Graphics On The 360

[99thompson]

Loving the game so far but just wondering about the quality of graphics.

 

Im running 1080i and the grahics seem abit blurry. Like shadows of the bridges and the general things seem very soft edged and not very defined.

 

In comparison to Saints Row, just dont think the graphics are as clean, just seem blurry.

 

Is this just me or is it the same for others?

[SlackulatoR]

Gief a screenshot and we will let you know.

It is just you,probably.

[xer0er]

 

Blurry because of digital camera.

(I accidentally dropped a grenade out the window so didn't have much time to take a picture, had to reverse pretty quickly.. Was awesome, though.)

[DrAKeN3D]

I love the feeling of the graphics... they are not as sharp as other games, but it adds to the realism.

[99thompson]

Its the draw distances as well, just dont seem that good. And things like litter appears next to you after you've been stood their for 10 seconds.

 

Dont get me wrong, i love the game and really wanted it to be perfect but just compared to other 360 games i think the graphics are not up to scratch. But i suppose when has any GTA been.

 

[99thompson]

 

Note trees seem blurry, lamps arent that good and general fine detail is not there.

 

Is this just me then and is the game just like that???

[xxtremeguyxx2001]

No, it's not just you. I have a PS3 and the graphics in the distance are quite blurry. It's quite annoying, I notice that at night the graphics are sharp, but as soon as the sun comes up it becomes blurry. I hope that a patch will fix this issue because it really takes away from the experience.

[Jc84144]

No, it's not just you. I have a PS3 and the graphics in the distance are quite blurry. It's quite annoying, I notice that at night the graphics are sharp, but as soon as the sun comes up it becomes blurry. I hope that a patch will fix this issue because it really takes away from the experience.

It's not an "issue" so it wont be fixed. It's one of the filters applied in the game.

[mark-2007]

Well - I see the trees haven't changed at all by the looks of it. Disappointing in that respect, no major problem though but it always bugged me how rubbish they looked in San Andreas.

 

Also, it looks a lot like Bully (Canis Canem Edit for those non-UKers) graphics.

[Thorpe]

I think it's just the way the graphics are produced. Unless improvements are made to the engine, I can't see this being improved for sequels.

[FlyBoyP]

 

Note trees seem blurry, lamps arent that good and general fine detail is not there.

 

Is this just me then and is the game just like that???

Well lol it is foggy outside.

Game does tend to do that even when you drive, very real.

[Beery]

"Im running 1080i and the grahics seem abit blurry. Like shadows of the bridges and the general things seem very soft edged and not very defined."

I agree. In fact it's my biggest issue with the game right now. Having come off CoD4 and Assassin's Creed (both of which have virtually flawless graphics) I guess I've been a bit spoilt, but the graphics in GTA4 are a disappointment to say the least, especially on my 61" HDTV where each distant and blurry object is magnified. I realise there's a heck of a lot of city to render, but the aforementioned games both had a similar amount of rendering to do and both did it well.

 

Fortunately the gameplay makes up for it to a great extent, but in a couple of years it will be hard to revisit this game for a replay because the graphics are going to look so dated. It seems to me that if they make a GTA5 they really need to look at the graphics engine and either revamp it or use a different one, because this kinda sucks.

[TheSharkIsALie]

"Im running 1080i and the grahics seem abit blurry. Like shadows of the bridges and the general things seem very soft edged and not very defined."

I agree. In fact it's my biggest issue with the game right now. Having come off CoD4 and Assassin's Creed (both of which have virtually flawless graphics) I guess I've been a bit spoilt, but the graphics in GTA4 are a disappointment to say the least, especially on my 61" HDTV where each distant and blurry object is magnified. I realise there's a heck of a lot of city to render, but the aforementioned games both had a similar amount of rendering to do and both did it well.

 

Fortunately the gameplay makes up for it to a great extent, but in a couple of years it will be hard to revisit this game for a replay because the graphics are going to look so dated. It seems to me that if they make a GTA5 they really need to look at the graphics engine and either revamp it or use a different one, because this kinda sucks.

It's a grand theft auto game guys, since when does a GTA have top of the line graphics? Besides, i think they are damn sexy, considering how much the consoles are rendering at once.

[Alick]

Although it's not to everyones liking it actually makes the graphics look and feel more real to me. The blurry graphics which occur as you look further away seems real to me as you can't see clearly thingsthat are quite far away. Also the draw distance, not so good? I personally think it's amazing. When looking through those binoculars on top of some towers etc. you can see cars and people on a street miles away walking around. Also the scenery in the background never dissappears it's always there. Personally I feel that the graphics are better than a lot of games on the nextgen consoles.

 

And the graphics not up to par? Please, look at that water, the footsteps in the sand, the road when it's raining and the huge amount of fine detail here and there.

Edited May 8, 2008 by Opiteilsm

[InFaDeLiTy]

Im running 1080p mebe i, I forgot I just know its 1080 for sure, and it looks beautiful.

No blur at all.

I think im only 1 who doesnt get these blur posts, bad gfx, or "jaggies"

On Xbox 360, id take a SS if I could but itd look like sh*t with cellphone.

[gsnail]

If you are running at 480i, 720i, or 1080i, you might have more troubles than at a progressive (p) setting. This is because interlaced (i) refreshes half the screen at a time, while progressive refreshes the whole screen. If your TV supports it, progressive is the way to go definitely.

 

snail.

