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New Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Screenshots Show Off Unreal Engine 4



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LightUpTheSky452

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Has anyone considered that Aqua's looking weird might be intentional by the staff?

I'm probably way off, but since Back Cover looks pretty near perfect I thought I'd bring up the possibility.

Like, maybe she doesn't look like she belongs in (or matches with) the Realm of Darkness because she truly doesn't.

Her model is all light and shiny compared to the darkness, as she's "the light in the darkness", that the DDD secret ending refers to her as.

IDK. Just some food for thought.

I really don't think this is the case, tbh. But if I can pretend that it is (if 0.2's look doesn't end up changing much from the way that it is now), I'd be more than fine with it.

Even though I'm mostly A-Okay with the graphics as they are now, and think they actually look better than what I was expecting.
 

BlackOsprey

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Has anyone considered that Aqua's looking weird might be intentional by the staff?

I'm probably way off, but since Back Cover looks pretty near perfect I thought I'd bring up the possibility.

Like, maybe she doesn't look like she belongs in (or matches with) the Realm of Darkness because she truly doesn't.

Her model is all light and shiny compared to the darkness, as she's "the light in the darkness", that the DDD secret ending refers to her as.

IDK. Just some food for thought.

I really don't think this is the case, tbh. But if I can pretend that it is (if 0.2's look doesn't end up changing much from the way that it is now), I'd be more than fine with it.

Even though I'm mostly A-Okay with the graphics as they are now, and think they actually look better than what I was expecting.
I was thinking of something like that, but more for practical reasons than thematic ones. Having the player character stand out against the scenery like that could make them more difficult to lose in the action.
 

LightUpTheSky452

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I was thinking of something like that, but more for practical reasons than thematic ones. Having the player character stand out against the scenery like that could make them more difficult to lose in the action.

I wouldn't mind that at all if that was what they were aiming for, honestly:)

I still have nightmares about fighting Repliku in the GBA version of CoM, and not being able to tell the difference between him and my Riku when he was in dark mode, so if the Osaka team is trying to fight against anything like that happening again I'm honestly more than grateful.

Especially since it looks like treasure chests are really blending in in 0.2, and even somewhat III, and might be hard to catch. I certainly don't want the same thing to happen with Aqua. LOL.
 

Antifa Lockhart

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I'm 99% sure that it's just the painted style Nomura wanted. Which, fine. I'm getting more used to it every time it pops up, I like it alright. It's also actually pretty inline with Disney canon, having the simple characters against detailed backgrounds. It just looked a lot smoother on the other engine.
 

BlackOsprey

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No, because 0.2's graphics are objectively subpar.
Alright, because I'm feeling too lazy to scroll through the last hundred pages of this thread, remind me: what sorta standards are we judging this by again? And how are they "objectively" subpar?
 

Lnds500

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Alright, because I'm feeling too lazy to scroll through the last hundred pages of this thread, remind me: what sorta standards are we judging this by again? And how are they "objectively" subpar?

"We" are judging it on what other AAA games of this generation do in the graphics department and this games doesn't.
 

BlackOsprey

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"We" are judging it on what other AAA games of this generation do in the graphics department and this games doesn't.
Yes, AAA titles such as...? I mean, if you compare a game like this to one that leans more heavily towards realism and detail, it's not surprising that KH would appear to be "inferior" in that field. Give me a little more context, or I might end up missing your point. -.-

KH1 had the dreaded fish face all over the place and isn't considered the paragon of PS2 graphics, but I don't hear anyone calling that ​game trash...
 

LightUpTheSky452

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This discussion is starting to remind me of the arguments that sprung up with the first two seasons of SMC, when comparing it to the source material.

Can we all just agree that both styles have their good and bad parts, and that preferring one over the other just really depends on the person. "Beauty's in the eye of the beholder", and all that.

Anyway, I like the look of everything now. It's a happy medium between realism and cartoony, imo, as KH has always strived to do. They're just doing it in a slightly different way here. In fact, I think it'll look really good with things like Toy Story if it's to show up.

And can I just say that I've ALWAYS thought the characters looked like plastic in CG? Like, the one KHII official art--with everyone sitting on that Hollow Bastion mountain--really makes them all look like ceramic dolls to me.

And that one shot of Aqua in the BbS intro, where she holds her hand over her heart and the camera suddenly zooms in on her, has always been uncanny valley to me and freaked me out for some reason. I certainly prefer her new look over that, but to each their own.
 

Lnds500

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Yes, AAA titles such as...? I mean, if you compare a game like this to one that leans more heavily towards realism and detail, it's not surprising that KH would appear to be "inferior" in that field. Give me a little more context or I'll probably end up missing your point. -.-

KH1 had the dreaded fish face all over the place and isn't considered the paragon of PS2 graphics, but I don't hear anyone calling that ​game trash...

KH2 also had fish faces and that game is a masterpiece visually. It's still a showcase for PCSX2. This isn't about small details.

I am not comparing the actual "look" of the game. I am comparing the graphics, the underlying technology of the game.

Kingdom Hearts has always had the benefit of having a non-realistic art-style. Games like this benefit immensely graphically compared to other, "realistic" games exactly because, in many ways, they don't try to imitate real life. They use simpler shapes and textures to create something that is beautiful and yet, light on resources. They can then use those resources for things like better image quality or more enemies on screen, better AI etc.

For example, hair. Hair is traditionally resource-heavy to simulate. Kingdom Hearts has never had this problem because no one has "real" hair. They are huge "chunks" of a solid material. Same goes for their skin. While other games have to simulate skin pores, facial hair, wrinkles etc etc, KH never had to do this, not realistically.

