I'm guessing that NHL may be using a trick where they switch between a lot
of pre-encoded "canned" sound samples, but I haven't tried it so I don't
really know. If they really are dynamically encoding on the fly I'll mail
them a donut or something. Okay, 480p is not technically HDTV, but even
with a line doubler, it really is twice the information output of 480i, and
the line doubler can only "guess" to fill in the lines. We got our game to
run briefly at 720p and 1080i, and while it definitely takes more RAM and
slows things down a bit, it's not bad enough that it would be unfeasable to
have this as an option in the game, where perhaps you might run with a
smaller pack size or something to compensate. I'm guessing that no game
will make this tradeoff until HDTV sets are more common. The PS2 is capable
of HDTV output, but I think 480p would be the highest that it would ever be
practical to go (4 MB of frame buffer fills up quickly!) and going from
640x448 to 720x480 means you lose a ton of texture space in VRAM...
Widescreen support, however, is not too tricky to implement, more just
repositioning gauges and overlays, and doesn't slow the game down that much
(wider FOV means more objects drawn); I'm hoping we'll be able to at least
have widescreen mode in our next PS2 title.
> A couple of things:
> -NHL 2002 has DTS sound and runs like a dream. I expect to see more games
> utilize this feature in the future.
> -I doubt any Xbox games will support HDTV resolutions (720p/1080i). It
> would kill the framerates. 480p is not HDTV resolution, that is the same
as
> a progressive scan DVD player. The PS2 displays a 480i resolution, but
with
> a good line doubler in your HDTV (or an external one) you can get similar
> clarity from a PS2. The Xbox will not support 1080i out of the box, or
> free. It will require the use of a special HD adaptor available
seperately.
> Just because you are connecting to a 1080i input doesn't mean that the
> content will look any different. As an example, I can watch standard
cable
> or DSS television through my HD set top box, which is connected to the
1080i
> input of my HDTV, but it doesn't look much better than the single going
> straight to the TV. The clarity comes from the source of the
video.....the
> games will need to physically support 1080i for the Xbox to be able to use
> that resolution. Much like the PS2 only looks good on a widescreen set if
> the game itself has a 16:9 mode.
> > It's very hard to use DD/DTS for in-game sound effects on the PS2,
because
> > you have to do realtime DTS encoding on the fly in software, so it would
> be
> > like having your CPU compressing MP3s while you race--not so nice. I
> > suppose if you screwed up optimizing your game and were totally VU
> limited,
> > that could be one way to soak up your spare EE CPU cycles.
Unfortunately,
> > the IOP processor is not quite speedy enough to do it. I think Dolby
> > Surround (ProLogic) will be the only surround mode used for in-game
sounds
> > for most PS2 games barring some unforeseen new technique. Xbox,
however,
> > can hardware DD/DTS encode on the fly with no overhead, so I bet just
> about
> > every Xbox game will support DD/DTS 5.1 out of the box, as well as 480p
> > HDTV, because it's "free".
> > -Dave P.
> > > Wow, I'm very impressed with this game. The widescreen mode
completely
> > > fills my 16:9 screen w/o any stretching.....just like the GT3 game.
> > > The PS2 does have DD/DTS output via an optical cable. However, the
only
> > > game that I know of that takes advantage of that is NHL 2002. I'm
sure
> > more
> > > will eventually follow with DTS sound, but that feature is probably
only
> > > there for the consumers that use their PS2 as a DVD player.
> > > The game doesn't drive that great with a dual shock. It's a little
too
> > > sensitive. However, everything else about it is so good, that I may
> have
> > to
> > > run up to Best Buy and pick up a new wheel for just this game.
> > > > > > . . .
> > > > > > GT3, another PS2 racing game, has a 16:9 mode that looks
> fantastic.
> > > The
> > > > > > drawback to that game is the amount of static images that could
> > cause
> > > burn
> > > > > > in on my 65" HDTV. Before buying that game, I rented it and
found
> > > that
> > > > > out
> > > > > > before wasting my $50 on the title.
> > > > > Hmm. Wouldn't the***pit cause the same burn-in effects? Just
> > trying
> > > to
> > > > > be objective here.
> > > > > > I was going to rent F1 2001 but it was not available at
> Blockbuster
> > > this
> > > > > > weekend. I'm hoping that some of you have this game and can
> answer
> > my
> > > two
> > > > > > questions:
> > > > > > -Does the game itself have a widescreen (16:9) mode?
> > > > > Yes. It works quite well, even on a 4:3 TV (lol).
> > > > A general question : Is the 16:9 mode on the PS2 anamorphic or just
> > > > letterboxed ? I'm really considering a PS2 now since they are very
> > > > cheap right now, but I'm not ready yet to start driving with a
> > > > dualshock :) Or maybe I wait for the x-box next year...
> > > > Anyway, I think a console would work very well on my Philips 32" WS,
> > > > H/K dolby digital/dts amp and 7 speakers :) (the PS2 do have DD
> output?)
> > > > --
> > > > Olav K. Malmin
> > > > remove .spam when replying
