Naughty Dog comments on graphics engine update for The Last of Us

Naughty Dog comments on some of the updates they have made towards the graphics engine for the upcoming Playstation 3 exclusive title, The Last of Us.

[stonecold3]

wow thats mind blowing cant wait for the last of us to come out day 1 for me ?

[piroh]

they're updating their engine regularly

that's what makes ND games so beautiful

[Freak of Nature]

The lighting engine from Uncharted has *"evolved"* in The Last of Us, that's going to be some fine looking game.

I wonder how much the new lighting will help the day/night/twilight light.

Anyways really looking forward to this.

[RedDead]

I would say the upgrade will be minimal at best because the Ps3 power has been maximized with Uncharted 3.

But ND have proven me wrong already. When Uncharted 3 came out

[piroh]

@Freak of Nature
lightning system will be set in the environment without electricity so the sun will play big part of it

"They are currently pushing a lot more environments with the newer build." - this is what excites me

[sjaakiejj]

@Red

There's no real "maximising a console's power". It all boils down to how effective the algorithms they use are in time and memory complexity, and cache performance.

[SnakeCQC]

activision needs to take notes

[nveenio]

Actually, you CAN in fact maximize a console. For instance, 8-bit is max for an 8-bit console. I think what you mean to say is that the line for *max* is really high this gen. And you're right. But when we're 5 years into next gen, I think you'll see that the PS3 was maxed out. And that's because "Maxing Out" means that you're using all of the features available to a console. In that instance, the PS3 is maxed out, as are the Wii and 360. Sure, you can always make a new game that looks better than the last, but the available technology is already being used, and so gameplay and graphical innovation is limited. When we see Unreal Engine 4 in motion, I think we'll have a better understanding of what to expect from next gen, and also what technology exists for which our current consoles are incapable.

But I'm fine, for now, with the amazing things ND are doing. They are amazing. Water to wine, that's for sure.

[F7U12]

sure am glad I bought a PS3 instead of some other gaming box. :D

[sjaakiejj]

@inveni0

That's not completely right. You're right that you can't make a console output 2048x1024 if it only has a physical maximum resolution of 1280x1024. But that doesn't mean the console is maxed out when you run it at 1280x1024. I could make a pacman game that runs at that resolution, and to be clear I could make it use 'all the features of Ps3', but that doesn't mean it maxes out the hardware.

A lot of it comes down to what you do with the hardware you have. A really dumb, unrealistic example may get the point across.

Suppose you have a list of numbers, and you want to sort it. There are many ways to do this, and if you ask a Human to do it they'll likely use what is known as "Insertion Sort". Now if the list is N numbers long, the total number of steps that algorithm will take is N^2, which is rather inefficient.

Depending on the problem, there are alternatives. Radix Sort and Bucket Sort are able to sort everything in N steps if you have some prior knowledge of the structure. Alternatively, Merge Sort will run in N log N steps, still significantly below N^2. However, due to Cache and Memory performance, Insertion sort works faster in practice on smaller lists, and Merge Sort works much faster on larger lists. This means your game can run much more efficiently due to the change of algorithms.

This shows that, given better algorithms than the ones you're currently using, you can create a better looking game regardless of the hardware limit. And the funny thing about that is - there's always a better algorithm, and thus you can never "Max Out" a piece of hardware.

[nveenio]

Yes, I also took Design & Analysis of Algorithms from Stanford's free online courses.

But that's a horrid example, because we can go back 40 years and find computers the size of a 20,000 square foot warehouse that can't do what the PS3 can do with Folding@Home, no matter how clever an algorithm you use.

But that's not the worst part of the example. The worst part is that you're trying to be technical when the industry needs to be practical. At some point, devs have to say, "Yes, we could probably do more, but the amount of time and money vs. payoff is too great. It would be a better financial move to step into a new hardware iteration."

And that's when we see a new console.

[sjaakiejj]

@inveni0

Actually I'm a Computer Science graduate (there's a lot more to an algorithm than time and memory performance), I just used a dumb, simple (but feasible, as sorting algorithms are used A LOT in games, or any software for that matter) example to make it understandable for someone who has no demonstrated prior knowledge in the field.

