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Alan Wake 2 is the best looking game released this year?

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
This game has photo mode? How to access it???
Frans/Otis Camera Tools.
Remedy seemingly forgot to include a photomode.
But since its the same engine as Control which also got a Frans/Otis Camera Tool, it wasnt hard to implement.
Some people think that skin rendering in aw2 is the best there is.

I don't like how waxy they look, especially the women.
The skin shader is absolutely Alan Wakes weakest point.
Callisto Protocol has an absolutely amazing skin shader, and some nice materials but the game as whole isnt particularly artistically interesting.
Id hope the devs share that skin shader or it gets injected into main branch of Unreal because its absolutely amazing.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Is that supposed to be blowing anyone away?


thelastofuspartii_202fek9k.jpg



This is a PS4 game.

When control came out some people also tried to make it seem like it was the best looking game ever and now it’s barely ever mentioned.

And I’m not even getting into animations where Alan Wake 2 often falters or visual artifacts from aggressive upscaling.

It looks really good but I’m sorry if not everybody is blown away like you are.

tlou2 is CLEARLY better looking. At least the characters are for sure.
Death Stranding characters are comparable. HFW too
AW2 is not quite up there with those
 

GymWolf

Member
Frans/Otis Camera Tools.
Remedy seemingly forgot to include a photomode.
But since its the same engine as Control which also got a Frans/Otis Camera Tool, it wasnt hard to implement.

The skin shader is absolutely Alan Wakes weakest point.
Callisto Protocol has an absolutely amazing skin shader, and some nice materials but the game as whole isnt particularly artistically interesting.
Id hope the devs share that skin shader or it gets injected into main branch of Unreal because its absolutely amazing.
False, you should play the game to form a better opinion.
 

GymWolf

Member
i-understood-that-reference-chris-evans.gif


Also, very true.

And yes, out of the entire package, characters are the weakest part. Still, overall it's top 3 graphically, EASY.
The game looks too good for me, i need to switch in the horizon 2 models to make it look 10x times worse.

Or was it 100x times worse?
 
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GymWolf

Member
Character models in Horizon 2 art style would look ridiculous in these realistic environments.
Of course, they are dressed like morons and the colors are way more vivid.

They would make a complete different impression with more natural colors and normal clothes.

Also, yeah made up faces feels wrong when the game use real life actors scan, i get it.

Details wise tho, they would not be out of place at all.
 
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I'm sorry, but if we get TLOU Part 2 on PC at 4K there's nothing that will beat it.

Cyberpunk is impressive in it's own right but ND are the only studio that incorporates every aspect of fidelity into a single game.

To me, speed of waterfalls and water in general often play a huge factor, as well as animations and interaction with physics objects such as trash or foliage in an environment.
 

GymWolf

Member
I'm sorry, but if we get TLOU Part 2 on PC at 4K there's nothing that will beat it.

Cyberpunk is impressive in it's own right but ND are the only studio that incorporates every aspect of fidelity into a single game.

To me, speed of waterfalls and water in general often play a huge factor, as well as animations and interaction with physics objects such as trash or foliage in an environment.
You already kinda have it with the tlou1 cheap ass remake, the engine is the same and improvements are minimal so it's basically tlou2 in 4k.

If ND is still the old ND, Tlou3 is probably gonna pulverize aw2 except for the rtx stuff, but that game is probably 2-3 years away.
 
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tmlDan

Member
It’s far from best looking ps5 game. Not with this terrible image quality, shimmering, fsr breakup and grainy ssr that doesn’t reflect anything
There's that Cabin tourist place right when you first get Bright Falls that has the worst shimmering i've ever seen, its horrid
 

Mister Wolf

Member
I'm sorry, but if we get TLOU Part 2 on PC at 4K there's nothing that will beat it.

Cyberpunk is impressive in it's own right but ND are the only studio that incorporates every aspect of fidelity into a single game.

To me, speed of waterfalls and water in general often play a huge factor, as well as animations and interaction with physics objects such as trash or foliage in an environment.

