>...
> ... The reviewer reckons you can get 25 fps out
>of a P-90 system in SVGA mode with all graphics options on.
>I am highly dubious about this, given that about 4.8 times as
>many pixels have to be coloured for SVGA mode as VGA mode....
>Fraser
First of all, thanks for the info.
I promised myself not to get carried more in the endless discussion
about the frame rate since were supossed to have the game in a short
period of time (I hope!) and then well know.
However, although I am a bit ceptical about the review saying that it
will run at 25 FPS in a P90 I also think that is it possible ... at
least if you turn off some of the graphics detail in the game (but
still run it in SVGA and with some textures).
It is true that youll have about 4.8 many pixels than the VGA mode,
but dont forget that changing from VGA to SVGA will only affect some
part of the calculation - the rendering of the frames.
Grand Prix 2, as well as other 3D simulation game have 3 critical
parts where the the computer will spend a lot of time:
i) The simulation it self (where all the physics calculations will be
done);
ii) The 2D to 3D scene and textures transformations + cliping;
iii) and finally the rendering of the frames.
In each of these three parts the computer will have to spend his time
in order to present each of the XX frames per second.
Now comes the good part, changing from a VGA to SVGA resolution will
only mean an increase of processing power (i.e. in time CPU spends) in
the final part - the rendering of the scene.
Therefore, many calculations that have been posted to this NG, stating
that well need a proporcional increase in MHz to achieve the same
increase in FPS are very wrong (of course there are other reasons to
it too) - We wont need a 4.8 times better machine to go from VGA to
SVGA. We shoul need less than that (thanks to god!)
The increase of power well need I dont know, I suspect that only
Geoff and his team knows since they know how much time the processor
spends calculating in each of the parts. That increase in processing
depends on lots of factors like:
1 - The proportion of the rendering time in respect to the other two
parts;
2 - How well the texture mapping (and lighting) is optimized so that
the rendering is done with less effort (using fast texture mapping - I
know it can be done using only a multiply operation for each line of
the polygon, and that it is very fast when done in assembler);
3 - The speed of the video board in the SVGA modes, and the drivers;
4 - How well they optimized the code to use a Pentium (dont forget
that the pentium is more or less 1.8 times powerful on integer
operations but it is also 4 to 5 times in floating point ops - so
using Pentium FP unit in the rendering part will have a dramatically
increase of power).
....
etc.
I believe that since the main engine of GP2 is programed in assembler
(see PC Gamer Mag), then the game should be highly optimized to run at
SVGA even with textures and lightning efects. I believe that if you
can run the game well in VGA with a 486 DX66 in these conditions, then
youll be able to run it with a P90 at the same level of detail in
SVGA. The question I ask myself is:
Is the game so optimized so that you can run the game in VGA with a
486 DX66 with a good level of detail ? If you do, then It should run
well in a P90 in SVGA. Thats my believe.
Lets wait and see. All these news in the PC Gamer magazine is very
bad to me, I cant wait no more to play it.
Anybody wants to write the full text of the GP2 article ?
Greetings
Miguel
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Carlos Miguel Santos Cordeiro
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