Halo 3 lighting: Best in the biz??

B

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Holy cack, I finally dug deeper into the campaign(up to level 6 currently) and my god did stages 4 and 5 look super stunning. How anyone can call this a mediocre looking game is baffling. The use of lighting and HDR is so perfected in this game, that the variance in color, shading, and lit areas between the mostly clear and crisp stages 4 and 6 and the dusty, dim setting that is chapter 5 is just EEK!

Chapter 5: just gazing up at the sky and watching the whole environment calibrate itself to a new hue and color pallette as HDR seeps in to convey the havoc that exists between the sun and the infestation...wonderful! Bravo! You can just keep sweeping the right stick around and watch the visuals adjust and contort the shaders and lighting to fit the viewpoint. (PS: HDMI on a CRT XBR in 720p BTW)

Holy feck. One of the best looking games on ze 360.

Also, what was with the steep decline in difficulty between 4 and 5. Chapters 2/3 were pretty rough going on Heroic solo, but I pushed through these chapters with barely a scratch. ???
 
Yeah, it's very good and feels rich, soft and warm. Especially when going into Theater mode you realise just how much depth the lighting has.
 
Brandon F said:
Holy cack, I finally dug deeper into the campaign(up to level 6 currently) and my god did stages 4 and 5 look super stunning. How anyone can call this a mediocre looking game is baffling. The use of lighting and HDR is so perfected in this game, that the variance in color, shading, and lit areas between the mostly clear and crisp stages 4 and 6 and the dusty, dim setting that is chapter 5 is just EEK!

Chapter 5: just gazing up at the sky and watching the whole environment calibrate itself to a new hue and color pallette as HDR seeps in to convey the havoc that exists between the sun and the infestation...wonderful! Bravo! You can just keep sweeping the right stick around and watch the visuals adjust and contort the shaders and lighting to fit the viewpoint. (PS: HDMI on a CRT XBR in 720p BTW)

Holy feck. One of the best looking games on ze 360.

Also, what was with the steep decline in difficulty between 4 and 5. Chapters 2/3 were pretty rough going on Heroic solo, but I pushed through these chapters with barely a scratch. ???
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thumbs up, knew you would start loving it Capone. Im still being wowed by the AI. Best ever
 
Deadly Monk said:
The lighting in the game blows my mind. Outdoor levels anyway.
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The reflections of light is amazing too. The sun-drenching off metal surfaces is blinding, and I find myself just looking up at windows in indoor environs just to see the HDR power zap my corneas. It's graphic-whorism.
 
Prine said:
thumbs up, knew you would start loving it Capone. Im still being wowed by the AI. Best ever
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Yea, I'll be on tonight for some matches. I had to get Blue Dragon out of the way, and I'm a bit Half-Life'd out ATM and need a break from orange Box.
 
Although I think overall Halo 3 doesn't look as great as Gears of War or Bioshock, it does have some awesome looking effects. Blowing up a scarab = sex to my eyes.
 
The HDR is really nice, but overall I don't think the lighting is terribly impressive. The use of static light maps (and not even particularly high res ones) hurts alot since so many games are moving away from that. There are still cases where lightmaps are fine, but I think some of the outdoor segments could really use a more complex shadowing method...atleast for nearby scenery. It's kindof pff putting when you drive under a shadow and suddenly the whole car turns dark rather than the shadow smoothly scaling over the car. COD4 has a good compromise where after a set distance they use normal light maps, but nearby the shadows actually accurately cast over things.
 
It does right now, I was floored by it in the opening scene. But it'll relinquish that title very soon

2uf6qzn.gif
 
lynux3 said:
Uncharted
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Looks good, but vids and screens have nothing on what I've seen in Halo. Seriously, Chapters 4-6 on Halo 3...the standard to beat. Good luck Naughty Dog.

Oh and the flood look so good in Halo 3 now.
 
It has very good lighting, but HS is the "best in the biz" right now. When you have humans lit so that they never look like plastic zombies, you know you have a winner. On top of everything else where the lighting shines in the game, of course.

Jungle Chase scene level in Uncrharted looks pretty damn amazing in that one picture I've seen as well.
 
syllogism said:
Stalker has better lightning, or maybe it's just the better textures giving that illusion.
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STALKER does a brilliant job of making things look realistic through excellent use of lighting and texture. It's one of very few grim, ugly games that look beautiful.
 
Brandon F said:
Looks good, but vids and screens have nothing on what I've seen in Halo. Seriously, Chapters 4-6 on Halo 3...the standard to beat. Good luck Naughty Dog.

Oh and the flood look so good in Halo 3 now.
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heh, I think the combination of lighting and shadowing make Uncharted seem more impressive from a lighting persective...the shadowing especially is flat out superior Id say.

Environmental art and lighting are def stand out in Halo 3 though...overall its not one of the best looking games, but it is still impressive enough coupled with the gameplay

Again, check HS, it has excellent lighting...
 
Halo 3 was competent but not amazing. It had some nice choice of colors in those mid levels but technically there was nothing particular.

Gears of War still beats Halo 3 by a mile, even if you might prefer the style of Halo.

Technically the lighting was again competent but not extraordinary.
 