Spoiler Spoiler Show




Still.. with all the cut corners, the game still has huge problems, visually. Dynamic shadows are non-existent for the most part, translucency and subsurface scattering are the same way and lightning in general is what - a generation, one and a half behind?

How on earth can a much more realistic character than Aqua like Noctis look so much like his CGI counterpart

CZkfzfOWAAAw4GF.jpg


and Aqua, with many many advantages graphically look like someone's class project? Skin, hair, clothes... it's all very very lacking.

Is it better than before? Yes.

Is it a 2-gen leap worth of awesomeness, something to drool over? God no.

Spoiler Spoiler Show
 

Nazo

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The KH3 trailer from Jump Festa looked fantastic to me in the graphics department, but all the previous trailers I was iffy about. So, I think it just has to do with the amount of polish or lack thereof depending on when they show it. 0.2 will probably look fine once it's out. I'm sure it's not 100% done yet. Either that or 0.2 will look a bit rushed and KH3 will look up to snuff, which I am fine with. Rather have 0.2 look not perfect for 1-2 hours than KH3 look weird for 40 or more.
 

Chaser

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Can we all just agree that both styles have their good and bad parts, and that preferring one over the other just really depends on the person. "Beauty's in the eye of the beholder", and all that.
If every discussion was quickly ended with "Can we all just agree" then we wouldn't have thousands of posts on here from many users in debates, discussions, and arguments.

Lnds has a valid argument, yes. As do all the people with conflicting opinions. But absolutely hash it out. You might not ever reach an agreement, but the fun you guys will have is irreplaceable.

Also, feel free to make a topic for this if there isn't one already! I would love to see everyone's opinions there!
 

Muke

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KH fanbase: "we'll like trash if it's official and Nomura says it's ok".
Look. if you don't like the new graphics, that's fine. But calling it trash and "generalizing" the fanbase (for the lack of a better word) like that is not okay at all. -.-
 

LightUpTheSky452

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If every discussion was quickly ended with "Can we all just agree" then we wouldn't have thousands of posts on here from many users in debates, discussions, and arguments.

Lnds has a valid argument, yes. As do all the people with conflicting opinions. But absolutely hash it out. You might not ever reach an agreement, but the fun you guys will have is irreplaceable.

Also, feel free to make a topic for this if there isn't one already! I would love to see everyone's opinions there!

Yeah, sorry if my post came off as me trying to stop the discussion. I just noted that it was getting a little heated here and I didn't want people to seriously start getting hurt feelings over it all, so I just tried to point out that we're all right in some form here^_^

But seriously, go on and discuss, guys! That's actually one of my favorite things about this site. And this topic in general is bringing up some interesting things I never would've thought of myself, as I really don't care about graphics that much (which is weird, because I only got into gaming with the PS2--a very pretty looking era--and SE is my game company and they're so known for such good graphics), but honestly game characters could look like stick figures and I wouldn't care. Just give me a good story and gameplay in something and I'm sold, at least. #probablywhytheffviigraphicsdontbotherme
 

king_mickey rule

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Look. if you don't like the new graphics, that's fine. But calling it trash and "generalizing" the fanbase (for the lack of a better word) like that is not okay at all. -.-

Here's the thing, though, we're comparing it objectively, based on several examples where the graphics DO look right. This isn't about whether or not the style looks right, it's about the technology behind the visuals and how they hold up against other current games that have a similar visual style. Like Lnds says: it's very lacking on that department, whereas previous Kingdom Hearts games didn't and always managed to get the best out of the consoles.

If you want examples of other products with similar visuals: Ratchet & Clank, Overwatch, all the recent Disney movies, Disney Infinity (RIP), ...

Heck, if we wanna keep it the discussion solely about Kingdom Hearts: the examples Lnds shows here are all the proof you need to see how inferior current in-game graphics are, compared to CGI versions of the same character. All the problems we mention are with the lighting.

There are a load of reasons to believe the current look isn't what they initially envisioned, based on earlier pre-rendered visuals. Like I've said before, this could mean two things:

1) they're still very much polishing said visuals
2) they're having issues with the engine

If case 2 is true, then there's quite a lot to worry about. That would not be a situation where we should sit down and just accept whatever we're offered. It's easy to call something "the creator's creative choice", but in this case it wouldn't make sense whatsoever. Blind hating is one thing, blind following is another. Be critical instead, and you'll notice the inconsistencies we talk about.
 
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VoidGear.

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Here's the thing, though, we're comparing it objectively, based on several examples where the graphics DO look right. This isn't about whether or not the style looks right, it's about the technology behind the visuals and how they hold up against other current games that have a similar visual style. Like Lnds says: it's very lacking on that department, whereas previous Kingdom Hearts games didn't and always managed to get the best out of the consoles.

If you want examples of other products with similar visuals: Ratchet & Clank, Overwatch, all the recent Disney movies, Disney Infinity (RIP), ...

The examples Lnds shows are all the proof you need to see how inferior current in-game graphics are, compared to CGI versions of the same character. All the problems we mention are with the lighting.

There are a load of reasons to believe the current look isn't what they initially envisioned, based on earlier pre-rendered visuals. Like I've said before, this could mean two things:

1) they're still very much polishing said visuals
2) they're having issues with the engine

If case 2 is true, then there's quite a lot to worry about.

Or 3) They're not aiming for it to look as great as Final Fantasy XV does?
While I do agree that I'd love to see Aqua the way she looks on those sexy CGI-pics ingame as well, I still gotta admit that I also like the way she looks in 2.8 as of now. Not because Nomura throws it at me and I accept it. I LIKE it.
Calling that "trash" and badmouthing such an opinion isn't objective in any kind of way.
 
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