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View Full Version : The De-Evolution of the Generation Begins

BreakABone
09-02-2009, 11:11 PM
So it seems that MS is no longer requiring games on the 360 to be in high definition, doesn't mean people won't, but the option now exists it seems.

http://kotaku.com/5351403/360-games-no-longer-have-to-be-in-high-definition

Since the 360 launched in 2005, developers have had to work within a set of guidelines set down by Microsoft. One of those stipulated that games had to be running at a resolution of 1280x720 (720p). Not any more!

Black Rock Studio's (ATV, Split/Second) David Jefferies has, in his regular column on industry site Develop, revealed that Microsoft recently dropped the requirement, meaning games can - if they want/need to - be released in lower, standard definition resolutions.

Of course, some games on the 360 have already been released in sub-HD resolutions. Halo 3, for example, which Jeffereis says was thanks to Bungie, "who got it waived".
Bond
09-03-2009, 12:22 AM
Meh. Who cares?
Dyne
09-03-2009, 12:24 AM
This seems to be more covering tracks than anything else.

Halo 3 still looked great. If stuff just needs to run at 640p or whatever to get all the features in, I don't mind.
TheGame
09-03-2009, 12:30 AM
The HD thing a requirement on Ps3 also? If so, expect it to be dropped soon too, if it has any affect on how easy a game is to develop.
Typhoid
09-03-2009, 03:27 AM
Well, Three Dog, you were ranting and raving about how games like Peggle, Tetris and anything by Popcap was good, so this is brilliant news! No more will video games be held down by the shackles of graphics.
BreakABone
09-03-2009, 11:51 AM
Well, Three Dog, you were ranting and raving about how games like Peggle, Tetris and anything by Popcap was good, so this is brilliant news! No more will video games be held down by the shackles of graphics.

I'm actually a fan of all of those games... you forgot Bejeweled.

But reading up on this, it seems like Halo 3 wasn't the only game that dipped below 720p, apparently CoD 4 did, PGR 3 and 4, and a bit more. Looking through a list now.

Curious though, how many people here actually own HDTVs?
gekko
09-03-2009, 01:14 PM
I own an HDTV capable of 480p and 1080i. Though, I know understand the costs of rendering a game at a higher resolution, and also understand why games like Halo 3 don't do it. The cost is just too large.

Considering the pixel shader is being run once per pixel, you're looking at 345,000 calls running at 720x480, 921,000 calls at 1280x720, and a whopping 2,073,600 calls at 1920x1080. That's assuming there's no overdraw, every pixel is only being drawn once, and there's only one pass (which most likely isn't the case). The cost just grows too quickly.
Vampyr
09-03-2009, 04:21 PM
I have an HD TV - I didn't even notice that Halo 3 wasn't in full HD. As long as the game is good I'll get it.
Bube
09-05-2009, 07:46 AM
How is Halo 3 not in HD? How does that happen, it looks so sharp and detailed? I just can't wrap my head around it..
KillerGremlin
09-05-2009, 02:20 PM
We have a 480p TV at home...it's gorgeous, but not true Hi-Def. In my dorm I have two old-fashioned picture tubes. My laptop can crank out 1920x1200 which is technically Hi-Def but I never use it. Hi-Def TVs have really come down in price though, so I'm sure the next gen of gaming will embrace the Hi-Def. The reason this gen is axing Hi-Def is exactly what gekko said: costs. With Microsoft and Sony taking profit hits on each sold console, why penalize the developers too?
Jonbo298
09-05-2009, 04:51 PM
How is Halo 3 not in HD? How does that happen, it looks so sharp and detailed? I just can't wrap my head around it..

Turn down the resolution a bit, crank up the AA/AF is my guess? Playing an N64 game on my 32" (LCD) TV at a resolution of 1280x720 (Full screen) is much more pleasing on the eyes with AA and AF turned up to the maximum the emulator allows. If I hooked a 64 directly to the TV, it'd be another story....