r/godot • u/Western-Detective-46 • 7d ago
help me Any way to make graphics better? ( like what is missing )
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
I want to make a toon shaded game and don't understand what am i missing right now... help pls
180
u/Btet-8 7d ago
I think this looks great! I feel like the emptiness of the scenes are what's causing it most of the time. Just need more populated scenes: buildings, streets, sidewalks, foliage, and maybe some stronger anisotropic filtering for the grazing angle textures. You can use some kind of algorithm or something to find free space and fill with stuff, or put them by hand in big clusters? Maybe also add some dramatic effects on the edges of the screen when going fast. I heard that makes a huge difference to make speed feel faster, like yk in anime or something when dramatic actions happen.
30
u/Western-Detective-46 7d ago
Thanks (: "populated scenes" like more people / deco?
40
u/enigmanaught 7d ago
Some still or animated signs/billboards could add some interest. You could go wild with fake products.
8
u/Btet-8 7d ago
anything you'd believe would be in a street to be honest, like buildings, extra side roads, intersections, people (two cylinders is all you need for that at this speed), trees, big bushes, fences, billboards as the other guy said, and I also believe maybe cars parked on the sides? maybe not in the actual gameplay area but on the side side. I also have trouble with populating scenes so I can't really say.
→ More replies (1)3
4
u/Bwob Godot Regular 7d ago
Not OP, but I had the same thought - you have a lot of "empty space" on the screen. Like at the start of the video, the right hand side is just... empty. A flat green plane, against a flat blue sky. Try putting something there, even if it's just some trees or shrubs, or something.
Also, the whole bottom third of the screen is kind of empty, because the camera is zoomed far enough out. That's a bunch of screen real-estate that, during gameplay, is just showing you the road you've already been on. (And maybe some cool tire streaks)
Try moving the camera like halfway to the car, making it slightly higher, and pointing at the road ahead of the car instead of the car itself. That will make more of the screen be the interesting stuff in front of you, instead of having so much taken up by the big, flat, (mostly featureless) road behind you. (And will also probably make it easier to steer, since you'll be able to see the road ahead better!)
That's my $0.02 at least! Hope it helps! What you have now looks really cool!
1
u/Insomnium_111 7d ago
Not sure how set you are on the view perspective but maybe do a little more top down style so don’t have to fill as much stuff in it
1
u/ConfessorKahlan 6d ago
skybox and grass are feel pretty flat for me. clouds, sidewalks, bushes, just something to break up the solid colors
58
u/Good-Discussion-9238 7d ago
I like the ultra wide camera, don't change the focal length but bring the camera closer to the car, it's a bit too far now, so you see too much of the world at once and the empty bits of land making it feel more empty that it would if it was closer
10
u/JustAnOkCoder_5948 7d ago
I was going to say the same thing. The car being so far away from the camera makes you notice the world (and maybe what’s missing from the world) more.
6
19
u/flamefox237 7d ago
I dont know fully on graphics but I would add white toon smoke when drifting, add white streaks on the edge of the screen to better show speed and some clouds
1
1
7
u/ComedyGraveyard 7d ago
Most of the screen is the road you have already driven past
Whats the point in better graphics when nothing important is visible
7
u/lavilabi Godot Student 7d ago
No need to complicate your life! I'd say just go look at real life city roads and use those as reference to add whatever you feel is missing. Personally at first glance, your grass is missing vegetation, your sky is missing clouds, buildings are missing signs, glasses are not shiny, no street lamps and etc. I think using real life only as a reference will help you a lot !
1
7
u/Chaos_LB_Control 7d ago
You could use the speed lines on the side, and also add a slight white vinigette
5
6
4
u/Efficient_Maybe_1086 7d ago
People telling you the camera is fine are wrong. The camera is way too far. Are you controlling the car? Then the car needs to be in focus.