Old outdated lighting tech to accommodate dated hardware showing the flaws of baked lighting interacting with dynamic objects:

Halo-Infinite-Gameplay-Trailer-Analysis-Are-The-Graphics-Really-Flat-2-30-screenshot.png

Halo-Infinite-Gameplay-Trailer-Analysis-Are-The-Graphics-Really-Flat-2-36-screenshot.png
 
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Alan Wake 2 thread wouldn't be complete without people saying that it's not impressive because The Last of Us 2 exists.

Here's a little reminder of how The Last of Us 2 looks during gameplay:

F98ZPDJWQAAfOqI


F98ZMqEXQAASWkY


F98ZJ7wWMAAM-Vw


F98ZHjoXEAAWmoV


F98ZE1RXgAA6L96
How are the physics interactions in AW2 though? One scene you shared here has a full river simulation behind it and the shot with those computers, usually 95% of them can be knocked over and have full foley audio attached to them.

I'm not going to argue that actual ray tracing is better, lighting wise, than AW2 and a lot of background textures TLOU Part 2 that you're not supposed to focus on are of an obvious lower quality (this is why they use heavy film grain, even Spiderman 2 does this) but animations, physics interactions combined with their brilliant baked lighting would out do AW2 in my opinion if we see it running on a PC.

And yes I get your point with TLOU Part 1, it's very impressive I'll say but even that is not Part 2.
 
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MidGenRefresh

*Refreshes biennially
How are the physics interactions in AW2 though? One scene you shared here has a full river simulation behind it and the shot with those computers, usually 95% of them can be knocked over and have full foley audio attached to them.

I'm not going to argue that actual ray tracing is better, lighting wise, than AW2 and a lot of background textures TLOU Part 2 that you're not supposed to focus on are of an obvious lower quality (this is why they use heavy film grain, even Spiderman 2 does this) but animations, physics interactions combined with their brilliant baked lighting would out do AW2 in my opinion if we see it running on a PC.

And yes I get your point with TLOU Part 1, it's very impressive I'll say but even that is not Part 2.

Alan Wake 2 is from the same guys who did Control... YES, environments are not static and you can destroy a lot of it. You can shoot windows, car tires and lights, etc.

Aren’t these just poor screens? It’s easy to show a bad snap:
co4NyL1.jpg
rtETgHv.jpg
fkPbH1Q.jpg
Tpj8dNy.jpg
Curiously you can’t move the camera around the characters in AW2.

No, this is just a section of the game that I played just now and took few screenshots. Ironically, the screenshots you posted look generation above. And yes, you can see the face just start running in direction opposite to what your camera stick is...
 

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
Aren’t these just poor screens? It’s easy to show a bad snap:
co4NyL1.jpg
rtETgHv.jpg
fkPbH1Q.jpg
Tpj8dNy.jpg
Curiously you can’t move the camera around the characters in AW2 to see their faces.

Your AW2 screens are bad because they're composed poorly and you're looking at walls and the ground.

The TLOU 2 screens look dated because the game looks dated.

And I love TLOU 2. It's one of my favorite games of all time. But modern games are surpassing it. Which is something we should be celebrating! Not admonishing.
 

tommib

Member
Alan Wake 2 is from the same guys who did Control... YES, environments are not static and you can destroy a lot of it. You can shoot windows, car tires and lights, etc.



No, this is just a section of the game that I played just now and took few screenshots. Ironically, the screenshots you posted look generation above. And yes, you can see the face just start running in direction opposite to what your camera stick is...
Ha! I didn’t know you could run facing the camera actually. Thanks!

I still can’t take a screen because the moment you press screen capture the character moves back.
 
Sp2 looking lively is a complete facade tho since you barely interact with ncps and no interaction whatsoever with cars, infamous 1 on ps2 does both better by a landslide.

It's lively from a distance because when you try to interact with the world, stuff like watch dogs 2, rdr2, gta5, old bethesda open worlds destroy the poor spidey.

