Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Rock Paper Shotgun Feature I Remember When All This Were Vectors

PC Games Are All About Terrain

By Jim Rossignol on September 25th, 2012 at 9:00 pm.

#terrain
About this time, every few years, we like to remember that a strange man once observed that “PC games are all about terrain”. Little did he know that in fact all games are about terrain. Except the ones that aren’t. But those are hardly games at all.

Terrain! It’s the undulating table on which the pieces of our play are set. It’s the sandbox in which we dig, and the garden in which we grow. Terrain: for exploring, for absorbing, for smoothing, for deforming. It is the unsung underfoot heroic substrate of all that is gaming, and much else besides.

Twitter helped me think about how much I love terrain. While hardly definitive, I think this gallery gives a taste of the rainbow of landscape that gaming terrain encompasses. Here’s how we got on:

Ad Astra

The Hunter

Planetside 2

From Dust

Rage

Lord Of The Rings Online

Total War: Rome 2

Carrier Command

Fallout: New Vegas

Warhammer Online

3D Deathchase

The Secret Of Monkey Island

Tribes Ascend

Everquest

Darwinia

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Dwarf Fortress

XCOM: UfO Defense

Battlezone

Arma 2

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Half-Life 2

Outcast

Baldur’s Gate

Just Cause 2

Midwinter

Battlefield 2 (Project Reality mod)

Populous

Ground Control

Minecraft

FUEL

Thanks to everyone who contributed to #terrain!

Commenters: post your own terrain greatest hits below, and I will add the best ones to the gallery.

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184 Comments »

  1. 25/09/2012 at 21:06 Brun says:

    There’s something about Tribes: Ascend’s level design, color palette, art direction, and/or general aesthetic (perhaps all four) that really gives me a strong Halo 1 vibe. I feel like I’m looking at high-def screenshots of Halo:CE (that’s Custom Edition, the moddable PC version) from 2003.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:41 Durkonkell says:

      How interesting. That screenshot reminded me VERY strongly of Halo:CE too. Add the Halo itself arcing up in the background and I could be charging around that area in a warthog, running down grunts and dodging sticky grenades.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:46 Bhazor says:

      For me there’s something about Halo’s level design, color palette, art direction, and/or general aesthetic (perhaps all four) that really gives me a strong Tribes 1 vibe. I feel like I’m looking at high-def screenshots of Tribes 1 (that’s the moddable PC version) from 1998.

      • 25/09/2012 at 22:25 ResonanceCascade says:

        Yeah. Tribes came out before Halo. But it doesn’t look like Halo.

          • 25/09/2012 at 22:59 ResonanceCascade says:

            I see Tribes, a sci-fi shooter which has indoor and outdoor and areas. Guess what a Halo is? A sci-fi shooter that also has indoor and outdoor areas. I mean, I don’t really know what to say. Nuh-uh? Neener neener neener you’re wrong?

            I’m guessing you either haven’t played Halo or are one of those people who have a silly vendetta against it and have to constantly find some point of comparison in order to maintain the narrative that it was just a big ripoff of (insert PC game here) that totally did it first.

          • 25/09/2012 at 23:07 MDefender says:

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esly3aTNdCg
            Well, at least you tried.

          • 26/09/2012 at 01:24 wengart says:

            Dude no one is assaulting Halo. We’re just pointing out an interesting similarity between the two games. Which when you think of the current milieu of oppressive gray/brown shooters is quite unique.

          • 26/09/2012 at 02:18 ResonanceCascade says:

            Er, that wasn’t really what I was going for. My point — which I’ve now ponderously dragged out waaay beyond its importance — was just that the snark was unnecessary because Tribes: Ascend does indeed look more like Halo than it does the first Starsiege: Tribes.

            Plays nothing like Halo though.

          • 27/09/2012 at 05:40 Sparkasaurusmex says:

            The game you’re thinking of is called Marathon.

    • 26/09/2012 at 08:57 Wyrm says:

      …and then you see Tribes Ascend in motion, and realise that it’s high speed, acrobat balletic gameplay is NOTHING like Halo’s dull trudgery…

  2. 25/09/2012 at 21:06 Tinus says:

    Lovely collection!

    * Opens World Machine for some terrain jammin’ *

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:17 Diziet Sma says:

      Oh wow. Thank you, must have play with that. I’ve been trying to find a replacement for Vista Pro as it was on my Amiga. ‘Dropping’ rivers on a mountain to see them trickle down then rendering the resulting waterfall.

      Any other suggestions on a Vista Pro esq tool gratefully received. I can’t get on with Bryce and I’ve not tried E-on Vue.

