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[nkarafo]

Modern games are filled with annoying visual effects (my most hated one being the camera auto-exposure simulation). Motion blur, noise filters, chromatic aberration, vignette, the list goes on.

But there is one that nobody ever talks about. And it's pretty common in Switch games for some reason, such as Mario Kart and Metroid Prime Remastered. I think it's called "haze". Here's an example:

Look how much more hazy/foggy/washed out Metroid Prime Remastered is compared to the original above. It's like you are looking through a camera lens that has a moisture stain or something. The original looks so much more cleaner, despite the lower resolution.

Here's another:

It's not as bad here, but you can still see the hazy look and lack of contrast, even when there is no super bright light like in the first example.

I'm getting the same vibe when i compare something like Mario Kart Double Dash and Mario Kart 8. While the later looks amazing, there are a few tracks that do have tis hazy/washed out look (let's not even talk about Mario Kart Wii and the bloom craze of the mid 2000's. Glad that's over).

I'm not sure why devs choose this. I get it might be an artistic choice but is it really for the better? Is it more realistic? Or is it another cheap camera simulation effect™ like the others i mentioned? Because devs nowadays sure as hell like to make games look like you are looking at them through a cheap camera lens.

Great remaster btw, looks great. But the original looks better in some ways and it really shouldn't.

 

[rofif]

No

 

[Lethal01]

I'm not sure why devs choose this. I get it might be an artistic choice but is it really for the better?

Yep, Haze and bloom look great as long when used to this degree.

 

[Pedro Motta]

"Opinions".

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

chromatic aberration says hai

 

[winjer]

It's not as bad as bloom is the X360 and PS3 era.

Color grading is becoming a greater issue, as there are several games that push this to extreme limits. Then we get games that look like those movies where México has a strong yellow tint and Canada a strong blue tint.

 

[nkarafo]

It's not as bad as bloom is the X360 and PS3 era.

Color grading is becoming a greater issue, as there are several games that push this to extreme limits. Then we get games that look like those movies where México has a strong yellow tint and Canada a strong blue tint.

Ah, i forgot about that. It's not new though, the yellow one plagued many games in the 360/PS3 era. Especially racing games. It's called "piss filter".

 

[dotnotbot]

Yep, it almost looks like the HDMI black levels set wrong. Japanese games seem to be more often guilty of this.

 

[Filben]

One example warrants the notion of "new bloom"? Don't think so.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Yes, Breath of the Wild was full of it dulling the vibrant colors. I hope they toned it down for the Tears of the Kingdom...

 

[Josemayuste]

It's called diffuse lighting

 

[RaduN]

Love it.
Gives nice feeling of depth. Much prefferable to depth of field in gameplay (cinematics are a different story).

 

[nkarafo]

Yes, Breath of the Wild was full of it dulling the vibrant colors. I hope they toned it down for the Tears of the Kingdom...

Ouch!

That was SO bad.

Thankfully for me though, i used Cemu to play this game and there are some "graphics packs" as they call them. There was one with several different color profiles and i used one that improves the contrasts but not too much to cause artifacts or to change the art direction too much.

And it was way better.

 

[SantaC]

https://images.app.goo.gl/GbXz4Cwo2YWEHw6g7

 

[murstdurst]

Ouch!

That was SO bad.

Thankfully for me though, i used Cemu to play this game and there are some "graphics packs" as they call them. There was one with several different color profiles and i used one that improves the contrasts but not too much to cause artifacts or to change the art direction too much.

And it was way better.

I really hate when people who didn't even buy the game and play int illegally and then still bitch about it.
"I hate this, therefore i download it illegally and...."

I know i know, YOU didn't right. you bought it and therefore you OWN it and has every right to emulate because emulation IS NOT PIRATING... right? lmfao

 

[nkarafo]

I really hate when people who didn't even buy the game and play int illegally and then still bitch about it.
"I hate this, therefore i download it illegally and...."

I know i know, YOU didn't right. you bought it and therefore you OWN it and has every right to emulate because emulation IS NOT PIRATING... right? lmfao

Do you have a proof that i don't own it? No?

Then excuse me but kindly fuck off.

 

[Skifi28]

Looks like a technique meant for more realistic lighting. It'd probably look kinda flat without it.

 

[winjer]

I really hate when people who didn't even buy the game and play int illegally and then still bitch about it.
"I hate this, therefore i download it illegally and...."

I know i know, YOU didn't right. you bought it and therefore you OWN it and has every right to emulate because emulation IS NOT PIRATING... right? lmfao

Emulation is not illegal. And it has gone to courts a few times.
If he owns a legit copy the game, then it's perfectly legal to emulate it on another platform.

 

[Guilty_AI]

No, that spot goes to Depth of Field.

 

[murstdurst]

Do you have a proof that i don't own it? No?

Then excuse me but kindly fuck off.

Calm down buddy.
I am assuming, because i know how people work. Or are you going to tell me most peopel that emualte own the games they download? Ofc they don't... come on!

 

[Guilty_AI]

I know i know, YOU didn't right. you bought it and therefore you OWN it and has every right to emulate because emulation IS NOT PIRATING... right? lmfao

Yes, thats exactly right.

 

[GymWolf]

I hate this shit in amy game, at a certain point i just tought my last 2 oled tv were broken or the settings were wrong but it was not that.

 

[GymWolf]

No, that spot goes to Depth of Field.

Dof
Blur
Film grain
Chromatic aberration
Vignette

They are all terrible.

 

[murstdurst]

Yes, thats exactly right.

No one ever downloads games illegally. Never. People only download stuff they own lol.

 

[LostDonkey]

Film grain is the worst one.