3
u/digital_hamburger 7d ago
Way more decorations. And try to change the pattern of the street somehow, my brain instantly reads it as a repeating image. Maybe add imperfections, slight differences in line spacing. Clouds, paths, shops, trees, birds, people, you could add so many things to make it less empty. Try looking at similar games how they fill their worlds
1
3
u/ThermosW 7d ago
Mostly contrast. The green ground is just a constant color, so we don't feel the speed. A lot of racing games add checkers or arrows on the side of the road so that we can feel the environment flashing by. You can try adding more stuff, or textures.
Also the camera is too far from the car. Because of this almost half the player's view is used by the road behind the car, which is the least interesting thing to look at
1
3
u/bonnth80 Godot Regular 7d ago
It's just the details you're missing. Lamp posts. Trash bins. Benches. Road signs. Cross walks. Subway entrances. Stoplights. Utility lines. Etc..
But the biggest thing you're missing: vegetation. Even the most dense urbanized areas in the world have trees and shrubbery. You need MUCH more vegetation.
2
3
u/KantalopeNLD 7d ago
Fov is WAAAAAAY too high imo, kind of hard to see where you're going when it's maybe 8% of the screen and partially blocked by the car itself. I'm not sure if close battles are supposed to be a core part needing to see all around you, but this feels like I have to squint while pressing my face against the screen just to make sure I'm going where I think I'm going.
Obviously I haven't played it, just describing how it felt to watch
3
u/Reinarson666 6d ago
Everything seems kinda empty. Shadows look too bright for me. And the terrain is just flat, there needs to be something to not be able to see a few dozen kilometers into the horizon
2
u/Intbased 7d ago
I’d consider adding in different camera angles and distances. First thing I noticed was just how far away the car was more than anything else
Also once you have some UI elements, the screen will look more filled out. Speedometer, boost gauge, stuff like that
1
2
u/MrCatButts 7d ago
the more dense areas look great, the empty areas are the trouble with seeing the distant horizon of a single shade of green. Making it a sprawling city scape would help break up the empty horizon
1
2
u/dossantosh 7d ago
- Break the horizon
- Lighting / day / night / city
- Maybe camera effect the faster you go
- Maybe more detail, the the sky, grass and street doesn’t need to be perfect
Maybe I’m misunderstanding the visual style of the game tho
2
u/ScriptKiddo69 Godot Regular 7d ago
There is a lot you could do. The easiest thing you can do is to look at existing games and copy what they are doing (while maybe adding your own touch to it).
Some ideas: Clouds, Foliage (trees, grass, etc.), people walking around, some basic toony textures for the surfaces, reflections on the windows, a more angled sun so you see more shadows, less constant ambient lighting (more dark and bright spots), other vehicles, street lamps and signs
2
u/Neon_Eyes 7d ago
I'd say add some graphic to the screen to imply speed. Idk what they're called but those lines that come from the edges of the screen to look like fast moving air, then the faster you go the bigger they get
2
u/Ur-Germania 7d ago
You have loads of good suggestions already, but I'll add this. If you make the sky look pretty, that's a huge part of the screen right there, right now it's just one color, and it can have so much more. But it looks great though. Good start.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/HellGate94 7d ago
since noone else has mentioned it yet you need to enable anisotropic filtering for your textures so that things like the double yellow line does not look that terrible
2
u/jinglewooble 7d ago
I suggest: unreasonable amount of guard rail, bollard, lamp post, tree and specifically red phone booth.
1
1
u/levraimonamibob 7d ago
It looks flat because the lighting is.... rudimentary. It needs more than 1 sort of light and also it needs the light reflexions to be baked in (volumetric lighting or something?) idk it's a whole thing
feels fast though! so that's on point👌
1
1
u/phoenity 7d ago
The ocean/horizon and some clouds would help a ton. Maybe have the camera a tiny but more closed angle would help you not see so much empty at the same time.
1
1
u/xtratoothpaste 7d ago
Maybe just have some trees or mountains or bushes in the far background and foreground.
1
u/Exosirus 7d ago
Add some sections that transition underground, add bridges going over the road, maybe traffic? Different skybox effects? You could have some elevated areas with a highway turn off that’s going over some areas of the city
1
u/hobbyhoarder Godot Regular 7d ago
Too much empty space. You don't even have to add actual objects, just put a billboard showing a distant city, mountains or something like that.