"But that's a horrid example, because we can go back 40 years and find computers the size of a 20,000 square foot warehouse that can't do what the PS3 can do with Folding@Home, no matter how clever an algorithm you use. "
There's always a hard limit. We can't compute the travelling sales man problem, we can't compute SAT, and we can't compute all of the knapsack problems. These problems all fall into the NP category, but they also show something else. If we were to solve the P=NP problem, we could compute all these exponential time problems with polynomial time algorithms, which breaks away even the hard limit that we originally thought there was.

Yes you can't make a computer go faster than practically possible, but you can technically improve algorithms up to a theoretical, unreached hard limit. This won't happen in the foreseeable future though, which shows that there's always room for improvement.

" At some point, devs have to say, "Yes, we could probably do more, but the amount of time and money vs. payoff is too great. It would be a better financial move to step into a new hardware iteration."

And that's when we see a new console."

At this point I think you misunderstood my intentions with saying that there is no such thing as "maxing out" a console. I said that, as long as you can improve the code that you currently have, the console is not "maxed out". I never said that I didn't think new hardware was necessary.

[Blastoise]

In naughty dog we trust.
Lets hope for some gameplay footage at e3!

[NastyLeftHook0]

I don't always play games, but when i do... i prefer naughty dog.

Stay hardcore my friends.

[Cryptcuzz]

Lmao that is funny, original and made me genuinely laugh.

Nice reference.

[saladthieves]

Haha, that makes you the most interesting gamer in the world. :D

[Comet]

xD
I read that in his voice

[WeskerChildReborned]

Hell yea, Naughty Dog is best, can't wait for the game.

[showtimefolks]

you know these guys love making games because they don't talk or beat their chests each of their newer game beats the last in almost every fashion

can't wait day one for sure(also wondering what the 2nd team at ND uis working on most likely a ps4 title)

[Jazz4108]

Not impressed by the photos. They look okay but Max Payne 3 looks this good if not better on my 360. I would love to se the ps3 play a game similar to gears with its real enviroments. The issue imo is the ps3 could not handle gears because of how it utilizes its ram. I have noticed good looking games on both consoles but the cartoon look of the uncharted series does does not take much to render as well as the enviroments are very static. I hope the lou has more realtime destruction in the enviroments as that should be possible with the look of the uncharted engine. I love playing naughty dog games for the story but the graphics have not been that pushing the envelope as a lot of ps3 sites say as when real time enviroments and a real gritty real to life game is made then I may give it props but not with its current look.

[Hicken]

No it doesn't. I played Max Payne on a nice 50" at midnight release on PS3, and while it looked great, it doesn't look as good as the most recent LoU trailer does(a trailer which is now months old).

And please don't start with qualifying what does and doesn't look good to you with nonsense: the gaming industry itself has time and again recognized the Uncharted series as among the best out there. Gears, while good-looking in its own right, does not surpass UC3's cruise ship, all by itself.

You're expecting things out of this game that you're not getting out of any other games, yet saying that as long as it doesn't meet those standards, it's not as good as other games that don't?

[r21]

great that they're using the lighting system from U3, it made the game look so amazing!

[frostyhat123]

If they can make this as good as their uncharted series, I may die from a heart attack after playing.

[THC CELL]

this is going to be the game of the year 12/13. are amazing

[MrDead]

The new vid we saw was from an old build, wow! I can’t wait to see what the finished game will look like.

[modesign]

i hope they utilize heinz field and pnc park,

[modesign]

really, disagree, grow up kids

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

lol at all the trolls just disagreeing with everyone
that's looking forward to this game.
You guys are really sad.

[MrDead]

This is N4G games don't matter only the system you play them on.

[BrutallyBlunt]

@HarryMasonHerpderp

Show me ONE comment of yours that's not biased.

"haha i thought that,he does sound like a massive
nintendo fanboy,eveyone knows MGS should be on a sony console trololololol.
Anyway seriously i heard there were a few problems with this version on the 3DS not sure how true that is though."

Going through your post history it's very clear where you stand. N4G is a breeding ground for Sony fanboys, that's a FACT.

(now watch all my disagrees)

As for The Last of Us yes the graphics look good but no longer amazing. The Playstation 3 is almost 6 years old and there is only so much they can do with the ageing hardware. I'm more excited about a fresh new IP from a well known developer. I'm glad they are not doing another Uncharted (those games are great but it's time to take a break) game because we need new franchises. The emphasis needs to shift to new ideas, not advertising the graphics.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

It was a joke hence the trolololol part....
and there are problems with the 3DS game....

not really biased at all i own all of the consoles this gen...

