Whys the beta look better than the released game? Where all these graphics go!

Titus Balls · Feb 25, 2015

Tar Stone said:
Actually that's a good point - the game can currently look like a genuine NASA photo at times, but we've seen NASA photos to death and space DID used to look more dreamlike.

While I think these go a bit *too* far, this is what I'm using for my Unreal Engine stuff and I honestly think they look better.

Sometimes you really do just had to say "DAMN REALISM" and be done with it.

[video=youtube;lI1YCfiKJ54]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI1YCfiKJ54[/video]

In a short while we'll also have the Homeworld Remastered available and those games has some of the most beautiful space environments ever.

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Janichsan said:
Thanks, there are enough of that. One of Elite's selling point is that the setting is realistic.

If we stuck with "realistic" then apparently the centre of the galaxy would still look like this:

[video=youtube;1rtBmTqSVqQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rtBmTqSVqQ[/video]

[video=youtube;V9k6ACXmLzM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9k6ACXmLzM[/video]

starman · Feb 25, 2015

Does this apply when running in 4k?

Eagle Eye · Feb 25, 2015

Agree with OP. When I start playing I thought nothing is wrong as I can only play in low., so of course it sucks. Then I bought a monster rig with GTX 980. The effects are better, but not as good as I remember from all these videos. I thought my memory is fooling me.

Well apparently they do tone it down. I got the machine, let me have the effect now. Call it unrealistic level of detail (name the setting Exaggerated) I don't care, make it an option. Immediately notice the boost being different (not sure if better), but totally digging explosion and that multicannon effect.

I like the sound from what I heard, felt.... meatier? This is from watchin on iPad Air, I play with Dolby Headphones and the current sould does not seem as good. Can't say if my mind is playing tricks on me on sound, not an audiophile....

But graphics effects definitely was better in the beta videos

Herik · Feb 25, 2015

Zplintz said:
so those two vids were on an identical machine with exact same g settings?

Need to do the same for release to compare.

I prefer the graphics I see in game now to beta and I hates lens flare already.

The lighting on those vids is very flat imo

My opinion as well. Graphics wise and even sound is superior; (although some would dissagree with me on sound).

Obsidian Ant · Feb 25, 2015

fourty6to3 said:
Personally I really liked the skybox of Alpha better than the more "realistic" milky way. It's so boring now. And the sun, the sun was bright and "dangerous" in Alpha.

View attachment 17011

http://cdn.cheatcc.com/news_images/...n Systems, 200 Cubic Light Years of Space.jpg

http://www.sector.sk/files/novinky/2014-2-6-11-7-61/Elite-Dangerous-spustilo-alfa--image-96.jpg

Those were the good times. Just look at that star field in the bottom screenshot!!

Also I loved the lens flare. I really don't understand why it was removed, and not simply put on a slider in the graphics settings. Sure a lot of people didn't like it, but I loved it - and it was a very stand out style in terms of visuals! As much as I like Elite, it is becoming increasingly sterile. What is that saying? Something about how when you attempt to please everyone, you ultimately please no one. Truth is, Frontier are following a strange (but typically common) path; changing the UI because it gives people eye strain / headaches, removing lens flare because people don't like it, changing the star field to make it more "realistic", reducing draw distance because some PCs can't handle it, brightening station interiors because "they are too dark"...a developer keeps doing this, then what is left in the end?

SlickReed · Feb 25, 2015

Granite said:
Those were the good times. Just look at that star field in the bottom screenshot!!

Also I loved the lens flare. I really don't understand why it was removed, and not simply put on a slider in the graphics settings. Sure a lot of people didn't like it, but I loved it - and it was a very stand out style in terms of visuals! As much as I like Elite, it is becoming increasingly sterile. What is that saying? Something about how when you attempt to please everyone, you ultimately please no one. Truth is, Frontier are following a strange (but typically common) path; changing the UI because it gives people eye strain / headaches, removing lens flare because people don't like it, changing the star field to make it more "realistic", reducing draw distance because some PCs can't handle it, brightening station interiors because "they are too dark"...a developer keeps doing this, then what is left in the end?

I have to agree. The alpha graphic settings were very nice. I wish there was a slider option for the player with had PCs that couldn't handle it.

