Now that the dust has settled, what's the 360 really like?

[Sis]

textures and frame rate?? The framerate in PGR3 is locked, the texturing is awesome. again, if it's 640x480, you're not going to notice much of a difference. also, as mentioned before this thread was for people that have new impressions after owning an xbox 360.

I really don't get the frame rate thing. NFS:MW is 60 fps, correct? And yet I think it's sense of speed is sluggish compared to PGR's 30 fps (and I think PGR "feels" fast). Now, I also thought Forza had a sluggish sense of speed and it was at 30 fps.

I don't know. I don't doubt that people can tell a difference, but I don't see it.

.Sis

EDIT: Actually, I've heard there's issues with NFS:MS framerate. I must have been thinking of Ridge Racer 6.

 

[3roxor]

Well if your opinion is based off of a demo kiosk; playing a game that does not use the system to its fullest(sp?), and without seeing / experiencing everything else the system is capable of (including Live) then yes KK could be right.

But now who's fault is that? (I know the answer)

 

[wco81]

I spent about 15-30 minutes with the Kameo demo.

Looked nice and sharp on that Samsung LCD.

But it really didn't look like a big jump. Maybe the next-generation (including the PS3) will be a modest advance over the current gen.

Or maybe we have to wait for second and third gen games.

 

[Sis]

But now who's fault is that? (I know the answer)

The Cookie Monster?

What's your point?

.Sis

 

[Sis]

I spent about 15-30 minutes with the Kameo demo.

Looked nice and sharp on that Samsung LCD.

But it really didn't look like a big jump. Maybe the next-generation (including the PS3) will be a modest advance over the current gen.

Or maybe we have to wait for second and third gen games.

You really do need to sit down with it in your own home. I can barely stomach playing the old Xbox games now (my brother talked me into playing Far Cry this past weekend). Kameo, Condemned, PGR, and Call of Duty 2 are really gorgeous (though I agree that PGR could have been better--it's definitely not flawless) and feel like a leap beyond old Xbox games.

Also, I brought my 360 over to a friend's house for a party. He only had a 35 inch SDTV and to be honest I was very disappointed. The graphics looked soft and muted and just kinda ick.

.Sis

EDIT: Also, while PGR is not flawless graphically, cockpit view is. It is absolutely crazy the sense of speed you get from that view--and when you get this nice wind noise at real high speeds it's just the coolest experience. Especially since I sit about 4 feet away from my TV in a gamer chair (to mimic the feel of a race car )

 

[Oboro Shogun]

The cockpit view of PGR 3 looks as close to photo realistic while moving as it comes at this point. I'm running it on a 51 inch Hitachi and it looks very smooth.

 

[scooby_dooby]

They didn't even bother to AA the ingame menus. Worse still, even the startup screen of the console, with the spherical 360 logo has aliasing..

The bootup logo does not have one single jaggy. Obviously your TV was not set up properly.

 

[scooby_dooby]

EDIT: Also, while PGR is not flawless graphically, cockpit view is. It is absolutely crazy the sense of speed you get from that view--and when you get this nice wind noise at real high speeds it's just the coolest experience. Especially since I sit about 4 feet away from my TV in a gamer chair (to mimic the feel of a race car )

Ya i'm not in love with PGR, actually fairly dissapointed. BUt I will say, the cockpit view is freaking awesome.

 

[3dcgi]

I see aliasing in PGR3's menu, but AA is definitely on. I don't notice any aliasing while I'm playing although I'm sure if could find some if I looked. PGR3 didn't give me the same first impression as when I first saw Gran Turismo 3 in the store, but it's a good looking and fun game. Part of the reason the initial wow factor isn't quite a big is because a lot of the polygons are in the background and people tend to look at the cars first. Cars look good in current generation games. The environments in PGR3 are marvelous.

 

[Oboro Shogun]

Cars have reached a plateau until they stop trying to make them look like ultra shiney showroom cars.

 

[London Geezer]

Well this is in no way a post to put the X360 down, but PGR3 was very very jaggy while playing, and i know for a fact that the system was set up perfectly because Kameo looked stunning and FIFA (or whatever it was) did too.

