Computer Science Canada

Curiosity Thread

Author:  MatthewDaigneau [ Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Curiosity Thread

Why is it that movie animation, such as Avatar, looked so much better than games of the same time? I mean, Avatar probably had much more funding, but I am willing to bet that they used similar engines. We are really not even at the same graphics quality as movie CGI. Even GTA V next gen doesn't look as good as some CGI movies in some parts of the map.

Author:  Tony [ Fri Jan 16, 2015 3:00 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Because movies are rendered on 55,000 core farms http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/18/disney-big-hero-6/ over a long time, while your interactive game has only your single machine.

Author:  Raknarg [ Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:45 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

It's the difference between having a lot of machines work on something beforehand to give you a finished product versus having one machine that has to give you something right now.

Author:  MatthewDaigneau [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:45 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Still though, I can't really complain about graphics when it comes to GTA, unless I want to zoom in on a rock at point blank range with a sniper rifle.

Author:  MatthewDaigneau [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:51 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Another thing, how much would the machines and programs cost that the game developers use? I am talking the developers for games that have amazing graphics, such as GTA V, Assassin's Creed, that sort of thing.

Author:  Raknarg [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:16 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

That's generally not an important factor for game developers. You can usually just choose how much effort you want to put into render all aspects of the graphics. This is why you can have a game like Assassin's Creed run on a PS3, but look significantly better on a PC, because the graphics can scale with the power of your machine.

So this is a hard question to answer. My answer would be probably however much it costs to buy a machine to program with, and also whatever equipment they need to test it on what platform it's going to.

Author:  MatthewDaigneau [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:39 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

My friends keep saying that the new consoles are powerful enough to have the same graphics as a gaming PC. Suuuuure.

Author:  Insectoid [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:44 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Sure they can, when developers gimp the PC version so it can run on consoles.

Author:  MatthewDaigneau [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:46 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

But aren't PC's made to have better graphics... I don't know, engines?

Author:  Raknarg [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:48 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Not quite. They're both computers. The only difference is that consoles used fixed power, where in PC you can make it as weak or strong as you want. Typically when it comes to gaming, PC users will have spent a good amount of money on graphics.

Author:  DemonWasp [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:38 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Plus, generally any particular game will use the same engine on PC as it does on the consoles. Many engines are designed to run on the few biggest platforms (Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, and often others) without requiring you to change your code or assets (art, sound, etc) at all.

They may end up looking better on a PC because that PC has more firepower, or they might not because there's a limit to how good a game can look based on its visual design. If there are no higher-resolution assets, and no more computationally-expensive effects to use, the PC version can't look any better than the console version. It can still run faster / smoother.

Author:  MatthewDaigneau [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:55 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

And PC (usually) has free multiplayer. No Xbox Live, PS Plus, but we still have to worry about uplay.

Author:  Raknarg [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:58 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

I personally have no issue with UPlay, although I've only played Far Cry through it

Author:  Nathan4102 [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:08 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

I have to object to the comments saying console and PC gaming have relatively similar graphics. Having built a custom PC (And spent a large portion of my budget on a GFX card), I've personally seen a huge difference in graphics on the PC(Games lime BF4), and my console (XB360).

Of course, it depends on your computer though. Most family computers don't have the graphics capability to run high end games, while 100% of Xbox 360's do. That's why people generally prefer console gaming.

Author:  Raknarg [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:11 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

You would normally be right, except that in certain situations it doesn't matter how strong your computer is, certain engines can only support so much detail. Eventually it plateaus. You can play Mount and Blade on my computer or your gaming PC, it will run more or less equally as well, because the game's quality will plateau after a certain level.

Author:  Insectoid [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:28 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Mount & Blade isn't exactly the best example to use in a thread about graphics.

Author:  Raknarg [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:29 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

Why not? The basic game has very weak graphics in comparison to what modern computers are capable of, and it shows that it doesn't matter how powerful your computer is after a certain limit.

Author:  Insectoid [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:48 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

ah, yeah, that makes sense. It's been a long day.

Author:  Raknarg [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:49 pm ]
Post subject:  RE:Curiosity Thread

it's all good brother (Y)


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