Aren't CS2 graphics… weird?

[kabanod1m #NotoToxicity]

Disclaimer: I don't have CS2 myself unfortunately yet! (and most likely won't get it until Summer)

But I've watched a lot of videos and a weird feeling always struck me… Like, they've remade all gun models, they now look better, more polygons, higher resolution textures! But the lighting… it just makes everything look flat, doesn't it?

I mean, right, CS:GO has overly exaggerated shadows in corners just like there are black holes in them that suck the light in, it is very hard to make a model (especially a static one) not look out of place just because of how different (and darker) the lighting it receives is, CS:GO is also very bleak in appearance overall…

But in CS2 it's like everything is in fullbright… XM1014, for instance, or Sawed-Off, look almost completely 2D!
I know for a fact it's not Source 2's fault: look at Half-Life: Alyx, everything is sooo 3D! Lighting is so good, yet ambient occlusion isn't as exaggerated. If you don't have it look at Dota 2, it might look flat on lowest possible settings (and kind of looks like League of Legends like that), but on mid settings it's just… it's not as flat!

Little rocks on the ground of Dust2 too — you now have to know where to look if you want to see them — that much they blend into the background, even while being 3D.

I guess it was probably done intentonally to improve visibility, but isn't it just too much? It honestly kind of looks like Valorant at this point already, with that new interface, too…:D

What do you people think?

My biggest problem with it is probably the almost complete lack of ambient occlusion, I would've loved if objects stood out more.
Honestly I can't even describe what feels off…

[#1, not that bad🌸]

Long txt huh! Good luck tho!

[kabanod1m #NotoToxicity]

Originally posted by Xanar:

Long txt huh! Good luck tho!

TL;DR:
In CS:GO everything is too dark and bleak, they tried to improve on it in CS2 but to such a degree that now everything looks flat due to lighting, it's almost like it's fullbright, I would've loved if they could tweak it to look less cartoonish

[紅葉]

Indeed, sometimes people with dark patterns can't see it

[Chiyoko]

To me map details look even more 3D in CS2.
Yeah, many things look different, but I wouldn't say it looks cartoonish or worse.
There are also baked GI reflections that look good and the realtime ones from players.
Ambient occlusion is not that visible like in CSGO, looks much better in CS2.
And many other little things that make overall picture better.

And about overall bright level I think when people will get used to CS2, their reaction on CSGO will be like "oh my god it is so dark I can't see anything".

[Fliqpy]

Not as weird as you clearly

[kabanod1m #NotoToxicity]

Originally posted by Rize:

To me map details look even more 3D in CS2.
Yeah, many things look different, but I wouldn't say it looks cartoonish or worse.
There are also baked GI reflections that look good and the realtime ones from players.
Ambient occlusion is not that visible like in CSGO, looks much better in CS2.
And many other little things that make overall picture better.

And about overall bright level I think when people will get used to CS2, their reaction on CSGO will be like "oh my god it is so dark I can't see anything".

yeah, reflections are very cool indeed:D

and yep, it's very dark for me in CS:GO even now, I have a profile on my monitor which I only switch to when playing cs, it immensely boosts contrast, saturation and brightness, and if I try to browse Internet like that my eyes get fried:D but in csgo it's just fine.

for CS2 to look like CSGO on my screen I have to use my darker monitor profile — that's a good thing, and overall brightness/contrast/saturation stuff can always be tweaked externally, what can't however is, well, the flatness of things… it's best demonstrated here I think:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rHy-353y_o0

despite how much better gun models look, small details, bumps and stuff on them doesn't stand out that much anymore, it looks baked into the texture…

[DAWN OF THE DEAD]

Idk from vidoes looks like improvement and doesn’t look flat personally just lighting and shadows more “natural”. Time pass and people will get used to it

[Chiyoko]

Originally posted by kabanod1m #NotoToxicity:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rHy-353y_o0

To compare in CSGO guns look like used old ones, and in CS2 guns more look like a factory new ones.
Or maybe Valve did not add detailed normal maps to vanilla skins yet.

[vee]

The weapons look a little weird in comparison but I do like the lighting on the maps because of clarity.

[#Emo....yoshi;]

i dont like floor on mirage in palace,looks like they were clearing it out for 5 years

[kabanod1m #NotoToxicity]

Originally posted by yoshi:

i dont like floor on mirage in palace,looks like they were clearing it out for 5 years

:DDD I like that floor though, SHINY

[| ChipieBoss]

yes

[Alex53]

My only issue so far is that they have raised the illumination so high to please competitive players that the maps look awful. I like shaded and darker areas. It's what reality is like. But this community is so focused on all players being super-visible that the maps might as well become a series of white rooms and corridors.