@jfk:
I guess that, until we hit some super-incredible processors and graphics engines (beyond today's best), we'll always have to trade-off between quality and reasonable performance. That trade-off looks to fall more on the side of the time-intensive factor rather than the quality side, meaning of course that we can only allow "x" amount of time due to frame-rates, etc, and whatever quality we can sneak in there will just have to do.
OPf course, this is where clever programming can "fake it" to make up the difference. When DOOM first came out, the processors were a joke compared to the computing power we have under our hoods today, so to speak. Yet, because they pre-computed just about everything, they got unbelievable (for then) performance and effects.
So, maybe we of this computer gen can look back to the earlier days to see what tricks we can find to prop up the quality for today's games.
I guess that, until we hit some super-incredible processors and graphics engines (beyond today's best), we'll always have to trade-off between quality and reasonable performance. That trade-off looks to fall more on the side of the time-intensive factor rather than the quality side, meaning of course that we can only allow "x" amount of time due to frame-rates, etc, and whatever quality we can sneak in there will just have to do.
OPf course, this is where clever programming can "fake it" to make up the difference. When DOOM first came out, the processors were a joke compared to the computing power we have under our hoods today, so to speak. Yet, because they pre-computed just about everything, they got unbelievable (for then) performance and effects.
So, maybe we of this computer gen can look back to the earlier days to see what tricks we can find to prop up the quality for today's games.