  3. 25/09/2012 at 21:08 howdyzach says:

    Battlefield 3 is without a doubt the high water mark of simulated terrain in this generation:

    http://blogs.battlefield.com/2012/08/inside-dice-alborz/

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:12 DogKiller says:

      Half the reason I like Battlefield 3 so much is seeing the map reduced to little more than debris by the end of the round.

      • 26/09/2012 at 00:54 Clavus says:

        On those 1000 ticket servers there’s no tree left standing when the round ends.

        • 26/09/2012 at 09:14 sharks.don't.sleep says:

          It’s just too bad, that most of the buildings are..

        • 26/09/2012 at 09:18 Jabberslops says:

          Bad Company 2 still has better destruction despite it being heavily scripted. BC2 has more building destruction as well. I would say BF3 destruction is more akin to the Destruction 1.0/1.5 used in Bad company and BC2 Vietnam (used 1.5); Where as Bad Company 2 uses Destruction 2.0.

          I think the only reason for having less overall large scale destruction in BF3 is because the game would come to a crawl. Not only on a users PC, but also on the server with 32-64 players, due to the higher requirements to process the physics of the smaller objects and the “higher-minimum” graphics in BF3 compared to BC2.

          The only real “advantage” that BF3 has over BC2 in terms of destruction is there is more small localized bit of debris from scripted destruction points than the simpler mostly scripted Destruction events in BC2. Otherwise it feels almost like a step back compared to BC2.

  4. 25/09/2012 at 21:09 Smashbox says:

    I love this post and I support the creation of more posts that are just kind of positive about things that are nice in games generally.

  5. 25/09/2012 at 21:11 Vagrant says:

    While there’s some oddball picks in there, and you otherwise be excused for not thinking of every beautiful game ever….

    What about Love? I used to run the login screen as a screensaver before I ever played the game.

  6. 25/09/2012 at 21:11 RaveTurned says:

    Terrain Spotting.

  7. 25/09/2012 at 21:11 BobbleHat says:

    What’s that? Mr Rossignol doing a feature on terrain without mentioning STALKER?

    http://i48.tinypic.com/voly8g.jpg

    Not the best by any means, but I quite like it, even with the distracting HUD.

  8. 25/09/2012 at 21:11 Eli Just says:

    How is STALKER not on this list already? Some of the best terrain in any game.

  9. 25/09/2012 at 21:12 Hoaxfish says:

    I was going to say Outcast, but look at that, it’s already there.

    Also, Eve Online or Homeworld. Obviously you’re not standing on anything, but the vastness of space, without just being empty black, certainly stands up to scrutiny.

    Oh, and Dear Esther.

  10. 25/09/2012 at 21:12 Greggh says:

    I actually cried a little. Great post, mister Rouxinol!

  11. 25/09/2012 at 21:13 DogKiller says:

    I really liked the scenery of Fallout 3, especially the Washington ruins. Don’t throw rocks at me, please. The green radioactive tint on everything was pretty cool.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:18 sinister agent says:

      Anyone who would hurt you for saying that is mad in the face. Fallout 3, whatever criticisms people level at it, had some spectacular, excellently realised landscapes, even without modding enhancements (fellout with its dark nights makes the city utterly terrifying – pitch black with occasional pools of lights, lit up with a crossfire of lasers from an unknown battle up ahead as you crept around trying not to die. Joy).

      • 25/09/2012 at 21:24 DogKiller says:

        I had the impression that some parts of the internets considered Fallout 3 to be butt ugly. Regardless of whether people do think that or not, I still think Fallout 3 is absolutely fantastic, and the world they built for it is one of those reasons why. It’s almost like a character in itself. It doesn’t talk or do anything that the virtual people do, but it made a really big impression on me and it’s always what I think of when I see the game mentioned.

        • 26/09/2012 at 06:00 Tyrone Slothrop. says:

          I second this, walking south towards Washington D.C., seeing the sun set over the perversely beautiful urban destruction, light filtering through rebars and my feet knocking over the small cans around a corpse, with it’s own implied narrative of how it came to be there… Billie Holliday’s mournful virtuosity coming in clear over the radio was a spectacularly beautiful experience. New Vegas just didn’t have a fraction of those implied narratives, certainly the dialogue was superior (barring John Henry Eden’s masterful pastiche of American presidential addresses) but the moment to moment storytelling in the environment (or the vast majority of either game) was unmatched.

  12. 25/09/2012 at 21:14 TheIronSky says:

    That’s Fallout 3, not New Vegas.
    I just thought I’d say that because Fallout 3 is my favorite game ever, whereas New Vegas was hardly any fun at all for me.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:18 rsanchez1 says:

      It does look more like something out of Fallout 3, but there were some highway ruins around New Vegas as well.

      I’m the opposite of you. Fallout 3 was a fun game to me, but New Vegas was twice as fun.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:43 fish99 says:

      How much New Vegas did you play? Personally I found it really dull until I reached Vegas, but from then on I loved every second of it, and by the end I thought it was way better than F3, an opinion which was confirmed when I recently went back and played F3+DLCs all the way through.

