So who precisely of you fine folks had the vision of "improving" the graphics after 4 years?

[Deleted member 110222]

I like it.

 

[Sole Hunter]

This is awesome.

Reddit: Wow, this game looks awesome! Finally, great exploration gameplay! This game really has come to live now!
Steam: Wow, this is amazing! 92%!
PC Gamer: Wow, I'm all ready to dive back in!
Here: Everything is terrible. Btw, why dont the devs talk to us here?

[haha]

The same 12 forum dads are always angry when this game doesn't look like 1982 Elite. The rest of the world is happy, so that's what matter.

My headset was $100 and the text is crisp as can be. Progress and all that.

I have no issues reading anything, sure the new lighting make things more colorful in supercruise but nothing else really changed. I find the new color palette refreshing.

 

[Canoe]

Awful. It looks like someone's smeared the screen with the kind of whiteout you get in shop windows when they're undergoing a refit or closing down. :-/

 

[Dargo187]

I like it immensely on my Xbox One X, same goes for when I played the beta on my PC account. Overall it's a wonderful improvement. Washed out my foot.[haha]

 

[Stealthie]

Serious: who?

Four years of crisp and beautiful immersion.

Turned into a washed out, cartoony looking, garishly lightened imitation of the former, which looks like my graphics card is dying a slow and cruel death.

And for what? So that some asteroid belts glow brighter? Some planets shine more? While the rest of the universe, including, nonsensically, all HUD elements and even entirely separate screens like the galaxy map, suffer from the same "improvement"?

I am an older player. Like really older. When I can't, even with my reading glasses, read stuff on a screen easily anymore, someone goofed up.

Honestly, I like some of te effects within the new system but the flaws outweigh the improvements.

What they've done is take something that was alright for everybody and change it in a way that some people seem to like but which has quantifiable penalties for others.
That isn't the way "improvements" are supposed to work.

 

[znôrt]

it does look more cartoonish, but the haze and toning do make everything blend better together. it's a trade-off, i know this will put off some but i never had a problem with virtual worlds being cartoonish as long as they just fit and feel convincing, and this has indeed improved. quite a bit, i would say. for me this is a good step although it might benefit from more tuning or, even better, add tuning to the options screen.

then there's the multiple light sources thing, really hoping that gets in at some point.

 

[krautbernd]

What they've done is take something that was alright for everybody and change it in a way that some people seem to like but which has quantifiable penalties for others.
That isn't the way "improvements" are supposed to work.

I simply don't see any reason to not give players a choice here - don't like the new look? Here's a handy option to turn it off. Better yet, let us configure the amount of vaseline we want on our screen. Maybe color as well.

 

[[VR] Merkir]

In some instances the new lighting looks pretty great, like down on planet surfaces or in asteroid rings. Then sometimes it looks pretty bad, like when looking at the Milky Way near a colored star, or when looking at your HUD inside certain stations, or just when inside certain stations.

The concept of adaptive lighting and star colors affecting the environment is great and in theory would improve the look of the game considerably. The problem is Frontier seems to have applied the color gradient to the final output screen after everything else has been rendered. It would have worked much better if the gradient was selectively applied, this way things like the color of the background Milky Way wouldn’t turn red near a red star, or the HUD wouldn’t be tinted by simply being in the same system as a white star (even when the star is behind you). I hate to use the word “lazy”, I’d rather say the improved lighting system was implemented in a “simplistic” manner, and the result is a game which is inconsistent and compromised visually.

I’d love to see the improved lighting system greatly improved some more. Right now I’m not sure it’s honestly better than we had in 3.2. Sometimes it is, but often it isn’t.

+1.
Feedback to FDev... the above most closely resembles my experience too.

Stations and HUD view are all "greyed-out" now, on monitor and VR, with VR worse.

Strange thing is that I don't remember it being like this in beta at all, and I was in beta a lot.

 

[Gully Foyle]

Serious: who?

Four years of crisp and beautiful immersion.

