a "band-aid" for Nvidia shadow problem in FarCry

[Jeff7181]

Actually I think the shadows in WoW are supposed to be like that so people with crappy computers can still play it. MMORPG's are about the gameplay and content. Graphics come after those. I don't think they're even dynamic shadows are they? They're just part of the ground textures.

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Actually I think the shadows in WoW are supposed to be like that so people with crappy computers can still play it. MMORPG's are about the gameplay and content. Graphics come after those. I don't think they're even dynamic shadows are they? They're just part of the ground textures.

Probably true. But, as you wrote earlier, why should people with high-end machines suffer? And believe me, graphics in WoW is really good. Many sceneres with Bloom enabled look really excellent.

As for the shadows beeing part of the texture, that would be even stranger to make the shadows look like that (total crap). Besides, when I enter the shadowed region, my charcter dims (like in real world, when entering a shadowed area). So I wouldn't say they are parts of the ground texture.

 

[nRollo]

:roll:

(I really need a special "Roll-o" emoticon I use that so much!)

Gentlemen:

1. What good do you think posting "We don't like this?" on the AT forum will do? Last I checked, it's not the "nVidia Forum"?

2. I'm allowed to have my opinion, and my opinion is that this is a mountain out of a molehill. I've played and benched Far Cry literally dozens and dozens of times, and guess what? I never noticed this, and I still don't even though I know about it now. When I play Far Cry, I'm looking around for guys to shoot, or at the scenery, not watching my shadow move along the ground. That's just me though, I'm sure there are those of you who find the shadows utterly fascinating.

3. This is a year and a half old game. Most people who were going to play it already have, they gave it away with about every piece of hardware you could buy last year. I seriously doubt there are droves of people descending on stores today demanding Far Cry. :roll: Honestly, I'd rather the nV driver team worked on things other than games released last April? I don't care who benches it, and it's probably not long for the world on that list either- usually they try to use games from this century.

 

[Jeff7181]

Horrible response. I expected more from you.

By the way... this IS the video forum on AnandTech. This is actually a useful topic started by people looking for a solution to a problem. It hasn't been discussed before. It's actually more of what this forum needs. Serious discussions about real issues. Not nitpicking screenshots cropped and blown up 800%.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Horrible response. I expected more from you.

Sorry to disappoint.

I did send a link to the long thread to nVidia, got no response, so I did try on your behalf?

So where is the line drawn Jeff? ATI has never rendered Sacrifice and some other games correctly to this day, years later?

Should I start a crusade for driver fixes for Sacrifice?

It gets to the point where you have to figure they know about it, have opted to allocate their resources elsewhere, and you move on.

If they put out a fix for this two years after the game is released do you honestly think anyone will care?

I'm not trying to belittle anyone, I'm trying to say shadows being rendered differently on a year and a half old game isn't really worth our time? (or nVidia's most likely- every hour they spend on that is an hour they didn't work on games people are playing a lot more)

 

[fierydemise]

Its funny on both threads the defense has been, well ATI hasn't fixed an issue in sacrifice (A game I've never heard of, let alone play), I'm not sure but I don't think sacrifice was ever a game used for benchmarking (FPS being far preferred), unlike Far Cry which is used by many sites.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Horrible response. I expected more from you.

Sorry to disappoint.

I did send a link to the long thread to nVidia, got no response, so I did try on your behalf?

So where is the line drawn Jeff? ATI has never rendered Sacrifice and some other games correctly to this day, years later?

Should I start a crusade for driver fixes for Sacrifice?

It gets to the point where you have to figure they know about it, have opted to allocate their resources elsewhere, and you move on.

If they put out a fix for this two years after the game is released do you honestly think anyone will care?

I'm not trying to belittle anyone, I'm trying to say shadows being rendered differently on a year and a half old game isn't really worth our time? (or nVidia's most likely- every hour they spend on that is an hour they didn't work on games people are playing a lot more)

That's fine, Rollo. As you said, you're entitled to your opinion... I never denied you of that. I just think it's ridiculous that you like your nVidia setup better than you'd like an ATI setup because of the soft shadows (among other reasons I'm sure)... then you mock people who find fault with shadows...

I'm sure there are those of you who find the shadows utterly fascinating.

Your like of soft shadows would lead one to believe you're one of those people "who find the shadows utterly fascinating." So which is it, Rollo? Do you enjoy realistic soft shadows? Or are you content with the shadows from a tree that appears to be crafted out of Lego's that you don't even notice because you're too busy playing the game?