All modern sony open world have fake npcs because they like their games as clean and optimized as possible and they don't want to deal with actual npcs interactions that bring a whole new level of bugs, glitches, ia problems, physics problems etc.

And no, having a prompt to high five or npcs reacting like ps1 npcs with a generic animation when danger is close, it's not what i call significant interaction.

I love sony open world for different reasons, but feeling lively in the sense of having a cause-response with the world is definitely not their forte.

You know how much i love horizon so you know it's not just a jab at sony, it's just how they operate.
All true but I like that facade😝

Speaking of Infamous this popped into my feed the other day.



First thought. Jesus Christ Infamous 1 has aged poorly you could mistake it for a ps2 game😉

Second thought. Second Son has held up pretty well graphically

Third thought. 4.2 million views Infamous is still pretty popular nugde nudge wink wink Sony!
 

GymWolf

Member
All true but I like that facade😝

Speaking of Infamous this popped into my feed the other day.



First thought. Jesus Christ Infamous 1 has aged poorly you could mistake it for a ps2 game😉

Second thought. Second Son has held up pretty well graphically

Third thought. 4.2 million views Infamous is still pretty popular nugde nudge wink wink Sony!

I prefer real lively world but sony does other things better than rockstar or ubisoft or bethesda in their open worlds so it's a matter of developers priorities.

I would like to see sony trying the rockstar way for once.
 

GymWolf

Member
Yeah tlou 2 doesn't look too hot during normal gameplay compared to modern games.

Art direction and animations can only go that far in a still frame img comparison.

But the game has his moments when it still looks incredible for a ps4 game, like the whole section in the boat or some other scenes with a lot of vegetation.
 

GymWolf

Member
Aren’t these just poor screens? It’s easy to show a bad snap:
Curiously you can’t move the camera around the characters in AW2 to see their faces.
Can't you use the old method of going close to a wall, rotate the camera until it bounce on the wall giving you a super zoom on the character.

We old gents used this method to check tits and stuff from up close when the camera didn't zoomed enough on the characters.
 

tommib

Member
Can't you use the old method of going close to a wall, rotate the camera until it bounce on the wall giving you a super zoom on the character.

We old gents used this method to check tits and stuff from up close when the camera didn't zoomed enough on the characters.
You actually can’t! It’s super hard to get the camera to move around the character. I tried because I wanted to check Alan’s ass but no luck.
 

Senua

Member
I'm sorry, but if we get TLOU Part 2 on PC at 4K there's nothing that will beat it.
Dude, as impressive as TLoU P2 was, it's a Playstation 4 game. These threads are always infested with people saying, with a straight face that a game designed around a 1.8tf console looks better than fucking Alan wake 2. The limitations are so evident in gameplay. ND will probably blow us away again with their next game but let's be realistic in the meantime lol
 

Freeman76

Member
DF is a fucking joke. Maybe on PC, I havent seen it. On Series X its one of the poorer looking games I've played this year. The FSR is terrible, I dont even know why they add it. Some surfaces are so shimmery and fuzzy, especially metallic items like lockers, you shine a torch on them and loads of little white dots appear. In places its a terrible looking game.

I would rather have an FSR toggle than a CA toggle (not that this has that either). I dont know how companies think these effects are worth keeping in. I'm playing Talos 2, a game that cost 25 quid, and I would say that looks better than AW2.
 

Monserrat

Banned
If you can play Robocop on PC using Special K's HDR, I'd say this is on the best graphics fetishistic experiences of the year... even the boring and grey concrete cold shooting range under the police station looks fantastic with all the fluorescent lamps in there. These shots look like they have a polarized layer compared to what you get in game with SK and a decent hdr monitor:

Robo-Cop-Win64-Shipping-2023-11-02-15-01-31-756.jpg

Robo-Cop-Win64-Shipping-2023-11-02-15-01-23-237.jpg

Robo-Cop-Win64-Shipping-2023-11-02-15-02-05-085.jpg
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Alan Wake 2 thread wouldn't be complete without people saying that it's not impressive because The Last of Us 2 exists.

