Part of it could be because they're too anal sticking too the "original design". I've seen this for many remakes (and mods). I can understand it when the original game have absolutely stellar art with tons of thought behind it. But sometimes this is not the case and it's just kind of half-assed and people have gotten used to it - "the rocks should have color X, the ground should have mainly color Y and have 1 type of grass - because the original game had these colors!", then it's not the right way to go, imo.
But I did feel the original had, for its time, a good look. The problem is, rendering technology has advanced a lot since. PBR is the single greatest advancement in shader-based rendering. Materials finally don't look flat or like plastic. Of course, that requires more work.
Shadow of the Colossus Remake uses a physically based rendering system that allows the light to realitically interact with various materials. It is this rendering system that creates the dynamic lighting transitions between sandy deserts, tree filled forests, and the other environments in the game.
Interesting. So why do the materials look so bland? Could be a material art issue. It is becoming increasingly difficult to produce game art assets
There's a lot of games that have used a physically based rendering approach.
To truly get the most out of this though and the various material properties and definitions everything from lighting, shadows and the very textures and 3d geometry need to work with the implementation or the result can be mixed. Implementing or remastering a existing game without re-creating new assets from scratch or trying to update to PBR partway through is also not the best decision.
Origins main shortcoming is that the game is very conservative with resource usage so compared to the sample assets the in-game results tend to have compression artifacts though for the games size it's a pretty good compromise between performance and visual quality whether it's PC or console.
Treyarch I believe has mentioned using physically based shading in Black Ops 1 from 2010 so it's been around for a while though just "having" physically based shading isn't much and it needs to work with the rest of the engine and it's up to artists and programmers to implement it to best effect though the games art style whether realistic or not also influences what the game in question will look like.
And performance of course, Origins does have global illumination of a sort which further improves light and shadow interaction and compared to Unity it's not a baked or static implementation and not as scaled back as it was in Syndicate which helps set the game apart.
(I can't speculate how it works on console but on PC a large part of the shader routine is done through compute shaders, even the games level of detail system is controlled in this way.)
But there is a cost, Horizon Zero Dawn has been praised for it's visual fidelity but they do use a very aggressive culling system to handle the performance impact on the PS4 to accomplish this though when it works as it should the player should be unaware that everything outside of the current cone of vision is essentially no longer rendered at all.
EDIT: Time and the overall size of the development team also factors in I suppose, Ubisoft worked on AC: Origins since before Unity was released and they didn't have one studio but all of them were involved in some way or another and instead of a handful of artists working on the game assets they had over 700 at the height of the games development and then people involved with managing all of this.
PBR is an all-in pipeline. It is not possible to mix and match. So if that pipeline is used here, it means the material artists have dropped the ball here. In order to achieve the best results, a process known as photogrammetry is used to extract textures and meshes from high quality photographs. But that is a best case scenario (if done right); it's not to say that artists cannot make them on their own, it's just harder to achieve correctly. But possible.
Epic spoke about their process here:
Spoiler:
BTW, using PBR is still not 100% assured that materials will come out physically correct. For example, Rise of the Tomb Raider used a PBR-esque pipeline, but the shaders used in the implementation do not account for energy conservation. Still look good, but not physically correct.
Then it is in the shaders and the material properties where things get a bit messy I'm assuming but yeah I remember hearing how setting up a game engine for PBR required changing the entire workflow though it gives texture artists more control too once they get used to working with the technique but the entire render pipeline has to change.
Time constraints perhaps being the main factor as to why some games are not as good with their implementation of having physically based shading although from what I have heard of both the physically based shading and physically based rendering terms and the way it's used it seems that with video games the technique still has a ways to go but I'm inclined to believe it's also down to time and while artists working with game development are talented when you only have so much time for each asset that might hinder things a bit.
For this game I wonder if the choice of colors also had an effect on results such as more muted lighting and overall look of the game world too but it could just be time restraints, Fallout 4 if I remember this right switched over to physically based partway through development but the graphics and visual consistency overall is pretty mixed as a result with metallic surfaces being given the most attention so they tend to really stand out and the rest is a bit more uniform.
Although translating what certain materials should look like and getting this in-game is probably not the easiest to set up thus why game engines such as Cry-Engine and Unreal have so many material packs on their digital store front.
(EDIT: But once the dev studio starts getting this down and builds a library of materials they can draw upon this in future games too.)
Photogrammetry is also seeing increased usage but it takes considerable time to use this process (EDIT: As far as I have heard that is.) which is why several games featuring this have similar assets from existing art packs.
(Takes a lot of cameras and careful placement and then even more photos and turning these into game ready 3d models, textures and material properties and shaders.)
Skin and organic surfaces in particular can be very tricky to get right, sub-surface scattering for human skin and simulating transparency but then there's also hair or fur simulation which would come into play against the colossi.
(To use it as a example again Assassin's Creed Origins accounts for eye reflections, generally that's faked via cube-maps in most games.)
It does look like a fairly good remaster and they are doing a more complete update of the existing assets, perhaps like Vurt said the developers are sticking very closely to the games original artistic designs and effects even if that means it does not take full advantage of the newest techniques and advancements.
EDIT: That's how it appears from the video at least, they take advantage of the GPU to achieve more detailed 3d geometry (EDIT: And grass!) and there's less need to hide things in fog and instead you can have a higher draw distance plus enhancements to overall lighting and shadowing of areas such as the interior of those ruins.
(Though PS2 was quite a powerhouse for it's time too even if it had some shortcomings.)
