the point ? i prefer a good storytelling and interesting stuff to do over quality graphics any day. same goes with online gaming.. i prefer smart game mechanics over graphics and Hollywood explosions.
I also enjoy story and other aspects of gaming. My claim of graphics being stagnant didn't mean that was my main focus in gaming. It was an observation on one aspect of it that I feel matters. Why? Because most of us buy high-end hardware. Seems contradicting to me that some claim they don't care about graphics but have a 2080 TI. Why spend all that money on the latest and greatest then? Just buy a 2070, save a nice amount of money and game without all the details (And going by sigs, some of you do that, which is sensible)? Graphics help the immersion. At least for me. And I tend to get high-end hardware, so it would be nice for it to be used to it's potential. That's all I was trying to say. By no means do graphics completely make a game. I will still play many snes games I grew up on without a problem.
graphics can't make up for a shitty-bad story. story can definitely make up for shitty graphics. its kinda like TV shows for me. nothing can come close in my eyes to the Wire \ the Sopranos ( acting, story ) but looking at the best CGI shows\movies today, with shitty scripts\acting.. its simply souless. single player games are no different. that's the way i see things on this matter
Two shows I have never actually watched, I do have The Wire but less interested in The Sopranos as got bored of that genre years ago. Will no doubt give it a second chance in the future though. As for graphics, I've already mentioned the hardware doesn't exist yet to push things any further. I was talking to someone about this recently, and what would be their priority is for gaming. Personally it would be; Graphics, resolution, framerate for slower paced, story driven games. Framerate, graphics, resolution for racing and fast paced shooters. I'm not that convinced many PC gamers would put graphics first though, I think the majority would go with framerate, resolution, graphics and but just limited to shooters and racing games.
You want awesome physics? Play half life 2 today. It still whips the lammas ass and many new releases which have non existent physics game play.
Yes, that was a beauty. I'm pushing myself through Red Dead Redemption 2 right now. The controls still bug me, but the story is decent and the graphics are gorgeous. Both of these games are console only and I have yet to honestly see their quality on a PC title. Add Uncharted 4 into that mix as well.
^^^Don't forget God Of War, although it was killing my Pro pushing cb 4k, the eye candy in this game is amazing, and it had the gameplay to boot, and a mention for Gears 5, the full 4k and HDR was something to behold when you first see it.
And nice sound effects when you shoot wood or hit it with a crowbar. Episode 2 could have done with more convincing pine trees, though...and that garden gnome sliding around the car was awful LOL. Spoiler Anachronox had footprints in the snow in 2001...iirc so did Max Payne and Jedi Knight 3's Hoth level...stuff like that just put a smile on my face at the time. Does Metro Exodus have any footprints in all of its gloriously muddy and snowy ray-traced settings? Do any AAA sandbox games with all their shorelines and snowcapades?
LOl, the exclusive games from playstation looked better than all of the games that I've recently played on PC. I can go back even further and talk about how amazing the first Last of Us looked on PS3 at that time! Man, I was blown away ! Thing is, we need this next generation of consoles really bad, as this will, hopefully, push the GFX into a new era, and we can all benefit on it right on our gaming PCs. I use my PC only for all the trird party games, so I can play them 60fps., but unfortunatelly, there are not so many good games these days that can keep me interested. The older I get, the more picky I become, and rather do something else, then just play a game with beautiful graphics, but lacks in story, gameplay and athmosphere. We need new IPs, we need good stories, well implemented, we need games that leave a mark on us, after we have finished them. I will be happy, if I get 2 (3 even better) of such games early in the future, no matter on what platform they come. This years E3, had very little, even close to nothing to show, and that does not look good for the future. EDIT: Now days, I find myself starting my PC, with the intention to play a game, then I find myself browsing the internet for a while, then I go straight to guru3d forum, half an hour later, I close my PC and go my own way lol
"Graphics are stagnant." Felt that for a long time now, probably since the start or mid of the 360 gen. Whats worse is AI and art direction, variety also is less I think, there was so much stuff on PC from late 90s to ~2006. But thats how it is, everything becomes like this, when the usual suspects take over entire business/industries.
You are comparing 2 completely different technologies that don't even do the same thing. CryTek's implementation of reflections is interesting and I'd like to see it as a fallback solution, but I wouldn't compare it to DXR or any form of raytracing.