Sorry, but I've found these Skyrim videos much more immersive than The Witcher 2's sometimes clumsy graphics.
The witcher 2 had its moments - times where the graphics and area design really worked to create an impressive sense of place that I have not seen matched in any sandbox style RPGs. That's one of the advantages of more path based exploration - the ability to anticipate common perspectives and enhance the scene for maximum impact. It was damned uneven though and I did get the distinct feeling that the care taken with some areas was not at all applied to others (the mines and tunnels). But yeah I guess that's what you meant by "sometimes" right?
Speaking of games that have their moments though, I finally got around to playing Risen. I definitely agree with their decision to go with a more nautical/pirate theme; they have some people on their art team that are clearly in love with the sea.
Animation in Skyrim seems especially improved over Oblivion. I'm sure the PC version will have better graphics, as was the case for Oblivion (especially after tweaks).
Yeah - they have at the very least made quite a serious attempt to address the most serious visual flaws of their previous Elder Scrolls title. The way the engine handles LOD does seem promising - as that should be one of the most straight forward elements to scale on superior hardware.
I am very much looking forward to playing around with the mod tools getting to play with the engine a bit. Way way back when I first saw how much the inventory system let you zoom in and view the details on objects someone mentioned that they wished they would actually do something with it in terms of pursuing clues for a quest. I thought I was being clever when I suggested I'd do that with a murder-detective quest plug in I'd like to make. Although it does seem Bethesda sort of beat me to it since video 2/3 shows an instance where examining an item like that reveals the combination to a locked door.
And I have learned that indeed sometimes "less is more",
So have many game developers - even developers of newer AAA titles. That's why cartoonish and stylized but technically simpler graphics persist in many large game projects. You can get across a setting and atmosphere just fine to a point without resorting to far more expensive high-detail textures and terrain.
They're not going to be as immersive because they'll always look distinctly and intentionally fake, but they don't run the risk of falling into the uncanny. It doesn't hurt that they save time, money, and (if done intelligently) don't tax the hardware quite as much. Also some people prefer the more cartoonish visuals and color pallets; they're not my ideal and sometimes they are done in a way that feels like a desperate attempt to resemble WoW but that's probably just a personal preference issue.
the graphics don't look that great…
…
***side note the 20mins of KoA last week looked a hell of alot more polished for a game coming out after this.****
Alright then.
