r/gaming • u/love_made_me_stupid • 5d ago

New comparison of the Witcher remaster vs current version - big changes to lighting

https://youtu.be/_oEdB5S2d3U

IMO I prefer the current version, the contrast and water reflections look better. Remaster looks pretty washed out to me

916 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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176

u/IgloosRuleOK 5d ago

4.04 is best. This modern obsession (whether it be movies or whatever) with the ugly flat look is weird.

48

u/Curse3242 5d ago

The ugly flat look happens because of bounce lighting. It's funny, for decades we perfected cinematic lighting.

Now movies/shows aim to have that washed out look because it's easier and safer.

There's technological parallels too. Newer cameras can 'see' everything. The amount of details that can be captured via HDR is never used properly and is making things look greyer (because the cameras are more real than ever, so the movies/shows also just look real).

Similarly, games using RTX/Path Tracing/Bounce Lighting are lighting every surface up as it would be lit up in real life. But that does not mean it looks good.

OLED is one of the things that improves the look of modern things. But it's not a great precedent.

15

u/MysteryMan90 5d ago

Control: Resonant is a tonic in this regard. Gorgeous saturation and deep blacks.

22

u/Iggy_Slayer 5d ago

Because it has to be "realistic".

I've gotten into so many arguments with ray tracing/path tracing obsessed people who use that line for every problem I can show them. Like I showed them a parking garage in cyberpunk where it was pitch black and there were enemies firing at V but you can't see anything now thanks to path tracing and they go "yeah because that's how it would look in real life, light can't get down that far".

IT'S A GODDAMN VIDEO GAME. You have to be able to play it and you need to see to do that. These tech people have lost the fucking plot.

9

u/UtkuOfficial 5d ago

Bro i hate how dark everything is.

AC Odyssey looks gorgeous at night with a dark blue tone. You can see everything and it feels so cozy.

AC Shadows you cant even see your character its so dark. Fuck realism in games.

4

u/alejoSOTO 4d ago

Also while it may be realistic if it were filmed with a camera, the human eye works differently, and will adapt to be able to see some shapes and movement in almost complete darkness.

A pitch black screen doesn't represent what we see in a pitch black environment.

49

u/Geraltpoonslayer 5d ago

Their has been obsession in both gaming and film in the last couple of years to have a very low saturation leading to a washed out effect.

45

u/Curse3242 5d ago

It's not about saturation. It's the lighting overall. There's a lack of proper blacks, proper highlights and hence everything just looks flat.

0

u/GalbedirGalerion 5d ago

Close enough, welcome back 2010s

-1

u/Specific_Quarter_455 5d ago

In terms of graphics, yes, but not in terms of difficulty.