      I’ve been thinking of replaying Vegas actually, it’s one of those game worlds I genuinely miss.

      • 26/09/2012 at 00:06 rsanchez1 says:

        It did take a lot of building up. You could try the fast route to Vegas, but you are almost guaranteed death by Deathclaw. Aside from that, you have to take the long way around which takes, well, a long time.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:55 Cytrom says:

      F3 had vastly superior ‘terrain’ and better exploration. The whole experience was pretty lightweight, but fun. NV on the other hand had far superior story, moral choices, characters and better quest variety… and quantity. The combination of the two would have been a true masterpiece, but they are both great games, although in a very different way.

    • 26/09/2012 at 00:39 Prokroustis says:

      You are a strange man.

  13. 25/09/2012 at 21:15 sinister agent says:

    The Settlers! Procedurally generated, too. Unfortunately I don’t have WinUAE installed at the moment (the amiga version sounded vastly better, but they look identical), so can’t take a really good shot, but: http://theodor.lauppert.ws/games/s/screen1/siedler.png .

    I knew Just Cause 2 had to be in there. Stunningly gorgeous game.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:17 rsanchez1 says:

      And it’s oh so much fun with a thousand other people causing mayhem.

      • 25/09/2012 at 22:21 Mr. Mister says:

        Make it 2500 and me. I was even kicked for sniping two beta testers on the top of Panau xD (it was a personal grudge though, not because they were testers).

        But the hell is that screenshot? Is it even from the release version of the game? It doesn’t make it any justice!

        • 26/09/2012 at 07:36 Philpax says:

          Actually, you were kicked because you were disrupting a server-wide event. People who disrupt testing will be treated as they should be.

          • 26/09/2012 at 08:36 Mr. Mister says:

            You know you hadn’t announced your intentions of said server-wide even yet: for all we knew, that was still at the frozen lake, and you were just taking a walk.
            Plus, I was the one to first suggest a peak party, I remember that.

  14. 25/09/2012 at 21:16 rsanchez1 says:

    I want more games that have nothing to do with Terra at all, where you wander about the endless expanse of outer space looking for adventure.

    • 26/09/2012 at 08:59 phelix says:

      You might be interested in SpaceEngine (.96):

      en.spaceengine.org

      Very promising ‘universe-wanderer’ style space simulator under open development, and it’s free. Just spreadin’ the luv.

      • 26/09/2012 at 09:19 EPICTHEFAIL says:

        Likewise, Infinity the Quest for Earth, assuming it gets released before the heat death of the universe.

        • 26/09/2012 at 10:40 Prime says:

          Like the mythical Elite IV, Infinity won’t ever see the light of day, is my opinion. Not unless someone buys the code, hires them, and some other programmers, and hires some PR and finance experts. Even given this miracle it’ll still be years before we see anything playable. The devs have simply bitten off waay more than they can chew. The heart-breaking tragedy is that the engine is startlingly beautiful and so close to giving Space Gamers the high-fidelity environment many of them, myself included, have been dreaming of since birth.

          Space Engine is looking fabulous, while Pioneer offers a more complete gaming experience. These are our current champions, I reckon. But I really would give up on Infinity to save yourself the protracted grieving process.

        • 26/09/2012 at 17:41 phelix says:

          I’ve spended quite some time on their forums and the community appears to have died about a year ago.

  15. 25/09/2012 at 21:16 SpaceJesus says:

    You can say what you like about the actual gameplay, but putting that Rage shot next to the rest of these really does show how much of a difference having unique texture detail *everywhere* does. It looks fantastic.

    Just don’t turn around too fast. ;)

    Also: Midwinter – possibly the first implementation of a sniper rifle with zooming scope in a game ever? Anyone got any earlier examples?

    • 26/09/2012 at 01:17 liquidsoap89 says:

      I was going to say the same thing. Despite the game itself being a little bland, that environment is absolutely beautiful!

  16. 25/09/2012 at 21:17 Davie says:

    Guh, I love terrain. My perfect game, I think, would be something that just allowed me to create landscapes, islands, continents, and transform them exactly as I liked down to the tiniest detail. I guess the actual game bit would be a survival-focused RPG or something. Maybe aliens?

    The world’s best level editor, basically. I would spend half my life on something like that.

  17. 25/09/2012 at 21:17 Ratamacue says:

    Can’t take any screens now, but I absolutely loved the scenes of Venice/Newport in The Longest Journey (the original, not Dreamfall). Not entirely unique for a cyberpunk setting, but very well drawn.

  18. 25/09/2012 at 21:18 parm says:

    Proteus is all and only about the terrain. Incredibly evocative.

