I think in some cases there’s a lot of merit to it, for example Red Dead Redemption, both games are pretty graphically intensive (if not cutting edge) but it’s used to further the immersion of the game in a meaningful way. Red Dead Redemption 2 really sells this rich natural environment for you to explore and interact with and it wouldn’t quite be the same game without it.
Also that example of Tomb Raider is really disingenuous, the level of fidelity in the environments is night and day between the two as well as the quality of animation. In your example the only real thing you can tell is the skin shaders, which are not even close between the two, SotTR really sells that you are looking at real people, something the 2013 game approached but never really achieved IMO.
if you don’t care then good for you! My wallet wishes I didn’t but it’s a fun hobby nontheless to try and push things to their limits and I am personally fascinated by the technology. I always have some of the fastest hardware every other generation and I enjoy playing with it and doing stuff to make it all work as well as possible.
You are probably correct in thinking for the average person we are approaching a point where they just really don’t care, I just wish they would push for more clarity in image presentation at this point, modern games are a bit of a muddy mess sometimes especially with FSR/DLSS
It mattered a lot more early on because doubling the polygon count on screen meant you could do a lot more gameplay wise, larger environments, more stuff on screen etc. these days you can pretty much do what you want if you are happy to drop a little fidelity in individual objects.
I’m someone who doesn’t care about graphics a whole lot. I play most modern games at 1080p Mid/high on my RTX 3060.
And yet, I totally agree with your points. Many times, older games had rich looking environment from a distance, but if you go close or try to interact with it, it just breaks the illusion. Like, leaves can’t move independently or plants just don’t react to your trampling then etc.
A lot of graphical improvements are also accompanied with improvements in how elements interact with other elements in the game. And that definitely adds to the immersion, when you can feel like you’re a part of the environment.
Also that example of Tomb Raider is really disingenuous, the level of fidelity in the environments is night and day between the two as well as the quality of animation. In your example the only real thing you can tell is the skin shaders, which are not even close between the two, SotTR really sells that you are looking at real people, something the 2013 game approached but never really achieved IMO.
I’ve noticed this a lot in comparisons claiming to show that graphics quality has regressed (either over time, or from an earlier demo reel of the same game), where the person trying to make the point cherry-picks drastically different lighting or atmospheric scenarios that put the later image in a bad light. Like, no crap Lara looks better in the 2013 image, she’s lit from an angle that highlights her facial features and inexplicably wearing makeup while in the midst of a jungle adventure. The Shadow of the Tomb Raider image, by comparison, is of a dirty-faced Lara pulling a face while being lit from an unflattering angle by campfire. Compositionally, of course the first image is prettier – but as you point out, the lack of effective subsurface scattering in the Tomb Raider 2013 skin shader is painfully apparent versus SofTR. The newer image is more realistic, even if it’s not as flattering.
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I think in some cases there’s a lot of merit to it, for example Red Dead Redemption, both games are pretty graphically intensive (if not cutting edge) but it’s used to further the immersion of the game in a meaningful way. Red Dead Redemption 2 really sells this rich natural environment for you to explore and interact with and it wouldn’t quite be the same game without it.
Also that example of Tomb Raider is really disingenuous, the level of fidelity in the environments is night and day between the two as well as the quality of animation. In your example the only real thing you can tell is the skin shaders, which are not even close between the two, SotTR really sells that you are looking at real people, something the 2013 game approached but never really achieved IMO.
if you don’t care then good for you! My wallet wishes I didn’t but it’s a fun hobby nontheless to try and push things to their limits and I am personally fascinated by the technology. I always have some of the fastest hardware every other generation and I enjoy playing with it and doing stuff to make it all work as well as possible.
You are probably correct in thinking for the average person we are approaching a point where they just really don’t care, I just wish they would push for more clarity in image presentation at this point, modern games are a bit of a muddy mess sometimes especially with FSR/DLSS
It mattered a lot more early on because doubling the polygon count on screen meant you could do a lot more gameplay wise, larger environments, more stuff on screen etc. these days you can pretty much do what you want if you are happy to drop a little fidelity in individual objects.
I’m someone who doesn’t care about graphics a whole lot. I play most modern games at 1080p Mid/high on my RTX 3060.
And yet, I totally agree with your points. Many times, older games had rich looking environment from a distance, but if you go close or try to interact with it, it just breaks the illusion. Like, leaves can’t move independently or plants just don’t react to your trampling then etc.
A lot of graphical improvements are also accompanied with improvements in how elements interact with other elements in the game. And that definitely adds to the immersion, when you can feel like you’re a part of the environment.
I’ve noticed this a lot in comparisons claiming to show that graphics quality has regressed (either over time, or from an earlier demo reel of the same game), where the person trying to make the point cherry-picks drastically different lighting or atmospheric scenarios that put the later image in a bad light. Like, no crap Lara looks better in the 2013 image, she’s lit from an angle that highlights her facial features and inexplicably wearing makeup while in the midst of a jungle adventure. The Shadow of the Tomb Raider image, by comparison, is of a dirty-faced Lara pulling a face while being lit from an unflattering angle by campfire. Compositionally, of course the first image is prettier – but as you point out, the lack of effective subsurface scattering in the Tomb Raider 2013 skin shader is painfully apparent versus SofTR. The newer image is more realistic, even if it’s not as flattering.