Graphics downgrade

[Eduard Mallorquí]

I open this thread to discuss current AC graphics since from some time ago developers claimed an improvement on this area thanks to the console port.

One of the things that kept me driving on AC was because of the visual experience it offered but so far seems like things have gone to worse. Take for example this picture from last summer:

And compare it with the next one, maximum graphics without DoF, from today:

What you can see is saturation and contrast increased to give a more vivid colors but unrealistic, the trees changed for simpler ones and the track marks of the road are massive compared to the subtle and immersive ones we had before.

Also I noticed the textures of the gravel traps seem to be all over the place with very low resolution and bad clipping. This is also a screen from today with max settings without DoF.

When I asked on the official forums about this gravel traps the answer I got is that they were WIP, and that was months ago, yet seem they didn't change them at all since then.

So, did anyone notice this so far? I'm surprised no one really complained about it, but for me it certainly looks they had to reduce the texture quality and push saturation and contrast for the consoles downgrading at the same time the PC version we could once enjoy.

 

[Radu Oros]

As they were introducing some new circuits during 2015, I think they wanted to upgrade the ones already in the game with the same assets/looks as the newer released circuits.

Nonetheless, here's a video comparison with before and after the changes.

 

[David Dominguez]

I quite agree with Edu, although I guess it's something personal, I prefer the old visual style, more clean and sharp, and less saturated. Also there are things that I'm missing now, see for example sun reflection over the asphalt (using that video as example):

I'm not saying that everything is worse now, but at least these things I think they used to be better.

 

[LilSki]

The thing I hate the most is the constant dark groove even on straights. Such as the left side of the shots David posted looks better to me. I'm not saying there should be no rubber on the straights, it just shouldn't be as much as the turns.

Also the corner skidmarks are way overdone IMO. I originally was going to copy this style for my RIR but decided against it. This is still a tad overdone but I think its better than KS style.



Also I really don't know what they were thinking with the sand traps honestly. They don't look terrible at speed but in any still shot they are horrid.

 

[Eero o.]

Nonetheless, here's a video comparison with before and after the changes.

1.5 looks better to me, 1.4 has little washed out overexposured look and much less trackside objects resulting in less detail, gravel trap texture res should be increased tho.

Anyway isn't there saturation slider and different pp presets e.g. natural and so on, not to mention custom user made pp presets.

 

[Radu Oros]

Imola already looked good since the beginning, but for tracks like Mugello, Nurburgring GP, the graphic updates really changed the tracks for the better. Still, the idea behind all the graphic updates in 1.5 was for a more universal look and style used between all circuits. So any different improvements made for future circuits will probably make their way to the base game tracks.

 

[David Dominguez]

The thing I hate the most is the constant dark groove even on straights. Such as the left side of the shots David posted looks better to me. I'm not saying there should be no rubber on the straights, it just shouldn't be as much as the turns.

Yep. In real life there isn't usually such dramatic contrast between rubbered parts and non rubbered (well, except if you have cars of different classes running all day long for an entire weekend), plus as you said in straights there is way less rubber than in corners (although this has been almost like that, since 1.0 I think).

I think this is a good picture as reference (Imola, like in the video).

 

[Eduard Mallorquí]

Mugello is another track which suffered the texture downgrade from my view. They added more side track objects and kerbs seem to be improved but the final result seems to be worse. I found this picture from last summer with DoF:

You can see clean and sharp textures all over the track. Right now we have this with DoF:

And if we take off DoF we get this bizarre and misplaced textures, especially on the side track textures. Notice also how the trees are also a lot simpler than old ones.

Also Mugello suffers from the horrid gravel traps as the rest of the tracks:

From my point of view DoF is now a mandatory setting to hide the low resolution of the new textures.

 

[betterstranger]

TBH I see no noticable difference between the two, it's surely not night and day, little details, but my FPS went up with all new patches.
For me it's a classic example of 'problems of the 1st world'.

