Uncharted 3

[Neb]

I can think of three examples. Halo 3, The Last Guardian and Crysis 2.

There are several games with subtle and good quality bloom and FC2 is also one of them. However on PS3 it might not be as present and/or good quality due to perfomance reasons so that might impact other persons experiences with bloom. I agree though about the lighting it looks quite bad like if it lacked range when trying to have intensive lighting making surfaces and lit objects almost solid white. The rest is nice and artwork really gives depth to the scene with lots of art detail. It's also interesting to see that much of the scene rubble is actually just a 2D texture layer. Guess this works quite well in TPS games and it looks well 'fleshed out' despite very little normal mapping/shading being used on textures.

Seems they also have custom shadowmap resolution depeding on scene as some has horrible aliasing while other scenes have moderate/low aliasing for first cascade. That or it might be sun lightsource vs handplaced 'spotlights'.

 

[patsu]

There is good looking bloom this gen? Wow, I had almost forgotten!!

I think KZ2 simulate HDR with bloom effect.

I just watched the video. I thought it looks great. Why is it ugly ?

 

[nightshade]

I think KZ2 simulate HDR with bloom effect.

I agree, the way Killzone 2 handled it was good to look at (maybe cause it didn't really had as much overly bright lights) and especially good for a game that used LDR lighting/precision. I also like how Uncharted 2 approached HDR and bloom.

I just watched the video. I thought it looks great. Why is it ugly ?

Well I know their answer...too much white crush, all texture detail is lost yada yada

 

[BoardBonobo]

It is definitely shaping up to be one of the best looking games of the upcoming year, and with the gameplay that UC has it's probably going to be one of the best games of 2011.

It's refreshing to see a developer that realises tick boxes on a tech spec sheet don't make for a good game.

 

[ultragpu]

There are several games with subtle and good quality bloom and FC2 is also one of them. However on PS3 it might not be as present and/or good quality due to perfomance reasons so that might impact other persons experiences with bloom. I agree though about the lighting it looks quite bad like if it lacked range when trying to have intensive lighting making surfaces and lit objects almost solid white. The rest is nice and artwork really gives depth to the scene with lots of art detail. It's also interesting to see that much of the scene rubble is actually just a 2D texture layer. Guess this works quite well in TPS games and it looks well 'fleshed out' despite very little normal mapping/shading being used on textures.

Seems they also have custom shadowmap resolution depeding on scene as some has horrible aliasing while other scenes have moderate/low aliasing for first cascade. That or it might be sun lightsource vs handplaced 'spotlights'.

I thought the bloom&HDR effect in PS3 version of FC2 looked just fine, could you do me a comparison to outline the difference? I don't really get the hate for bloom, it gives a very film like feel and besides don't all UC games use HDR anyway?

 

[patsu]

ND said they are going all out to implement their online U3 game modes. If the online platform is any good, they better share their implementations with the rest.

 

[AlNom]

I thought the bloom&HDR effect in PS3 version of FC2 looked just fine, could you do me a comparison to outline the difference? I don't really get the hate for bloom, it gives a very film like feel and besides don't all UC games use HDR anyway?

If it works, it works, but I have noticed that the bloom style is very similar between God of War 3, UC2, and now UC3, and I'm wondering if that's because they're all using the same iteration of RGBM. It's very noticeable to me for the orange blooms across these three games.

 

[patsu]

Bloom is a natural optical effect in human eyes. It's weird there's no bloom in a HDR renderer with eye adaptation for such a bright light.

Are you talking about the temporary white out say.. when the protagonist exits from a tunnel ?

If so, I see it in Gran Turismo 5 and some first person shooters. In a third person game, I don't think it's weird to exclude it.

U2 MP mode has a cinematic view. You can adjust the lighting (intensity, colors, etc.) on the fly when replaying the match:

I only played with it briefly. I'd imagine you can get the look you want by toying with the setup. Don't know how they will improve the system in U3. They haven't mentioned it yet.