Here's a little reminder of how The Last of Us 2 looks during gameplay:

F98ZPDJWQAAfOqI


F98ZMqEXQAASWkY


F98ZJ7wWMAAM-Vw


F98ZHjoXEAAWmoV


F98ZE1RXgAA6L96


shocked-omg.gif



It wasnt even that long ago I considered TLoU 2 absolutely stunning.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Yeah tlou 2 doesn't look too hot during normal gameplay compared to modern games.

Art direction and animations can only go that far in a still frame img comparison.

But the game has his moments when it still looks incredible for a ps4 game, like the whole section in the boat or some other scenes with a lot of vegetation.
What. You guys are out of your mind. It looks just as good in game. And the animations are incredible. It’s the best playing game ever of this type. It’s so smooth
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Aren’t these just poor screens? It’s easy to show a bad snap:
co4NyL1.jpg
rtETgHv.jpg
fkPbH1Q.jpg
Tpj8dNy.jpg
Curiously you can’t move the camera around the characters in AW2 to see their faces.
Exactly. Cherry picked.
When just looking at the back of a character, tlou2 wins no questions asked. Animations and all. But imo faces too.
There is a rare moment you can see gameplay faces in aw2 on ladder and they are hot trash
 

Mister Wolf

Member
If you can play Robocop on PC using Special K's HDR, I'd say this is on the best graphics fetishistic experiences of the year... even the boring and grey concrete cold shooting range under the police station looks fantastic with all the fluorescent lamps in there. These shots look like they have a polarized layer compared to what you get in game with SK and a decent hdr monitor:

Robo-Cop-Win64-Shipping-2023-11-02-15-01-31-756.jpg

Robo-Cop-Win64-Shipping-2023-11-02-15-01-23-237.jpg

Robo-Cop-Win64-Shipping-2023-11-02-15-02-05-085.jpg

Lumen and Nanite will be a godsend to AA developers. They were smart to use Lumen in Robocop.
 

DavidGzz

Member
So there is a part where you fall down as Nightingale and you can get the most realistic musty gooch shot ever in gaming thus far. It's glorioussssly disgusting.



Yeah, running around that area is crazy. The ray tracing from the neon signs on the roads is nuts. The game looks insane at times but there are shortcomings. It really bothers me none of the foliage reacts to the player. I know I keep mentioning it lol. Also every NPC sitting at s computer in the sheriff's office is typing at a screensaver. Details Remedy, details...
 

SpearFist

Member
AW2 along with cyberunk. At times game is real life., jaw dropped, mind blown. I cant play for 2 mins straight without just stopping and looking all around and enjoying those eye melting visuals

5GwOqBT.jpg


hKSg2LV.jpg


4jM3AWf.jpg


nzrmqaQ.jpg

ATqWAA6.jpg
 

GymWolf

Member
What. You guys are out of your mind. It looks just as good in game. And the animations are incredible. It’s the best playing game ever of this type. It’s so smooth
It looks great, not so great compared to aw2 5 years alter, it's only natural.

Of course animation wise that game fuck almost everyone in the ass in the realistic tps genre, that comes without saying it.
 

MidGenRefresh

*Refreshes biennially
It looks great, not so great compared to aw2 5 years alter, it's only natural.

Of course animation wise that game fuck almost everyone in the ass in the realistic tps genre, that comes without saying it.

I was playing it yesterday and started laughing out loud because someone on this forum mentioned item picking animation as The Last Of Us 2 'animation supremacy' example. I wanted to pick up something as Ellie and she was at an angle when I pressed triangle (I think?) so she slid into position awkwardly just so she could reach her hand in the general area of where the item was. It looked goofy as fuck.

Seriously, people need to replay games more often. Memory truly is a bitch.

Cinematics are still GOAT, 10/10, easily.
 
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