Han Yolo · Feb 25, 2015

Janichsan said:
Thanks, there are enough of that. One of Elite's selling point is that the setting is realistic.

dude, we have to face targeted vessels in order to get basic sensor data - in the year 3k-something(!). So much about realistic. I wouldn't mind if they'd roll back the "look and feel" to pre release. "Real" space is 99.9% boring anyway and the rest would kill you instantly. So, ambience can be like in pre release and instead game-mechanics should be more realistic and plausible

Obsidian Ant · Feb 25, 2015

Do asteroid fields like this even exist in the game still? I haven't found one since Beta...

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

Titus Balls · Feb 25, 2015

Granite said:
Do asteroid fields like this even exist in the game still? I haven't found one since Beta...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nFMQpKKzjY

I spent a lot of time in asteroid belts during my last video run - I found nothing close to this.

fourty6to3 · Feb 25, 2015

Granite said:
Those were the good times. Just look at that star field in the bottom screenshot!!

Also I loved the lens flare. I really don't understand why it was removed, and not simply put on a slider in the graphics settings. Sure a lot of people didn't like it, but I loved it - and it was a very stand out style in terms of visuals! As much as I like Elite, it is becoming increasingly sterile. What is that saying? Something about how when you attempt to please everyone, you ultimately please no one. Truth is, Frontier are following a strange (but typically common) path; changing the UI because it gives people eye strain / headaches, removing lens flare because people don't like it, changing the star field to make it more "realistic", reducing draw distance because some PCs can't handle it, brightening station interiors because "they are too dark"...a developer keeps doing this, then what is left in the end?

Well if they keep on the same path, eventually all we'll have is wireframes

RipperJack · Feb 25, 2015

Argh i opened a can of worms for myself.

I just watched giant bombs beta lets play video and theres so many details in there like a shockwave of the air escaping an exploding ship (kinda looks like force push from the old jedi games). There was so many other little details that werent in the first 2 videos i linked. All these different graphical effects and things they did only to cruely take them away. This isnt like one of those ubisoft videos where they show bullshots and such, people were playing this! You lucky dogs.

Kinda sad panda now i never got to experiance some of this beauty.

Obsidian Ant · Feb 25, 2015

Titus Balls said:
I spent a lot of time in asteroid belts during my last video run - I found nothing close to this.

Yeah, I'm not surprised. I've been in asteroid fields across many thousands of light years, and in terms of density the majority of them look the same, with only a few variations.

There used to be quite a few like the one in that video - and they weren't hard to find. Maybe they were never intended to be that way, but as the video shows it worked well and the frame rates weren't an issue. It's something I really miss, certainly one of the best features of the game.

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fourty6to3 said:
Well if they keep on the same path, eventually all we'll have is wireframes

Might not be a bad thing...

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RipperJack said:
Argh i opened a can of worms for myself.

I just watched giant bombs beta lets play video and theres so many details in there like a shockwave of the air escaping an exploding ship (kinda looks like force push from the old jedi games). There was so many other little details that werent in the first 2 videos i linked. All these different graphical effects and things they did only to cruely take them away. This isnt like one of those ubisoft videos where they show bullshots and such, people were playing this! You lucky dogs.

Kinda sad panda now i never got to experiance some of this beauty.

Well people will tell you the current version is better and that we don't need those effects. So just listen to them and you can stay happy.

marcdxn · Feb 25, 2015

Aplha footage looks miles better why are so many details missing I want it to look like the alpha or have the option to increase the graphics settings to enable the eye candy.

Abil Midena · Feb 25, 2015

Milky Way pic from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way#mediaviewer/File:ESO_-_The_Milky_Way_panorama_(by).jpg

That would be nice.

DefiledDragon · Feb 25, 2015

It's probably worth mentioning that since the last update (I think) there have been a couple of additional graphics options added which default to "high" but can actually be turned up to "ultra". Maybe it's down to this?

Eagle Eye · Feb 25, 2015

DefiledDragon said:
It's probably worth mentioning that since the last update (I think) there have been a couple of additional graphics options added which default to "high" but can actually be turned up to "ultra". Maybe it's down to this?

Nope. I got mine cranked up as high as can be, still nowhere near spectacular as those videos. Which makes me a sad panda.

Brakespear · Feb 25, 2015

I think their shadow system is creaking a bit.

I don't have a fantastic machine, so I tend to see nice clear results when something in particular isn't optimised well. At the moment, it's shadows. With them set to high, I lose about 20-40 FPS in stations... even though the hangar doesn't really have that many visible shadows.

I suspect that's part of the reason they toned down asteroid field density; shadows once again cause the biggest drop in asteroid belts (though interestingly, there's less of a drop compared to the hangar)