Turned into a washed out, cartoony looking, garishly lightened imitation of the former, which looks like my graphics card is dying a slow and cruel death.

And for what? So that some asteroid belts glow brighter? Some planets shine more? While the rest of the universe, including, nonsensically, all HUD elements and even entirely separate screens like the galaxy map, suffer from the same "improvement"?

I am an older player. Like really older. When I can't, even with my reading glasses, read stuff on a screen easily anymore, someone goofed up.

I wish there was a switch or a slider for it.

 

[znôrt]

Here's a handy option to turn it off.

keeping both lighting modes would be a lot of duplicate code, to maintain separately, at the very least. worst case i could even cause conflicts which would have to be dealt with. i can totally understand that such transversal changes are 'one or the other'.

Better yet, let us configure the amount of vaseline we want on our screen. Maybe color as well.

yes, this very much.

 

[CMDR Zack Monroe]

I like it.

Yeah?

Check out your Cobra's engines now in external camera close to a star (all you gonna see anyway of her, cuz "lighting").

Bring serious sunglasses.

 

[znôrt]

worst case i could even cause conflicts which would have to be dealt with.

please, mods, i didn't mean that. just a typo

 

[bitstorm]

Some people say text is crystal clear.

Other people say they can't read anything anymore.

I mean why not post some screenshots that way there's something clear to talk around?

Personally I've not been able to get into the game so have been unable to check, but I will say pre-patch I loathed the bloom from engines and lights, it was awful (even with bloom disabled), hopefully that's not worse.

 

[monogenetic]

I love it. It looks absolutely fine to me.

 

[Cobreean]

You think it looks bad on a flat screen (or CRT - you're "old" right?), you should see it in VR! Its horrible!

You'ld think ED wasn't the best game ever for VR by the way they are making decisions at FDEV...

via Imgflip Meme Generator


New content looks fine on my Rift and GTX 1080.

Haven't made any tweaks yet but I'm sure I will.

My text was always crystal clear now it seems abit more-so even.

Never really played ED w/o VR (DK2 days) or Voice Attack.. must have Voice Attack....

-Cob

 

[CMDR Zack Monroe]

Some people say text is crystal clear.

Other people say they can't read anything anymore.

I mean why not post some screenshots that way there's something clear to talk around?

Personally I've not been able to get into the game so have been unable to check, but I will say pre-patch I loathed the bloom from engines and lights, it was awful (even with bloom disabled), hopefully that's not worse.

If you didn't like the bloom before, you better fasten your seat belts.

You are in for a true neon ride now.

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

Folks dont like change.

I'm fine with change, but have to agree with some of the criticisms.
It looks a bit cartoony, the blacks are gray and stations are very washed out.

 

[DaveB]

There is one thing wrong with the lighting changes in 3.3. ONLY one thing.

And that one thing is the local star color stomping all over the entire frames color gradient when so many of the things we see on our screens *all the time we are playing* are light emitters and should not be subject to that effect.

The volumetrics and fogginess? I like it.
The changes to rendering different types of planets and stars? Great.
The haze in station docking bays? Requires a few settings tweaks but one you've made them it looks fantastic.

And then as soon as all those awesome things were nicely rendered they vomit all over it with a color gradient postprocess about as subtle or appropriate as a teenagers instagram feed.

 

[CMDR Zack Monroe]

"And then as soon as all those awesome things were nicely rendered they vomit all over it with a color gradient postprocess about as subtle or appropriate as a teenagers instagram feed."

I'd say you sort of nailed it hard. And won the thread.

 

[yodajedifishmaster]

i'll be honest that i cant tell much difference. maybe some places look brighter and others darker... more contrast. but then i have my graphics set custom with bloom DEFINITELY off. among othert things. but i also depend on the adjudication server being in a good mood and i cant tell you what settings i have precisely until it is in a good mood again and lets me play.

also im about 19k ly away from anywhere to land so i havent seen a station. i hope they arent trying to compete with No Mans Sky by going more cartoony.