rec.autos.simulators

My P100 with a Monster 3Dfx runs N2 at around 20fps, and MTM at around
18fps.  Both give a smooth sensation of driving from inside the***pit.
Only when the rate drops below 15fps do individual frames begin jumping out,
and only under 12fps is when I can begin recognizing almost each individual
frame.

Either 95% of you guys have absolutely amazing eyesight, or seeing Quake
running at 45fps+ has made you believe that other games are actually pushing
as much polygons and have as detailed simulation/AI/game logic as these
sims.  Neither is true.

Rich

Joe

I never stated there was no difference between 15 and 30fps -- I directly
stated anyone saying they could tell the difference between 27fps and 30fps
either has incredible eyesight or is stretching the truth.  The crux of my
post which you disagree with is that no game under 25fps is intolerable.
That is what I call nonsense -- just what DID you play back in the days of
the 486?

Rich

  Cmon Michael, why do you need a***pit. Just imagine your Superman,
hehehehehehehehehehe. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ............
Besides, if your fast you don't need those mirrors. In fact Art Axlerad
reckons it's a good excuse (hud mode) when you take someone out on the
Zone, though I doubt he need worry much :)

On Sun, 11 Jan 1998 09:50:19 -0600, "Richard Harvey"

I must say that I never expected anyone to wheel out the old simracing
equivalent of "the earth is flat" argument. It's a well known fact
that frame-rate makes a huge difference to the smoothness and
precision of your driving - the faster the frame-rate, the more
feedback you are getting from the screen and the more opportunity you
have to make control input to the sim.

Now whether or not you are able to take advantage of the above, it
remains a fact.

What is true is that a faster frame-rate gives you more latitude for
feedback and control input - the question is, can you take advantage
of it? Apparently not, but others most assuredly can.

Cheers!
John

[bandwidth conserving snip]

John, I'd like to say that IMHO a consistent frame rate of 21fps is more
preferable than an average of 25fps with a high of 30 and a low of 15

I think thats why F1GP was so good, even when in traffic the frame rate was
about the same. I expect that GP2 with a P2-300 would give similiar results.

Of course the higher the consistent rate the better. (for the reasons you stated
above)

Regards,
David

Joe

-Jono Hill

Agreed. although since this thread originated from CPR where I _still_
have pauses and stutters due to texture loading this is a bit of a
sore point. I guess that 64Mb of RAM just isn't enough :)

Cheers!
John

Oh bollocks, not _this_ old chestnut again.

We've been through this 50 million times, and it's been re-hashed over
and over again what the human eye can and cannot detect. I would
suggest you do a dejanews search and gen up on the most up-to-date
info.

As far as simracing goes you get faster lap times when driving with
30fps than when driving with 19fps - I'll leave you to argue about
why, the mere fact itself means I always strive for the fastest
frame-rate I can get.

Cheers!
John

Tell ya what, if your monitor is capable of displaying multiple refresh rates,
try this.  First, set it to a refresh rate of at least 66 hz, preferably 70 or
above.  Use it for a little while.  Now change the refresh rate to 60.  Again,
use it for a little while.  Notice how your eyes start to get tired and
irritated?  That's because of the extra flicker that they're trying to
compensate for.  In fact, the VESA (Video Electronics Standards Assn.)
recommends a refresh rate of at least 75 to prevent eye strain.

Now, why does the frame rate affect game play?  Because each frame represents
a discrete unit of time.  Therefore, if you're running at a lower frame rate,
each frame represents a bigger chunk of time.  Because you are now reacting to
events that are further apart, you cannot get the same precision as if your
frame rate was higher.  You'd be surprised what a difference missing your
turning or braking point by a few hundredths of a second will do to your lap
times!

Also, increased frame rates will affect your perception of the game.  At 30+
fps, you're getting almost twice as many frames per second as if you were
running at 15-20 fps.  That means that your eye will blend the animation
together much more smoothly.

Finally, at a faster refresh rate, your eyes and brain won't have to strain as
hard to make a coherent animation.  This reduces the stress on you and your
body, making the game more enjoyable.

Bill

--------

"NASCAR is the Professional Wrestling of Motorsport."
                                    -Me-

Joe

---Jim