worse graphics?

[SmithDoc]

i feel like the textures are a little weird and the geometries are less smooth, more chunky. i've played the original version many, many times... yes, it's awesome that they improved the water, clouds, and grass wind effects, but i find it distracting how much chunkier the rocks are. fortunately i have the original on here as well.

[Void Fill Product]

It seems as if they had lowered the polycount. And its not just that – anti-aliasing isn't as effective either even with 8x MSAA and the zoom function is plagued with stutter. There's something wrong with the shaders too, can't quite put my finger on it... didn't the rocks look much better before, regardless of geometry? Then there's harsh contrast between low and high res textures, but that may have been in the original remake.
Certainly a step back, visually, i much prefer the source version.
I welcome the commentary tracks as much as DE being ported to other platforms, though. This game widened my scope for what "video games" can achieve!

[SmithDoc]

Originally posted by ComTruise:

It seems as if they had lowered the polycount. And its not just that – anti-aliasing isn't as effective either even with 8x MSAA and the zoom function is plagued with stutter. There's something wrong with the shaders too, can't quite put my finger on it... didn't the rocks look much better before, regardless of geometry? Then there's harsh contrast between low and high res textures, but that may have been in the original remake.
Certainly a step back, visually, i much prefer the source version.
I welcome the commentary tracks as much as DE being ported to other platforms, though. This game widened my scope for what "video games" can achieve!

upon comparison, it seems a lot of the blame is on the higher contrast textures. i think that the old version of dear esther has a lower-polygon count, but the textures in some instances were not improved, and especially with the rocks, the higher contrast makes the rocks look like they have "seams".

in a lot of ways, i do think they managed to improve dear esther visually, but it's those few weird things that stick out that sort of spoil it - especially for those used to the old look. that said, the new effects like grass and water reflections etc are genuine improvements. but overall it's just not as visually coherent or as smooth as the original version. i'm glad to have both, though... the commentary is great!

[[UFO] rad87gn]

The surround sound is improved which I love!

[SmithDoc]

Originally posted by rad87gn:

The surround sound is improved which I love!

the environmental sounds are definitely improved. the more i think about the remaster, the more i like it.

[Void Fill Product]

Originally posted by SmithDoc:

the more i think about the remaster, the more i like it.

Guess I should give it another try. At first glance I just was kind of, "meh".

[Madbat]

I don't mind the remaster, but overall I think I prefer the old version.

[FourMore]

It seems they ported the game on to the Unity engine. Weird...

[Void Fill Product]

Originally posted by Fer82:

It seems they ported the game on to the Unity engine. Weird...

As I understand it, the move from Source to Unity was necessary to achieve multi platform playability.

[satsun]

Try lowering the brightness or gamma. I noticed this game in my library last night and checked these forums; I saw this thread before the download was finished and did notice that the game looked less detailed when I ran it. The brightness or gamma appears to be too high, this pronounces the ugly stuff, try lowering the brightness or gamma (I can't remember the options right now) down to levels that get it looking on par with what is seen in the Source engine version, this will make the game look better.

In regards to audio, the Unity build of the game is likely using FMOD for audio processing. FMOD is superior to Miles Sound System, which is the Source engine's default audio engine. FMOD probably afforded the developer the ability to use higher-quality audio and effects.

[a man and his harem]

Originally posted by satsun:

Try lowering the brightness or gamma. I noticed this game in my library last night and checked these forums; I saw this thread before the download was finished and did notice that the game looked less detailed when I ran it. The brightness or gamma appears to be too high, this pronounces the ugly stuff, try lowering the brightness or gamma (I can't remember the options right now) down to levels that get it looking on par with what is seen in the Source engine version, this will make the game look better.

In regards to audio, the Unity build of the game is likely using FMOD for audio processing. FMOD is superior to Miles Sound System, which is the Source engine's default audio engine. FMOD probably afforded the developer the ability to use higher-quality audio and effects.

oddle i noticed this game today. lol xD

[Brataccas (°o°)]

how can I play the original version?

[SmithDoc]

Originally posted by (°o°):

how can I play the original version?

the original is no longer available for sale on steam. perhaps you can find it elsewhere? in any case, the new version is better than the original, and i regret posting my original comment.

[Brataccas (°o°)]

Originally posted by SmithDoc:

Originally posted by (°o°):

how can I play the original version?

the original is no longer available for sale on steam. perhaps you can find it elsewhere? in any case, the new version is better than the original, and i regret posting my original comment.

is the music changed atall? im too scared to play it again after the update.

[SmithDoc]

Originally posted by (°o°):

Originally posted by SmithDoc:

the original is no longer available for sale on steam. perhaps you can find it elsewhere? in any case, the new version is better than the original, and i regret posting my original comment.

is the music changed atall? im too scared to play it again after the update.

the music has been remastered. in any case the music and sound fx are all the same if not improved upon. the grass now has a dynamic wind animation as well, which is quite cool.

[Brataccas (°o°)]

ok thx