Played through TLOU2 with it on, now I'm playing new game+ with it off and my god what a difference.

 

[calistan]

This stuff used to be a headline technical effect - volumetric fog and all that. In OP's example shots, the Metroid remake screens look way better. The original is flat and lifeless by comparison.

 

[Skifi28]

No one ever downloads games illegally. Never. People only download stuff they own lol.

He did just own you, so you better hope he doesn't also download you!

 

[murstdurst]

He did just own you, so you better hope he doesn't also download you!

He owned me? lmfao.
It doesn't take much to "own" someone according to you, does it?

 

[Guilty_AI]

Dof
Blur
Film grain
Chromatic aberration
Vignette

Right, always forget about film grain and vignette since i immediatly disable those when given the chance.
I really hate when the game image prioritizes looking like camera works over visual clarity.

 

[Kadve]

Think its a combination of volumetric lighting/dust effects and Depth of field effect. Meant to look more realistic and im with you that realistic =! better visuals. Booth of these also tend to hurt my eyes when combined with fast movement and is in the same crowd as excessive Anti-Aliasing. It just makes games look washed out and hazy.

Doesn't Prime support 480p btw? Or does it really look that interlaced even in Progressive mode? Haven't played it in a long while.

 

[winjer]

Dof
Blur
Film grain
Chromatic aberration
Vignette

They are all terrible.

And color grading and lens flares.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Dof
Blur
Film grain
Chromatic aberration
Vignette

They are all terrible.

Blur is a great racing game. NOT terrible.

 

[GymWolf]

Blur is a great racing game. NOT terrible.

Well i don't play racing games so everytime blur make everything smeared in shit when i turn the camera, it is fucking terrible.

 

[k_trout]

I still don't know what the point of film grain is

 

[GymWolf]

And color grading and lens flares.

Color grading is like deus ex yellow piss filter right?

 

[Guilty_AI]

No one ever downloads games illegally. Never. People only download stuff they own lol.

I'll screenshot your post and distribute it illegally online

 

[ClosBSAS]

No

yes. haze is trash. hogwarts mods removes haze and game looks 10 times better without that consoloe limitation utility, cause lets be honest, thats what it is..

 

[murstdurst]

I still don't know what the point of film grain is

It's in the name it's not rocket science lol

 

[winjer]

Color grading is like deus ex yellow piss filter right?

Yes. Or that blue tint.
These are the most used, but sometimes, can have other colors.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

I love effects that approximate game graphics from the way our eyes perceive light so. DOF, Motion Blur, Diffuse Lighting are all amazing if well implemented and go a long way on the graphics make up of a game.

Lens defects light chromatic aberration, vignetting and noise on the other hand usually give a bad vibe and I prefer turned off, unless It's something that is integral to the visual language of the game like on Alien Isolation

 

[murstdurst]

I'll screenshot your post and distribute it illegally online

Have fun Now you probably owned me again. Do you have more ownage to thrust upon me?

 

[phant0m]

Blur is a great racing game. NOT terrible.

Well i don't play racing games so everytime blur make everything smeared in shit when i turn the camera, it is fucking terrible.

There is an actual game called Blur which is what he was being punny about

 

[GymWolf]

I still don't know what the point of film grain is

It make graphic look "better" because it hide some imperfections.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Have fun Now you probably owned me again. Do you have more ownage to thrust upon me?

 

[Drew1440]

Ah Haze, One of the best early PS3 exclusives, defiantly deserves a remaster.

 

[nkarafo]

Calm down buddy.
I am assuming, because i know how people work. Or are you going to tell me most peopel that emualte own the games they download? Ofc they don't... come on!

Maybe, but i don't really care about other people. Much less about what they do.

But since you do care, personally i do love emulation but also tend to own the games that i want to fully play. Some of them i bought multiple times even. I bought Ocarina of Time three times already, for instance. I have a pretty decent collection of games and consoles. I'm almost a collector, though mine is not nearly as big as some Youtuber's i follow.

Anything beyond that is strictly for testing since i try to actively help with emulation development. Emulation is legal btw. And if you want to pirate games, you can do it outside emulation anyway. Even native games can be pirated/cracked, they always did. Does that mean i must complain about piracy in every game OT because i'm sure that, statistically, at least a few members don't own the games they discuss there?

Sorry for the harsh response before but i'm also tired of people who see every post that mentions emulation in any way and reply immediately with "booooo, dirty pirates". GAF is one of those places where you can't really have a discussion about emulation, which is a huge part of modern gaming even, because of that behavior.

 

[Skifi28]

Ah Haze, One of the best early PS3 exclusives, defiantly deserves a remaster.

You are literally the first person to ever say that.

 

[calistan]

You are literally the first person to ever say that.

That's why the remake would be defiant.

 

[OZ9000]

Dof
Blur
Film grain
Chromatic aberration
Vignette

They are all terrible.

I think per object motion blur and DOF looks fantastic.

It looks superb in Doom 2016 (the post-processing in this game is genuinely spot on), Crysis 2/3 and Killzone 2.

 

[nkarafo]

Dof
Blur
Film grain
Chromatic aberration
Vignette

They are all terrible.

And pretty much all of those are things that cameras or old films do.

Add things like auto/limited brightness/exposure, lens flare, etc.

And most of those are artifacts because of technical issues, not actual desired effects. People had to deal with them because they were unavoidable, it never had anything to do with "artistic vision".

In games there's no physical camera but devs try to simulate all of their deficiencies anyway. Because the result looks more "cinematic" or something silly like that. Or because they want to distract you from focusing on their ugly graphics and assets, that works too.