We all know the sound in ED is outstanding, what about ....

[lysan]

The Graphics?

ED got some serious competition coming along and I'm not talking about [THAT GAME].

However I'm talking about this!

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Sooo Frontier, you need to show us that you mean business and can surpass this. Because it look pretty awesome to me, and now we know it can be done

What do you commanders think, are they up to it?

Ups forgot to insert the link



EDIT typos

 

[Saool]

Well bear in mind the 'that game' is still a year or two away from when most AAA games reveal that they exist at all (something it's detractors always seem to fail/(choose not) to recognise.

But, where are these lovely shots from?

 

[lysan]

Well bear in mind the 'that game' is still a year or two away from when most AAA games reveal that they exist at all (something it's detractors always seem to fail/(choose not) to recognise.

But, where are these lovely shots from?

included in the OP, thanks for reminding me, Its from infinity:Battlescape (Infinity:The Quest for Earth) I-Novae studios.

 

[PanicButton]

Would love to see something like this in Horizons, Guess we gonna have to wait and see what FD cooks up.

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At first glance i thought it was an Asp

 

[Ian Skippy]

My 'problem' with these comparisons is that they do not take context into account. For example, IIRC Star Citizen has an actual aquarium somewhere in the hangar or some such. But is it is detailled as the world's greatest aquarium simulator? Probably not, but not because of technological reasons. Same here: nobody doubts that it is possible to create beautifull space images, but can it be combined with an actual game around it? How much handcrafting does it require? How scaleable is it for high-end and low-end pcs and consoles? Is it easy to update graphically for years to come, or does it need a new engine after three years for any further meaninful improvements?

Most people here, including myself, lack the technical know-how to answer these questions. Those few among us who do have the technical understanding don't have the needed insider-info only those studios have. Comparing specific aspects of two games without considering the rest is pointless. But still, pretty cool pictures of a studio I never heared of before so thanks for posting them!

 

[Sir.Tj]

Moved to general gaming.

 

[Vasea Azure]

Call me negative nancy but judging how the ED looks now and that there are some problems causing downgrades every know and than we will never see pictures like that in Elite.

 

[lysan]

Call me negative nancy but judging how the ED looks now and that there are some problems causing downgrades every know and than we will never see pictures like that in Elite.

Never is a long time, however I hope that FD are listing, and will do their best to get as it good as it can be. It not a questing about if one can do it, as demonstrated by I-Novae studio.

 

[xyphic]

The problem with I-Novae is that while they're able to bring the pretties, there still isn't any sign of a game emerging from it. My suspicion is that they're trying to get the engine into a place where someone will either license it, buy it outright, or invest in an actual game.

CIG, with Star Citizen, have taken the approach that they want their game to be as beautiful as possible, and if it means that it'll never make it to consoles or that every player must buy a new PC to be able to play it, that doesn't bother them. I also don't believe it will bother them if SC is the only game that comes out of their studio -- it seems their aim is to make the game and then see what happens. This is fine, and I'm looking forward to playing it (if I can) or at least watching others play it!

Frontier on the other hand have taken a more pragmatic approach. ED is a real game that's out now, making good money for the business, and that's down to that pragmatic approach. They're willing to sacrifice certain things (some gameplay related, some graphical) to get it out there and selling to a wide audience. As part of its audience we may not fully be on board with that approach, but it *has* enabled them to plan ongoing development and support for the game. A good example of this pragmatic approach is the fidelity of planetary surfaces in the current release. They look decent from a distance, but as you get closer their lack of detail is telling. Frontier have clearly decided that it's not worth putting more development into those areas *now* given that they plan to overhaul them later. Horizons will improve the fidelity of airless planets and moons, and a future expansion will do the same for other planets (gas giants, planets with atmospheres / life, etc.).

 

[CMDR Cillian Raynor]

oh look, someone believes infinity will ever come out....

 

[Ekar]

Would love to see something like this in Horizons, Guess we gonna have to wait and see what FD cooks up.

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https://inovaestudios.blob.core.win...1a33ec43b1c6628685de954339257b31f2943acff.jpg

At first glance i thought it was an Asp

Looking at that middle texture I thought.. 'that's what's missing in the recent ED footage of planet surfaces.. distortions or turbulence in the terrain noise to break things up a bit more. The texture also looks really detailed from the angle it was captured.. then I looked again and realised it's a repeating, tileable texture. Ed's planets are going to use repeating textures, but not for the main landforms I presume, but more as a detail texture on top of things. I can't see how you'd get away with using tileable textures for terrain displacement for things planet sized?

(edit: ah, seems that would be more of a bump map for cooled lava areas possibly, which could be defined using procedural masks. No idea really.)

Anyway, the images posted look really nice and are quite evocative. Thanks for posting, will check this out.

 

[Windscreen Smudge]

So the videos I'd seen initially of this game weren't impressive in the least as far as their procedural generation went. It looked like they were just doing the usual noise maps without any real regard to geology and astronomy.

[video=youtube;9DTFpKlH1LE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DTFpKlH1LE[/video]


Looks like they stepped up their game considerably getting ready for their kickstarter campaign, and now Frontier needs to step theirs up.

Fix your planetary rings Frontier, they look like crap. Make it look less like a pit of identical boulders and more like a dusty impression of where something was before it was destroyed, as they should be. Your planets that have no atmosphere are too soft, and completely lack any angle getting close to 90, any overhangs, outcroppings or Mesas.

You're in a race now. You're supposed to be the Kings of PG, defend your title.