• Hello everybody! We have tons of new awards for the new year that can be requested through our Awards System thanks to Antifa Lockhart! Some are limited-time awards so go claim them before they are gone forever...

    CLICK HERE FOR AWARDS

New Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Screenshots Show Off Unreal Engine 4



REGISTER TO REMOVE ADS
Status
Not open for further replies.

robvandam111

Silver Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
3,448
Awards
6
Location
Miami
Looks great, can't wait to hear about the Kingdom Hearts 3 news though. So much for E3 lol.
 

redcrown

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
1,005
Awards
6
I actually think Aqua's face and overall model look amazing (even the texture in her wrist fabric looked really neat). Her back's reflection of light does look odd and claylike though, that would be my only nitpick. It's a new style but but it doesn't look terrible (in this trailer at least, I won't say the same for previous ones).

Aqua here reminds me of a better animated Cloe with the blue hair.
 
Last edited:

gosoxtim

Silver Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
4,516
Awards
1
Age
34
Location
Illinois
Looks great, can't wait to hear about the Kingdom Hearts 3 news though. So much for E3 lol.
my best guessis psx i mean jump fiest would be guess as well but psx is most likey so people dont stay up to wait for news
 

Grizzly

Stopza
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
1,527
Awards
33
Location
United States
Seems to me the original engine they were using wasn't matching up to what they were expecting or wanted from the look which is why they changed and have now got the style they were aiming for.

I like the style... it looks good. Still cartoony and in line with the KH universe but shows an improvement on how graphics have changed in the decade or so since KH2.

I'm in agreement with this. I like the look, but for those unhappy with the graphics, to which I do understand, we don't know how hold the cuts from this trailer are, and we have about 5 months or so until the game goes gold, which leaves plenty of time for improvement in that respect. The cuts for this trailer could very well be a few months old. There's still a long way to go until KH3 as well, so if there are glaring issues when 2.8 finally releases, I have confidence in Square that they will fix said issues about the lighting and shadows. I don't think it's worth raising a panic over yet, but for those who are concerned, there are a few valid questions. I think I'm the end, it'll be fine.
 

redcrown

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
1,005
Awards
6
Square doesn't want any big news near FF XV's marketing period.

So it's pretty much a confirmation that no KH news or trailer will be shown at e3? Not an official word but a technical one.
 

Lumaria

New member
Joined
Nov 4, 2015
Messages
4
Aqua looks incredible, kingdom hearts has never strived for realism in the slightest in design. I mean look at their hairstyles for God sakes.... the models look gorgeous, the graphics are orgasmic, and the story line is incomprehensiblely perfect. Stop complaining and just enjoy this treat.
 

VoidGear.

red gay
Joined
Jun 6, 2015
Messages
5,594
Awards
57
Age
29
Location
Germany
Sorry, but history shows a different picture. People have always cared about graphics and don't even fool yourself into believing otherwise. See also: Every single console war in existence.

I just think it's funny that whenever a new Pokémon game releases many people go "OMG THE GRAPHICS SO CUTE AND NICE :333" and when it's a Square Enix game, even the mini-mini-est of mistakes is pointed somehow.
I mean, it's anyone's choice if he likes it or not, I just feel people are extremely harsh with graphic in SE games.
 

Alpha Sonix

New member
Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Messages
239
Location
London
I just think it's funny that whenever a new Pokémon game releases many people go "OMG THE GRAPHICS SO CUTE AND NICE :333" and when it's a Square Enix game, even the mini-mini-est of mistakes is pointed somehow.
I mean, it's anyone's choice if he likes it or not, I just feel people are extremely harsh with graphic in SE games.

Eh. Pokemon is kind of different and even then, I've always wanted a Pokemon game for HD consoles. Also doesn't help that Square really likes to pride itself on its graphical fidelity when it comes to Final Fantasy titles. But you're right, I'd honestly always take good stable framerate over incredible graphics. If KH3 were 900p but 60FPS, I honestly wouldn't mind, but that's just me.
 