[gxc999]

 

I'm on PS3 and haven't yet noticed these types of issues. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I've yet to see severe blurriness

as in the pictures here. Xbox 360 primarily?

[Foxy1]

I'm on PS3 and have to agree about the blur - its seems a bit too much for objects / buildings that are not that far in the distance. Looks best first thing in the morning, dusk and at night. If this is a design decision they should try and improve it IMO. Also trees and foliage could be a lot better, esp those awful grassy bits that pop up in the park areas.

 

Generally though the graphics are lovely for those bits that are close up, I particularly like the road textures, the car detail, the rain effects and the water

[GtaFan-atic]

things in the distance are blurry because thats the way the made this game... gave it a better effect

[HansHartz]

Switch your console to one of the p(rogressive) modes - this helps.

 

At 1st I also played on 1080i, but now I play on 720p (my TV doesn't support Full HD 1080p). The higher resolution of 1080i is misleading, thinking you get better quality.

 

But, before I write half a Ph.D.-Thesis here, just watch: 1080i vs 720p

[Jerry1984]

Its come a long way - i remember the good ol' days:

 

[MultiForce]

There is a difference in the two consoles and I really noticed it after I started playing on my PS3 after 40 hours on the 360 but I think the filters works great on both of them.

 

There are certain times a day when there is more blur than others but I don't really mind after getting used to it.

 

[NastySix]

 

Looks best first thing in the morning, dusk and at night.

Omg almost sounds like you're talking bout "smog" during the daytime,

 

you gots to luv the little details.....

[GTAGuy]

The "blur" effect is called Depth of Field, it's used in a lot of games to represent the camera being focused on the foreground as opposed to the background, to produce a more cinematic effect in the graphics. Sure it takes a little getting used to, but without it, the graphics just wouldn't be the same. It does blur more when it is foggy or raining or at night, but it's just simulating poor visibility.

 

 

Oh and for the record, I'm playing on a 19" CRT monitor at 1280x1024 and it looks extremely good. Very little amount of jaggies and everything is crisp and clear So that may be why the depth of field doesn't bother me as much... I played it on my friend's SDTV and I couldn't hardly make out anything at first because of the blurriness. Also I noticed that on my 52" LCD, it also looks blurry even at 1080p, and there are more jaggies. So I'm sticking with my monitor for sure... Also GTA4 plays in fullscreen with the VGA cable instead of letterboxing like a lot of other 360 games.

[dlx]

I really like the graphics, but I can see what you're getting at.

First of comparison's with CoD4 are senseless... and even then, it too has the jagged shadows.

Assasin's Creed is little more reasonable, but the geometry of the cities is not as complex, less skycrapers ;-). It doesn't have day and night cycle and has a less varied color palette. So they could put in a little more high res textures. The shadows are just as jagged as in GTA... that's because realtime shadows are incredibly intensive to render.

 

The depth of field is a bit extreme here, but it covers up a lot of imperfections and looks good on most smaller screens.

Also if you got the choice between 1080i and 720p, always go with 720p. Progressive is always better, especially with fast moving images.

[Mr_Prickles]

I realise there's a heck of a lot of city to render, but the aforementioned games both had a similar amount of rendering to do and both did it well.

Please don't tell me that you think the previous games took as much processing power as IV does to render...

[Beery]

It's a grand theft auto game guys, since when does a GTA have top of the line graphics? Besides, i think they are damn sexy, considering how much the consoles are rendering at once.

So because it's a GTA game we should simply accept mediocre graphics? Anyway, GTA: Vice City's graphics were top quality back when it first hit the market. The problem is they have not improved since and now they are decidedly dated.

[Jonny2410]

 

It's a grand theft auto game guys, since when does a GTA have top of the line graphics? Besides, i think they are damn sexy, considering how much the consoles are rendering at once.

So because it's a GTA game we should simply accept mediocre graphics? Anyway, GTA: Vice City's graphics were top quality back when it first hit the market. The problem is they have not improved since and now they are decidedly dated.

Lol they have improved considerably actually (at the expense of a fun experience like SA and its features ) - while the draw distance does suck admitedly with loads of blur and the textures sometime lack the HDR is some of the best i have ever seen as well as facial animation

 

The thing that really bugs me about gta- not really graphics is the game still "forgets" things like when you see a car, turn around for a split second and then its gone. - you would have thought htye would of fixed that.

[Beery]

 

I realise there's a heck of a lot of city to render, but the aforementioned games both had a similar amount of rendering to do and both did it well.

Please don't tell me that you think the previous games took as much processing power as IV does to render...

Who ever said they did? If we can place fanboyism on hold for a while, the point is that GTA's graphics are second rate, and yes, I really do think that CoD4 and AC have as much rendering to do as GTA IV - I mean haven't you played them?. I think the graphics engine Rockstar is using is outdated - it needs a revamp or replacement otherwise the GTA franchise is going to go downhill really fast. Maybe you want that but I don't. People are going to be REALLY disappointed if, two or three years down the road, GTA5 has the same tired old graphics engine that it has now. Your attitude of 'Shut up, everything is fine' can only weaken the franchise. The franchise can only remain strong if we are willing to criticize the areas that need improvement.

Edited May 8, 2008 by Beery

[Beery]

Lol they have improved considerably actually...

They've improved only because computer power allows more and bigger textures. From what I can see the actual graphics engine is much the same as it was in GTA: Vice City.