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First post, by Stretch

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The game box cover art on old pc booter games, like Battlezone, looked much better than the actual in-game graphics.

Are computers fast enough now to have graphics exactly like the cover art?

I want to play Battlezone with the exact same graphics like this picture Battlezone (1980) box cover art - Mobygames

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Reply 1 of 19, by konc

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Regarding very old games, many times the game screens printed on the boxes or given to magazines where from a different platform. The "best" platform for the game of course, imagine the disappointment buying a game for an early pc based on a photo from the amiga version.

Reply 2 of 19, by Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman

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Stretch wrote on 2022-12-15, 23:11:

The game box cover art on old pc booter games, like Battlezone, looked much better than the actual in-game graphics.

Are computers fast enough now to have graphics exactly like the cover art?

I want to play Battlezone with the exact same graphics like this picture Battlezone (1980) box cover art - Mobygames

This is the front cover art of Gunship 2000...

video-game-cover-gunship-2000.jpg
One of my favorite video game box cover art.

...which is also used by the game's official strategy guide by Bob Guerra.

Gunship-2000-Official-Strategy-Guide-front.jpg
Believe it or not, I managed to have two, for less than US $25 each.

This is an in-game screenshot of DCS: Black Shark.

dcs-world-ka-50-black-shark-20-flight-simulator.jpg
Not mine, just found it on the net.

So yes, generally, today computers are fast enough to have graphics exactly like the cover art, although it also depends on the objects being shown on the cover art. It seems to be easier to achieve photorealism for objects like cars and aeroplanes. Human being, on the other hand, is a different thing. It seems human photorealism has yet to pass the uncanny valley.

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Reply 3 of 19, by Jo22

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Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2022-12-17, 03:33:

Human being, on the other hand, is a different thing. It seems human photorealism has yet to pass the uncanny valley.

This is a bit off-topic perhaps, but the same feeling is caused by "liminal spaces".
They are abandoned, surreal places in essence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEtTpkzv50c

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In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

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Reply 4 of 19, by leileilol

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It doesn't just have to be the cover. Here's a UE4-"boomer shooter"-looking game from 1994

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Reply 5 of 19, by Jaron

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Stretch wrote on 2022-12-15, 23:11:

Are computers fast enough now to have graphics exactly like the cover art?

The question is poorly worded. Technically, computers have always been strong and fast enough to do this so long as the marketing department incorporated actual screenshots into the cover art.

The problem is there's no way to ask that in a defined way that will mean much for most games since there's still a wide range of box and disc case cover art styles. And then you've also got to define how "exact" it has to be, as in pixel perfect down to skin pore details? Or can it be a bit more forgiving to say, "Yeah, the box art might be slightly higher fidelity, but not in a way you'd notice in passing"? At the very least you'd need to allow for a difference in resolution between game and art, because using a 2 megapixel image for a 5"x7" print cover would look quite poor.

Pedantics aside, there have been several games that have prominently used in-game graphics ( or very close to ) on their cover art. The Ratchet & Clank games have been pretty close to their cover art since the PS3 days; the new Rift Apart is a dead ringer. Intentionally stylized cel-shaded games could be considered as advertised on the tin. MS Flight Simulator has been pushing computer hardware since it was first released in the 80s, and I'd say that's true advertising on the cover. The FF& Remake wasn't too far off its cover art. Forza Horizon had a big fidelity jump going from 2 to 3, and FH4 and 5 are dang impressive.

Obviously any game that photographs real human models for the cover art won't be exactly the same in the game due to hair alone. And of course a lot of games intentionally use completely different type of box art than the game, like GTA's cartoon-based art.

Reply 6 of 19, by Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman

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Jo22 wrote on 2022-12-17, 04:40:
This is a bit off-topic perhaps, but the same feeling is caused by "liminal spaces". They are abandoned, surreal places in essen […]
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Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2022-12-17, 03:33:

Human being, on the other hand, is a different thing. It seems human photorealism has yet to pass the uncanny valley.

This is a bit off-topic perhaps, but the same feeling is caused by "liminal spaces".
They are abandoned, surreal places in essence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEtTpkzv50c

Not exactly R'lyeh, but yes, quite unsettling. 😁

Never thought this thread would be that long, but now, for something different.....
Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman.

Reply 7 of 19, by Stretch

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Yes, I poorly worded it.

I thought it would be cool if there was a way to play those 70s/80s games like Battlezone, Zaxxon, Moon Patrol, etc. with the same exact gameplay/engine/physics/sounds, but with graphics that were depicted on the cover art.

I started watching that Liminal Spaces video, and yes it is very interesting.

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Reply 8 of 19, by Shponglefan

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There is a recent Battlezone game from 2016 that arguably has graphics superior to the cover art of the original. Plus it's a VR game so not only can you experience superior graphics, but you do so while feeling like you're inside the game itself.

But as others have said, modern computer graphics have advanced to the point that they can match or exceed what was on box of games from the 80s and 90s. Especially the new Unreal Engine 5 is approaching if not meeting true photorealism.

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Reply 9 of 19, by dr_st

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Heh. Kuros was drawn as a Barbarian on the cover, but looked like a pixelated knight in the NES games. Fortunately, in the TV show they picked the cover art and not in the in-game looks.

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Reply 10 of 19, by twiz11

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I remember the embossed box art that seemed to pop out at you, the feeling of those pressed boxes I think where you can tell what game it is by feel. I miss those boxes but I kind of gave them up when I moved to digital distribution. I remember GOG have a bookshelf-type library that was cool it looked like your games were on shelves. That and the whole GOG remix I think where they had user-made collections. Now really the CDs have degraded and its all just 1s and 0s. The posters I remember getting I really just gave away or sent away to YouTubers for reviews like LGR since he would take better care than the stuff I had. In the end, it's not going to matter much anyway since it just turns into inflated high prices on eBay. I think without the physical media, I was buying games for no reason.

