Halo 4 Starts a New Generation of Computer/Gaming Graphics?

[SMITEM1]

When Halo 1 came out, it's graphics were just like all the other video games of its time. Same with 2, 3, ODST, and Reach. Halo Wars has amazing computer graphics for it's cut-scenes. During the making of Halo Wars, they actually spent most time on the cut-scenes, and it turned out amazing, it was near photo-realistic.

 

Halo Wars wasn't the only ones who did this. Like the old Play Station 1 games like Dino Crisis, and Resident Evil. Their game graphics were terrible (but that was normal for PS1) but their cut-scenes were like Play Station 2 graphics. The graphics weren't photo realistic, but amazing for that console. Everyone was thrilled for that! It takes a lot of time and effort to make graphics really great. So they did it for cut-scenes because they didn't want to make the whole game hardcore with graphics, that would be tons of work.

 

Now when you play Halo Reach, the graphics for that game was "normal" for Xbox 360, but the art was phenomenal! However, the cut-scenes were just like the gameplay graphics... normal. If you take a look at the games that are going to come out in the next few months, their graphics are nowhere near Halo 4's. Like Call of Duty Black Ops II, their graphics have not improved much since their last game. I am a COD fan (I like Halo WAY more for it's stories, COD is more like a normal, pointless shooter. Example: We need to blow up this bridge, done, now kill these troops, done, WW3 is starting, a little info, kill these guys and get to the command center, done. Halo isn't like that, it's more deep and dark, hopefully 4 will be just as deep and dark as the other series.) But I'm not here to complain about games!

 

Back to topic, anyway, when you watch Halo 4, don't just look at the gameplay, look at the AMAZING graphics! I've not seen a game near this yet. Imagine how much effort they put in Halo 4, tons. I believe 343 Industries have started a new generation of graphics, Halo 4 is literally photo-realistic. I use Autodesk Maya, and it's HELL to make something photo-realistic. Literally 7 hours to make a 15 second video, and it's even harder for video games. Just imagine how much it took to do this for 343. These graphics are so insane, I'm shocked that the Xbox 360 could even handle running the game! I bet after Halo 4, there will be a new generation of graphics. Great job 343.

Tell me what you think of the graphics

[Fail Master]

I thought the Reach graphics where actually pretty stunning but then again i only had experience with COD and halo 3 previos to this so not much competition (COD graphics leave ALOT to be desired for, especially with their blocky colours and limmited pallet, sorta gives you a head ache if you play it for too long (but thats good for parents) lol )

 

Anyway, the H4 graphics are very very good. ALMOST photo realistic, but not quite. The artists have put hours and hours of work into this game and what a good job they have done. With COD simple "copy and paste" idea of game release with only minimal editing and slight graphics ugrades (sometimes de-grades (black ops 1) ), COD has about 10 years before it can even start to think of matching that of H4.

 

If 343 carry on this way with their graphics then by the time H5 comes out, the xbox is going to need an upgrade, either in the form of a compleatly new console (Xbox 720) or the form of a graphics card!

 

Can't wait to actually play the game and look for tiny detailings, such as rock joints (normaly there is a slight blur in the patter in the area where a rock is bent or phased into another rock) or armour/weapon scratches

[SykoWolf]

Well this is all a matter of opinion really. Due to the main fact that Halo 4 is pushing the Xbox 360 to its limit. So it isnt really a new generation of graphics, we wont see that till the next Xbox.

However, that being said, it IS some of the best work done on the xbox so far, it should encourage people to push their games graphics to the limit aswell.

[Veer Zamamai]

Essentially, I have always thought Bungie could have done more with the graphics on Halo, as I hope 343 Industries do. They have always retained a cartoon-effect and a non-serious gaming experience for the most part. Don't get me wrong, Halo is, and always will be, the best gaming franchise out there and I have enjoyed the graphics over the years, but I have always thought that they could have done more with it. It would have been better if they incorporated the Halo War's cut-scene graphics into the actual franchise.

 

Despite all that has been said, I believe a huge change in the graphical content wouldn't do Halo a great deal of good. I mean, we have been used to this sort of graphics for over ten years, so changing it would take Halo out of Halo. I have enjoyed the past ten years and I hope to have another prosperous ten years.

 

I can only hope that they return Halo to the way it is meant to be, with the newbies at the bottom and the pros at the top; without stupid aim assist and unfair armour abilities. They really need to incorporate dedicated servers for the swordsmen and women among us. I hate being killed by newbies, which is completely the opposite when I play Halo 3.

 

Alas, I believe Halo has a lot of room for improvement; and so, too much improvement would ruin the franchise we love, but a little would help here and there.

