PS2's grafix?

[JagWarlord]

Why are PS2's grafix so dark and blurry looking?

 

I own an Xbox and Gamecube and the grafix on those is like night and day compared to the PS2. I played my friends PS2 this weekend and almost puked when I saw the grafix. I thought it might be the game at first, but playing all of his games(10) I noticed the grafix were the same, terrible BTW this isn't a PS2 hater thread

 

Can someone give me a technical reason why the grafix arnt up to par with GC and Xbox?

Thanks

[Raijin Z]

Please die.

[JagWarlord]

Please die.

 

Wow say that to me in person, you little dickhead!

[Godzilla]

don't be a player hater. every system is only as good as the game it's playing.

[Raijin Z]

Please die.

 

Wow say that to me in person, you little dickhead!

 

I don't think you want me to know where you live.

 

The only fair comparison you can do between systems is on multiplatform games, where the same CODE AND TEXTURE guys worked on the games being compared. Why? Because the code guys control the lighting, and the texture guys control the pretty pictures that are stuck all over those little triangle things called polygons.

 

Also consider they dates the systems were released. Ponder further that the XBox is little more than a streamlined PC.

[liveinabin]

The PS2's graphics are as sharp as any system. Maybe not as detailed because the system isn't really as powerful as the GC or Xbox. But it's at least as sharp as the Dreamcasts, and that's the sharpest looking graphics I can think of.

Maybe you were seeing these PS2 graphics on a rubbish TV or through a bad video lead.

[Clock]

yeah I agree, I've had all 3 of the current consoles and the PS2 may be weaker in textures and draw distances etc but the graphics should be as sharp as any of the others on a decent TV. I would guess your friend needs a new TV rather than a new console.

[King Atari]

Yeah, there's some jaggies, but for the most part the games look pretty good.

 

Why are PS2's grafix so dark and blurry looking?  

 

I haven't noticed any really that dark, but I think blurring is sometimes done intentionally to reduce the above mentioned jaggies.

[JagMX]

the ps2 came out much earlier than the 2, so its understood that the graphix are "outdated"

i read an article that sony is being sued cuz someone else was trying to get patents for the emtion engine many years ago - who knows if its true

 

[RCmodeler]

Why are PS2's grafix so dark and blurry looking?

 

It all depends on the game. Mario & Zelda are bright and cheery on the Cube. But Metroid Prime is dark and somewhat blurred. So, if you want bright & cheery on the PS2, just go play Kingdom Hearts which shows lots of bright/sunny scenes in the first few hours. Dark Cloud 2, Grandia 2, and Pac-Man World are also bright & cheery.

 

Get your friend to show you some of those more light-hearted games... something on par with the Mario & Zelda games you're used to.

 

Or else, compare what you saw on PS2 to darker games like Metroid Prime.

[JagWarlord]

These were some of the games I played on the PS2

 

Rune

The Great Escape

Red Fraction 2

GTA 3

GTA VC

X-Squad

 

Maybe it was the games... but I have noticed that PS2's draw distances are rather weak.

[PuddWakkr]

You just can't compare the graphics of the PS2 to the GC and XB. That's not to say the PS2 can't have nice visuals (you see the trailer for MGS 3 ) but it requires a talented team and alot of work to get the extra punch out of it as the hardware is not as beefy as the other two.

[DracIsBack]

Can someone give me a technical reason why the grafix arnt up to par with GC and Xbox?

 

Age. The PS2 came out first. Just like the GC and XBox won't be up to part with the PS3.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Jak and Daxter, there is some bright cherry sunny outside graphics for you! And to think Jak and Daxter is like 2 years old now...

 

But yes, the PS2s draw distances aren't the best, but then neither was the DCs. My point is that I for one have a pretty decent PC setup and can use it for playing the most state of the art in graphics games. But for just milling about in the living room with a nice game that the whole family can watch, the PS2 provides more than enough. I am not a fanboi and I certainly didn't want the PS2 in this house...but the title support was simply too much to ignore at the time when the wife wanted a newer console in the house. A GC is in the list of things to get for the X-mas season perhaps, but until then, I am pretty damn content with my PS2 and it graphics.

 

[x6d696168]

Yeah, there's some jaggies, but for the most part the games look pretty good.

 

Why are PS2's grafix so dark and blurry looking?  

 

I haven't noticed any really that dark, but I think blurring is sometimes done intentionally to reduce the above mentioned jaggies.

 

Jaggies, aka anti-aliasing... That really depends on the game. If the game is old, and released around the same time as the PS2, you're going to notice more problems with anti-aliasing. If the game is super new, you'll notice less. You can also enable smooth scaling on the PS2. Start the system up without a game in it, and hit triangle for setup (i think thats the right key), one of those options in the setup menu goes to a suboption that allows you to enable smooth scaling, and it really helps on some games. Also, make sure that you're using S-Video and not RF or analog, that also helps.