I think you are one of the trolls disagreeing
with everyone that's why you're getting mad about it bro.

Also that was a very old comment and you must of gone through a lot of my comments to find this "PS3 fanboy evidence" ,there are a few comments of yours that could be considered biased.maybe you should do something better with your time haha.

[BrutallyBlunt]

I'm getting mad about a game I am anticipating? Do you Sony fanboys have any comprehension skills at all or is this the natural transgression, to deny and deflect?

"I cant stand PC elitists.
Ive seen comments in 360 and PS3 comparison articles
and they always butt in saying they laugh at the fanboys because PC is superior blah blah blah its just so hypocritical.
Some of us just prefer to play games on console,graphics arent everything."

That about sums up your whole existence here on N4G.

Harry, you're the one who started the nonsense about the disagrees thinking they are all trolls. You don't even mention the comments they are disagreeing on. Some have called The Last of Us GOTY already, so if people disagree they are trolls? Typical Sony fanboy fodder, hype the crap out of the exclusives and hope others join this quest of telling everyone how marvellous the Playstation 3 is compared to all other platforms. You guys seem to get more enjoyment out of flamebaiting than actually enjoying the games.

@Blatoise

Maybe not a fanboy but very biased. Point is don't start pointing fingers and making accusations that if anyone disagrees they are trolls. Not everyone has to agree this game is GOTY already without even playing it.

The 3DS did have problems and Vita still does. Which system do you think he will downplay the issues on more? That's the issue here on N4G, too many Sony loyalists which in turn creates an unbalanced environment. Sales do not support forums to be this lopsided. Which means the Sony gamer is more vocal. Too bad that doesn't translate onto the Playstation Network.

[Blastoise]

@LevelHead
Harrymasonherpderp doesnt sound like fanboy to me.
"Some of us just prefer to play games on console,graphics arent everything"
"Anyway seriously i heard there were a few problems with this version on the 3DS not sure how true that is though"

They sound like intelligent comments & the 3DS version DID have problems. Personally it sounds like you love to hate the PS3? To sum up someones entire existance on N4G with a couple of comments is a bit unfair.
Also you might wana take it down a notch, I forgot the internet is such serious business...

Blastoise used Hydro Cannon! Its super effective!

[insomnium2]

@Level

Smh..."Point is don't start pointing fingers and making accusations that if anyone disagrees they are trolls. Not everyone has to agree this game is GOTY already without even playing it. "

That's not what he did at all. He said "disagreeing with everyone
that's looking forward to this game. " so he did not think that everyone must think this game is GOTY or they are trolls no did he?

"You guys seem to get more enjoyment out of flamebaiting than actually enjoying the games. "

You see this was exactly how it was with X360 fanboys on this site in 2005-2008. Were you here calling them out too?

Look at the first comment "wow thats mind blowing cant wait for the last of us to come out day 1 for me ? ". Can you now please tell me why did this guy deserved 9 disagrees? He got 29 agrees as he should cause he is simply telling he is excited about the game but why in the world does his comment warrant 9 disagrees?

Now in light of this new evidense do you still think this site is "a breeding ground for Sony fanboys, that's a FACT. "?

[Rhythmattic]

@ LevelHead
"N4G is a breeding ground for Sony fanboys, that's a FACT"

just visit Cock or 2 , or maybe IGN, maybe even Gametrailes...

It was and is, an anti Sony breading ground....

Balance my boy.... Balance.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

lol man, there are plenty of haters for this game.

I'm just surprised there isn't anyone pointing out that a cut scene is a cut scene lol.

[mobhit]

360 fans always call out PS3 fans for something when they're the ones who started in the fist place.

"The boy who cried wolf." -That's what I say every time.

[insomnium2]

@mobhit

Exactly. I find it extremely funny to read such comments as well after going through the sh*tstorm of 2005-2008.

And now these people want to say it doesn't matter who started it? Like hell it does.

In real life it's totally different to bash something out of an inferiority complex than it is to do it as a payback against years of unjustified bombardment of media and fanboy BS.

If someone is new to this gen and wasn't around to see the early years you really have no clue to what went on in here. I wish there was someone who could collect all that BS into a nice article of some sort and call it "the biased media of the early years of this gen" or something.

It would be nice if he could include some of the worst fanboy slogans (which was a norm back then) such as "delaystation" or "BD is dead or you are a fanboy and a Sony nuthugger" or "anything below 90 in MC is not AAA" or "X360 is more powerfull than PS3 just look at this bad port of a multiplat game and see".