    • 25/09/2012 at 21:44 Gasmask Hero says:

      I want to post shots of rainclouds moving in off the ocean at dawn, or the stars dancing from a mountaintop at night, or the lowering, oppresive clouds of winter…

      …but you could just buy it, and experience these things first hand.

  19. 25/09/2012 at 21:18 Deadly Habit says:

    Two Worlds 2 had some great terrain, personally I thought it looked better than Skyrim in most places.

  20. 25/09/2012 at 21:18 Dog Pants says:

    Wow, Midwinter. That takes me back. From new to old, I’d nominate a shot of Lion’s Arch from GW2 and the dystopian urban sprawl of Syndicate Wars (yes, the game wasn’t as good but the cities looked better).

  21. 25/09/2012 at 21:21 int says:

    We need Startopia biodeck.

  22. 25/09/2012 at 21:21 vivlo says:

    hey, what is that ad astra game ? i need a link ! can’t find it on the web, too much things called ad astra…
    edit : it’s because i’m french, and there is a french guy who created a board game called Ad Astra (Bruno Faidutti and some other) so as i’m clever i changed the language filter to english and no more faidutti and i found it there for anyone interested http://www.a-astra.com/Demo.htm

  23. 25/09/2012 at 21:23 Robsoie says:

    Midwinter ! so much of my youth.
    Hunter (not the one listed) that was a Midwinter-like game of the same era was very amazing too, but the terrain were less impressive.

    Was toying around with the “Google Earth Flight Sim” game :
    http://www.gefs-online.com/
    and due to Google Earth being used as the engine for it, it can produce some very nice terrain :
    http://i.imgur.com/lnuaR.jpg

  24. 25/09/2012 at 21:23 Hybrid says:

    Here’s one from Black Mesa: http://db.tt/zQ78b9k3

  26. 25/09/2012 at 21:27 Tusque D'Ivoire says:

    Just these little early-on screenshots that I found in my STALKER:CS and Torchlight2 folders.

    Terrain it is!!

  27. 25/09/2012 at 21:31 Mark says:

    As an environment artist I completely agree!

    Never underestimate how hard nice rocks and trees are to make too, they’re made of fractals which most people tacitly understand (and will recognise if they’re wrong) but are very hard to accurately replicate. Kind-of like how people can instantly tell if a face or human body looks wrong, but it’s hard to draw one yourself.

  28. 25/09/2012 at 21:34 Rikard Peterson says:

    It doesn’t make for a good screenshot, but among IF people, it’s generally agreed (as far as anything is agreed upon) that one of the things IF does best is environments. The exploring of the environment is an area where Interactive Fiction really has something to offer compared to a normal novel.

    Or in other words, the terrain (if we call it that) is indeed important, but I don’t think it’s so much about the visuals. And that applies to the screenshots above too. Some of them are pretty, but others are very unremarkable (even ugly), but they earn their place in this gallery by the experience the screenshot represents.

  29. 25/09/2012 at 21:34 MrLebanon says:

    Just Cause 2 was a game that I often stopped to just look around at the landscape…. beautiful… and the draw distance allowed you to see quite a bit of it at once. Of course this was when I wasn’t mindly blowing things up.

    I’d like to throw Mount and Blade Warband in the mix, although some of its randomly generated battlefields ended up a little oddly shaped – it offered a huge ammount of variance. Factoring in that hills and slopes played a huge strategic role as well, made it all the much better.
    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4CtueUvIOH4/T2zr-x13PDI/AAAAAAAAAEM/J8ar4NtLenM/s1600/MountAndBladeWarbandBattle2.jpg

    • 26/09/2012 at 03:51 Davie says:

      The curious thing about every Mount & Blade game is that the battlefields actually sort of feel like game boards. The disconnect from the overworld, the extremely short render distance outside the playable area, the even scattering of terrain features so all the edges can fade away smoothly…all of that makes it feel more like a wargaming table than any real space. I certainly wouldn’t mind if they made it far more realistic in the theoretical sequel, but the current setup has a novelty all on its own. I can certainly appreciate how much the terrain affects the gameplay, which makes it worthy of inclusion either way.

  30. 25/09/2012 at 21:39 Soon says:

    I’d stick some of The Void up, but it’s time for my hot chocolate.
    Also, probably something Gothic.

    And also: Scorched Tanks.

  31. 25/09/2012 at 21:40 InternetBatman says:

    I think any discussion of terrain should mention Piranha Bytes. Gothic 1, Gothic 2, and Risen all had amazing terrain features to both look at and play through. Even Gothic 3 was no slouch. There were so many hidden ravines (not an easy thing to do but true to real life), and naturally placed secret passages.

    They had a real advantage over other studios because they designed a physical sculpture of the land, and then put that into the game.

