Hot Take: Graphics have completely stagnated since 2019

NightmareFarm

NightmareFarm

Member
Ever since 2019/2020 there hasn't really been any significant noticeable improvements in terms of graphical prowess, despite the release of the 9th gen consoles. There have been improvements in terms of frame rate and faster loading however.

I think the graphical leap next gen will be absolutely insane where borderline augmented reality visuals such as the matrix tech demo will be the norm, but this current gen feels like one massive waiting period before then where we bridge the gap to 60fps(which is definitely worth it).
 
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Do we really need more? I know more would be nice but with games costing 100 million, or more, do we want them really go down this path? It's not sustainable imo.
 
I wouldn't say they have stagnated. They're just being abused and milked to death as the primary (marketing-)feature for many game devs.

Games having good graphics is a boring topic.
 
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NightmareFarm said:
Ever since 2019/2020 there hasn't really been any significant noticeable improvements in terms of graphical prowess, despite the release of the 9th gen consoles. There have been improvements in terms of frame rate and faster loading however.

I think the graphical leap next gen will be absolutely insane where footage such as the matrix tech demo will be the norm, but this current gen feels like one massive waiting period before then where we bridge the gap to 60fps.
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I think you need to step away from gaming
 
Maybe it's time to push things forward on the gameplay side. We have stronger cpu's and high speed ssd's, yet most game studios don't seem to want to actually make use of them. We've only seen glimpses so far.
 
I would say it has become easier to make things with good graphics, which results in more content with good gfx. Also lighting has improved since 2019.
 
There's a heated debate about Hellblade 2 vs Death Stranding 2 currently, both featuring realistic looking humans in realistic looking environments animated realistically with mocap on everything. I saw another one where the exact same car gets analyzed under slightly different lighting conditions in GT7 and Forza on the same track.

Reminds me of watching wine tasters.
 
You mean 2007
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NightmareFarm said:
Why are you getting defensive? I'm not even saying it is that big of a deal that graphics have stagnated.
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Well you just dont seem happy, from your selling of the PS5 because there isnt enough variety to giving the State of Play an 'E', to this, it just sounds like you are getting fed up of gaming.
 
midnightAI said:
Well you just dont seem happy, from your selling of the PS5 because there isnt enough variety to giving the State of Play an 'E', to this, it just sounds like you are getting fed up of gaming
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Unrelated to the topic but I never said i'm selling my PS5 or that i'm fed up with gaming.
 
I am the whiney 60fps brigade and I say make all the games 60fps minimum and then we can tweak the graphics.

If dragons dogma 2 is 30fps I don't know what the excuse is there...it's not the whiny 60fps crowd.
 
A) Every console generation lasts 10 or more years now.
B) With every console generation the graphics are dumbed down to support that generation in perpetuam.

With that knowledge it is going to be 15+ years before you see mainstream games using the power of today's flagship GPUs.

This argument began way back with the 360/PS3 era (2009), and was infuriating to see Windows machines on DX10/11 and UE4 with all these graphics enhancements. Yet, games were still being coded for DX9 because the consoles only supported that.

Conclusion: Wait until 2035 to see what all today's technology does for games development.
 
NightmareFarm said:
Unrelated to the topic but I never said i'm selling my PS5 or that i'm fed up with gaming.
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Sorry, I took it as when you said you wasnt happy with the PS5 output (too many realistic games) and you was thinking of getting an XBox that you was going to sell the PS5, my apologies
 
NightmareFarm said:
8th gen was a huge noticeable leap from 7th gen although not as much as 7th gen was from 6th gen.
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I remember 8th gen games having a bunch of small improvements, which admittedly added up but I never felt blown away. We're seeing a repeat of that this gen only much less noticeable.
 
DenchDeckard said:
I am the whiney 60fps brigade and I say make all the games 60fps minimum and then we can tweak the graphics.

If dragons dogma 2 is 30fps I don't know what the excuse is there...it's not the whiny 60fps crowd.
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I agree. We only have a few years left until 10th gen, we might as well hold out until then whilst bridging the 60fps gap for this generation.
 
This is not a hot take. The extra power has been used to reduce optimization and dev time to cut cost and put games out faster. Even first party titles like Horizon:FW get release before it's ready and then get patched months after with graphical and performance improvements. The stagnation in graphics has nothing to do with the demand of higher framerates and has everything to do with cost cutting.
 
