Whats with all the Battlefield 3 graphics hype?

[EGtodd09]

I've been hearing (mostly from the escapist [mostly from John Funk]) that Battlefield 3 has some amazing graphics. I'm quite graphics obsessed (even though my computer is quite dated and I still can't run Crysis on max unless I lower the resolution) and I'll always find something to criticise in game's graphics. In Battlefield 3's case, it's the sun. It's colour and style is good from an artistic point of view, but it has no trace of sun/light shafts which are now very common in games, and in this trailer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/2826-Battlefield-3-Fault-Line-Bad-Part-of-Town] the camera flashes forward just as you see the sun's bloom effects (or something like that) appear in all their roundness through a solid object. Also, the game shows us some pretty light shafts that do look legitimately good, but they're static light shafts (because if they were dynamic, they would always show up, which they didn't at the start of the trailer), and that's nothing to get excited about. Also, the animations for sprinting and prone (as seen in a later trailer where they take out a sniper with some crazy powerful rocket launcher) look straight up horrible. They included arms in the prone animation which is new, but people haven't done it before (i think) because it will always look bad. The guy is basically sanding his elbows every time he turns.

Now by no means am I saying the graphics look bad, but it's nothing to get so excited about. The engine may be powerful, the game footage may be coming from a pre-alpha version and so this game may end up being the next Crysis, but from what we've seen, it looks very average for 2011 in it's current state, and so John Funk and others, I ask why all the graphics hype?

Also, for the record, I am totally looking forward to Battlefield 3, regardless of graphics.

 

[Denomoses]

because apart from what you mentioned the level of detail is phenomenal.

 

[Polaris19]

What status quo are you on about?

For me status quo is Call of Duty like graphics.

I think it has more to do with character modeling and destructive environment details than anything, but the graphics that I've seen are pretty impressive, especially for a console. Is it Crysis 2? No, but it's not too far off, and given the amount of time they've got left to work on it I'm sure it'll just look even more impressive once we actually get it.

Keep in mind these are early sections of the game that have more or less been fleshed out, they aren't "done" quite yet. (as you pointed out)

I AM FREAKING PUMPED FOR THIS GAME TOO.

 

[Nazgual]

The instant games are all about the graphics is when they lose their worth.

 

[LaMer]

I agree with the sprint animation being awful, I hate it. Otherwise, the game looks phenomenal.

 

[DefinitelyPsychotic]

I would imagine all of the "hype" is because they look absolutely amazing.

 

[bbad89]

TBH, ARMA2 looks better at high, but that's just my opinion.

 

[RA92]

I couldn't give a shit about BF3's graphics.

In fact, in the entire 12-minute gameplay trailer, it was the last sixteen seconds that had me pumped.

Jets. Cockpit view. Cluster bombs at ground level. While driving a tank.

Sold.

 

[sushkis2]

AACH!!! The frostbite is the most awesome thing since cry engine 3, even though I find it ridiculous how many modern shooters there are now, NEEDS MOAR CRAZY SHIT like painkiller!! (Bulletstorm doesn't count, it was quite boring actually...)

 

[EGtodd09]

Call of duty has shit graphics, like really bad, didn't you hear the bitching when black ops came out? Like I said, I the game looks as good as it should, but apart from destructible environments nothing really stands out, and since we've seen very little environment destruction I don't understand why everyone is so excited by the graphics. It 2011, BF3's graphics are standard.

 

[rockingnic]

Just because it has noticeable flaws doesn't mean it doesn't impress most people. BF3's graphics are far beyond standard. How can it be standard when most games don't even come close the detail it has? I'm not saying it the best looking game but it still is great PS one and 2 games and even N64 games just because they're still fun as hell.

 

[Phlakes]

The graphics are really, really good. Maybe you don't see it because you're watching it in SD, so go ahead and watch this in fullscreen 1080p. If you don't see how good it looks then, you're just being stubborn.

 

[s0m3th1ng]

The big thing for me is the animation and self awareness of NPC's and the player character. Both are incredibly fluid and increase the immersion by orders of magnitude. The graphics themselves are nothing I haven't seen before.

 

[Epic Fail 1977]

OP, I was trying to take your post seriously but then I got to the part where you described the graphics as "average" ...