- 11,611
- Sweden
- eran0004
I find the graphics debate quite interesting, some think that GT5 has fantastic graphics, some think that they are really bad. Usually the debate transforms into bashing at that point without investigating the matter any deeper. Now, I created this thread as a way to find out more about the different opinions regarding the graphics in GT5. Further below I'm presenting a few different aspects of graphics, followed by some questions. They are meant as a tool to think about the graphics, and an aid to articulate opinions about them.
Here follows a long and boring introduction, you may skip the gray part if you like
Graphics has always been a big part of gaming, and rightfully so as graphics has been the main element in which games communicates to the gamers. We've obviously gone a long way from the early days of computer games, when hardware limitations made graphics a matter of drawing a scenery pixel by pixel. Later on, when the first games in a 3d environment came, the polygon count of some objects could be as low as 1, and yet the gamer would still treat the object like the tree or the sword or the anti aircraft shell that it was meant to represent. When you dropped a bomb on the enemy flattop carrier in Hellcats Over the Pacifics (1991) the following explosion was a giant tetrahedron in red and black shooting up from the impact site. Quite spectacular at its time. But as hardware capacity has evolved exponentially throughout the years, so has the graphics of the games.
The graphics of GT5 is a popular subject for debate. The quality of graphics has for the last two generations of consoles been a major selling point for most games, including of course Gran Turismo 5. But how do we measure quality of graphics?
All about numbers?
- How many millions or billions of colours that can be used
- How high the polygon count is
- How high the texture resolution is
- How many frames per second the game runs at
All about special effects?
- Is there shine, glare, bleed and shadows?
- Are there weather effects, change of time effects, night effect?
- Can the objects be demolished or altered? Blown up and torn apart?
All about detail?
- Are there any stars in the sky?
- Are there any bugs on the ground?
- Is there any gum on the pavement?
All about realism?
- Does the graphics make me feel like I am in a real world when I'm playing the game?
- Do the trees in the game look like real trees?
- Are the colours the same as in nature?
- Does the light on transluscent and shiny objects behave like it does in the real world?
All about beauty?
- Are the created worlds beautiful (but not necessarily realistic)?
- Do I enjoy looking at the graphics?
All about what's bad?
- Is there anything that breaks the illusion of reality?
- Is there anything that makes the graphics uncomfortable or annoying to watch?
- Is there anything missing from the graphics that should have been there?
Other aspects?
- Name them below and I will insert them in the appropriate category.
Of these aspects presented above, which are the most important to you?
Which are the least important?
Which aspects would you say are GT5's strengths, and why?
Which aspects are GT5's weaknesses, and why?
What improvements in terms of graphics would make you enjoy the game more?
Guidelines:
1. This is not a GT vs. other games thread. References to other games can be made to give examples, but please keep it clean.
2. This is not a war. I am interested in opinions, not the truth. There is no need to proving your point, or to bash at others sharing their opinions.
3. I welcome discussions in this thread, but I don't want debates (especially not the bashing kind). Respect each other and the different opinions.
Here follows a long and boring introduction, you may skip the gray part if you like
Graphics has always been a big part of gaming, and rightfully so as graphics has been the main element in which games communicates to the gamers. We've obviously gone a long way from the early days of computer games, when hardware limitations made graphics a matter of drawing a scenery pixel by pixel. Later on, when the first games in a 3d environment came, the polygon count of some objects could be as low as 1, and yet the gamer would still treat the object like the tree or the sword or the anti aircraft shell that it was meant to represent. When you dropped a bomb on the enemy flattop carrier in Hellcats Over the Pacifics (1991) the following explosion was a giant tetrahedron in red and black shooting up from the impact site. Quite spectacular at its time. But as hardware capacity has evolved exponentially throughout the years, so has the graphics of the games.
The graphics of GT5 is a popular subject for debate. The quality of graphics has for the last two generations of consoles been a major selling point for most games, including of course Gran Turismo 5. But how do we measure quality of graphics?
All about numbers?
- How many millions or billions of colours that can be used
- How high the polygon count is
- How high the texture resolution is
- How many frames per second the game runs at
All about special effects?
- Is there shine, glare, bleed and shadows?
- Are there weather effects, change of time effects, night effect?
- Can the objects be demolished or altered? Blown up and torn apart?
All about detail?
- Are there any stars in the sky?
- Are there any bugs on the ground?
- Is there any gum on the pavement?
All about realism?
- Does the graphics make me feel like I am in a real world when I'm playing the game?
- Do the trees in the game look like real trees?
- Are the colours the same as in nature?
- Does the light on transluscent and shiny objects behave like it does in the real world?
All about beauty?
- Are the created worlds beautiful (but not necessarily realistic)?
- Do I enjoy looking at the graphics?
All about what's bad?
- Is there anything that breaks the illusion of reality?
- Is there anything that makes the graphics uncomfortable or annoying to watch?
- Is there anything missing from the graphics that should have been there?
Other aspects?
- Name them below and I will insert them in the appropriate category.
Of these aspects presented above, which are the most important to you?
Which are the least important?
Which aspects would you say are GT5's strengths, and why?
Which aspects are GT5's weaknesses, and why?
What improvements in terms of graphics would make you enjoy the game more?
Guidelines:
1. This is not a GT vs. other games thread. References to other games can be made to give examples, but please keep it clean.
2. This is not a war. I am interested in opinions, not the truth. There is no need to proving your point, or to bash at others sharing their opinions.
3. I welcome discussions in this thread, but I don't want debates (especially not the bashing kind). Respect each other and the different opinions.
, I think that GT5 definitely has superior graphics to F1 2011 (which has taken a lot of flack this year for its graphics and low FPS), but I also think that even GT5 has both low frame rates and pixelated textures (mostly trees) on many tracks. F1 2011 isn't as bad as it's made out to be, but it's definitely not good.