What if I bought a car with a turbo charger, and the turbo charger didn't produce any boost? It's essentially the same thing... you're touting nVidia's ability to render soft shadows every chance you get... but when it isn't doing it in a game where it should be, it suddenly doesn't matter to you? And if it does matter to someone, it's obviously because of some infantile fascination with shadows?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: fierydemise
Its funny on both threads the defense has been, well ATI hasn't fixed an issue in sacrifice (A game I've never heard of, let alone play), I'm not sure but I don't think sacrifice was ever a game used for benchmarking (FPS being far preferred), unlike Far Cry which is used by many sites.

If you've never heard of Sacrifice, you're either young or a nooB to gaming:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/sacrifice/index.html?q=Sacrifice

Sacrifice was cutting edge at the time, and very popular. The point is, it was a popular game that ATI never fixed the drivers for. (and to be honest, it probably sells about as many copies as Far Cry these days)

 

[nRollo]

I'm not mocking anyone Jeff.

I'm saying I think people are overreacting to a shadow bug on a game released last Spring.

What does the 2000 post thread accomplish?

Dug: Those shadows suck! If I post on AT, nVidia will telepathically realize I did and fix them!
<crickets chirping>
Dug: Well then my AT brothers will come up with a work around!
<Jeff finds one>
Dug: Back to the crusade! They must fix this!
<crickets chirping>

Don't you think if they would or could, they would have done so by now? Do you honestly think they got my email and said "Holy crap! Never heard of that one! Rollo wants it done, pull EVERYONE! Nothing else happens till we render shadows like ATI in Far Cry!"

Sort of doubt it.

I can tell you this, if I was a manager in nVs driver dept, Far Cry shadows being blocky would be WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY down on my list of things to do as Far Crys day has come and gone.

The fact of the matter is that not all computer hardware runs all software the same, you factor that in and take it as a given.

 

[Jeff7181]

Don't you think if they would or could, they would have done so by now?

Why should they? Nobody ever mentioned it. Who knows if performance would decrease if they were rendered properly? Maybe their reason for not fixing it was due to the fact that major review sites used Far Cry as the main benchmark back when it was released, and is still one of the top 5 benchmarks for video cards. More FPS in Far Cry = good PR for nVidia. If they can't fix it, fine... but if they've simply neglected to fix it because nobody noticed it, that's a different story. Did you notice any difference in image quality when nVidia was caught "cheating" in 3DMark benchmarks?

Do you honestly think they got my email and said "Holy crap! Never heard of that one! Rollo wants it done, pull EVERYONE! Nothing else happens till we render shadows like ATI in Far Cry!"

Of course not. Which is why I contacted The Inquirer. And they ARE working to get some answers and according to the guy I've been corresponding with, they'll be running a story on it if they don't hear back from nVidia soon.

The fact of the matter is that not all computer hardware runs all software the same, you factor that in and take it as a given.

Except when you're talking about ATI's shortcomings, right? nVidia's rendering problems should be accepted and lived with, while ATI's inability to render soft shadows in Riddick and lack of SM 3.0 support should prevent one from purchasing an x850XT. Allow me to quote you...

Originally posted by: Rollo
:roll:

 

[johnnqq]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

I'm really surprised to see that this is your opinion, Rollo. It seems that you're upset that this issue was brought into the open. You don't have any problem bringing up ATI rendering problems and lack of features. You seem to like soft shadows so much, I'm surprised you're not disappointed that your card SHOULD be rendering soft shadows in Far Cry and it's not. Maybe there is something to what people say about you, that you're a fanboy. But I don't think you're necessarily brand loyal. I think you're loyal to your purchase and feel the need to defend it, whatever it is, when anyone brings up an issue that might make your purchase seem like less than the best. That to me, is pretty sad.

brilliantly worded jeff. i'm not suprised by rollo...he is fully aware of the bug and just dismisses it, but not for ati . **fix** for nvidia shadow problem in farcry. *lowers performance though*

this thread should be locked. this isn't really a fix. and op, you should put "

 

[lavaheadache]

Well, as far as I know I wasn't flaming NV but just trying to make FarCry look better on my system. I tell you one thing I'd rather try to work real issues like this out with fellow ATers that have the same problem than get involved in most of the other BS, trolling, fanboyism, and childish finger pointing that goes on in VIDEO.