    Also they missed my favorite map, Tokara Forrest from UT2003.

  32. 25/09/2012 at 21:42 faillord_adam says:

    Now Jim, didn’t I tell you someone would say Minecraft?

    Also, I’m being told that you must upgrade to WordPress 3.4.2, or bad, bad things will happen to your cat

  33. 25/09/2012 at 21:43 Wizardry says:

    Here’s a good picture of classic CRPG terrain in all its CGA glory: http://i.imgur.com/k1avQ.png

    I would appreciate it if you would add this to the gallery to balance out all the real-time abominations. The game is called Phantasie by the way.

    • 26/09/2012 at 03:54 Davie says:

      What scale is that at? Is it a map view or more zoomed in? I honestly can’t tell if it’s to scale or if the tiled mountains are shorthand for a larger formation.

      • 26/09/2012 at 14:17 Wizardry says:

        It’s one small section of the world map that you use to move from place to place on. The P represents the player’s party, but underneath the P tile is actually a town. That building to the west is only an inn, the cave below is actually a dungeon (a temple in this case), and the round orb-like thing is one of three attribute boosting pools in the game. This map is actually the second in the game as you start from the map to the east. The next map, to the west, is the third map, but at that point things start opening up as you can exit in multiple directions.

        One really nice thing is that each terrain tile has different effects on your characters. Moving along path tiles takes a lot less time than moving on other tiles, and because characters age quite quickly this is quite important. Travelling on grass and forest tiles takes more of your time, and you’re likely to fight insects and slimes. Travelling on desert tiles (not shown) is relatively quick and easy, but with a higher chance you’ll fight humanoids. Travelling on mountain or hill tiles is very difficult and takes a long time, with a much higher chance you’ll find wild animals. Swimming through water tiles (there’s a swimming skill in this game) has a chance of injuring your characters, but you meet no enemies. At night you apparently have a greater chance of fighting undead, but it’s a bit of a pain to track day and night so it never really comes into the player’s planning.

  35. 25/09/2012 at 21:46 jorygriffis says:

    I adore this post.

  36. 25/09/2012 at 21:48 Mr Wonderstuff says:

    Skyrim nailed it for me. As a keen walker it really was a virtualised feeling of being outdoors. The journey to the Throat of the World will stay with me for many years.

    • 26/09/2012 at 18:33 fish99 says:

      That’s one of the worst terrain engines I’ve seen, in fact you couldn’t really call it a terrain engine, it’s just big square patches in 2 detail levels for the terrain, then a load of seperate geometry slapped ontop with a couple of LOD levels. It has bad pop-up and everything past a certain distance looks really ugly.

      Doesn’t hold a candle to the avalanche 2 engine used in JC2/Hunter. Someone really should make a fantasy RPG with that engine.

  37. 25/09/2012 at 21:50 Radiant says:

    It undulates, we postulate.

  38. 25/09/2012 at 21:55 phuzz says:

    I’m pretty sure that’s not Just Cause 2,
    Wait, no. it is. I’m getting confused with Far Cry 2.
    but yes, you should have had some Far Cry 2 in there, beautiful game.

  39. 25/09/2012 at 21:55 Nouser says:

    Does anybody still remember the Ground Control games? That makes me incredibly happy.

  40. 25/09/2012 at 22:03 Carra says:

    A big part of why Guild Wars 2 is so good is the terrain.

    The designers made excellent use of heights to create a world that feels real.

    • 25/09/2012 at 22:46 Vorphalack says:

      GW: Nightfall and EotN are still holding up well by more modern standards too. One of these days I will actually go back and beat EotN. Can’t play Factions or the original GW anymore though, too monochrome.

    • 26/09/2012 at 01:34 Carra says:

      Couldn’t get into the original Guild Wars myself, it didn’t appeal to me.

      WoW also works nicely with heights. Plenty of great zones in there too.

    • 26/09/2012 at 03:54 Radiant says:

      They create a world that feels real populated by completely bonkers fantasy creations.

  42. 25/09/2012 at 22:12 PatrickSwayze says:

    Shout out for World In Conflict, especially the way the maps change as battles progress and weather changes.

    Everyone remembers that bridge defence in that fast falling blizzard, the delaying of the russian troops in that beautiful little snowy village and the sea side village that gradually clouds over as the opposing forces go toe to toe.

    Time for my yearly playthrough of world war three now….

  43. 25/09/2012 at 22:16 crinkles esq. says:

    I’m surprised Unreal didn’t make it into this list, as it was the first to really usher in lush vistas to first-person shooters.

    Also, Total Annihilation…the first to utilize terrain as a tactical advantage in a RTS.

  44. 25/09/2012 at 22:28 pilouuuu says:

    Wow, The Sims 3 with the Sunlite Tides World looks amazing! I will try to post pics later.

