The graphics of yesterday... in 1080p.
Yeah, Bethesda is going to have a lot of competition in this open world RPG genre this gen so they hopefully will do a better job in the visual department at some time. Looks like Skyrim with slightly better asset resolution... at least the PC will have something like ENB to help hide the ugly.
Do those other open world games also let you put hundreds and thousands of objects together and interact with them with physics applied? If not, you're comparing apples and oranges.There are other open world games that look significantly better at that resolution and frame rate on PS4.
If the game is designed to run at a decent framerate doing just that, but that isn't a part of the core gameplay, is it really a meaningful feature and a worthwhile compromise of the visuals?Do those other open world games also let you put hundreds and thousands of objects together and interact with them with physics applied? If not, you're comparing apples and oranges.
For some it is because you can use objects in the game world to effect combat strategies. More importantly, Bethesda think that these are worthwhile compromises. And using the metrics of commercial success (sales) and critic success (awards) a lot of other people seem to agree. As do Obsidian who created the Fallout franchise and created New Vegas. They had the opportunity to make different decisions and decided to follow what is clearly a popular formula.If the game is designed to run at a decent framerate doing just that, but that isn't a part of the core gameplay, is it really a meaningful feature and a worthwhile compromise of the visuals?
Some people do, others like to use them in decorative ways. Personally I use objects to obscure the enemy's view of me, to create distractions and to use as ammunition. The nice this is in Bethesda games you can use things however you like - within the constraints of the game's physics.But hundreds and thousands? People go around putting together piles of hundreds and thousands of things?
Is it worth sacrificing the quality of the visuals for everyone to allow a few people to stuff a room full of cheese without impacting framerate? Why not have the visuals at a higher base level and let the cheese-stuffers have to work with a lower framerate?
I don't know that Bethesda's games have a secret goal with regard to their design intentions. Objects in past games have had clear purpose. In Fallout 4 they have added purpose given objects can now be dismantled into component parts for crafting purposes, e.g. dismantling a microscope for the glass lens for a weapons sight. Like most mechanics in Fallout and Elder Scrolls, their use is not mandatory to complete the main quest line, only there to give the player options.We also have to accept that not all 'decisions' game devs make are on purpose and super well thought out with a hidden global secret goal we are to dumb to understand.