Planescape Torment Graphics

ToddMcF2002

ToddMcF2002

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I bought Planescape Torment last night on GOG and applied every essential mod including widescreen / HD. When I fired it up though I was a bit disappointed. The fog of war is very pixelated and color palette looks 16 bit. I've been playing the BG and IWD Enhanced Editions and I'm now wondering if I'm under appreciating what Beamdog did to improve the visuals? Those Enhanced Editions look fantastic. I played BGTutu a few years ago and I do not recall being disappointed. But it might be all relative since the Enhanced Editions didn't exist. Isn't Torment newer than BG?
 
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Todd, I love you, but who cares about "pixelated fog of war" and "16 bit color palette"? Enjoy the game for what it is - a great PC RPG experience. :)
 
Torment is made of special stuff like squeeky sound when you're learning spells. I'll never forgive myself for not hacking that "jingle" out when stuff like weidu were around.

I can't see me playing any version than the original unless it's completely ported to another engine phones won't be able to run in decades.
Since it's party based, DA:I's engine (Frostbite IIRC) should do the job perfectly although with some improvements on sidekicks pathfinding Risen 2/3 engine can also do the trick. Failing that, I wouldn't object if someone remakes PST in D:OS engine when and if possible.
 
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Not quite sure what you mean - 16 bit colour is plenty even for current games.
 
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It almost looks monochrome. It's hard to describe. It seems like there are gaps in the palette. Fluent I'm simply looking for it to be the best it can be. The Beamdog editions raised the bar significantly. Graphically everything is vibrant and has a soft almost antialiased look to it.
 
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I understand. Have you turned on Supersampling AA in your graphics card control panel? It's a little trick I like to do with older games - set the SSAA to max levels. Not that it will make a huge difference with the 'issue' you're having, but it will smooth some of those rougher edges. :)
 
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Ripper said:
Not quite sure what you mean - 16 bit colour is plenty even for current games.
Click to expand...

LOL now that was a blast from the past, reminding me of the good old 3Dfx days! :)
 
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Moriendor said:
LOL now that was a blast from the past, reminding me of the good old 3Dfx days! :)
Click to expand...

How do you mean? Most people can't tell the difference when you go above 16bit colour, and most LCD monitors can't truly display much more than that.
 
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What I mean is that this is the exact argument that has been used some 15+ years ago in endless discussions between 3Dfx fanbois defending their sinking 16-bit ship and the rising number of nVidia fanbois who began to appreciate the superior image quality of the Riva TNT with 32-bit color depth :) .
In my opinion, regardless of what LCDs can do, which varies a lot depending on panel quality and panel technology, there is definitely a very noticeable difference between 16-bit and 32-bit because you just get more gradients and a smoother picture, smoother transitions and a "crispier" image quality.
 
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OK, I'm with you. I agree that there is a perceptable difference when going above 16 bit, but it's not dramatic, and most people would barely notice. Also, unless you have an extremely expensive publishing monitor, it won't actually be displaying anything like 32 bits of colour.
 
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PS: T was always at the bottom of the Infinity Engine barrel in terms of gameplay (sluggish) and graphics quality. That being said, you would also be disappointed if you played the regular edition of BG or IWD, as they were also quite far behind BG2 and IWD2. BG2 and IWD2, however, holds up very well and look good even today.
 
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Oddly enough, I always found the visuals of Torment to be the most appealing out of the IE games. I think that might be because art design is more important than pure graphics for me. Torment just evoked a stronger attachment and reaction compared to BG or IWD, which seemed to lean more towards the generic side for me. I also like the more "zoomed in" feel, allowing you to see the characters and surroundings more. Really, it was the atmosphere as a whole that made Torment appealing and stand out.

Just for what it's worth, I played Torment for the first time in 2010, shortly after trying my hand at BG and IWD, so I have no nostalgia attachment involved.
 
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I'll play it either way. Today I found some HD pics online and at least I can confirm I'm running the best available version.
 
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