Graphical Revolutions in HL2

Roland Deschain

Roland Deschain

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Hey, right of the bet, I don't care for graphics: simple as that.

But since all the other aspects of HL2 have been over-talked (physics, gameplay, weaponary, lip syncing), I just wondered what Half Life 2 will bring to the frontier of graphics. I heard something about cool water effects. . .

PS: somebody should sue all those developing companies for developing games that force us to spend thousands and thousands of dollars just to be able to play them :)
 
I like good gfx and i want it to always be better. Yes, i also care about gameplay, ai, physics etc. But the 1st thing i see in a game is gfx, then i look into story etc. If one of my friends tells me "yo check out that game" and it has bad gfx but my friend says gameplay is kickass i will surely look into it.
 
Definately the water effects. They are amazing looking.
They've also somehow managed to make incredibly lifelike enviroments, as seen in the 2004 e3 demo this year. The appartment complex and the station Gordon arrives at are absolutely amazing. There's a dirty and dark feel to it, and it definately feels real. Not to be flaming Doom 3, as I will definately love that game also (just not the extent of HL2) but even though Doom 3's graphical engine can produce more detailed enviroments, it doesn't necessarily look as life like as HL2. Then again, that could be because you're playing it on Mars. :) Regardless, they both look damn impressive. This year's going to be so great for gamers. :eek:
 
The grainy textures add to the game too, give it a...well...grainy and gritty feel, more realistic, plus the sounds are very sharp this time around.
 
Outstanding water affects
The most realistic textures I've ever seen in any game I've seen to date.
Nice shadowing( many glitches though), Nice lighting.
 
grainy and gritty textures? that's not really a feature, that's just good artistry

but yeah, HL2 probably won't be that revolutionary graphically when it comes out.

It's got HDR, which would be pretty cool if you could light your whole map with HDR textures.. other than that, every FPS that comes out in the future is going to have the new best water effect, it's one of the most pimpable shader effects there is
 
I think the faces look insanely cool.
 
yeah the facial animation is definately rediculously cool :D

I guess that counts as a graphical feature
 
Ohh ya facial animations. One of the largest steps ever taken for game interaction.
 
:x Personally, I don't think Half Life 2 accomplished what some other game engines can't in terms of graphics. But, yeah the graphics are good.
 
I like the metallic shine effect in the dx9 vid.
 
Are there demoes for teh water effects (just curious) like there are for the dynamic lighting. If there is, post the link.
 
Videos on HL2's freznel refraction only? I don't think so, I think the best example of water effect can be seen in both E3 vids as well and especially the teaser trailer prior to this years E3. That shows a couple of different techniques, from calm lakes to canal water.
 
What does the freznel effect do again? its that the rippling when things fall into it?
 
Fresnel refraction, someone correct me if I get I this wrong is the effect of water relfection based on the objects that surrounds the water and is reflected by the water through fresnel shaders.
 
aeroripper said:
What does the freznel effect do again? its that the rippling when things fall into it?
Click to expand...

I think it's when an object is under the water, and you're above the water (and vice versa) the objects will be all distorted because y'know, it's like that in the Earth world place...

thing.
 
shaders

just wondering if this game we have ALL been waiting ages for supports ultra shadow II and Cinefx 3.0?

Cause ive just ordered an geforce 6800 ultra (and that IS TAKING AN AGE TO BE DELIVERED AS WELL!)

Also does anyone know an website where u can purchase half life, mouse mats and coffee mugs etc?

p.s can they hurry up and release it!
PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE! :sniper:
 
lazicsavo said:
PS: somebody should sue all those developing companies for developing games that force us to spend thousands and thousands of dollars just to be able to play them :)
Click to expand...
If that would be the case then we would still play games with doom1 graphics.

vicious circle.
You need to spend alot of money to make it possible for games to push the graphical fronteir further.
 
I believe the future of games is in story telling and so the feature I like the best which no one else has is the faces and lip synch (you see it, it's graphics).

edit: Too tired for grammar, it will do.
 
What HL2 brings in the gfx area is real looking and believable world . The best looking game\world\place isn't necessary the one with the sharpest texture , or the shiniest object , or any other gfx feature that used in the fullest.

HL2 presents believable , real-looking world and shows that you don't need to use all of the fancy gfx elements to create a beautiful and believable world.
 
Fresnel is to do with realistic relfection and refraction of materials. An example of this can be seen on the water, as it is more reflective the further away you are from it.
 
Unfotunately with the delay, FarCry was the revolutionary one. All the new games coming out now are compared to FarCry graphically speaking of course. Right or wrong they are. Does that mean that FarCry will be better than HL2? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I'm just saying that the HL2 graphics have lost some the thunder they had a year and a half ago. Yes, I agree they still look fabulous, but imagine if HL2 was first to market.

