The 2019 trailer looked cleaner, but not significantly different.

The 2018 trailer just looks like a different game, I was skeptical when I saw it. Maybe the next Halo game will look like that. Although the end of the trailer where the warthog driving through the grassy area looked more like the actual game.

Xbox One X graphics generally just looks like Xbox One. Look at Gears of War 5 for example, seemingly the same visual settings but ~60 fps and higher resolution.

I'm really curious to see if the base Xbox One version is 60 fps during the campaign. The presentation certainly suggests 60 fps on base hardware is a goal, but maybe goals change along the way. If its 30 fps on base specs, it will at least look clean.

The trailer for halo was running on a powerfull pc (which they just call atleast xbox series x, equvilant).
So far 4 months away from launch, I dont think we've seen 1 game with graphics captured from a actual xbox series x.
Its slightly odd, tbh.

"I am not exactly sure why people thought this would even look next gen. Its being built for X1 and time is limited to suddenly make it next gen level." - Mr Puggsly

Because MS promised that the xbox series X, wouldn't be held back by older gen hardware.
Halo is a flagship title, one of the big 3, you expect them to put their best foot forwards with it.

Aaron Greenberg, has basically said that the game is still a work in progress (3-4 months left), and that by launch date it will "be a visual showcase for Xbox Series X".  I'm kinda skeptical at this point how much things can improve in that short time frame.

Going back to look at the Halo 4 reveal on 360 its interresting to compare. Even though the framerate is stuttering at 30fps, the visuals do appeal to me more here. Hopefully they can soon show off some content which boasts both the gameplay openness of Infinite with some more intriguing enemy types & location because Infinite had a lacking sense of newness imo. Whereas had a Metroid feel to it which got me quite excited actually

Going with dev issues on this one

https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/comments/hyqtkm/they_already_have_warned_us/

Can't wait, I'm probably more excited for Halo Infinite than anything else for the rest of this year.

I thought the gameply in the trailer looked really good, actually. Never played a Halo game but I saw some footage here and there from other games, and as far as I can tell this looked right at home. Even if I didn't know which game they were showing I could instantly recognise it as a Halo game. The weapons and gadgets looked nice and it appears that you can use them in a tactical manner, which is always a bonus. I also liked the smooth transitions between vehicle and on foot movement, as well as the fast gameplay. Full right in your face kick ass action - what's not to like? I expect this to be a major system seller, regardless of the downplaying.

Because it might be releasing on Next-Gen consoles and Microsoft has been promoting the fact?

Definitely.

It shouldn't need addressing. 343i is a big developer with lots of intelligent individuals backed by one of the largest tech companies on Earth.

Game engines are generally highly scalable, that isn't being demonstrated this time around, Microsoft needed to drive home the narrative that the "Xbox Series X" is the "most powerful console ever" and actually demonstrate that capability.

Doesn't seem to be an issue for Sony with Death Stranding, Horizon, Last of Us... Been wowing gamers on the visual fronts recently.

Ironically, the dynamic lighting and material shaders in the Slipspace engine demonstration was actually pretty impressive... And got me excited for what it could mean for a Halo game.

Sometimes a technical demonstration just doesn't align with the final product sadly.

Will go without saying, they have stepped up their cutscenes in recent years, taking a page out of Blizzards book I think.

Even that demonstration showcased some very interesting rendering approaches with depth of field and various post process effects, not to mention the  volumetric fog being affected by different coloured dynamic lights which led to a very good presentation.

Halo 4 on the Xbox 360 had baked global illumination and shadowing, so it looked like it was punching above it's weight for the given hardware.
Dynamic lighting is significantly more demanding on resources.

In saying that, Halo 4 on the Xbox 360 had Subsurface scattering which made character models look extremely impressive... And that is actually Ray Tracing. (Aka. Bounce lighting underneath the skins surface.)

Halo 4 did make a few regressions, for example it's geometric complexity I felt was a step back over Halo 3 in various areas as the developer invested more polygons into character models. (Something had to give.)

Halo 4 was a technical showpiece for the Xbox 360, probably the most technically impressive game on the platform and one of the most visually impressive games of the entire 7th gen, it proved the Xbox 360 could "hang there" with Playstation 3 exclusives like Uncharted despite the "power of the cell".

A lot of games are going to be cross gen, but we expect few if any to look significantly better on next gen at launch. Again, based on the 2019 trailer I fully expected a game that looked like Xbox One was the focus. However, if 343 managed to make a really great looking Xbox One game then there would also be less complaining.

MS clearly wants this game out for the Series X launch and that clearly limiting the visual potential. Especially if ray tracing will be an update. Maybe other visual upgrades are planned? I also imagine the campaign is the primary focus, while the MP experience will be kinda bare bones at launch.

To be frank, I don't MS will not be demonstrating the Series X's potential at launch. At best there will be a significant disparity between base console vs Series X. For example, Forza Horizon 4 with higher visual settings, 4K, and 60 fps could be stunning. Perhaps more games will do that between 1st and 3rd party.

I meant wowing people in the sense Halo did in 2001, not just visually. Gears 5 was a impressive game visually that came from MS. I'm looking forward to seeing it Series X as well. Given Xbox One graphics settings were basically low PC settings, with higher resolutions and performance on the One X.

I was pointing out the 2019 trailer is still ain't the 2018 trailer.

The feeling i have when i look at this gameplay is that it does not look cohesive on how the assets fit with eachother,the characters look like toys on a playground.

Have you seen the original trailer?

I don't think anyone had a problem with the actual art direction. They're just struggling to reach the visual fidelity to make it really shine.