Lnds500

Bronze Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Messages
1,507
Awards
4
Age
31
Location
Athens, Greece
I just think it's funny that whenever a new Pokémon game releases many people go "OMG THE GRAPHICS SO CUTE AND NICE :333" and when it's a Square Enix game, even the mini-mini-est of mistakes is pointed somehow.
I mean, it's anyone's choice if he likes it or not, I just feel people are extremely harsh with graphic in SE games.

Kingdom Hearts games have always been benchmarks for their respective hardware. 3DS, PS2, PSP, DS, mobile.. all great visually. 0.2 + 3 already looks dated in places.
 

Rydgea

keeps leaving X-mas decor up year-round.
Joined
Oct 21, 2011
Messages
2,775
Awards
13
Website
backloggery.com
I just think it's funny that whenever a new Pokémon game releases many people go "OMG THE GRAPHICS SO CUTE AND NICE :333" and when it's a Square Enix game, even the mini-mini-est of mistakes is pointed somehow.
I mean, it's anyone's choice if he likes it or not, I just feel people are extremely harsh with graphic in SE games.


Yes, yes, but if we're being realistic, that's where we are. Graphics don't need to be hyper-realistic, but they are held to a certain standard these days. Even when making a game out of sprites, it has to commit to the tone of the genre, simplistic or not.

Also, the animation for both Disney and Kingdom Hearts has been pretty consistent. This is the biggest change the series has had in terms of a general makeover, so the contrast is stark right now. There's this somewhat uncanny valley of believability that's caused a bit of a rift. As far as skin textures, I still think they look like those rubber, bendable figurines, but it's something I think will just take a period of adjustment.

Someone else also pointed out that for years now Disney had perfected the human skin textures for their films, plus we get the renders (which should always be taken with a grain of salt), plus we had the earlier visions of Sora and the gang on the Luminous Engine, so everyone's expectations are pulled in different directions.

For the most part though, everything looks gorgeous and I'm grateful for that.
 

Precursor Mar

New member
Joined
Dec 17, 2014
Messages
505
Location
On the Hydra's back
I just think it's funny that whenever a new Pokémon game releases many people go "OMG THE GRAPHICS SO CUTE AND NICE :333" and when it's a Square Enix game, even the mini-mini-est of mistakes is pointed somehow.
I mean, it's anyone's choice if he likes it or not, I just feel people are extremely harsh with graphic in SE games.

Maybe because deep in their hearts Pokemon fans know that the graphics are the only thing that are ever going to be in danger of changing in each following entry? They gotta have something to justify their purchase.

As for Squeenix, people are only holding them to the standard they set themselves. These oily models look like early PS3 at times.
 

Absent

Nomura's Biggest Fan
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
3,342
Awards
17
Location
Outer Rim
I just think it's funny that whenever a new Pokémon game releases many people go "OMG THE GRAPHICS SO CUTE AND NICE :333" and when it's a Square Enix game, even the mini-mini-est of mistakes is pointed somehow.
I mean, it's anyone's choice if he likes it or not, I just feel people are extremely harsh with graphic in SE games.


Apples to oranges. While Pokémon has changed its art style, the games still make the Pokémon look cartoony and cute. A fair comparison would be Pokémon using the unreal engine to make hyper realistic designs. Also Pokémon players as a whole don't care that much for graphics so long as it's consistent and matches the theme of the games.
 

Gooby

New member
Joined
Jun 8, 2016
Messages
1
I agree with king_mickey rule, the shading of the human character models is way too shiny. And as someone who has played around with the shaders in Unreal Engine 4, I can tell you this is not because of the engine's limitations.
This is what Unreal Engine 4 is capable of:
https://youtu.be/tyEF6bPm4ps?t=91
And anyone who has played recent games on the ps4 should know it isn't the consoles limitations either (even the ps3 wouldn't have had much of a problem with overly shiny models).