Feel Like I'm On 42 said:
Why? He's not wrong .. this gen has been disappointing for graphics
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The closer we get to realism, the more disappointing it feels because the leaps get smaller and smaller every year.

Once we hit realism, you can't really go past that can you? I give it 20-30 years and we will not be able to tell the difference between reality and the game we're playing. That is unless world war 3 doesn't take place in between.
 
I think this could've been true in 2022, but now? Nah.

Between Alan Wake II, Cyberpunk 2077 w/ path tracing, Callisto Protocol, Hellblade II, Death Stranding 2, Fable, Grand Theft Auto VI, etc.. etc.. we're in the beginnings of a very significant jump in visual fidelity.
 
The innovation is on PC. Aside from more power, you also get higher refresh/frame rates and higher + ultrawide resolution which make a massive difference.

The same game on the same settings will look better at 120 FPS than it will at 30.

Graphics have definitely improved in the last five years though. There are some games from then that look better than current games but games generally look better now, and technology (at least on PC) is much further along. Ray Tracing matured and Path Tracing has become a thing.

I haven't had a console collect more dust than this generation. There's always been a place for console gaming but this generation doesn't seem to offer anything other than a few timed exclusives at a huge compromise, at least for me.
 
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Bry0 said:
*laughs in path traced cyberpunk*
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... and that's just one example. Folks often think things "stagnate" because they don't feel like there are notable improvements. In reality, the effort being applied has lessened a bit, this is true, but gaming graphics are nowhere close a ceiling and things will continue to get better. They haven't even reached the modern standards in the 3D Art community that I'm a part of and an artist in. So, I laugh at this idea every time I read it.
 
Disagreed
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Theres also cyberpunk, plague tale 2, flight sim and forbidden west, nothing before 2019 compares to those with the exception metro exodus.
 
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Diminishing returns. Right now, visual fidelity depends far more in the art direction and budget than the hardware. There are even games with technically simpler graphics that look better than more graphically demanding alternatives.
 
Pushing graphics forward is now more about the labour involved. Not just that the hardware allows it. It's exceedingly expensive

There are also only a few Devs capable to push that envelope. Rockstar, Naughty Dog, SSM, Guerrilla, CD Projekt maybe Epic Games (but they are stuck in Fortnite aesthetics). Maybe Kojima knocking on the door as well

The first two are the biggest in the visuals debate and haven't released a current gen game. The rest have only made cross gen games. GTA6 and DS2 trailer look like a step up
 
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NightmareFarm said:
Ever since 2019/2020 there hasn't really been any significant noticeable improvements in terms of graphical prowess, despite the release of the 9th gen consoles. There have been improvements in terms of frame rate and faster loading however.

I think the graphical leap next gen will be absolutely insane where borderline augmented reality visuals such as the matrix tech demo will be the norm, but this current gen feels like one massive waiting period before then where we bridge the gap to 60fps(which is definitely worth it).
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Cyberpunk Path Traced, Alan Wake Path Traced and Avatar with it's RT GI look way better than whatever PS4 game launched in 2019.
 
Maybe companies realized that Nintendo has always been right! Why continue to improve them when Fornite and Minecraft continue being the most profitable games with their PS2-era graphics?
Or maybe no company wants to fall into the uncanny valley... the ragdoll physics in some of the RDR2 kills are uncanny, a body falling doesn't have time to move the way they do, it just falls down. Maybe they haven't discovered gravity yet...
 
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Hot take: who care!? Good aesthetics trumps tech…..that's always been the case for me.
 
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Last year we saw the implementation of real-time pathtracing on AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake II; three months ago we were mindblown by Grand Theft Auto VI's raytraced visuals; and just last night we saw over nine minutes of Death Stranding 2 looking like a borderline real-time CGI across both cutscenes and gameplay.

So what are you even talking about? And come to think of it, I haven't even mentioned the upcoming release of Hellblade II next May, another showcase of state-of-the-art real-time visuals and Unreal Engine 5's poster child.
 
T4keD0wN said:
Disagreed
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Theres also cyberpunk, plague tale 2, flight sim and forbidden west, nothing before 2019 compares to those with the exception metro exodus.
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lol imo the worst 2 examples. especially avatar which looks like a ps3 game in some scenes. nah man.
alan wake 2 is fine but it's baked game. Just like tlou2 for the most part... and its shit on consoles
 
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