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Reply 11 of 19, by Virtua

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twiz11 wrote on 2022-12-17, 20:01:

I remember the embossed box art that seemed to pop out at you, the feeling of those pressed boxes I think where you can tell what game it is by feel.

the one embossed box i have in my collection belongs to the north american version of daikatana, and perhaps a little ironic that it's one of the prettiest. so detailed!

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Reply 12 of 19, by twiz11

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Virtua wrote on 2022-12-17, 20:18:
twiz11 wrote on 2022-12-17, 20:01:

I remember the embossed box art that seemed to pop out at you, the feeling of those pressed boxes I think where you can tell what game it is by feel.

the one embossed box i have in my collection belongs to the north american version of daikatana, and perhaps a little ironic that it's one of the prettiest. so detailed!

well the box art did say it was going to make you john romeros shrew... now aside the gameboy port is really good, the PC is eh that's why we have the 1.3 update, and n64 no...

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Reply 13 of 19, by dr_st

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Virtua wrote on 2022-12-17, 20:18:

the one embossed box i have in my collection belongs to the north american version of daikatana, and perhaps a little ironic that it's one of the prettiest. so detailed!

I once bought the game as a gift to a friend. That was in its most crappy 1.0 state. 😂 And it was the European version, so not sure the box was as nice. Many years later the disc came back to me, but without the box.

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Reply 15 of 19, by Kerr Avon

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twiz11 wrote on 2022-12-17, 20:24:
Virtua wrote on 2022-12-17, 20:18:
twiz11 wrote on 2022-12-17, 20:01:

I remember the embossed box art that seemed to pop out at you, the feeling of those pressed boxes I think where you can tell what game it is by feel.

the one embossed box i have in my collection belongs to the north american version of daikatana, and perhaps a little ironic that it's one of the prettiest. so detailed!

well the box art did say it was going to make you john romeros shrew... now aside the gameboy port is really good, the PC is eh that's why we have the 1.3 update, and n64 no...

The N64 version of Daikatana is not a great port at all; some of the levels are missing, the graphics are more simplistic and blurry, there is no speech (other than the word "Sayonara" (which is said every time you select something in the game's menu), and other failings that I can't recall at the moment. But it does have a few advantages over the PC version, such as your two companions only appear in cutscenes and not when you're playing the game, which is a huge advantage for the N64 version since in the PC version you will frequently be forced to restart/reload when the (very) brain-dead companions get themselves killed, and for some reason, in the N64 version you don't lose your weapons when you go to the next episode, and you don't have to fight any robotic frogs or mosquitoes in the swamp.

Though of course the A. I. of your companions is largely fixed now in the PC game, via the fan-made patch v1.3, so the N64 version has lost the advantage there, since now in the PC game the companions can actually help you in combat.

Here is a review of the N64 version, by GmanLives (a great Youtube reviewer of first person shooters) in which he mentions the similarites and differences to the PC version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-9IIOHjgF4&t=587s

Reply 16 of 19, by dr_st

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Kerr Avon wrote on 2022-12-18, 14:48:

Though of course the A. I. of your companions is largely fixed now in the PC game, via the fan-made patch v1.3, so the N64 version has lost the advantage there, since now in the PC game the companions can actually help you in combat.

And they can also be disabled in v1.3. Technically, I think they could be disabled even in the original release, simply by playing a single-player "coop" game. However, this had additional side effects, IIRC, like no cutscenes, and respawning without level restart.

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Reply 17 of 19, by DracoNihil

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leileilol wrote on 2022-12-17, 05:06:

It doesn't just have to be the cover. Here's a UE4-"boomer shooter"-looking game from 1994

I seriously have to wonder if those magazine "screenshots" of The Fortress of Dr. Radiaki constitute as "false advertising".

While yes, the sprites are from pre-rendered 3D Studio whatevers, those mockup screenshots being published in magazines is seriously misleading about the game itself.

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Reply 18 of 19, by Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman

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DracoNihil wrote on 2022-12-18, 16:51:
leileilol wrote on 2022-12-17, 05:06:

It doesn't just have to be the cover. Here's a UE4-"boomer shooter"-looking game from 1994

I seriously have to wonder if those magazine "screenshots" of The Fortress of Dr. Radiaki constitute as "false advertising".

While yes, the sprites are from pre-rendered 3D Studio whatevers, those mockup screenshots being published in magazines is seriously misleading about the game itself.

Took me some times to find.... The promotional screenshots are the smoother, less pixelated ones, no?

In any case, is that f2bnp from Vogons over there?

Never thought this thread would be that long, but now, for something different.....
Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman.

Reply 19 of 19, by twiz11

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Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2022-12-22, 06:16:
DracoNihil wrote on 2022-12-18, 16:51:
leileilol wrote on 2022-12-17, 05:06:

It doesn't just have to be the cover. Here's a UE4-"boomer shooter"-looking game from 1994

I seriously have to wonder if those magazine "screenshots" of The Fortress of Dr. Radiaki constitute as "false advertising".

While yes, the sprites are from pre-rendered 3D Studio whatevers, those mockup screenshots being published in magazines is seriously misleading about the game itself.

Took me some times to find.... The promotional screenshots are the smoother, less pixelated ones, no?

In any case, is that f2bnp from Vogons over there?

I thought it wasn't real, but it is...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fortress_of_Dr._Radiaki

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