EDIT: But I do have more to learn about how the process works and the overall workflow of a physically based rendering model and everything having to work through the system and the various material definitions whether it's the ever popular metal or nature such as wood or stone and also organic surfaces such as skin.
Still it is one of the bigger advancements for gaming in several years and more and more developers are transitioning to this model now so it should only increase further in quality though a newer generation console hardware couldn't hurt to allow for further refinement to lighting, shadows and effects such as physics and maybe even AI eventually ha ha.
I recently installed Assassins Creed Unity, after not being able to play it at release due to terrible bugs and performance, and it really does look "next gen" compared to titles that came before. I mean, you had some that stood out, such as Alien Isolation (which used PBR on last-gen consoles), but by large, before PBR and more modern lighting techniques, games were very bland. Look at UE3-era games, what we once considered amazing. It's almost unbearable to look these days.
A game that does not use PBR but fakes it rather well is Batman Arkham Knight, another "diamond in the rough". Batman Arkham Knight is technically UE3, but the whole renderer is replaced.
shame game was released 12yrs ago already, looks easily the most stunning game on ps4 now but played already back in 2006, they could of made a new game or something instead.
Played the original version maybe like half an hour and went on something else...Never went back to it.
One thing I'm undecided though is will I play it on 1440p30fps or 1080p60fps...
What's you thoughts or passed experienced with that kind of settings ?
Monitor below in sig.
Thanks
Try 60 FPS, then try to go back to 30 (you won't). 1080p native + 60 FPS is better imo.. overall i dont get those non-native resolutions.. if you have 1440p monitor it will look better though.
I played the original way back on release. It was an exceptional game. I know when my wife sits and watches through the whole game and says 'you better not play that without me'
Looking forward to revisiting this one. I've even considered upgrading my old ps4 to the pro for the 60fps.
By lovingly recreating that feeling from scratch, this remake is not just a means for Sony to sell you Shadow of the Colossus again—it proves that its appeal is not rooted in mere nostalgia but is a lasting work of quality that transcends its era.
Nostalgia is a fickle thing. Memories are often tinted and we play them up to be better than they actually were, and Bluepoint tapped into nostalgia and memory to bring us the Shadow of the Colossus that we remember. Whether you’re climbing a colossus for the first time, or revisiting an old friend a decade later, the legacy lives on. Shadow of the Colossus is even more amazing today than it was when it first released, and earns itself a spot as a must-own for anyone with a PS4. I’ve never been as enamored with this game as I am in 2018. Bluepoint Games has successfully honored the original while completely making it their own, a balancing act that only the most devoted of fans could pull off. It’s awe inspiring. It’s colossal. It’s the perfect remake. It’s Shadow of the Colossus exactly as I remember it, yet it’s Shadow of the Colossus like it’s never been before.
To celebrate the incredible reviews that Shadow of the Colossus on PS4 is getting today, you can head over to Live.PlayStation.com where Sony is counting down to the launch of the game next week. Here you can earn an exclusive Shadow of the Colossus dynamic theme by completing “quests” which consist of watching a couple of videos about the game.
Quote:
Open to 17+ w/ PSN account. Quest ends 2/9/2018 or until supplies last. Code valid in all PlayStation Store available regions in the Americas. Expires 1/26/21.
I remember this upsetting me too much with the slow, lumbering deaths of the colossi...made worse by the fact that most of them are just wandering around minding their own business and don't even attack you - god only knows how much better/worse that would look and feel with these kind of graphics. torn on this one!
I remember this upsetting me too much with the slow, lumbering deaths of the colossi...made worse by the fact that most of them are just wandering around minding their own business and don't even attack you - god only knows how much better/worse that would look and feel with these kind of graphics. torn on this one!
Heh, i feel the same. This is why i most likely would not even like Monster Hunter. To me you are just killing off very unique and innocent beings. If i attack and kill stuff in games i want to at least somehow feel immersed in that experience and not just feel kind of bad about it, that im just some asshole making unique creatures go extinct.
so is this game insta buying material ? I Have a 20% off coupon for US PSN so I'm wondering if I should get it.
If you like single player games with a lot of atmosphere and an intriguing story with great graphics and smooth game play (ps4 pro preferably) but will give you an extreme feeling of loneliness as the world is somewhat big but not very populated if at all then....yes it's worth it!!
But that's just my personal opinion off course and also I never played that game at all.
I'm enjoying it for sure.
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Yeah I had it on PS2 and PS3 but because of piracy () I never got around to find the time to play this. Sounds sweet, also have a PS4 Pro so can run this at 60fps. Thanks for the mini review.
Yeah I had it on PS2 and PS3 but because of piracy () I never got around to find the time to play this. Sounds sweet, also have a PS4 Pro so can run this at 60fps. Thanks for the mini review.
Yeah I prefer also the 1080p60 even though I have a 1440p monitor. I might try to see the difference if image quality is better or fluidity but I'm pretty sure I'll go back to 1080p.
Just beat the first colossus!!
Felt bad though killing him loll!!..Poor guy minding his own business... I'm guessing the further you go on the feeling might change upon difficulty loll!!
***Edit - Got to rectify on populated. I meant with characters..loll!! Otherwise the nature does feel alive...You have birds, lizards that apparently you can kill to collect energy ?
You also have some little yellow sprinkling thingy scattered all around the world. (You can ear little sounds/music when your close to one.)
Found one but could not interact with it. Maybe I have to go in further on the main quest to activate them or something.
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