Demo Screenshots and experiences.

[leib10]

I agree that it has received many upgrades, but eventually it will become obsolete no matter what kind of facelifts it gets. Source is great because it's not really that taxing on systems, but it's only a matter of time before Source becomes too long in the tooth to compete with newer engines.

 

[Asuka]

woooot! RELEASED!!!!!! WOOOOT!

 

[Pesmerga]

I disagree with the above comments on graphics; Source runs smoother, has a much broader range of art styles, and does static lighting way better than any game I've played. The dynamic shadows, shader effects, and particle systems are amazing on L4D, too. Bleeding edge games like Gears of War 2 and Farcry 2 still look wretched, in my opinion. There's no real sense of art direction besides OK HERES A MILLION POLY CHARACTER AND THIS SUPER HUGE EXPLOSION AND WOW HOLY **** REALISTIC WATER REFRACTIONS.

L4D and all Source games have a certain charm that made HL1 mods so amazing- it all seemed to tie together and you could just jump right into a mod and feel right at home. Same with L4D and Portal and TF2- it just all brings it home and you feel nice and fuzzy, like everything is going to be ok.

 

[leib10]

I'll agree that Source's lighting and particle systems are the best out there today, but so many materials are low poly that it looks both great and horrible at the same time. It seems to be a common sentiment among the reviewers- that is, if you listen to them...

 

[I♥HALFLIFE]

I disagree with the above comments on graphics; Source runs smoother, has a much broader range of art styles, and does static lighting way better than any game I've played. The dynamic shadows, shader effects, and particle systems are amazing on L4D, too. Bleeding edge games like Gears of War 2 and Farcry 2 still look wretched, in my opinion. There's no real sense of art direction besides OK HERES A MILLION POLY CHARACTER AND THIS SUPER HUGE EXPLOSION AND WOW HOLY **** REALISTIC WATER REFRACTIONS.

L4D and all Source games have a certain charm that made HL1 mods so amazing- it all seemed to tie together and you could just jump right into a mod and feel right at home. Same with L4D and Portal and TF2- it just all brings it home and you feel nice and fuzzy, like everything is going to be ok.

I agree with this. I think Valve knows how to balance graphics and playability in terms of FPS. Thats why everything as a composition looks great and individual areas might look cheap. They truly know how to keep a video game, a video game.

Unlike Crysis games, where you dont actually play the game. The actual game is to get it running from a slideshow to a motion picture. Theeen you can benchmark it, maybe.

Also, L4Ds graphics are really better than Episode 2's graphics on max? Because E2's graphics with bloom, blur, AA and AF blew me away...

 

[leib10]

I thought Episode Two's graphics were more impressive on the whole than L4D's.

 

[WacK]

Could it be because L4D is a darker game in general? I really doubt that valve would make the character models and such less better when making L4D.