Insanity was norm back then and now if someone dares to say something about MS abandoning their previous target audience for example you get called a fanboy...? I mean come the eff ON it was YOU people who had the effing slogan about "it's all about games" and such. Now when your win-by-default situation has changed since 2008 you've been saying "teh zales!!!shift+one!!".

And now they have the nerve to say that PS3 people only care about exclusives like it was we who started laughing out of pure spite against them. MY GOD!!! Either you are trying to fool the uneducated people or you don't know the half of it since you are a noob to this gen. Take your pick. Either way I'm pointing and laughing at you LOL!

I'm off to bed. Keep youd heads straight people.

[TheMailman]

At the moment I can honestly say N4G is actually dominated by PS3 fans.. But what do you expected?!?!?! Is the only platform alive in the Market.. New great games are showed every day.. At the end of the year Xbox fans will return for hallo4 or COD, or something like that.. Right now PS3 rules!!!!

[Trenta27]

Rockstar does the same as ND and I love them for that. The work that went into the engine for Max Payne 3 was truly incredible. Activision might need to take a hint from them.

[Thatguyinthesuit]

Activision should take a hint from everyone in terms of creativity and moving forward, but so long as financially they rake in the cash they could care less about moving forward and be content to sticking to the same formula.

[PersonMan]

Wow, weird... I didn't know Activision developed games...

By the way, Activision published Prototype 2 and that was a massively updated engine from Prototype 1. It looks very good to me.

[Trenta27]

That was not massively updated. It added a little bit of shine to the graphics, but that was it. If you think that looks good, you should go get your eyes checked.

[PersonMan]

It looks damn good on PS3. The lighting is nice, the specular maps are nice, the rain effects, the weather effects, the building details, no screen tearing, SSAO... it's a good looking game. Probably better looking than Infamous 2. I love Infamous 2, but I kinda think Prototype 2 looks better.

Note: Infamous 2 was more fun

[OccludedGamer]

no way, Infamous 2 blows prototype out of the water in every aspect. I finished prototype 2 the second day I had it and did not wish to play it anymore.

The gameplay is the same stale formula of the first games, only with less visual flare to the available attacks for the character.

As for the graphics. it looks like an 09 game and is certainly not on the same level as infamous 2. I actually went back to infamous 2 after Prototype 2 since it left a sour taste in my mouth, and prototype looks a long way behind graphically

[Fylus]

Yeah I was just gunna say; Prototype 2 doesn't even come close to looking as good as Infamous 2. I won't give you a disagree for that since you are just stating your opinion, but still, I think Infamous 2 looks much much better.

[Fishy Fingers]

I'm not expecting any drastic improvements over U3. More like the step from U2 to 3. Big fingers crossed they can keep the visuals but push the environments/free roaming.

[BrutallyBlunt]

Agreed but there is only so much the Playstation 3 can do. This is why I'm hoping the emphasis is on gameplay, not graphics. A game like Uncharted works well because the linearity doesn't get in the way because the game is like an action movie. I'm hoping The Last of Us can create a good atmosphere and tense setting without relying on cut-scenes and QTE gameplay mechanics. Give the player total freedom and make the controls good, not like Resident Evil.

[leogets]

Actually the character models in uncharted 2 look more mint than uc3. Weird

[PsGamer26]

BEST LOOKING GAME

[h311rais3r]

Far from it bud. It looks like the best CONSOLE game but those visuals have been in pc games since 2007. All those "bullshots" in bf3 are the pc version and yes it does look like that in motion.

[PsGamer26]

2007 ? hhhhhhh i dont think so (:

[OmniSlashPT]

As far as I remember, everyone was blown away back in 2009 with that UC2 demo at E3, even PC gamers. It was said to be the game that truly could be compared to Crysis.

[-MD-]

You think Uncharted looks like Crysis? Let me laugh.

[cstyle]

I expect the game to at least look like Uncharted since its using the same engine. By the time it comes out it will pale in comparisons to some of the next gen stuff that will have been already leaked.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

The game is coming out this or next year... find a console game that looks as good(not a pc game) then maybe..

Also, after you pming me that the PS3 version with MP3 was inferior to the 360 one... even though I played the PS3 one and found no problems....