 

[David Dominguez]

TBH I see no noticable difference between the two, it's surely not night and day, little details, but my FPS went up with all new patches.
For me it's a classic example of 'problems of the 1st world'.

Well, by that logic 99% of the content posted in this forum are 1st world problems.

 

[Billy Pilgrim]

TBH I see no noticable difference between the two, it's surely not night and day, little details, but my FPS went up with all new patches.
For me it's a classic example of 'problems of the 1st world'.

Isn't everything on this website problems of the first world?

edit: oops, Mr Dominguez got there first

 

[Eero o.]

I don't recommend using default post process preset since it has effects like chromatic aberration.

 

[REM1976]

TBH I see no noticable difference between the two, it's surely not night and day, little details, but my FPS went up with all new patches.
For me it's a classic example of 'problems of the 1st world'.

Mod edit: Mutual respect between the people using the RaceDepartment.com website(s) and forums. This means you may not personally attack other forum users. malicious behaviour and bullying will not be tolerated.

If there is nothing to add into the discussion, then stay off it.

 

[Marco Waechter]

I don't see anything to the worse neither at that Mugello example to be honest. Maybe the trees look cheaper because of on its top now brighter/'translucent' green (which is in fact more realistic you could say), but appear sharper (clear technical look).
And the gravel traps look at least kind of photo-relaistic in the way they are modelled. In that last picture at least. Colors are different, yes. But that's more a personal taste.
Where is that also washed out gravel track from the first picture any better than the newer, more defined texture ?
And "bizarre and misplaced textures" without DoF ? You must be seeing something else.

Personally I didn't like the disappearing of the the sun standing & resulting sun/light reflections (on the asphalt). That's my only concern about graphics. I was glad, that it was there again in 1.4 or 1.5 as in the very first versions, where I liked it so much. But now it is maybe gone again... Or not really, have to check closer . Like on, off, on, off of this (and else features) version likewise.

 

[Leonardo Chaves]

Imola got a much darker tarmac which may not have been the best decision.

Other than that i think the changes were positive.

 

[David Dominguez]

@LilSki just checked Mountain Peak (you worked on it right?) and the asphalt has such beautiful sun reflections. Very nicely done.

 

[LilSki]

@LilSki just checked Mountain Peak (you worked on it right?) and the asphalt has such beautiful sun reflections. Very nicely done.

Indeed I redid most of the shaders on both Mountain Peak and Joesville. The textures are all from ISI and rf2 but I had to make some tweaks to them to bring out the details for the AC shaders.

After I put out 0.7 of RIR I plan on some more updates to those two ovals and put them up here on RD. Mainly the infield grass needs some more love for the road course.

 

[Ben Lee]

I think the graphics "upgrade" was a mixed bag. Some things look worse, some things look better.

I personally think the grass on a lot of the tracks now looks better. The trees for the most part look worse. I like the increased objects around some of the tracks, adds some variety. Some of the tarmac textures look better, some don't, (Vallelunga looks better). The best part of the upgrade (for me) was the re-profiling of the Kurzanbindung turn on the Nurburg short layout, which has now lost that big dip in the middle of it.

One thing in general which pCARS managed to do well was to eliminate the tiled textures issue from their mapped areas. It is a problem when you have vast expanses of land and a repeating texture, mapped again and again. I don't know the technicalities of achieving that, but things like the run-off areas in pCARS looked great because there was (the illusion) of a constantly changing texture and not one which is just cut and pasted end to end. Sadly I think AC still has this tiled texture trait certainly on things like tarmac, on grass you can't really notice it thanks to things like the detail grass.

 

[D1visor]

I think it's mixed. Gravel traps look awful, but I still have to agree with OP.

 

[seanvdburg]

I think a lot comes down to your PP filters as well. I've never liked the Kunos default ones. They overexpose too much for me (sky turns almost white), and shadows are too dark. They took it a bit too far with dynamic range and the constant exposure adjustment going on also annoys me. I'm using natural graphics mod.
The tracks all started to look better for me after the texture updates. Only the gravel traps are a blurry mess, they need to come up with some proper texture for that.