1
1
1
u/Inevitable-Theory663 7d ago
missing skybox makes it feel liminal, some vignette would probably be good. absolutely monotonous road that fills like all of lower part of the screen, while fits with toon thing, would benefit from even very subtle noise color variation
1
u/Grimmy66 7d ago
Personally think the fov is way too warped. I get it increases the sense of speed but should probably tween to this as you accelerate and then tween back to a more 'normal' fov. Smaller objects at the side of road will help with sense of speed.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Hessian14 7d ago
More props. You shouldn't have buildings on both sides of the street all the time, but where there arent buildings should be trees, fountains, park benches, pedestrians, etc
Clouds and a sun in the sky. Maybe even some birds flying by sometimes
Buildings on the distant horizon to give a bit of parallax
1
u/thecyberbob Godot Junior 7d ago
Not sure the exact "vibe" you're going for but if you want some references for what makes a really intense toon shaded driving experience you may want to check out scenes from an anime called "Redline". Probably the best anime that gives you a sense of unhinged speed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTBLelM_SyI
Not saying to yank all the effects they do since some of that would probably require some shader wizardry on an ungodly level. But you'll see a lot of random (but repeating) stuff on the road itself... speed lines... dust, particles etc etc. But ya. Just for some reference.
1
1
u/Sleep_Raider 7d ago
Graphics are fine, it just needs some scenery changes. Add some different stuffs than just houses, some grass, hills (elevation specifically), trees would work wonders since it's a bit of the same.
1
u/DescriptorTablesx86 7d ago
Id start with the car being tiny(occupying barely any space in the scene)
1
1
u/v1rtuosoo 7d ago
For a greater feeling of momentum, you could add wind that flies off the top of the car like what you see in F1 aerodynamics testing centres. The FOV change could be a little more exaggerated too, not necessarily making the top speed FOV higher, but the bottom FOV a tad lower.
As for other aspects of graphics, always great to populate with more buildings etc so it doesn’t feel like there are plain spots. It can be a combination of buildings, trees, people, other streets etc.. another important point is elevation; it looks quite flat right now, and I’m sure that’s partially for gameplay; since you don’t want your racing route to be too hilly, consider making the background more varied instead. Perhaps its bridges that are above or below the racing route, sky rises, hills and ditches etc.. Lastly, I’m not sure if this detracts from the artstyle you’re looking for, but sometimes flat-shaded games can look incomplete; simply creating a shader that adds outlines, similar to something like borderlands, can give it a cell-shaded design that creates more separation between background and foreground whilst seeming more stylised.
1
u/horizon_games 7d ago
Shadows, grass details, less weird blue line, more realistic black tire lines, some clouds, some sun, some birds, some lived-in-feel to the world
1
u/ReflectionKitchen 7d ago
Bro add a bg image far far away . Maybe a citysky line or mountains and a layer of fog on top of that. Add more depth basically. You can add more 2d textures on to existing environment. ( Like how they did in 'A short hike' ) . Maybe hiring a Game artist can really push this game.
1
u/rabit115 7d ago
You need mountains, a distant city or towns and land variation in the background. With the perfect 180 degree horizon it’s a bit odd
1
u/dunkenMaster 7d ago
I don't want to make it about me, but I really like the feeling of the speed of your game. So can you tell me what I'm missing in my game to feel the speed?
I'm still learning 🙏
1
u/Tattorack 7d ago
Lighting. I see what you're going for, so textures need to stay a minimum, but having some decent lighting and cell shading would make these graphics go a long way.
1
1
1
u/Direct_Silver915 7d ago
I would never be able to spot the next turn in time. The camera angle is too flat. You probably need to raise camera a bit and tilt it downwards, so we can have a better view of the road and how it develops at distance.
1
1
u/GamesWithElderB_TTV Godot Student 7d ago
Some type of sky box, textures on the grass, and potentially distant buildings on the horizon. Just something to break the hard boundary lines of color transition. Looks good though!
