Optimized Photorealism That Puts Modern Graphics to Shame: NFS 2015

Summary

This video script offers a detailed frame analysis of 'Need for Speed 2015', exploring how it achieves photorealism on modern, affordable GPUs. It discusses the game's art style, atmosphere, and the use of effects like motion blur and screen space reflections. The script critiques overused cinematic effects and provides insights into optimization techniques, such as shadow map object exclusion and the implementation of ambient occlusion. It also touches on the potential of ray tracing and the importance of thoughtful implementation for visual quality and performance.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The script discusses a frame analysis of the game 'Need for Speed 2015', focusing on how it handles photorealism efficiently on a modern, affordable GPU.
• 🖼️ The game is chosen for the analysis series because it exemplifies how realism can be enhanced by art style and atmosphere, despite its gameplay issues.
• 🔍 The analysis reveals that realism and art style are often wrongly portrayed as opposites, and the script criticizes recent attempts that have misused effects like chromatic aberration and depth of field.
• 🛠️ The game runs at 1080p with settings optimized for performance, including the removal of certain effects like film grain, which were found to be too intrusive.
• 📊 The frame processing time and GPU usage statistics are provided, showing that the game is well-optimized for the hardware tested.
• 🌈 The script appreciates the game's color grading and use of bloom and lens flare for enhancing photorealism without being overly cinematic.
• 🔦 The game's lighting and reflection system are highlighted, particularly the implementation of costic SSR (Screen Space Reflections) which adds to the realism.
• 🛑 A critique of Unreal Engine's SSR quality 3 is presented, showing how it deviates from the reference and the benefits of an alternative modded solution.
• 📈 The script provides a detailed breakdown of the rendering budget, explaining the time taken for various elements of the frame rendering process.
• 🚦 The importance of shadow map object exclusion as an optimization technique is explained, showing how it can save performance in AAA game development.
• 🔧 The script concludes with several takeaways for game developers, including the thoughtful implementation of effects like motion blur and the use of screen space reflections for visual quality without performance cost.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the frame analysis on KN for Speed 2015?

The frame analysis aims to demonstrate how the game handles photorealism efficiently on a modern, affordable GPU and to discuss the game's art style and atmosphere in the context of realism.

Why was KN for Speed 2015 chosen to start the analysis series?

It was chosen due to its notorious gameplay issues but excellent use of realism enhanced by art style and atmosphere, which are often wrongly portrayed as opposite spectrums.

What changes were made to the game's visual effects for the analysis?

Force film grain was removed from the gameplay, and the analysis will eventually cover how certain effects should be used in limited scenarios.

What was the GPU usage during high-speed traversal in the game?

During high-speed traversal, the game used at most 51% of the GPU's capacity.

Why was anti-aliasing turned off during the analysis?

Anti-aliasing was turned off because it only offers very blurry TAA, which is one of the effects in the game that depends on it, and the alternative, FXAA, has severe blurring issues.

What is the significance of the game's color grading and Bloom effects?

The color grading and Bloom effects are used to enhance photorealism in a realistic and not overly cinematic way, contributing to a dramatic tone.

How does the game handle chromatic aberration to maintain realism?

The game uses a small amount of chromatic aberration, only applied to the edges of the screen, to mimic modern high-resolution camera footage without affecting visibility in the middle of the screen.

What is the role of screen space reflections (SSR) in the game's realism?

Screen space reflections, particularly costic SSR or sssr, are used to replicate realistic reflection properties, including scattering and elongation, without a performance cost when screen space reflection information isn't available.

What is the issue with Unreal's SSR quality 3 mentioned in the script?

Unreal's SSR quality 3 displays an obvious deviation from the reference, making it less realistic and more expensive in terms of performance due to the need for more samples.

How does the game manage ambient occlusion (HBAO) in terms of performance?

The game runs the expensive operations of HBAO at quarter resolutions and uses selective sampling, resulting in a stable output without flawed TAA.

What is the importance of shadow map object exclusion in optimization?

Shadow map object exclusion is a legitimate optimization technique used to prevent wasting performance on computing depth and opacity values for objects that do not contribute to the scene, thus saving on performance.

What are the implications of the motion blur implementation in the game?

While motion blur adds a sense of velocity, it can also cause clarity issues and reconstruct details incorrectly, indicating a need for more nuanced implementation, possibly by limiting it by depth or speed.

What is the final render budget breakdown in the script?

The final render budget includes time spent on drawing geometry, decals, HBAO, shadow maps, screen space reflections, updating light information, drawing effects, translucent objects, lens effects, mesh deformation for motion blur, post-process effects, and UI drawing, with additional time estimated for resource management.