Personally I really don't care if the graphics are top notch. Gameplay and story are important to me, and I have a feeling that HL2 will be the cream of this year's crop.
 
If you ask me, Half-Life 2 looks way better than FarCry. FarCry looked way to cartoony and the models looked kind of goofy. Half-Life 2 on the other hand has a believable look to it, and is actually breath taking when you look at it.
 
Fishlore said:
Unfotunately with the delay, FarCry was the revolutionary one. All the new games coming out now are compared to FarCry graphically speaking of course. Right or wrong they are. Does that mean that FarCry will be better than HL2? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I'm just saying that the HL2 graphics have lost some the thunder they had a year and a half ago. Yes, I agree they still look fabulous, but imagine if HL2 was first to market.

Personally I really don't care if the graphics are top notch. Gameplay and story are important to me, and I have a feeling that HL2 will be the cream of this year's crop.
Click to expand...

Most games are compared to Far cry (graphically) at this momment becuase we know what it has to offer and seen all what it's got to offer. HL2 and doomIII haven't been released yet - so yeah know one can compare them with any new latest release. However, yes at the momment Far cry is the leader in graphics amongst games, but personally I think Chronicles of Riddick looks slightly better than it (graphically and gameplay wise).
 
How is Chronicles? I don't know the first thing about it. Is it an FPS?
 
Yepp, it will be a revulution. When all the ones who hasn't seen the videos see the game they will be stunned.
 
I think overall the graphics look great. They look real, and VALVe don't need to create good looking graphics by using cool shadows. hint: Doom 3.
 
aeroripper said:
What does the freznel effect do again? its that the rippling when things fall into it?
Click to expand...

No. Fresnel determines the refractivity of water based on the angle and distance of the observer. In real life, water is more refractive at a higher angle and a smaller distance, like when you're standing in a river, and look into the water at your feet, it's really refractive and you can look into the bottom. But in the distance the angle at which you view is smaller and the water is less refractive (you can hardly see anything under the surface) and more reflective.

As for graphical revolutions, HL2 isn't one. But neither is Far Cry, or any other game the last few years. A revolution in graphics was from 2D to 3D (Wolfenstein) the transfer from sprite monsters to full polygon (Quake).
HL2 and Far Cry just used the power of modern pc's, they didn't invent anything new in terms of graphics.
 
dangerousdarrin said:
I think overall the graphics look great. They look real, and VALVe don't need to create good looking graphics by using cool shadows. hint: Doom 3.
Click to expand...
The shadows are not the only thing about doom 3 that looks good. I think half life 2 is going to look great and better than far cry :E
 
Speaking of space-warps, grenades won't make visible "air-ripple" effects, will they? Cuz those always look retardedly out of place. As for Far-Cry comparison, You need to see FC running on maxXx graphics (maximise all graphic options). It rivals HL2! Problem is the specs for the max are upUPUP!!
 
I feel that you are incorrect. There were multiple revolutions: jump from 2d to 3d, then various polygon shading modes (ex. Phong), and now custom shaders. Games like HL2 are spearheading the shader revolution in graphics.

Rendering convincing sub-surface scattering of light rays using shader code that is under 128 bytes long? I would call that pretty damn revolutionary.

And let's not forget various revolutions in visibility culling (i.e. the problem of not drawing the polygons that the player does not see). I have witnessed a number of revolutionary approaches in the past few years (from BSP trees of quake, to Unreal's portals to the gamut of current approaches that are all very nifty).

Do not belittle the contributions of game developers to the field of computer graphics. Even with really powerful hardware, without efficient graphics algorithms the games would be crawling right now. Optimization is very important, as well as innovation in developing shaders and other graphics algorithms.

Here's some more areas which have experienced revolutions in the past few years: texture compression, level of detail, animation blending, facial animation. Source innovates in all of those areas, and you must acknowledge that displaying the complexity of the level City 17 is not a mundane task whose success we owe entirely to hardware muscle.

Stan R.

PvtRyan said:
As for graphical revolutions, HL2 isn't one. But neither is Far Cry, or any other game the last few years. A revolution in graphics was from 2D to 3D (Wolfenstein) the transfer from sprite monsters to full polygon (Quake).
HL2 and Far Cry just used the power of modern pc's, they didn't invent anything new in terms of graphics.
Click to expand...
 
HL2's graphics won't revolutionize much.. The only thing they're really doing that's different with the graphics is that they concentrate all polygons on the faces of the characters.
 
Yup, all the games I'm playing right now look better than HL2...

HAHAHAHAAHAHAA!!! wooo... you guys are so funny :LOL:

You were joking right?
 
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