Aliens Vs. Predator: DirectX 11 Game Performance Analyzed

[kikireeki]

[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]No. You don't add shedloads of geometry to a 3d model to make it perform better. That's the opposite of what you'd do. The only possible point to adding more geometry is making it look smoother. You should do some research into tessellation. I think you might have picked up a misconception about it.[/citation]

I know the whole story about tessellation from the very beginning, but what I am talking about here is from developers' perspective, They are not going to use tessellation to make close geometries more detailed, but instead they gonna use it to make far geometries less detailed so the closer ones can run smoother with their full details!
and this game has just proven this. "a little bit maybe"

 

[cap_awesome9870]

What about the fancy pictures that compare Nvidia DX11 Picture quality?

 

[bildo123]

[citation][nom]ssddx[/nom]Don Woligroski, I must say that is a very nicely written article! I've only been seeing your name more recently; are you new to Toms?As for the games themselves: I would have to disagree on the second avp being a failure. The game packs everything you state the first one got right. I would also have to say that the multiplayer is(was) excellent. Theres nothing quite like dropping 150 feet as an alien onto some poor guys head (and the things he would say too!)Do people still play AVP2 online? If so I might have to get myself into a match for a quick fix.[/citation]

IMO AvP2 did it the best. The campaign wasn't as creepy/intense as the first one, but the MP was the absolute best. The maps were perfect, the pacing was just right and the balance was decent for the most part. It definitely beat this who can 'E' the fastest and anemic marines that hobble everywhere. To be it just plain isn't as fun. Such a paramount disappointment for me.

 

[CaptainBib]

They couldn't have postponed this a week to run the GTX 480 and 470 too?

Also, what did the developer do to the dx9 code path? No xfire and no AA? Those seem like odd exclusions.

2 cards in SLI should have been tested too, 250s or 9800s, so that people with older multi-card setups know what to expect, and to see if SLI is inactive with DX9 as well.

 

[sincreator]

I agree that the DX9-DX11 difference in this game is barely noticeable, but I really think that the difference in Dirt 2 was way more signifigant. Just look at the screens from the Tom's review of Dirt 2, and you will see some of it. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dirt-2-performance-benchmark,2508-3.html Look at the detail level on the car going through the water, the lighting differences on the night track, and then the ground detail in the desert screen. The cars bumper in DX9 looks flat going through the water, and in DX11 it's got some shape. lol. Then the dynamic lighting on the night track probally wouldn't be noticed as well unless you were looking for it, but the sun effects on the day tracks you would see it more. You even get the "heat waves" coming from the ground in DX11 mode. Now that may occur in DX9 mode as well, i'm not sure about that one. I did notice a difference in ground detail between the both as well. Some tracks with DX11 on you can actually see rocks on the ground with depth, not just a flat texture all the time.(This could of also been implemented better in DX11)

Maybe a driver update somewhere along the way made a difference, I really don't know. I do know that with my 5870, on early drivers my min FPS was 44fps at 1920x1080 4xAA, and now its 62fps minimum at the exact same settings. I also got a new motherboard with DDR-3 ram to replace my old board(it died) with DDR-2, but I can't see the ram making that big a difference in minimum framerate, or can I?

 

[Kelavarus]

[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]No. You don't add shedloads of geometry to a 3d model to make it perform better. That's the opposite of what you'd do. The only possible point to adding more geometry is making it look smoother. You should do some research into tessellation. I think you might have picked up a misconception about it.[/citation]

Tessellation improves performance over having models that begin that detailed, which is in great part is where normal and parallax mapping came from.

 

[dstln]

Nice article. I really didn't expect all the strange oddities to be put into the graphics engine by the developer, and it's too bad. Well, to me, it reinforces not buying it, as I couldn't even get the demo working properly most of the time anyway (which was also limited to dx9 mode for some reason, and now I guess I know why ). Sounds like they fixed some bugs later (higher audio sample rates likely caused my crashed), but I'm still not happy about the programming in this game.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]Tridec[/nom]I really can't understand why you didn't use the older ATI 48xx series cards in your review. It would seem logical to do so as there are a lot of your readers with previous gen cards that are thinking about upgrading. You guys did use the Nvidia 260 and even the older Nvidia 9800 GT, but not the "populair" Ati cards.[/citation]

I felt I had to include all of the Dx11 Radeons, and I simply didn't have enough time to benchmark the 4000 series.