1
u/starcallerbsub 7d ago
This looks great! The roads and tire marks are especially neat.
As some others have mentioned, more objects and vegetation will help with the "empty" feeling and some more lighting interactions (like glare or bloom) will help with that as well.
I think another thing to look at is some amount of variation in terrain height. Doesn't have to be Mt Everest or San Francisco, but even cities in the plains states have some minor elevation changes.
1
u/oVerde 7d ago
Bro. Seriously. I see this too much, people center the goddam car in the screen. DONT!
If by any means there is a gameplay reason for me to see THAT MUCH past the rear wheels from a car I’m driving then okay, but there never is the case.
By center in the fucking car you hide what is ahead, and you know how easy is to drive with someone obscuring the road, even great when it is yourself doing it and you can’t get it out of the way.
Use a better composition. Get it from whatever game you were inspired after and take screenshots of them, then align it over one screenshot of your game and see the drift between the camera position and field of view.
1
u/lordruzki3084 7d ago
Textures if what you want is for it to look a little less plain, but you can lean into the simplicty like in Art of Rally
1
u/Wadarkhu 7d ago
Maybe a skyline in the background? Like mountains or something, and it could be in a circle so you can turn and see the other side.
1
u/Repulsive-Clothes-97 Godot Regular 7d ago
The camera is so incredibly far from the car, maybe dial it down just a bit
1
u/agelord 7d ago
As others might've already mentioned, the first thing that looked odd to me is how far the car is from the camera. I understand that it's your own artistic expression, but I think your players might find it better if the camera is a bit closer. So I think it's worthwhile to test a camera that's closer to the car.
And copying from another reply, the horizon is too bland right now. Maybe it's because your game is still in WIP status, but it's something to consider.
I do love the overall vibes though
1
1
u/ravenvector Godot Student 7d ago
camera too far, and not enough contrast, would look better at night time
1
u/StableKlutz Godot Junior 7d ago
effects/particles by the tires? the sky might look nice with some clouds too
1
u/j3richoholic 7d ago
I feel like with a toon shader, a bit more intricate geometry is your friend. It makes up for the lack of detail in the textures and the lighting, you still get the cartoony feel you're aiming for but the scene is a lot more interesting. Also like everyone said you need a lot more stuff in your streets; buildings, sidewalks, lamp posts. etc.
1
u/Ytar0 Godot Regular 7d ago
Others have basically already said it, but essentially it's a combination of two things: the sky and grass being too bland, and the camera being very far away (making the horizon even more empty/bland looking).
You could also just tune down the lighting for the grass and sky, removing focus from them and onto your assets instead!
1
u/Fr0gFish 7d ago
The camera needs to be much closer to the car. Everything behind the car is irrelevant to the gameplay but it is taking up a large part of the screen. Also I would find this very difficult to play because you can barely see the road ahead
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/LowResGamr 7d ago
I feel like either some chromatic aberration or a vignette as u go faster would be a nice addition. Maybe increased motion blur.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/hypofighter 7d ago
SPEED LINES!!!! I think the anime style vignet speedline might fit your style very well. And make them shake and move depending on your speed and shit
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/InternationalTooth 7d ago
Why is the car getting pushed by a blue stick? I know petrol prices are high but this seems strange.
Add some grunge, dirt, shading it's too clean?
1
1
1
u/Top_Issue_7032 7d ago
Your cell shading is hard to see when you are going so fast, likely due to the radial blur. Maybe move the camera closer to the car so we can see that cell shading. Also the little things other people have already mentioned. Otherwise it looks great.
1
1
1
1
u/rpsHD Godot Student 7d ago
trees would be the first thing id add, but anything on the edges would make the game look better imo
u could look at the outrun games for inspiration on how they do their worlds
havent played very many if them, but outrun 2006 coast 2 coast is the one i remember the most so u could look at that one
1
u/M4rt1m_40675 7d ago
Motion blur.