 

[fierydemise]

Originally posted by: Rollo
If you've never heard of Sacrifice, you're either young or a nooB to gaming:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/sacrifice/index.html?q=Sacrifice

Sacrifice was cutting edge at the time, and very popular. The point is, it was a popular game that ATI never fixed the drivers for. (and to be honest, it probably sells about as many copies as Far Cry these days)

It would be the former, I am on the young end of people on this forum, but it does look like an interesting game (I may try the demo if I have time). Despite that Sacrifice seems to be turning into an issue which is brought up for no reason just to draw attention away from the issue at hand (like the 5800 Ultra thing some people will not drop).

EDIT: grammar

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: fierydemise

Originally posted by: Rollo
If you've never heard of Sacrifice, you're either young or a nooB to gaming:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/sacrifice/index.html?q=Sacrifice

Sacrifice was cutting edge at the time, and very popular. The point is, it was a popular game that ATI never fixed the drivers for. (and to be honest, it probably sells about as many copies as Far Cry these days)

It would be the former, I am on the young end of people on this forum, but it does look like an interesting game (I may try the demo if I have time). Despite that Sacrifice seems to be turning into an issue which is brought up for no reason just to draw attention away from the issue at hand (like the 5800 Ultra thing some people will not drop).

EDIT: grammar

I mean no offense to you Fiery Demise, I only brought up Sacrifice as one example of a game ATI never fixed the drivers for.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Don't you think if they would or could, they would have done so by now?

Why should they? Nobody ever mentioned it.

Think about what you just said.

If nobody mentioned it for a year and a half, how big of deal do you think it can be?

Don't you think somebody would have mentioned it, if it was a big problem?

 

[johnnqq]

maybe it WAS mentioned just not on these forums

 

[CaiNaM]

heh.. we had a long discussion about sacrifice in the other far cry blocky shadows thread...

at any rate, it's a minor issue, but it is an issue nonetheless.. seriously, many ppl played and completed the game and have since forgotten the game without ever realizing that the shadows were blocky.

what i keep coming back to tho is that you people seem to keep forgetting it could be a game bug (and sacrifice could be as well) rather than an ati or nvidia problem. this issue does not exist in FEAR, Doom3/Quake4, BF2, and a host of other games that are current.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: CaiNaM
heh.. we had a long discussion about sacrifice in the other far cry blocky shadows thread...

at any rate, it's a minor issue, but it is an issue nonetheless.. seriously, many ppl played and completed the game and have since forgotten the game without ever realizing that the shadows were blocky.

what i keep coming back to tho is that you people seem to keep forgetting it could be a game bug (and sacrifice could be as well) rather than an ati or nvidia problem. this issue does not exist in FEAR, Doom3/Quake4, BF2, and a host of other games that are current.

I agree with all of this, but think Dug and a few others will keep hyping this as the end of the world as we know it, and not because they care about playing FarCry.

That is the nature of things though- ATI fans point at little nVidia problems, nVidia fans point at little ATI problems.

 

[Hacp]

Lol I like the change from *fixed to *bandaid. Very funny .

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Don't you think if they would or could, they would have done so by now?

Why should they? Nobody ever mentioned it.

Think about what you just said.

If nobody mentioned it for a year and a half, how big of deal do you think it can be?

Don't you think somebody would have mentioned it, if it was a big problem?

It's as big a problem as ATI not being able to do soft shadowing in Riddick.

 

[lifeguard1999]

Originally posted by: Hacp
Lol I like the change from *fixed to *bandaid. Very funny .

So do I. :laugh:

 

[lavaheadache]

Originally posted by: lifeguard1999

Originally posted by: Hacp
Lol I like the change from *fixed to *bandaid. Very funny .

So do I. :laugh:

I knew somebody would appreciate it

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

Originally posted by: Rollo
I agree with all of this, but think Dug and a few others will keep hyping this as the end of the world as we know it, and not because they care about playing FarCry.

u mean ur doing justice, saving the world and stuff, trollo? j/k


e: oh sh1t, i just noticed u really opened an anti thread.....man, thats..how old are u btw?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: BlingBlingArsch

Originally posted by: Rollo
I agree with all of this, but think Dug and a few others will keep hyping this as the end of the world as we know it, and not because they care about playing FarCry.

u mean ur doing justice, saving the world and stuff, trollo? j/k


e: oh sh1t, i just noticed u really opened an anti thread.....man, thats..how old are u btw?

Tsk tsk.

Calling names when the mods have specifically requested we not do childish things like that Blingbling?

It's sad when users think they're above the rules the mods clearly laid out for us, to help us all get along.

 

[Tanclearas]

Originally posted by: Rollo
[It's sad when users think they're above the rules the mods clearly laid out for us, to help us all get along.

Like your trolling Sacrifice thread? Indeed there are people that think they're above the rules the mods clearly laid out for us.