 

[L. Scofield]

It's just weird. They obviously use bloom. You can see it on the fire and the sky. Why they don't use it in the case of the sunlight is strange. Maybe it's a bug.

 

[patsu]

How would sunlight + bloom make the video/game look better ? Consumers won't be able to tell if it's strange or not strange to use bloom.

I also don't think they have to add eye adaptation for a third person game, even if it may be a natural optical effect from first person view.

 

[nightshade]

They definitely have bloom for sunlight, you can see the characters have a subtle yellow colored outline around them when in sunlight.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Well, its a game far away from release. UC2 had bloom for sunlight, the orange glow around sunlight all the time.

Hmmm....I am downloading the Gamersyde version. Haven't watched the gameplay yet, hope it is the best quality at gamersyde.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I can't help thinking that if one sees blown out whites in that UC3 video, maybe it's time to check your monitor's contrast settings. Really, in my monitor there is no washed out textures in either of those videos, and the lighting from sunlight doesn't seem overblown, but I do have my monitor calibrated correctly.

 

[Neb]

It's even in their promo shots. Also on moving character in sunlight. Maybe time for a new monitor?

http://www.abload.de/img/sullyshoot4d4j.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/grabkickjc03.jpg

 

[L. Scofield]

How would sunlight + bloom make the video/game look better ? Consumers won't be able to tell if it's strange or not strange to use bloom.

Really? Why would a developer add a deferred renderer? Most people can't tell the difference from lightmaps. Why add HDR? Most people can't tell the difference from LDR. Why add SSAO? Why add HD? etc....

Obviously ND is aiming for a photorealistic renderer and for that bloom on high luminosity areas is a must.

I also don't think they have to add eye adaptation for a third person game, even if it may be a natural optical effect from first person view.

They already have.

I can't help thinking that if one sees blown out whites in that UC3 video, maybe it's time to check your monitor's contrast settings. Really, in my monitor there is no washed out textures in either of those videos, and the lighting from sunlight doesn't seem overblown, but I do have my monitor calibrated correctly.

I'm using a CRT. Everything looks good on it. It's a problem with the material, not the monitor.

It's even in their promo shots. Also on moving character in sunlight. Maybe time for a new monitor?

http://www.abload.de/img/sullyshoot4d4j.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/grabkickjc03.jpg

Sully looks particularly bad in that shot. Blame the lighting.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

More a matter of taste. I am loving the SunLight in the vids. I think it is beautiful ! Yes, it is overblown to simulate the camera's behaviour. Yes, it is white, but I like it a lot. I think its an artistic choice to keep it this way. They could add lotsa bloom to make those areas blurry and the gradation of colour from overbright to normal more gradual. Either they don't have that working as of now, or they choose this look over that.

Obviously the devs very well know bloom, its an old gen trick.

 

[nightshade]

And then you also have to consider that Uncharted doesn't really aims for a photorealistic approach, instead its more surreal and stylized.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Obviously ND is aiming for a photorealistic renderer and for that bloom on high luminosity areas is a must.

ND are aiming squarely at an artistic look, not photorealism, although a reasonably accurate light representation is part of that look. Within their preferred tastes they are free to overdo or underdo whatever effects they want, especially ones that have a pronounced impact on their aesthetic such as bloom and HDR.

I think they are wanting to capture the feel of a video/film camera so we should expect those sorts of optics just like U2. We shouldn't hold them to it though, and call "fail" when an effect is missing as it may be an artistic one.

 

[L. Scofield]

Seems we've reached the stage of apologist over-rationalized arguments.

So, when a game has no AA, we don't criticize it because it was obviously an artistic choice, right? Tearing is a cool effect too. And let's not forget blurry sub HD resolution, makes everything look better. LOL

Of course, even if it is an artistic choice, doesn't mean it's a good one.

Environment wise they certainly are aiming for photorealism, character models fit the definition too.

Oh, and high luminosity areas captured by cameras still produce bloom, even more than human eyes.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

All I am saying is that it is not missing, its a choice, I think, they made ! Then again, thats just what I think.