Halo: Reach

[COPS N RAPPERS]

slightly depressing. Those pics suggest vids can look pretty decent in the halo series even if the graphics of actual gameplay aren't top of the line.

not much really changes in and out of gameplay, that's the HDR lighting that's making it look pretty good (also coupled with the increased in REZ/AA for those pics.)

you know, using one of those pics of Halo3 from Luna's selection (number 6)

there is definitely an increase in the geometry detail department Reach has over Halo3
http://www.ascendantjustice.com/files/cocop/The Covenant/The Covenant Large/ChiefCutscene-large.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/24bj0is.jpg

 

[L. Scofield]

Shader-wise is a big improvement.

Now with SSS as well, it seems.

 

[Detha]

I'm not sure whether this matters or not, but Bungie specifically says real-time, not in-engine. But, I'm not exactly sure if this deviates it from the FM3 replay mode or anything.

http://twitter.com/bungietweets/status/6616587410

 

[semitope]

The unfortunate thing is they wont come clean about what it actually is till the game is almost out or the first beta screens appear. Would be nice if they'd just say such and such is what we did.

The cutscene pics for halo 3 don't quite look like what the gameplay is btw. This could really be similar to the scenes in uncharted 2 like was mentioned

 

[TEEDA]

Can't wait to see more of the covenant, Elite , Brutes models.
Halo Wars renders looked good.

 

[Mobius1aic]

One of my biggest complaints about the first three Halo games was the character modeling. All the human characters had rather large heads, even in the third game. Looked funny.

 

[rekator]

If you look at the HD trailer on Bungie site and check the antennas or machine-gun on warthog you can check the AA, seems to be MSAA*4. But due to design of the trailer the aliasing is not easy to see. So in-game we can have a MSAA*2 and don't see it in the same design, but if you have high contrasted elements the aliasing can be easily saw, like in all games.

 

[AlNom]

It's much more than 4xMSAA, and the lack of any specular aliasing would imply a supersampling. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be some integer multiple of 720p as well.

 

[obonicus]

I wonder if they'll keep the covenant colorful (particularly elites), if they're going for a grittier, more 'Gears'-like experience.

 

[nightshade]

I still think the cutscenes are ala RE5 ie. they look immensely stunning,is real time but at the same time quite a bit superior to the gameplay visuals.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

I wonder if they'll keep the covenant colorful (particularly elites), if they're going for a grittier, more 'Gears'-like experience.

Color-coded elites are a simple matter, they can just turn down the saturation. Maybe add different helmets too, now there's enough resolution compared to Halo1. I guess it's clear to everyone that the color variance was there to help the player prioritize enemies, right?

More important is the voice and animation work for the Grunts... They were quite comical when in panic, but anyone who played the games on Legendary knows how dangerous they can also be. However the comic relief probably won't fit the more serious mood that Reach seems to aim for.

 

[obonicus]

Color-coded elites are a simple matter, they can just turn down the saturation. Maybe add different helmets too, now there's enough resolution compared to Halo1. I guess it's clear to everyone that the color variance was there to help the player prioritize enemies, right?

Sure, but it also became part of the look of the game. I mean, the needler still looks as colorful as ever from those leaked pics earlier. Is that something they'd change? The millions of halo fans already know what to expect. And the 'different helmet' thing sounds too much like they did with Brutes in H3 with their progressively fancier hats.

More important is the voice and animation work for the Grunts... They were quite comical when in panic, but anyone who played the games on Legendary knows how dangerous they can also be. However the comic relief probably won't fit the more serious mood that Reach seems to aim for.

And this also; I don't know if comic relief was necessary, but enemies that scatter and run away because of your badassness seem to be a big part of the whole experience. That and it's a way to make the AI seem more interesting.

 

[gongo]

Yeah, what it looks like to me is engine based game assets rendered at "bullshot" quality ala FM3. So the game will look similar although aliasing, textures, and LODs may be different.

And how the world animates....those little weighty touches and nuances...unseen in realtime this gen or even with Crysis....

I have no problem with Bungie announcing Halo R in the best possible light (eg. bullshotted assets), because Sony has done it, Ubisoft loves doing it, EA, EPic, Bioware, Codemasters and the list goes on.....but to defend Bungie as some super honest team wrt to "bullshotting", i draw the line! Some of you need to go back and watch Halo 2 and 3 announcement, those "games" arent available for sales....Bungie are the masters of hype, in a good way for their fans, so thats is that.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Sure, but it also became part of the look of the game. I mean, the needler still looks as colorful as ever from those leaked pics earlier.

I wouldn't trust those leaked images at all - the trailer's imagery is completely different (more advanced), so even if the leak was not a fake, it's still about a year old IMHO.

 

[obonicus]

I wouldn't trust those leaked images at all - the trailer's imagery is completely different (more advanced), so even if the leak was not a fake, it's still about a year old IMHO.

I sort of wonder if we'll see a 'new Star Wars Trilogy' thing here, where the earlier stuff looks more advanced than the later stuff, thanks to better effects tech.

 

[semitope]

I still think the cutscenes are ala RE5 ie. they look immensely stunning,is real time but at the same time quite a bit superior to the gameplay visuals.

My thoughts as well. A quote from the DF analysis of the trailer

Over and above all of this, it is also worth remembering that the cinematics often show the engine running in a "best case" scenario. Certainly, in Halo 3, the cut-scenes often showed a higher graphical quality than the actual gameplay - the scene where the Arbiter stabs the Prophet of Truth showed a dramatic difference in lighting. How or whether this translates to Reach won't be apparent until we get to see proper in-game screenshots, which we don't expect until the beta launches some time in 2010.

So its not out of the ordinary for Bungie. I do still wish they'd just put what is real out there, seems to me there is no point lying to gamers (even if its the norm) when they will have their hands on the game eventually anyway. I personally can handle a game not looking perfect in a trailer as long as it looks fun, I believe the gaming industry should dump that bit of advertising culture and just be real.

 

[scently]

I think it is necessary to note the difference between the past halo games trailers and the one for reach; those were trailers, while this is ingame cinematics and not a trailer.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Ouch:
http://www.split-screen.com/2009/12/13/how-halo-reach-graphics-are-real-time-and-borrow-from-killzone-2/

And it's not just the general title and conclusion, but the arguments are pretty stupid too. Not to mention the comments.

 

[liolio]

Ouch:
http://www.split-screen.com/2009/12...ics-are-real-time-and-borrow-from-killzone-2/

And it's not just the general title and conclusion, but the arguments are pretty stupid too. Not to mention the comments.

It's a jewel indeed

 

[Scott_Arm]

I'm expecting a pretty significant change from Halo3 to Reach. I'm not sure I enjoy the new colour palette. I liked that Halo had a vibrant look before, but I guess everything is going the muted, gritty way and they're adjusting to what the consumers are asking for.

What we see in game will be somewhere between that video and ODST. Every sequel I've played this gen has offered some improvement from one game to the next, and some made huge leaps between one game and the next. I don't see why Bungie, which is a hugely talented and wealthy dev, would be any different.