[The Director]

-snip-

 

While I agree with you that the graphics could be less cartoony (which is a problem for a lot of games, actually), one thing I've always liked about Halo is that their cinematic graphics looked nearly exactly like their campaign graphics (excluding Halo Wars, of course). The only real difference I've ever noticed in the graphics cutscene vs. gameplay is that in the cutscenes you can actually SEE Master Chief, and don't have a HUD lol

[WonderWombat]

Well this is all a matter of opinion really. Due to the main fact that Halo 4 is pushing the Xbox 360 to its limit. So it isnt really a new generation of graphics, we wont see that till the next Xbox.

However, that being said, it IS some of the best work done on the xbox so far, it should encourage people to push their games graphics to the limit aswell.

Even graphics on the new 720 won't be a "next generation". The rumor is that the hardware won't even be as good as the best computer parts. So put in Battlefield 3 with a top notch computer and you may still have better graphics than the new consoles.

[SMITEM1]

Essentially, I have always thought Bungie could have done more with the graphics on Halo, as I hope 343 Industries do. They have always retained a cartoon-effect and a non-serious gaming experience for the most part. Don't get me wrong, Halo is, and always will be, the best gaming franchise out there and I have enjoyed the graphics over the years, but I have always thought that they could have done more with it. It would have been better if they incorporated the Halo War's cut-scene graphics into the actual franchise.

 

Despite all that has been said, I believe a huge change in the graphical content wouldn't do Halo a great deal of good. I mean, we have been used to this sort of graphics for over ten years, so changing it would take Halo out of Halo. I have enjoyed the past ten years and I hope to have another prosperous ten years.

 

I can only hope that they return Halo to the way it is meant to be, with the newbies at the bottom and the pros at the top; without stupid aim assist and unfair armour abilities. They really need to incorporate dedicated servers for the swordsmen and women among us. I hate being killed by newbies, which is completely the opposite when I play Halo 3.

 

Alas, I believe Halo has a lot of room for improvement; and so, too much improvement would ruin the franchise we love, but a little would help here and there.

I agree with you so much! For once there's someone who understands! Nice pic btw, you like Elites? Thanks for replying to my topic have an awesome day

 

I thought the Reach graphics where actually pretty stunning but then again i only had experience with COD and halo 3 previos to this so not much competition (COD graphics leave ALOT to be desired for, especially with their blocky colours and limmited pallet, sorta gives you a head ache if you play it for too long (but thats good for parents) lol )

 

Anyway, the H4 graphics are very very good. ALMOST photo realistic, but not quite. The artists have put hours and hours of work into this game and what a good job they have done. With COD simple "copy and paste" idea of game release with only minimal editing and slight graphics ugrades (sometimes de-grades (black ops 1) ), COD has about 10 years before it can even start to think of matching that of H4.

 

If 343 carry on this way with their graphics then by the time H5 comes out, the xbox is going to need an upgrade, either in the form of a compleatly new console (Xbox 720) or the form of a graphics card!

 

Can't wait to actually play the game and look for tiny detailings, such as rock joints (normaly there is a slight blur in the patter in the area where a rock is bent or phased into another rock) or armour/weapon scratches

I can agree I hope 343 makes a Halo 5! Thanks for the reply and have an awesome day

[Twinreaper]

It isn't so much an improvement in graphics, it's an improvement on hardware virtualization without upgraded code support. Halo 4 has no more graphical power than any other title running on the 360. The 360 uses a standard DXSlim and modified DirextX9 code base, which is already stripped and pimped to the max it can get. the only improvements anyone can make to the way games look, is how their engine efficiently communicates, and utilizes the resources that are already there. trust me, if DX10 or DX11 were capable of being supported on 360, Halo 4 would blow away Crysis 2 in the graphics department.

 

This is also why some games like CoD don't see a huge jump in the graphic department. it takes a lot of manpower and tweaking to get games to generally improve or be compatable with an outdated source library like the GPU section of the 360. 343i has it made, since it has the entire MS company at it's disposal, plus a complete 24 hour access to real time devs and their skills. Something 2nd and 3rd party developers don't have.

 

Also real quick Incompetent, not everyone you encounter to the franchise is a newbie. Some players don't play a whole lot, so please do not confuse low level players with automatically being noobs. Callign someone a newbie cause they spanked your butt, only shows you do not know how to take responsability for your own careless actions on the battlefield.

[SykoWolf]

Even graphics on the new 720 won't be a "next generation". The rumor is that the hardware won't even be as good as the best computer parts. So put in Battlefield 3 with a top notch computer and you may still have better graphics than the new consoles.