  45. 25/09/2012 at 22:33 lofaszjoska says:

    How about the Gothics, all three of them?

    Where are the Far Crys?

    I’d also like to join the STALKER crowd gathered here.

  47. 25/09/2012 at 22:53 garlandgreen says:

    Had my ground control screen shot at the ready but you had it covered. Good work

  48. 25/09/2012 at 23:05 DigitalSignalX says:

    Surprised not to see any of Borderlands unique texture work on display. A couple of shots from the sequel:

    http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3542/borderlands220120924230.jpg

    http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/4074/borderlands220120924171.jpg

  49. 25/09/2012 at 23:08 Fatbubba says:

    Trine 2: Heck, almost every terrain in the game is beautiful
    Assassin’s Creed: First time I got to one of the big cities (was it Jeruzalem?) had me gaping at it for a few minutes
    Bulletstorm: Some great apocalyptic futuristic vista’s to explore. Granted though, it looks at its best where you can’t reach it: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=10241408
    Sleeping Dogs: At night when it’s raining with all the reflections
    World in Conflict: with its big craters after a battle and the tracks from the tanks in the grass

  50. 25/09/2012 at 23:17 Buemba says:

    Magic Carpet deserves a mention, surely?

    Far Cry 1 and 2 as well.

  51. 25/09/2012 at 23:22 Muzman says:

    This list is probably about stuff other than Stalker for a change, what with Jim being an aficionado. But it is a classic
    one
    two

  52. 25/09/2012 at 23:24 zeekthegeek says:

    Guild Wars 2 has some very lovely stuff out there.

  53. 25/09/2012 at 23:56 T4ffer says:

    This is one of the few times when I feel sad that Rock Paper Shotgun is strictly about PC gaming, because Red Dead Redemption really needs to be listed there. That game really astounded me with it’s superb treatment of terrain.

    • 26/09/2012 at 13:14 DeanLearner says:

      I was going to mention RDR, just imagine it running on a PC!

      More than a dozen times that game stopped me in my tracks and I just stared at it.

  54. 26/09/2012 at 00:03 Lacero says:

    If we can have Monkey Island we need Alpha Centauri for the terraforming and weather patterns and giant fungus alien.

  55. 26/09/2012 at 00:07 Wizlah says:

    yay, midwinter. Sight of it always warms the cockles of my heart. I’d love to see a spiritual sequel of that, sometime.

  56. 26/09/2012 at 00:10 rsanchez1 says:

    If we’re gonna throw oldies in there, might as well throw in Rollercoaster Tycoon 2. RC1 had nice terrain, but RC2 had some really nice terrain. Best part was that it was all editable. Some of the scenario maps looked really nice, whether desert, mountain, or snow, and then with the expansions, some of the real-world locations had excellent terrain. The terrain in RC2 also made the real-world theme parks they added in that much better.

    RC3 was pretty good too, but by the time it came out many, many other games had better terrain.

  57. 26/09/2012 at 00:20 Vernalagnia says:

    I appreciate seeing Warhammer get a nod. For all of its flaws the world was so well built, especially for an MMO. The Greenskin/Dwarf zones in particular were always so much fun to explore. Still crushed that it flopped so bad, because there was so much potential, and a lot of it was even decently executed.

  58. 26/09/2012 at 00:38 Cut says:

    If we’re including “iconic” as well as just “gorgeous”, I think a landscape from The Sentinel deserves a spot on the list.

    (Maybe even a greenscreen one from the Amstrad version…)

    http://www.crashonline.org.uk/40/sentinel.htm

  59. 26/09/2012 at 02:27 hamburger_cheesedoodle says:

    I suppose it’s not out yet, but Sir You Are Being Hunted looks like something I’d put on this list.

  60. 26/09/2012 at 02:46 Vurogj says:

    3 pages of comments and no-one has mentioned Black & White yet? Must be just me that spent more time watching the sun set than trying to make my creature behave sensibly then.

  61. 26/09/2012 at 03:10 slantrhymes says:

    Morrowind: LOOK AT THIS F***ING STUMP

    IT’S SUCH A GREAT STUMP

  62. 26/09/2012 at 03:49 Gabe McGrath says:

    Scrolling….

    Nice terrain… nice terrain… nice terrain…
    Nice terr…. AWW I WANT TO PLAY BATTLEZONE (PC, 1998) again!!

    Someone (do that IP thing) and get it onto GOG/Steam…. please!
    (PS: Yes, I have found it’s available ‘elsewhere’ but I’d prefer an official release if possible)

  63. 26/09/2012 at 04:26 Lemming says:

    Bit of an odd choice for the Baldur’s Gate shot. All off the gorgeous artwork in that game we end up with a blobby grass shot?