The only reasons for the current plastic look, that I can think of, are:
  • They're waiting to make the final shaders to match the surroundings and the current look is just a placeholder.
  • Or the art director really goofed up in which case I hope SE listens to the feedback from the fans.


Further rambling:
Of course Kingdom Hearts isn't going for realism, but I don't get how making the models unnecessarily shiny makes anything look more cartoony. It actually does the opposite.
For an example of a game that found a nice balance between realism and style: Bioshock Infinite really did it right.

It is hard to compare the new shaders to the original style of the previous games because those earlier games didn't really have any actual shading like most games have today.
There was no actual lighting so everything was painted on. This limitation actually gave the artists a lot of artistic control over how everything looked. They didn't have to worry much about how models looked in different lighting. And because the same painting techniques could be used in 3D as in 2D, it was a lot easier to match Disney's style and create a very pretty looking game (with the help of very talented artists!)
Introducing actual lighted models would drastically change the look of the games and this is why I was so amazed at how well they did managed to keep the original spirit with modern technology in the earliest trailers for kh3.
Bark bark bark, bark. Bark.
 

king_mickey rule

The Great Destroyer
Joined
Aug 31, 2007
Messages
4,159
Awards
9
Age
30
Location
http://goo.gl/wqPLqi
Kingdom Hearts games have always been benchmarks for their respective hardware. 3DS, PS2, PSP, DS, mobile.. all great visually. 0.2 + 3 already looks dated in places.

This.

It's not like we expect realism from Kingdom Hearts games either, as someone earlier seemed to suggest. What we do expect, though, is visual consistency. The graphics from the reveal had that consistency and genuinely looked like a next-gen version of Kingdom Hearts graphics and even looked exactly like current Disney movies.

The environments look great, for the most part, but those aren't the issue here. The characters are, they stick out. Example:

Spoiler Spoiler Show


Compare her model with the stone bridge/road she's about to land on. Notice how huge the difference is, not only in lighting, but also in texture detail. It's almost as if the model's being lit by an extra lighting source, other than its surroundings. It's weird and takes the viewer out of it. Another example:

Spoiler Spoiler Show


Sure, these are minor characters, but the engine renders them in the same, ugly way. I see almost no texture-work here either. Also notice how the hair looks like they're placed on top of the head of the characters, like a wig. These are all Final Fantasy-esque characters, where Square's strength lies. God knows how the Disney characters are gonna look.
 
Last edited:

BlackOsprey

Hell yeah
Joined
Jul 5, 2015
Messages
4,520
Awards
20
Welp.

It was only a matter of time before everyone started grabbing the pitchforks I guess.

I'll be over here an a state of dazed wonder for now. My expectations were MUCH lower than what we got, really.
 

VoidGear.

red gay
Joined
Jun 6, 2015
Messages
5,594
Awards
57
Age
29
Location
Germany
Welp.

It was only a matter of time before everyone started grabbing the pitchforks I guess.

I'll be over here an a state of dazed wonder for now. My expectations were MUCH lower than what we got, really.

Maybe that's my "problem" as well.
I didn't expect this to look as great as it does (to me), so naturally, I'm pretty happy.
 

BlackOsprey

Hell yeah
Joined
Jul 5, 2015
Messages
4,520
Awards
20
Maybe that's my "problem" as well.
I didn't expect this to look as great as it does (to me), so naturally, I'm pretty happy.
I also figure there's really not much that can be done to make this look "good."
Keep it looking like the older games, people will be mad.
Change it to something updated and different, and people will be mad.
Make it look kinda stylized and less textured like the old and people hate it.
Give it tons of detail and texture and suddenly it's too realistic.

Me, I care about as much as this guy

4kBrZ43.jpg


when it comes to high-quality graphics. I grew up with Pokemon as my gold standard and I was impressed by Re:Coded. So yeah. Bring it on. Take my munny already, this looks beautiful.

Then again, not everyone is low-standard fandom trash like meee~
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top