I really can't take you seriously

[Thatguyinthesuit]

I'm looking forward to this game I can't wait for the gameplay trailer.

[nik666uk]

LMAO@ the 360 and PC fanboys who click onto this article just to disagree HAHAHA GO ON DISAGREE AWAY!!!!

[xursz]

Ignore it.

[dcortz2027]

They are a bunch of jealous cowards that hide behind their disagrees. Sad really. At least us Sony fans disagree and show our faces instead of hiding!

[neutralgamer19]

To be honest of course this game is going to look as good as uc2 and 3, but at this point it should look better even if just slightly because ND has probably mastered that engine by now. Theyve used it alot now in the uc series so they know the ins and outs.

Another thing is that this game wont have a full blown mp, just probably a coop aspect, so most of the game will be focused on sp and all the engines resources will be going towards sp so this game i believe will look better. I think fans of ND work will be quite surprised at the outcome.

[cstyle]

"Another thing is that this game wont have a full blown mp"

obviously...since ND have already stated that.

[neutralgamer19]

Yeah so whats your point? I made a point of why ut would look better and tht was your response? Ok buddy.

[CGI-Quality]

The game will look better than both Uncharted 2 & 3. What they've shown already does.

[DeletedAcc]

If its NOT a game of the year, then i will kiss one of those popcorn-enemies ;0

[OllieBoy]

What Naughty Dog does on Sony hardware is just amazing. Best first-party studio ever.

[XboxInnovation]

Naughty Dog has games from the PS1 era that look better than some games today.

[PersonMan]

Umm, no.

[PersonMan]

Disagrees?
Show me one game from PS1, that looks better than a PS3 game.

Naughty Dog makes awesome games but don't say that Crash Bandicoot looks better than some games today because that is totally false.

[pwnmaster3000]

Geez it was a joke lol

[Virtual_Reality]

Raising the bar.

[OldSnakePS3]

i dont even need to see gameplay, its naughty dog
-nuff said

[CGI-Quality]

I'm glad they continue to comment - since they seem to have some doubt from a few folks here and there.

[BlaqMagiq24]

Naughty Dog raising the bar yet again. Always been putting out great games from Crash Bandicoot all the way to Uncharted and I play every single one of them. Looks like The Last of Us will be no different. Is it wrong to call them legendary?

[smashcrashbash]

It does look really nice. I don't know why people get up in arms when ever anyone says that. I looks good. There are probably things that look better, maybe it's not the greatest graphics in the world, maybe the next gen will look a hundred times better, who knows, who cares? ND makes a good game that is sure enough. I don't know why people are always jumping to deny it.

[Neo-Axl]

Even though they didn't have too upgrade the graphics, they went ahead anyhow.. I love Naughty Dog, Generally in the matter of just speaking, I thought the upgrade on the characters eyes were just incredible, Its the eyes of the character that make them so life like.. & these look like some sort of CGI Final Fantasy movie eyes, which is shockingly good, Take note other developers, Don't be afraid to step the game up!

[WeskerChildReborned]

Man, if PS3 could support these beautiful graphics, i wonder what Uncharted 4 is gonna look like.

[despair]

I think I'm going to do with this what I did with UC3 and Batman AC, go full media blackout on this game, usually things get ruined and as of now I know very little and believe ND will deliver a day one purchase game.

[YoungKingDoran]

i try not to have high hopes for anything, but i have high hopes for this game.
and i agree with despair, i have to media blackout this mofo soon.

and all the bitter disagree-ers, stop being gay.
just buy a ps3 maybe?
then you wont have to be jealous and you can enjoy this hopefully awesome game too.

[ninjahunter]

Can PC and Xbox 360 elitists just shut up for about 5 minutes and let the PS3 fanboys look stupid on their own. That would be great.

[Neo-Axl]

Stealth disagrees, Keep em' coming you low life twats, This game will be amazing.. I only pity some of you will choose too avoid it. tsk tsk,

[Deadpool616]

I'm not going to look at any previews of this game. I'm just going to play it when it releases. Then I'll have no set expectations. Naughty Dog hasn't let me down yet, so I'm going to try to surprise myself for once.

[leemo19]

ND never disappoints when it comes to hard work on their games. Clearly Last Of Us will do what UC2 did up the ante for console graphics. Last Of Us could be another UC2 with high in marks winning pretty much everything, as long as ND can nail the survival horror part of it and the visuals don't have to much pop-ins and tearing.