Thunderbear said:
Halo 3 was competent but not amazing. It had some nice choice of colors in those mid levels but technically there was nothing particular.

Gears of War still beats Halo 3 by a mile, even if you might prefer the style of Halo.

Technically the lighting was again competent but not extraordinary.
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Lighting is not limited to technical competence. Art, colours and mooding do play a significant influence in its quality. Which is why I wouldn't put Gears up there even in the top 5. I mean I could SEE what it was doing, but it was nothing that was particularly striking aesthetically IMO
 
I'll revisit Heavenly Sword, but it didn't give me the "Holy shit let me pause and gaze around to revel in graphic whorism!" that Halo 3 gave me last night.

I do need to beat HS anyway, I left off around halfway through.

And yea, Gears is awesome looking, but the use of color, scale, and lighting in Halo 3 just presents a far more attractive scene. (Shame those human models look so crap in comparison).
 
Marconelly said:
It has very good lighting, but HS is the "best in the biz" right now. When you have humans lit so that they never look like plastic zombies, you know you have a winner. On top of everything else where the lighting shines in the game, of course.

Jungle Chase scene level in Uncrharted looks pretty damn amazing in that one picture I've seen as well.
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Right answer...HS does have incredible lighting. Really special stuff and definitely at the top. It also has the ability to light and shadow thousands of figures simultaneously (whether they're very visible or not lol)

Oh and Uncharted...

2jflzc4.gif
 
Yoboman said:
It does right now, I was floored by it in the opening scene. But it'll relinquish that title very soon

2uf6qzn.gif
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i was about to ridicule the first guy yelling unchartered, then i saw this gif 0_o
 
Brandon F said:
I'll revisit Heavenly Sword, but it didn't give me the "Holy shit let me pause and gaze around to revel in graphic whorism!" that Halo 3 gave me last night.

I do need to beat HS anyway, I left off around halfway through.

And yea, Gears is awesome looking, but the use of color, scale, and lighting in Halo 3 just presents a far more attractive scene. (Shame those human models look so crap in comparison).
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...okay I was just talking about lighting...personally I think HS is FAR more impressive than Halo 3...the final battle in particular is on another level...Lighting wise I can see them being close, but HS is just much more impressive in general...surprised there is even a comparison really. Its fair enough that its your opinion, and Halo 3 does look good...but it is very blocky. Lighting definitely stood out as has been said though
 
The lighting in Halo 3 has a very natural feel to it. There's been a lot of games where the lighting stands out as incredible, or makes me look at it and marvel. But Halo 3's just feels exactly correct, all the time. It's never over-done, has some nice effects when transitioning from dark to light areas (and vice versa) and is spectacular when appropriate (explosions, moody levels, etc.). It's easily the most convincing I've ever seen, and is the highlight of Bungie's graphics engine.
 
I'd say currently Halo 3 is probably the best lighting as far as overall package. It might not be the most technical, but its very striking and pleasing to the eye.
 
resident evil 5 has the best lighting in a console game ever; it's also pretty much the best-looking console game i've seen to date, and it isn't even out yet.

capgod
 
I think Halo 3 physics and AI is what wowed the most, my god i've never played a game with physics as well done as Halo 3. The collisions are so satisfying, bodies wrap around objects accuratley, with the weight being properly distrbuted. I dont know if its havok or Bungie tweaking it to perfection but its real impressive stuff
 
bud said:
resident evil 5 has the best lighting in a console game ever; it's also pretty much the best-looking console game i've seen to date, and it isn't even out yet.

capgod
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If that trailer is indicative of what I'll be playing, shitchyes
 
It does look very nice in certain instances, but others have WAY too much bloom and the interior lighting is just meh. 7.5/10
 
bud said:
resident evil 5 has the best lighting in a console game ever; it's also pretty much the best-looking console game i've seen to date, and it isn't even out yet.

capgod
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I still don't know how the hell they jumped from LP (which is/was graphically amazing) to something even much more amazing.

although i am fearing a downgrade of some sort...shit can't be all that pretty.
 
It's up there. And I'd also add MotorStorm to that list. Everytime I play it I forget how damn amazing the lighting is in it.
 
McDragon said:
I still don't know how the hell they jumped from LP (which is/was graphically amazing) to something even much more amazing.

although i am fearing a downgrade of some sort...shit can't be all that pretty.
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and don't forget that it's multi-platform. i can't even begin to imagine how it would've looked if it had been developed for only the 360 or ps3.
 
bud said:
and don't forget that it's multi-platform. i can't even begin to imagine how it would've looked if it had been developed for only the 360 or ps3.
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*bow* Capcom *bow*
 
It's good at making nice sized explosions, but it's the same pre-done lighting where no actual shadows are cast on objects. I think Call of Duty 4 is far more impressive.
 
SolidSnakex said:
Crysis wins at everything thoguh.
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Yeah, this is more about console games.

I'd say on the overall, don't ask me why, cause I don't know, PS3 exclusive games like Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, GT5, Motorstorm have better lighting than their 360 counterparts.

I don't know what but there is something in their engines that makes the lighting more realistic, more believable.

I'd put Uncharted's lighting on top.
 
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