And since the 4000 series is being phased out in favor of the 5000 series - and we already know where 4000 series cards performance sits in relation to their 5000 series counterparts -- I don't think the information would have been all that critical.

But it comes down to I would've liked to, but simply didn't have the time.

 

[falchard]

I think the thing most developers like about DX11 is its downgradable to 9, so you only have 1 engine pipeline to get top range systems and consoles. When you consider that, its pointless to work in DX9 exclusively unless you lack the development resources.

There is a magic thing about tesselation. Its not really about making it look better, its about making it cover a wide range of systems with little effort. The point isn't to take a 16k poly model and make it 64k polies. The point is to make a game for a Netbook, then use tesselation to get the game to make use of a Quad SLI GTX480 system with a Core i7 980x.

 

[WarraWarra]

All this is wonderful but the movement and controls is still horrible so the game is in the box in a cupboard and I never played it past the first 10 mins.
I am sure they can do amazing things with graphics and this does not look to bad ingame but what about gameplay.
Do we have to pay for them to draw pictures and rip us off as gamers.

If I wanted cute pictures I would google images and look at them or buy magazines and look at pretty pictures not pay $60 to play and no be able to play.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]falchard[/nom]There is a magic thing about tesselation. Its not really about making it look better, its about making it cover a wide range of systems with little effort. The point isn't to take a 16k poly model and make it 64k polies. The point is to make a game for a Netbook, then use tesselation to get the game to make use of a Quad SLI GTX480 system with a Core i7 980x.[/citation]

Yes, granted that would be the ideal use for tessellation. However, in this particular game I don't think it has been used that way. Clearly the basic Alien model is very highly detailed, and Dx11 tessellation feature has been added as more of a promotional feature.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]ssddx[/nom]Don Woligroski, I must say that is a very nicely written article! I've only been seeing your name more recently; are you new to Toms?[/citation]

Thanks, very kind of you. Nope, been here a while.

[citation][nom]ssddx[/nom]As for the games themselves: I would have to disagree on the second avp being a failure. The game packs everything you state the first one got right. I would also have to say that the multiplayer is(was) excellent. Theres nothing quite like dropping 150 feet as an alien onto some poor guys head (and the things he would say too!)Do people still play AVP2 online? If so I might have to get myself into a match for a quick fix.[/citation]

Admittedly, the review of the game is subjective and editorial in nature, I can see how there are folks out there who like AvP2. I do admit the multiplayer aspect was well fleshed out, but the single player atmosphere didn't do it for me. Just one man's opinion tho.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]WarraWarra[/nom]All this is wonderful but the movement and controls is still horrible so the game is in the box in a cupboard and I never played it past the first 10 mins.I am sure they can do amazing things with graphics and this does not look to bad ingame but what about gameplay.Do we have to pay for them to draw pictures and rip us off as gamers.If I wanted cute pictures I would google images and look at them or buy magazines and look at pretty pictures not pay $60 to play and no be able to play.[/citation]

Sounds like you had the same experience I did when I got halo 2 .... wanna trade? I played that heap of junk 10 minutes tops too.

 

[ssddx]

[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]Thanks, very kind of you. Nope, been here a while.... [/citation]
Maybe I just don't read enough of the articles in your sector. I will have to keep an eye out.

[citation][nom]neiroatopelcc[/nom]Sounds like you had the same experience I did when I got halo 2 .... wanna trade? I played that heap of junk 10 minutes tops too.[/citation]
I'll trade you X3:Terran Conflict. Another heap of junk with bad controls.