[x6d696168]

Remember, when hardware first comes out, developers are given a developers kit. If they just use the libraries included with that kit, they're going to get pretty basic shit. After writing code for the hardware for a while, they'll figure out better ways to do things, and figure out how to improve graphics, game speed, etc etc.. Look at original nes release titles, and then look at games released near the end.. same for playstation..

 

Also, realize that all this hardware is different. The playstation2's gpu may not be up to par when compared to the nvidia or ati cards contained in the xbox and gc. It may almost be equivilent to comparing apples and oranges. But the PS2 definately has a good gpu, silent hill 3 is *amazing*.

[DJGeki]

Jaggies, aka anti-aliasing... That really depends on the game.  If the game is old, and released around the same time as the PS2, you're going to notice more problems with anti-aliasing.  If the game is super new, you'll notice less.  You can also enable smooth scaling on the PS2.  Start the system up without a game in it, and hit triangle for setup (i think thats the right key), one of those options in the setup menu goes to a suboption that allows you to enable smooth scaling, and it really helps on some games.  Also, make sure that you're using S-Video and not RF or analog, that also helps.

 

Actually, you've got it a little backwards. Jaggies are what occurs from low screen resolution (aka, "aliasing"). ANTI-aliasing is the "solution" to jaggies...not the jaggies themselves. That's why you have different versions of it now on PCs (2x, 4x, 8x, quincunx, etc.) depending on which videocard you have.

 

The smooth scaling option in the menu (along with the Disc Speed option) is only used when playing PS1 games. It has no effect on PS2 games at all.

 

The S-Video and RGB connections will pretty much ALWAYS make a picture look better, as long as the system generating the picture knows that those connections are there.

[x6d696168]

Actually, you've got it a little backwards.  Jaggies are what occurs from low screen resolution (aka, "aliasing").  ANTI-aliasing is the "solution" to jaggies...not the jaggies themselves.  That's why you have different versions of it now on PCs (2x, 4x, 8x, quincunx, etc.) depending on which videocard you have.  

 

The smooth scaling option in the menu (along with the Disc Speed option) is only used when playing PS1 games.  It has no effect on PS2 games at all.

 

The S-Video and RGB connections will pretty much ALWAYS make a picture look better, as long as the system generating the picture knows that those connections are there.

 

Doh, well I was almost right =). I'm pretty sure the smooth scaling stuff works in PS2 games too. Try MGS2 with and without and you should notice a difference. I'm sure I've read about using it with PS2 games too (I'm aware that all I read is not necessarily true). Of course, finding any decent documentation on that stuff is pretty hard. If you have any links I'd appreciate it.

 

If I remember correctly, smooth scaling stuff is backwards in that it only works with PS2 and not PS1 so that it maintains high compatibility with the PS1 games. I'm sure I read about this in some magazine too (as well as online in various places that I can't find now). I'll dig through my magazines later..

[RCmodeler]

Doh, well I was almost right =).  I'm pretty sure the smooth scaling stuff works in PS2 games too.  ..... If you have any links I'd appreciate it.

 

 

If you ever bothered to use the smooth scaling (which I doubt), you'd see it clearly states:

 

PLAYSTATION DRIVER

 

...with no suffix. That's for the *original* playstation now called PSone. The smoothing only works on older PS1 games, and basically what it does is boost the textuing from lo-res to hi-res (320x240--->640x480) which eliminates the jaggies. (NES/S-NES emulators do the same thing if you choose that option.) PROOF: Play Final Fantasy 7 with and without the smoothing. It definitely makes a difference, especially in the battle screen.

[Room 34]

I own an Xbox and Gamecube and the grafix on those is like night and day compared to the PS2. I played my friends PS2 this weekend and almost puked when I saw the grafix.

 

Have you compared the systems on the same TV? Maybe your friend's TV is a piece of crap, or maybe he has the color/brightness/contrast settings all monkeyjacked.

[x6d696168]

Doh, well I was almost right =).  I'm pretty sure the smooth scaling stuff works in PS2 games too.  ..... If you have any links I'd appreciate it.

 

 

If you ever bothered to use the smooth scaling (which I doubt), you'd see it clearly states:

 

PLAYSTATION DRIVER

 

...with no suffix. That's for the *original* playstation now called PSone. The smoothing only works on older PS1 games, and basically what it does is boost the textuing from lo-res to hi-res (320x240--->640x480) which eliminates the jaggies. (NES/S-NES emulators do the same thing if you choose that option.) PROOF: Play Final Fantasy 7 with and without the smoothing. It definitely makes a difference, especially in the battle screen.

 

I have used it, but I didn't notice anything about 'PLAYSTATION DRIVER' I'll look again though.

[Raijin Z]

Jaggies, aka anti-aliasing...

 

Aliasing, not antialiasing.