HL2 - are these renders or real life? (I'm amazed)

[DA-Bucks]

A friend sent me a link to these pictures - I can't believe they are not real models. They are in fact renders with the HL2 lighting system incorporated into 3dstudio max - the guy who made these is an absolute genius in how he melded these into real photos. It's very hard to distinguish what's real and what's not.

How far away is gaming from producing things that look this real? It may be sooner than you think.

I'm actually disturbed by how real these look.

Here's the link to the forum from where I pulled these pics:

800) {this.width=800;this.alt='Full View';}" onmouseover="if(this.alt) this.style.cursor='hand';" onclick="if(this.alt) window.open('http://members.iinet.net.au/~kris.mar/Comptest16.jpg');" border="0">

800) {this.width=800;this.alt='Full View';}" onmouseover="if(this.alt) this.style.cursor='hand';" onclick="if(this.alt) window.open('http://members.iinet.net.au/~kris.mar/Comptest9.jpg');" border="0">

800) {this.width=800;this.alt='Full View';}" onmouseover="if(this.alt) this.style.cursor='hand';" onclick="if(this.alt) window.open('http://members.iinet.net.au/~kris.mar/Comptest5.jpg');" border="0">
A supersoldier in my backyard. This was back when I was having trouble immitating shadows, but if you look at the pic of Dog on the road, you'll see that I've gotten that solved.

800) {this.width=800;this.alt='Full View';}" onmouseover="if(this.alt) this.style.cursor='hand';" onclick="if(this.alt) window.open('http://members.iinet.net.au/~kris.mar/Comptest8.jpg');" border="0">
A strider peering over my fence (shrunk down again)

800) {this.width=800;this.alt='Full View';}" onmouseover="if(this.alt) this.style.cursor='hand';" onclick="if(this.alt) window.open('http://members.iinet.net.au/~kris.mar/Previs%201.jpg');" border="0" width="800">

800) {this.width=800;this.alt='Full View';}" onmouseover="if(this.alt) this.style.cursor='hand';" onclick="if(this.alt) window.open('http://www.mundy24.com/pogo/OnBed1_forumsize.jpg');" border="0">

 

[jwinslow]

I can't wait to get a job this summer and try out this game. I had been looking forward to it forever but didn't have much cash nor time to play it this year.

 

[rocketman]

I got the game the day it came out and moreso than the graphics, it was the physics and AI that blew me away. Everything interacts so realistically that you are immersed into the game more so than you know! I NEVER have time to play games, and very (I mean very) few games keep my attention for 30 minutes or more. But when I started playing HL2, I think I killed damn near 4 and a half hours of the game in one sitting (good thing it was over winter break).

After a I beat the game over break, I started messing with its level editing software. I've had experience with HL1's level creation software, and HL2's was MUCH easier to use. In minutes I was making multiplayer maps that people could mess around it. It was really cool.

 

[BrutusMaximus]

Best game ever made by far. I have beat the single player about 3093049304934034 times. Been getting into making maps also, play alot of counterstrike.