Horizon: Zero Dawn - Graphics de-Gushing

NPC's model quality keeps astounding me, I think they're pretty much Until Dawn level which is pure sorcery.
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This is in game:oops:
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The two first NPC are incredible because you only talk with the NPCs one time in the game.... And another things there is less NPC than in other game but I never see conversation with duplicated NPC...
 
And another things there is less NPC than in other game but I never see conversation with duplicated NPC...

Ah it happened to me yesterday, two NPCs sat next to each other, one man et one woman, and they said the exact same sentence one after the other.
 
That's just the natural consequence of using shadow buffers. (ie depth buffers from the point of view of the light.)
All games could behave like that with very little effort, but it's a nice touch :)
 
Not only the models quality themselves are top notch, the likeness to their real world ethnicity counter part is pretty spot on too especially the facial structure and skin tone. GG totally should do a character generator in the sequel, I see great potential for Decima to create some realistic faces:).
And here's another stunner from Gaf this time.
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you can still see polygon edges on alloy whereas Aki's perfectly round. Maybe polycount is not higher on Aki but they may use NURBS ?
Where is Laa-Yosh when we need him ? lol

I work a LOT :D also have domestic stuff going on, both good and bad.

Short stuff about this Aki vs Aloi image:
  • Aki is subdivs tesselated to subpixel polygons (subdivision surface, not NURBS), Aloi is fixed poly model
  • Aki uses displacement, Aloi is just normal map
  • Aki has geo eyebrows and eyelashes, Aloi has texture eyebrow and alpha mapped poly strip for eyelashes
  • Aki and Aloi are both fake reflections, but Aki is per shot, Aloi is generic for the environment
  • Aki uses geo hair, Aloi uses alpha mapped poly strips
  • Aki uses simple shaders, Aloi uses realtime translucency approximation

See, there was no SSS shader in 2001, FFTSW used a pretty aged version of Pixar's Renderman compared to what's possible today. No GI or raytraced shadows / anything either, so lots of hand tweaked spotlights and shadow maps.
But PRMan was able to push a LOT of geometry and use really high res textures. The team also had some of the most talented character artists of the time, and those were quite a few compared to nowadays.

Today, an offline rendered human face can utilize a breath of techniques that are pretty much impossible for a realtime game. However both geo and texture detail can be reasonably high in games, and that allows for the artistry to come through.

The comparison is also quite impressive, with enough render times, the PS4 engine could produce visuals at the level of that 2001 movie.


BTW feel free to PM me, I have little time to just browse around ;)
 
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I work a LOT :D also have domestic stuff going on, both good and bad.

Short stuff about this Aki vs Aloi image:
  • Aki is subdivs tesselated to subpixel polygons (subdivision surface, not NURBS), Aloi is fixed poly model
  • Aki uses displacement, Aloi is just normal map
  • Aki has geo eyebrows and eyelashes, Aloi has texture eyebrow and alpha mapped poly strip for eyelashes
  • Aki and Aloi are both fake reflections, but Aki is per shot, Aloi is generic for the environment
  • Aki uses geo hair, Aloi uses alpha mapped poly strips
  • Aki uses simple shaders, Aloi uses realtime translucency approximation

See, there was no SSS shader in 2001, FFTSW used a pretty aged version of Pixar's Renderman compared to what's possible today. No GI or raytraced shadows / anything either, so lots of hand tweaked spotlights and shadow maps.
But PRMan was able to push a LOT of geometry and use really high res textures. The team also had some of the most talented character artists of the time, and those were quite a few compared to nowadays.

Today, an offline rendered human face can utilize a breath of techniques that are pretty much impossible for a realtime game. However both geo and texture detail can be reasonably high in games, and that allows for the artistry to come through.

The comparison is also quite impressive, with enough render times, the PS4 engine could produce visuals at the level of that 2001 movie.


BTW feel free to PM me, I have little time to just browse around ;)

Thanks Laa-Yosh. Great answer, very informative and interesting as always !
:D
 
I was literally at that area last night:), that part of the map was breathtaking.

But witch part isn't ? :D

The map is beautifully designed, each region has its own personnality and all look so gorgeous and natural. I'm 41h in And Still have some parts unexplored. I do 90% of my travels on foot. I used a horse 2 times and only used fast travel recently.
 
But witch part isn't ? :D

The map is beautifully designed, each region has its own personnality and all look so gorgeous and natural. I'm 41h in And Still have some parts unexplored. I do 90% of my travels on foot. I used a horse 2 times and only used fast travel recently.
You're right, I've lost count of how many times that I had to stop and gawk at what's in front of me. I'm 40hr+ in and only 55% complete, thing is for most other open world game I would have lost interest already and just sticking to the main quests whereas here I keep exploring and taking my time completing all the sides quests, errands and what not:). Have not idea how much of the story is left now.
 
Finally finished the game. Did I see quite a bit of displacement maps around some of the structures, or am I completely wrong? For example the rusty, old, massive telescopes laying about in a deserty kind of area?
 
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