  64. 26/09/2012 at 05:36 Stratovarius says:

    Rift has some incredible terrain, I’m surprised it wasn’t on this list.
    This is a screenshot of Ember Isle.
    http://i.imgur.com/Ynrm0.jpg

    • 26/09/2012 at 14:07 Smoky_the_Bear says:

      I think most MMO’s could be on this list tbh, say what you will about the genre but one thing it does amazingly well is create beautiful locales.

  65. 26/09/2012 at 06:04 sillythings says:

    All this talk of terrain and no mention of Alan Wake? This won’t do.

    • 26/09/2012 at 08:32 Oozo says:

      As I wanted to say just 5 minutes after you, including pretty much the same link:
      Terrain – in combination with lighting – is arguably the only thing Alan Wake does well. (Or at least, it was the only thing that kept me playing.)

    • 26/09/2012 at 09:06 SkittleDiddler says:

      Hells yes. I still consider AW one of the best-looking games I’ve ever played, all because the devs managed to make the forest look like a unique set piece for each chapter.

    • 26/09/2012 at 16:50 KenTWOu says:

      Yeah, even Alan Wake’s American Nightmare has cool terrain shots like this and this.

  66. 26/09/2012 at 07:30 TheApologist says:

    Interesting how not urban these choices are. No GTA games…?

    • 26/09/2012 at 09:05 Wolfman says:

      This is about terrain not buildings. Terrain is the natural landscape, urban is the man/alien/whatever landscape. Otherwise I would have suggested Mirrors Edge, a wonderfully stylistic urban setting.

      • 26/09/2012 at 10:15 TheApologist says:

        Fair enough – didn’t realise the man-made landscape didn’t count as terrain.

        Thanks for the clarification

        • 26/09/2012 at 12:46 Wolfman says:

          Not in game speak at least! Not sure what the actual classification of terrain is, but a terrain generator in a game engine will typically generate everything except the buildings!

  67. 26/09/2012 at 07:42 Harlander says:

    Should probably try and get some Shores of Hazeron shots in here..

  68. 26/09/2012 at 08:31 Oozo says:

    Bogus, ninjaed!

  69. 26/09/2012 at 08:50 apa says:

    3D Deathchase! That brings back memories :)

  70. 26/09/2012 at 09:21 UncleLou says:

    Best terrain I’ve seen recently was in – not a PC game, sorry – Dragon’s Dogma. Utterly wonderful, small-ish map that feels eerily like a real place somewhere in the Alps, which makes a great contrast to all the mythological creatures you encounter. The colours, the proportions of everything, the little details in the world are just absolutely perfect.

    • 26/09/2012 at 11:01 Oozo says:

      Yeah, Dragon’s Dogma really had nice terrain, and as you say, it’s full of rich details that are just there, uncommented on (except from your ever-so-chatty Pawns), for you to be explored. (Things like the windy valley, or the marvelous monastery in the middle of the forrest, that you never actually have to visit if you don’t want to.) It’s generous, in a way.

      That I liked it this much is even more remarkable in light of the fact that some of it could be summed up as a hodgepod of all the things you might find in a “Catalogue of Esoteric Hotspots”. But it’s done very well, and it is always enjoyably unobtrusive, so to speak.

  71. 26/09/2012 at 09:27 EPICTHEFAIL says:

    And now for the obligatory Mass Effect examples: Aeia (ME2, the jungle planet from Jacob`s mission), Virmire, that one planet with a Blood Clan base whose name I keep forgetting (it was in Xe Cha, or somewhere near there), Rannoch… Say what you will about the game, but some of the environments there are pure awesome.

  72. 26/09/2012 at 10:08 Mungrul says:

    I’d like to put a shout out for the terrain maps of Quake 3: Team Arena which were a major selling point, and the wonderfully deformable terrain of Myth 1 & 2. Explosives in The Fallen Lords & Soulblighter were things of wonder.

  73. 26/09/2012 at 10:14 choconutjoe says:

    I think the first game to make me just stop and stare at the terrain was Giants: Citizen Kabuto. http://www.flickr.com/photos/27082569@N05/8026017421/

    • 26/09/2012 at 14:12 fugo says:

      YES. i was literally scrolling through the comments to see if this had been mentioned. especially the level linked. jetpacks and big terrain, what more could you want.

      i’ve been tempted recently to play it again, but i am worried my nostalgia wouldn’t be enough to keep it fun.

  75. 26/09/2012 at 10:44 Maldomel says:

    Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I don’t play much anymore, but pc games always amaze me.

  76. 26/09/2012 at 12:09 Nallen says:

    Oh the ironing board. No Crysis.