Obviously when playing at the pods, you're very close to the screen, but saying PGR3 is jaggie free is just wrong. It might have AA, but the jaggies, especially on the cars and building edges in 3rd person view, are very apparent.

It's evident that the game is running at a slightly lower resolution than the others and scaled up. And it's obvious that a screen as sharp as the Samsung will show those little flaws in all their glory, for better or for worse, especially at a close distance....

As i said, this is in no way a X360 put-down. I just think they should have worked on PGR3 a bit more, considering it's one of the highest profile games MS has.

 

[ChryZ]

A friend and I were x-mas shopping last week and we were able to check out 4 kiosks at various locations (including EB). I must say my initial impression is pretty much a carbon copy of Squeaks. PGR3's gameplay was decent, but the tracks were nowhere as detailed as the dev's blog suggested. The whole experience was very underwhelming. It can only get better, but the current stuff is hardly "next-gen" material. If the PS3 is following this example, then I'm going to wait for 2nd or 3rd gen software before getting into next-gen.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Note that all Samsung LCD TVs seem to have a very high level of sharpening turned on out of the box. It looks terrible IMHO, and it would certainly emphasize every bit of aliasing...

 

[London Geezer]

Note that all Samsung LCD TVs seem to have a very high level of sharpening turned on out of the box. It looks terrible IMHO, and it would certainly emphasize every bit of aliasing...

Oh yes it does. You can see every little pixel in all its glory. From a distance it's not that bad, but close up it's a bit of an eye-sore, and the pods in the shops will all be looked at from a rather close distance...

Oh well...

I'm still wondering what Sony will come up to, as i expect lots of games to be without AA - unless they disable HDR which is kinda crap if you ask me... Will they put the very new and very expensive Bravia's do some mojo to soften up the image?

 

[NavNucST3]

Note that all Samsung LCD TVs seem to have a very high level of sharpening turned on out of the box. It looks terrible IMHO, and it would certainly emphasize every bit of aliasing...

I concur, however, it isn't just the Samsungs. Regrettably, "Sharpness" is still a relic from the old days, it should die along with NTSC. The worst part is most people turn Sharpness UP!!!

I must also agree with some other posters, the topic at hand should be from the perspective of those of us who own the system. Strange how those of us who own the system, can't stand to even look at the ps2 or xbox anymore, yet those who are waiting for the PS3 or for a price drop seem to feel that the 360 is not next-gen.

To each his own, I now return you to your jaggie-free, 16x9 HD, 5.1 PS2 and XBOX systems

I'm starting to believe developers, gamers are stupid...

 

[Tap In]

sharpness should typically be set between 33 and 45% IMO

most sets are over 50% and are much jaggier than intended to be.

I agree with the poster that said, if you don't OWN the system and have it on your own HDTV to set it up properly and really play the games, don't bother trying to make a true assessment.

2nd and 3rd gen software will be something to surprise to us all I'm sure.

It's way too early to say this is not next gen.

 

[wco81]

I agree with the poster that said, if you don't OWN the system and have it on your own HDTV to set it up properly and really play the games, don't bother trying to make a true assessment.

Only problem with that is that the console companies need a lot more buyers than people who will camp out and buy the console sight unseen.

There are a lot of people who will have to be dazzled at the POS to lay down $400 and more.

 

[Squeak]

I agree with the poster that said, if you don't OWN the system and have it on your own HDTV to set it up properly and really play the games, don't bother trying to make a true assessment.

Oh please! If the current batch of 360 games really was that great a leap graphically, you wouldn't need all that fine-tuning of the set. You would be able to see a great improvement immediately.
Besides, I can't see how texture shimmering and bilinear blur will improve with calibration.

BTW, I checked and the kiosk was set to 720p

 

[pipo]

In that case...

The bootup logo does not have one single jaggy.

QFT.

Something or somebody is wrong here.

 

[Squeak]

Granted, it isn't very noticeable, but if you look at the top of the sphere you should be able to see some jaggies.