I am bored of waiting, lets discuss graphics

[Stelios]

Hello everyone!
Like many of you, i just cant wait for AC to be released. I also cant seem to drive any other sim knowing that AC is on the way. I hope it gets released soon.

Something that bugs me with the tech demo graphics is that for the most times of the day on the track, the lighting seems like its blurring the rest of the graphics. I mean that when the sun is strong, the car , track and all the other objects have this kind of blur on them. This is also visible in the latest 458 screenshots, especially the cockpit shot.

Am i missing something in the graphics settings? Is this engine using differed lighting? If yes, this blur is to be expected but honestly i cant say i like it that much. I tried playing around with the graphics settings in the menu but it is still there. Maybe there is a line of text i can edit in the game's .cfg?

What do you guys think?

p.s. Maybe "blur" is not the best word to describe it, maybe its "dirty" , "fuzzy"
p.s2 Maybe its BLOOM ? I think its the same "effect" in BF3 for example

 

[MarcG]

I think that since the TP was released the Graphics would've been tweaked/optimised/altered so much that it could be quite different whenever v1.0 comes out to play, you can only read so much from the (countless) screenshots we're getting...over analysing them is a problem for all of us when waiting for the full Sim!!

 

[nothke]

Ahmh,,,, I ain't seeing any blur..

The only thing you could describe as "blur" in this picture is either anti aliasing (which actually helps unjagg edges, but may look like blur in the distant objects), or texture mip maps (this is evident on trees, they are not perfectly sharp because the mip map drops when pixel texture to screen pixel ratio is less than 1)

But maybe you think about "brightness"? The reason why it's all bright is because of HDR simulation. The focus is on the cockpit, so the exposure (brightness) increases to show the full range of shades in the cockpit. In the game settings you can set exposure lower or higher on your liking

 

[Alexandre Guzu]

Also, the screenshots they just provided are of very, very bad quality (JPEG compression++).

 

[Stelios]

I can tell the jpg's are of low quality, but i can also see this in the AC TP. As nothke said, it might be the HDR simulation, but if i remember correctly you can turn this off. But if you do, all you get is a very plain and kind of dark lighting IF i remember correctly.

Also, i will try disabling FSAA (but i hate those jaggies ) and re-check because its the only thing i didnt try.

 

[Stelios]

Anyone else seeing a yellow tint on the windshield? This is what i am talking about. I am not a fan of it .

 

[the_meco]

I can see what you mean, it looks to me like a slight reflection on the glass because of its angle. I'm sure if modders will be able to tweak things like this. I prefer completely transparent glass as well so I can enjoy the environment more.

 

[JvMr]

I agree meco, while completely clear isnt maybe 100% realistic, it's good to have as option.

 

[Sebastian Wolff]

I agree, it`s a little too yellow-ish for my taste.

 

[BanjoMaster]

These shots look absolutely phenomenal. I can barely believe what I'm seeing!!!

 

[eobet]

AC's graphics are technically very impressive, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they are aiming for the aged water color look, instead of pure realism. It takes away from the game, imo, and I'm not a fan of whatever artistic statement they are trying to do (if it was a 1960s simulation, I would be all for it, but why add a vintage look to a game with a modern setting?).

 

[Stelios]

Eobet, you might be right, maybe this feeling of washed out colors and general image i get is coming from some image altering filters.... Did you guys notice the blown out whites in all screenshots? I hope there are enough options to turn filters off.

 

[Miroslav Davidovic]

BTW anybody read the small text on the bottom of the second pic? Looks like this is a video. If it is a promo vid the release might not be that far away.

 

[JvMr]

AC's graphics are technically very impressive, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they are aiming for the aged water color look, instead of pure realism. It takes away from the game, imo, and I'm not a fan of whatever artistic statement they are trying to do (if it was a 1960s simulation, I would be all for it, but why add a vintage look to a game with a modern setting?).

In the end, you can most probably then use an injector with the game, adjusting color balance to your liking. Problem solved.

 

[Terry Evers]

That yellowish tint might be the sun hitting the windscreen at an angle?
Allso HDR often gives that washed out look .. Glad you can turn it off in AC

 

[eobet]

The yellowed and washed out colors doesn't seem to have anything to do with the windscreen:

 

[MarcG]

the phrase "picking holes" springs to mind, thats what a lack of proper News does to people

 

[nothke]

the phrase "picking holes" springs to mind, thats what a lack of proper News does to people

Haha, yes, I guess AC TP was so much beyond everyone's expectations, but everyone has an innate desire to criticize, so lets find something we could brag about.

I don't have anything against the slightly yellow tint, but I hope it wont turn out to be like in rF2. In rF2, there is no on screen white (255,255,255). Brightest spots on screen are pinkish-yellow (check some screens). I thought that HDR exists so that the brightest on-screen spot would most of the time be white (255,255,255), and the darkest always be black (0,0,0) so that it would help simulate the contrast range of the eye. I guess that has to do with their tone mapping that overlays HDR render, and it seems like they have put in the wrong "blending mode". It also turns bright red into pink. I am ok with slight tone mapping, but not with reducing the actual contrast range.

 

[nothke]

ha I just checked in AC TP, and it's suffering from the same yellow-pinkish problem, except not that much like rF2. Looks like it has to do with the whole HDR approach.. Gotta ask around

 

[the_meco]

If the whole game has a yellowish tint maybe it is filters. It could also just be the current hdri lighting model they are using. In reality where the sun hits has a yellowish tint to it, and shadowed areas are blue,different intensity depending on time of day and weather.

I think for me the main thing I would like to see is slightly brighter interiors. Just for a test I brought the above Ferrari image into Photoshop and boosted the gamma. It made the interior much clearer and nicer looking but the environment lost contrast. A lot of games seem to have this high contrast look which darkens the interior, so you either have over exposed environment or dark interior. I guess my point is lighting is hard to get right. AC is up their with the best, that's for sure.