NBA 2K14 graphics on PC

[aspri]

hey there,

I saw NBA 2K14 on a PC then on a XBox ONE, and the graphics on PC were not as great as those on console. The PC had a GTX 660 and the game was fully maxed video settings. Is the game poorly optimized on PC?

 

[adimeister]

I'm not sure about NBA 2k14, but there are a lot of games which are mainly for console then NOT properly ported to PC. Like GTA 4, it lags like hell even on super high end PCs. Prototype 2 also lags like hell, so maybe 2k14 is also not properly ported.

 

[photonboy]

http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2013/11/11/nba-2k14-current-vs-next-gen-night-and-day-comparison/

"Yes, now I feel like crap for buying NBA 2K14 on the PC. I thought that it was going to have the same graphics level as next-gen since you know it’s the PC for crying out loud. I was wrong since it used the same engine as the one used for current-gen..."

 

[aspri]

I'm not sure about NBA 2k14, but there are a lot of games which are mainly for console then NOT properly ported to PC. Like GTA 4, it lags like hell even on super high end PCs. Prototype 2 also lags like hell, so maybe 2k14 is also not properly ported.

I agree, moreover it seems from what I saw that the PC version must be based on the older gen consoles rather than the new one. I mean that graphics are the same as Xbox 360. That's a pity since GFX card like the GTX 660 can do as well as Xbox One.

 

[adimeister]

Well yea. But I believe consoles and PCs have different coding, it's a very difficult work I guess. So I can't blame them really. Same with AC4, random people just pop out of nowhere. haha

 

[photonboy]

Well yea. But I believe consoles and PCs have different coding, it's a very difficult work I guess. So I can't blame them really. Same with AC4, random people just pop out of nowhere. haha

Except that the new XB1 and PS4 architecture is far closer to a desktop PC than the XBOX360's. In fact, they speak the same "language" so you don't have to rewrite much of the code at all, just tweak a few things.

It would make far MORE SENSE to have the PC and PS4 versions using the same code base. Obviously a decision was made somewhere due to time or cost but it does suck that a $400 PS4 version looks better than a $2000 PC version.

 

[aspri]

Well yea. But I believe consoles and PCs have different coding, it's a very difficult work I guess. So I can't blame them really. Same with AC4, random people just pop out of nowhere. haha

Except that the new XB1 and PS4 architecture is far closer to a desktop PC than the XBOX360's. In fact, they speak the same "language" so you don't have to rewrite much of the code at all, just tweak a few things.

It would make far MORE SENSE to have the PC and PS4 versions using the same code base. Obviously a decision was made somewhere due to time or cost but it does suck that a $400 PS4 version looks better than a $2000 PC version.

Oh and codes are getting closer. Maybe Nba2K was an isolated case and in the future games publishers will do as much efforts on PC games as they do on consoles. Eventhough their marketing core is based on gaming consoles, PC can support pretty much every game that comes out.

 

[ineedhelpthankyou]

Well, NBA 2K14 on the PC is better in some ways. Also,consistent 120fps on max settings, cannot argue with that.

 

[aspri]

Well, NBA 2K14 on the PC is better in some ways. Also,consistent 120fps on max settings, cannot argue with that.

Well yes but a steady 60 FPS with new gen graphics would be better. The PS4 graphics are much better than PS3.

 

[gamerk316]

Well yea. But I believe consoles and PCs have different coding, it's a very difficult work I guess. So I can't blame them really. Same with AC4, random people just pop out of nowhere. haha

Except that the new XB1 and PS4 architecture is far closer to a desktop PC than the XBOX360's. In fact, they speak the same "language" so you don't have to rewrite much of the code at all, just tweak a few things.

Totally false, and anyone who says this doesn't understand the big differences involved. For one: You aren't using DirectX, even on the Xbox [too slow], but the low level system API's. So you need to replace the ENTIRE RENDERING BACKEND. That's about 30-40% of the code by itself.

Next up: The threading is going to be handled differently. On a console, where you have lower level API's and less powerful hardware, you will see a LOT of manual thread assignment. You can get away with this since no other tasks are running [execution is deterministic]. On a PC, this is NOT the case, and using the same threading methodology WILL cause things to break. So your thread assignment is going to have to be recorded. And depending on how well your program scaled, this may force a re-write of significant parts of the code.

Next up, the memory subsystems are totally different, especially on the XB1, which uses SDRAM as a buffer to try and hide the slower memory bandwidth. Woops, everything that took advantage of that needs to be thrown out and re-written.

Now, the game PROCESSING is going to be about the same across all platforms, same as last gen. Everything around that processing, that is, the parts that talk to the OS, those are going to have to be re-written, and that accounts for a good 70% or so of the total code.

So yeah, same architecture, but totally different coding.

 

[photonboy]

gamerk316,
I didn't word my statement very well at all. I do get the challenges involved.

I didn't mean to imply it was currently EASY, just that the architecture is so similar that much of the code can be shared. Anyway, it's a little off topic, I admit I didn't state this well, so let's just leave it at that.