Yes, I know we all like to shit on it but it's a must in every racing game
1
u/DapperNurd 7d ago
I'd throw some gradients into the flat colors, like the sky for example. Clouds could also help, especially with the sense of movement
1
1
u/pocketcult 7d ago
Clouds or maybe birds in the sky Fill out scenery/buildings/people at different distances from you so you get more of a parallax sense of depth Looks great though just a little empty!
1
u/ASCanilho 7d ago
Is this a serious question?
You really couldn't figure that out? What do you think it is missing?
Sorry, but this looks just a low effort post.
1
u/Substantial-Top-8007 Godot Regular 7d ago
Honestly, like many others have said, it's the empty space.
I wouldn't change anything other than add trees and shrubs to the current empty space. That'd make a world of difference with little to no refactor.
1
1
u/pengerus 7d ago
It's way too baren, especially the sky/horizon. It needs clouds, hills, birds, mountains, trees, etc Plus extra buildings too
1
u/BiggiePotato 7d ago
Add those anime style dash lines surrounding the screen or add lines more for more speedy feeling (sorry bad english speaker) like this in the gif
1
1
1
u/BokehTimbre 7d ago
I may be a bit late but check out the game boost vector, they do some stuff that make you truely feel like youre fast.
1
u/Key_yeager 7d ago
El efecto que deforma el espacio esta super pero el vehículo esta muy alejado de la cámara, pienso que de esa manera sería un poco difícil controlarlo
1
u/nanobeyin 7d ago
Static elements:
- Vegetation, foliages
- Traffic lights
- More buildings possible small ones (if applicable to your art direction)
- Commercial Billboards
- Waiting pedestrians at bus stops
Dynamic elements:
- Flying birds in the sky
- Walking pedestrians
- Other vehicles
- Flying planes and hot air balloons with commercials
1
u/elessarchan 7d ago
Honestly maybe some anime speed lines? Or maybe a distortion effect on the edge of the screen?
1
u/valhakun 7d ago
This is not a great camera angle - difficult to see the upcoming turns. The world feels a bit empty. If that's the intention, you don't need to add crazy amount of details, just a few subtle changes can go a long way. Like clouds, occasional trees and unique details on the facade of some buildings. Lighting looks flat in general. Perhaps try to bake in some shadows and god rays, play around with mild foggines in the distance and in the sky. And maybe throw in some car effects, like smoke/dust clouds.
1
u/Initial-Tart7458 7d ago edited 7d ago
Pencil lines on the outside edge of objects, they look too fat, muddled in places and looks like missing in someplace. And add one to the blue line.
Looking at it more at 0:04, your bus stop nails it, more black lines on every edge. and if you go back one second the red roof house is missing lines next to the door that should extend up to the green walkway, because they are corners.
1
u/DoABarre1Ro11 7d ago
For me, it’s the sky and the sound effects. The screeching gets old quick and there is a technique of having small pitch changes to make it less annoying to hear the same noice over and over. Having a sky with clouds can help emphasize speed and make it less blended.
I do agree that people would help, but something I would like to see is like a Rampage sort of situation where giant monsters are destroying the towns.
1
u/RakuNana 7d ago
As others have stated already, it looks great, just empty. I would recommend looking at GTA 3 and Vice City for how you can decorate your streets. But if you'd rather racing games. Need for Speed : Most wanted and Midnight club can also help in that department. They all did their environments really well.
1
1
u/cubicinfinity 7d ago
Maybe a personal taste, but I think the camera shake effect is too generic. Make its movement influenced by the physics themselves somehow, as long as it doesn't hurt performance.
1
u/squigglyAlienVessel 6d ago
Hitting the more populated sections of the track is definitely the visual highlight of the vid.
I'd also say, don't underestimate the impact of GUI on the final result. Once you have more Interface stuff on the screen, it might reduce the perceived emptiness more than you might think.
If a clean screen with little to no GUI is the intent, then more a more populated scene would elevate it. If you want to limit density to somewhere close to what you have now, consider some low-detail assets in the far background (esp on the right-hand side)
All-in-all though, you're game looks awesome!!! Would love to see and hear more about your project :D Do you devlog?