Actually i heard that it will be able to use computer graphics, if i can find a link ill post it here in an edit

[SMITEM1]

It isn't so much an improvement in graphics, it's an improvement on hardware virtualization without upgraded code support. Halo 4 has no more graphical power than any other title running on the 360. The 360 uses a standard DXSlim and modified DirextX9 code base, which is already stripped and pimped to the max it can get. the only improvements anyone can make to the way games look, is how their engine efficiently communicates, and utilizes the resources that are already there. trust me, if DX10 or DX11 were capable of being supported on 360, Halo 4 would blow away Crysis 2 in the graphics department.

 

This is also why some games like CoD don't see a huge jump in the graphic department. it takes a lot of manpower and tweaking to get games to generally improve or be compatable with an outdated source library like the GPU section of the 360. 343i has it made, since it has the entire MS company at it's disposal, plus a complete 24 hour access to real time devs and their skills. Something 2nd and 3rd party developers don't have.

 

Also real quick Incompetent, not everyone you encounter to the franchise is a newbie. Some players don't play a whole lot, so please do not confuse low level players with automatically being noobs. Callign someone a newbie cause they spanked your butt, only shows you do not know how to take responsability for your own careless actions on the battlefield.

 

Oh, no wonder, man your pretty smart about technology No, I didn't really mean it that way... I meant Halo Reach is set too easy for new people, and too many little kids on it too... I'm a Brigadier Grade 3, and it was HELL reaching it... I want more of a challenge with people who aren't campers, and spray n' pray with all these power-ups. It's annoying... I beat the Campaign on Legendary solo, so I'm up for the challenge, but it's a disappointment for online cause of the morons online! In Halo Reach, you don't even have to be good to play good online. I miss the Halo 3 online cause you had to be good to play good online. I do understand your opinion in parts, and there is faults in mine, but it's just my preference... Have an awesome day

[WonderWombat]

Actually i heard that it will be able to use computer graphics, if i can find a link ill post it here in an edit

They use computer graphics now... What I am saying is there are computers out today that will have better hardware than the Xbox 720 will.

 

They are using the something high up in the AMD 6000 Radeon series for the 720 or something similar to that. As of now AMD is almost to the 8000 series.

[Veer Zamamai]

I agree with you so much! For once there's someone who understands! Nice pic btw, you like Elites? Thanks for replying to my topic have an awesome day

 

I can agree I hope 343 makes a Halo 5! Thanks for the reply and have an awesome day

 

 

Indeed, I absolutely adore the Sangheili race.

 

While I agree with you that the graphics could be less cartoony (which is a problem for a lot of games, actually), one thing I've always liked about Halo is that their cinematic graphics looked nearly exactly like their campaign graphics (excluding Halo Wars, of course). The only real difference I've ever noticed in the graphics cutscene vs. gameplay is that in the cutscenes you can actually SEE Master Chief, and don't have a HUD lol

 

I couldn't agree more, the creators of Halo always have kept it authentic.

[Twinreaper]

Here is the difference between PC and console...

 

The console systems are unique in that only one system process can be run by the kernel and CPU at one time. This reduces the CPU thread and affinity to all cores and dedicates all cores to the executable itself. Without the overhead of background processes also, the memory is utilized more efficiently, and the GPU is able to process more graphics and information along side the CPU in perfect harmony. The hardware as well, is strictly locked to the console and given an optimization to run in the unique OS environment.

 

PC's on the otherhand, require a base OS to be run, and tasks or other processes threaded in. The memory space is shared, and as always, certain offsets have to be "locked" to certain processes and resources. This creates a cluster of threads being used, and the GPU and CPU have to decide and dictate which ones take priority. And of coarse, the OS basic functions take priority.

 

Even the 690 TI model that came out, when compared to the hardware of the new console, may not even graphically be able to perform the same functions as efficiently. And for those who are wondering, yes the new console will use the newest DX code in full, not a chopped, puked up and bastardized version of a great DX (directX9c). The new console will be a sophisticated piece of tech, but again, even with all that, the PC will always be able to trump the graphics and computing power straight away. Remember, games that run on consoles, are optimized just for the console hardware, where as with PC's, the library of code encompasses all available and compatible hardware with many configurations.

[SMITEM1]

Indeed, I absolutely adore the Sangheili race.

 

 

 

I couldn't agree more, the creators of Halo always have kept it authentic.

Woot! The Sangheili are so cool! But I'm so angry after reading Halo: Glasslands, pisses me off what humans did (not gonna spoil it) Have an awesome day