  77. 26/09/2012 at 12:23 tomeoftom says:

    Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

  78. 26/09/2012 at 12:37 islisis says:

    If you are going to highlight the difference terrain had made PC stand out from titles

    Mechwarrior II

    and a title from any sim genre you pick would have added to this crunchy food for thought.
    Analysis of the storage capacity benefits of PCs vs consoles would also be enlightening, I think. And ignoring Crysis does seem a bit spiteful.

  79. 26/09/2012 at 12:48 Shadowcat says:

    I wish I had some good screens at hand for “Vietcong”. Also “Sacrifice”, “Powerslide”, “Hidden & Dangerous 2″, “Thief: The Dark Project”.

    “Worms”? :)

    My top pick when I think of games and terrain would have to be “Trespasser”, though. I remember a pre-release interview in which one of the developers said they needed to be careful that they weren’t creating “Microsoft Hiking Simulator”, and if you play the game you understand that it wasn’t just a glib comment — working my way across the island, it felt like a real journey in a real place to a degree that I don’t think any other game I’ve played has ever matched.

  80. 26/09/2012 at 12:52 brulleks says:

    “PC Games Are All About Terrain”

    Nonsense. Some of them are about t’sun, or t’snow, or t’other weather conditions.

  81. 26/09/2012 at 12:55 sirdavies says:

    You should have put Dear Esther. That one’s all about terrain

  82. 26/09/2012 at 13:10 Subject 706 says:

    Hey what about the Myth games? Terrain was absolutely vital to your survival on most maps. Wonderful games *sniff*. Kickstarter for Myth 4!!

  83. 26/09/2012 at 13:54 Smoky_the_Bear says:

    Needs a GW2 screenie in there for sure, some of the most epic terrain ever. Also Farcry, don’t think any other game, possibly Oblivion, had me walking around going “oh wow” like that game,

  84. 26/09/2012 at 14:18 Smoky_the_Bear says:

    For its time 3D realms Terminal Velocity had some varied and interesting terrain.
    http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/terminal-velocity/screenshots

    Also i give Star Wars: Rogue Squadron a nod, maybe not the best game but certainly cool zooming through the terrain, between mountains, flying into valleys to avoid turret fire etc, the terrain really influenced how you approached each situation.
    http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14541&tab=screen

  85. 26/09/2012 at 14:59 Cerebulon says:

    Strange choice of screenshot for Dwarf Fortress, considering it’s a world generated with settings so heavily changed they’re totally unlike anything remotely sensible.
    It’s a world of immense plateaus, sheer cliffs and flat lowland, with shallow lakes in what little variation in height there is. It all looks a bit artificial, like it was generated by a generator considerably less advanced than what it really is.

  86. 26/09/2012 at 16:25 Ninja Foodstuff says:

    Ultima 7, assuming it hasn’t already been mentioned:
    http://www.mac-gamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Exult-Ultima7-Engine.jpg

    It’s all about the terrain.

  87. 26/09/2012 at 21:26 Kefren says:

    That brought some smiles.

    The Fuel screenshot doesn’t look anything like the game Fuel I played though?

  88. 27/09/2012 at 00:40 The Sombrero Kid says:

    There’s something relaxing about thinking about some of those landscapes, esp. Just Cause 2 & Terra Nova (@Smoky_the_Bear was an amazing game)

    Also Mech Warrior 2 had some awesome terrain.

  89. 27/09/2012 at 05:57 Splynter says:

    No mention of Sim City 4? Just peruse this city diary. http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=9440.0

  91. 28/03/2013 at 13:27 communisthamster says:

    I’ve been trying to find this article again for a while. It really stuck in my mind.

  92. 26/09/2012 at 03:48 TheIronSky says:

    It’s Fallout 3. You can tell by the duplicate set of highway ruins and trees that can only be seen in the Capital Wasteland.

    As for why I don’t like New Vegas, well, aside from it being a buggy mess, the story involving “go to these locations and tell the people there to screw off” came across as particulary hokey, especially compared to Fallout 3′s “provide clean water so we have a better chance of surviving” story, which just resonated with me.

    And the cowboy motif in New Vegas came across as more of a gimmick than a theme. Fallout 3 took that 50′s “American Dream” concept and executed it masterfully. Still get chills when I hear “Dear Hearts and Gentle People.”

  93. 26/09/2012 at 18:38 fish99 says:

    Of course you’re welcome to your opinion, but to me the F3 story came across as something written by a child.

  94. 27/09/2012 at 05:06 Beemann says:

    Kinda have to agree with this
    It felt like someone looked at the stories from 1 (find a water purifier, fight muties) and 2 (find the GECK, fight the enclave) and decided to just redo both of them at the same time in the same game
    I felt the more limited appearances of both the mutants and the enclave, as well as the continued development of the setting from the first two games was better than just having all the nostalgia-inducing bits tossed together in a blender.

    Also, the fact that the GECK became an issue after THAT much time had passed is just silly

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