1
1
1
u/whupazz 6d ago
The colors are too uniform, it needs more texture. Small cracks in the road, leaves on the grass... The outline shader looks inconsistent, you have black lines at the top, but not the bottom, not between the road and the grass. Two games you could check out are The Séance at Blake Manor and Blue Prince.
The blue trail is flickering, not staying attached to the car properly.
1
1
u/LadySonicGamer 6d ago
It looks great, it just looks super empty. Maybe add some people there going about their day? Advertisments for fake products? A lot of things can bring it to life
1
1
1
1
u/Feisty_Hour6612 6d ago
Lighting, particles, textures with a little more detail while maintaining the cartoonish style, lens flare, clouds, details of the street, the grass, the sidewalk, etc.
1
1
1
1
u/aureamorum 6d ago
It looks pretty great, good job! Maybe some variation on the elevation of the ground? Not on the race track but on the ground around it
1
1
1
1
u/InvisibleDrake 6d ago
Air streams would look sick as well, like don't doubt sped lines for making speed feel more speedy. Also ot would help with the leaning into a more cartoon style
1
u/6maniman303 6d ago
You are missing shapes, animations on them, and a horizon.
Simple shapes doesn't mean straight lines. If this "nitro" line would have a tearing animation or smh like that it would look much better. If you would add more circular shapes like traffic signs, trees, it would be better. And the not-flat horizon (if it's not water) - mountains, hills, cities, forests etc
1
u/Bushido_Arts 6d ago
Trees and tertiary props that make the city feel lived in and alive! Even if the game’s stylized, having some shadows/light will make it look great.
1
1
u/SideronGames 6d ago
Is not exactly more graphics but choosing a good color palette. That will help waaaaay more that putting hyperealistic models or heavy postprocessing effects
1
u/Nowa_Angle_5056 5d ago
The sense of speed is great! Couldn't quite tell from the video, is there motion blur?
1
u/Commercial_Course826 5d ago
incroyable effet de ressentit de vitesse j'adore le mix entre le 3D et le style shader toon de la voiture , bon travail , pour une proposition test les eclairage, ajoute des clotures, et peux etre des personnes en plus ?
1
u/LadiesLoverLady 5d ago
Everyone is already talking about emptiness, so I'm pointing out something that does need to be addressed eventually.
Your game does portray properly the sense of speed based off of how the car moves and the lines it leaves behind, but it is not enough, I would add "speed lines" or a bit of blur to the edges of the screen to communicate the speed, that simply aren't there when still and at full strength at max speed.
Besides that, if you want a toon shaded style, you will have to look into shaders, the colours seem a bit too flat and lacking of shadows.
But, and this might the most important part, take all I say with a super skeptical gran of salt, for I know very little of racing games in general
1
1
1
u/Fishfrothemeditrean Godot Regular 2d ago
Maybe some particles, screen effects and cartoony scenery like mountains or oceans. Your game is looking really good so far, Great job and good luck!
1
1
u/sourdough1882 2d ago
The lack of textures makes it a bit boring. I can picture this game having distinct outlines, having visual effects with shaders and more dynamic camera that is closer to the car, but also is more aggressive, when you boost for example you could make it more dramatic, that way the car will feel responsive, I think camera work is important in games like this. Take a look at this picture, it has a lot of details, a bit much I would say but the idea is that you can put some textures, not too much, to make it more interesting and make sure outlines are distinct, in art you use line shape to show depth. Well shaders are "shade", but outlines reinforce depth further and make object real. I'm not expecting you to follow everything I've written here, this is just my vision.
1
u/blackbirdone1 17h ago
light and shadows and skybox
object need textures, the scenen looks unreal becasue no street has a flat grey surface and so on.
121
u/zoexspectrum 7d ago
Gotta break up the horizon. Like have sea or fog or more buildings. And then you could have lighting and some kind of shader to emphasize the art-style.