On a serious note: Why must the game companies change a good set of controls. Don't fix what isn't broken. Sometimes I wonder if they actually read the feedback from the beta testers they employ.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]NegativeX[/nom]Why isn't the new Geforce 400 series included in this at all? Holy fail Batman.[/citation]

Batman has nothing to do with it, but you can throw some blame at Nvidia who had the equivalent of a paper launch of the new cards.

Still trying to get my hands on one. If I could, it would have been included. But I can't benchmark something I can't buy and don't have a sample of.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]NegativeX[/nom]I'm sure a place like Tom Hardware could easily get one or a dozen... But that's not even the problem here since Tom's Hardware ALREADY HAS A FEW SERIES 400 CARDS IN THEIR POSSESSION. [/citation]

I don't think you're that sure. I wrote the article dude. It is the problem.

We have more than one test lab, and I'm still waiting for my test card. There are not that many 400 series cards around yet.

 

[demonhorde665]

[citation][nom]neiroatopelcc[/nom]Sounds like the new avp faces the same problem borderlands does - it's too easy! I compare borderlands with fallout 3 as they feel about the same. But in borderlands you've got this constant pointer to exactly where you're supposed to go - which makes you not even try to read the actually mission briefings - and when you've just downed a boss you stop and think 'what ? this easy?' Dumbing down's been seen in wow since burning crusade too. I suppose developers are just broadening their potential customer base by making the games so simple that any 10 year old can play them sufficiently well.[/citation]


any one that compares border lands (a pure FPSer with some rpg elements tacked on) with fallout 3 (a pure RPG that uses FPSer view or third person) is not some one i will take seriously. sorry bud yiou dropped teh cake on this one

 

[rmmil978]

If nothing else this article shows what a lovely thing 5850 in crossfire is. Whisper quiet, incredibly low power usage on idle, and wonderful performance.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]demonhorde665[/nom]jibberish[/citation]

Begone pest! learn english

 

[10tacle]

[citation][nom]NegativeX[/nom]I had no issues getting two.[/citation]

Well you can go on NewEgg and Zipzoomfly and see how many 480's they have in stock at any time. ZERO. Obviously some lucky souls got some at the Egg because they reviewed them and had a validated purchase comment by NewEgg. These people probably spent every 15 minutes checking the site for stock availability.

Sorry, I'm not that hard up yet. Besides, the more I'm thinking with these reviews, especially DX11 reviews like this, just getting another GTX 275 for $215 at MicroCenter would be faster and cheaper than dumping my current 275 (overclocked to 285 speeds) and getting a 480 (let alone cooler). The 275/285s are drying up fast and prices are rising accordingly. This may be the generation to skip.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]NegativeX[/nom]Perhaps this article should of been delayed til a more complete review could of been performed.[/citation]

It *is* a complete review, until Nvidia can supply the 400 series to the public in volume. Let's not pretend they're easily available.

If you have two, that's two more than the Nvidia rep has to hand out. Of course if it bothers you that much, you can send me one of yours.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]NegativeX[/nom]As long as you promise to return it.[/citation]

For sure. It's already in the mail, I promise.

 

[Hellbound]

No 5970? I actually want to buy this card. To bad they didnt include it in the benchmarks.

 

[nukemaster]

[citation][nom]kikireeki[/nom]AFAIK "Tessellation" is meant to make the game perform better, not to look better![/citation]
Tessellation is made to make things look better and if done to much can cause a large performance hit...

 

[howiejcee]

That's too bad. Most games these days are tailored primarily to the masses to increase revenues. Since by definition the masses are not necessarily of the enthusiast, hardcore, nerdy, or shall I dare say, ambitious type, then the games are hence dumbed down.

This is where I feel a good developer can try to cater to both types of players or markets via the difficulty level or play mode. This adds more work to the developer by essentially creating more content in total but the result satisfies both types of customers.

Obviously, there is the right and wrong way to do this. Increasing difficulty by, say, making a player's offensive bullet damage weaker or by making ammo scarce doesn't completely offer a new experience. Whereas, if the gameplay mechanics are changed and if the linear path in traversing the map is removed (no waypoint indicator) then the way the player plays and progresses becomes more involved and complex which can add to the experienced or hardcore player.