Metro 2033 Performance review

[Lonyo]

I have a 295 and play at high settings in DX9 at 1920x1080 and the framerates are only a bit better than the 5850 so far. Average seems to be a bit below 60. The game has strange frame rate drops...probably needs more optimization.

Could you run some tests with PhysX on vs off at low and high graphics settings?
e.g. lowest res and detail settings with on/off, and highest res and detail with on/off.

Interesting to see how much of an impact it has on its own and when the GPU is seemingly taxed.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Right, but the dev didn't shut lock it out nvidia did because it was Nvidia that did the coding for it. Anyways, if it was that easy to code in and from what AMD has said it was a pretty standard algorithm, why hasn't AMD lent a hand to implement their own version of AA in the game instead of complaining about it over and over again?

Because they aren't a software company?

Do game developers go out and engineer hardware for AMD?

 

[aggressor]

here are some screenshots and videos that I've taken: www.aggybong.com/temp/metro2033

It's running in DX11 mode with everything on except AA. FPS are between 15-25

 

[tviceman]

Because they aren't a software company?

Do game developers go out and engineer hardware for AMD?

AMD and Nvidia both build GPU's based on what their customers/developers want. They're not getting help, but they're being told what features to add or improve.

But yeah nvidia is really, really dumb for creating a huge marketing program and helping developers to put features into a game that otherwise would never get implemented. It's obviously a complete failure since they only own 60-65% of the discrete GPU market.

 

[Lonyo]

here are some screenshots and videos that I've taken: www.aggybong.com/temp/metro2033

It's running in DX11 mode with everything on except AA. FPS are between 15-25

That archway looks like that with tessellation on?

 

[aggressor]

I guess so because it's enabled. 5850, by the way.

 

[GaiaHunter]

But yeah nvidia is really, really dumb for creating a huge marketing program and helping developers to put features into a game that otherwise would never get implemented.

You mean this new technology called Anti-Aliasing?

 

[Grooveriding]

The game is playable for me at 2560x1600 on very high, dx11 with tesselation on, depth of field off, no AA. Rig in sig. It's a nice looking game, but Crysis has better visuals, not sure why it's so demanding.

 

[zerocool84]

The game is playable for me at 2560x1600 on very high, dx11 with tesselation on, depth of field off, no AA. Rig in sig. It's a nice looking game, but Crysis has better visuals, not sure why it's so demanding.

Maybe the DoF is really demanding? I'm waiting for some reviews of this. There's only 2 on Metacritic so I'm going to wait until next week to see if it's good.

 

[Grooveriding]

Maybe the DoF is really demanding? I'm waiting for some reviews of this. There's only 2 on Metacritic so I'm going to wait until next week to see if it's good.

There are only two dx11 settings 'tesselation' and 'advanced depth of field'

The depth of field setting brings the game into a slideshow for me, it's very demanding. Hard to see the difference, but I have not played much at all, just fired the game up and dialed in the highest settings I could get playable.

 

[tviceman]

That archway looks like that with tessellation on?

I think tessellation is used only on characters.

You mean this new technology called Anti-Aliasing?

Yeah. Kind of crazy to think the Unreal engine doesn't support it natively, a developer won't code it in on their own, and AMD does nothing except complain about it.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Yeah. Kind of crazy to think the Unreal engine doesn't support it natively, a developer won't code it in on their own, and AMD does nothing except complain about it.

If I was a developer I wouldn't code it either - NVIDIA would just code it for me and even pay for that honour.

 

[vj8usa]

Did you just compare a 720P, no AA, scaled down I.Q. ect to the PC version running at high settings a console could only have wet dreams about?

What are you talking about? I specifically mentioned DX9. Even at 1280x1024, the PC version seems to run very poorly. Does the game look THAT much better on PC DX9 than it does on 360?

 

[Silverforce11]

Tessellation is used in objects as well as characters, even brick walls use it from what i've seen of game engine dev talks.

BC2 has impressive visuals at max settings, but if you turn on some features (HDAO), fps tanks hard as well. But its not so bad as those features dont really enhance visuals much, just enhance the "feel", which some like and others do not. Similar to DoF.

Metro looks like stalker with a big facelift, and it runs quicker too. Going to have to agree its poorly optimized. Should not be chugging below 60 fps without AA on 5870.

 

[tviceman]

Metro looks like stalker with a big facelift, and it runs quicker too. Going to have to agree its poorly optimized. Should not be chugging below 60 fps without AA on 5870.

It could also be a combination of both poor optimization and really demanding effects. Or it could just be a really, really demanding game. Graphical fidelity in AAA games have gotten to the point of diminishing returns now. For a very slight increase in quality, there will be a big decrease in performance. Like when going from High to Very high in Crysis. Visually not that different. Performance wise, though, BIG difference.

 

[ronnn]

Yet another modern title that's massively GPU limited.

A xbox port with a couple of flashy items added isn't really my idea of modern, but I guess this is the best we can expect.

Those screen shots are supra natural clear, but look unpleasing. Artistically it probably works better on the xbox with dx9.

 

[RussianSensation]

A xbox port with a couple of flashy items added isn't really my idea of modern, but I guess this is the best we can expect.

Those screen shots are supra natural clear, but look unpleasing. Artistically it probably works better on the xbox with dx9.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-tech-interview-metro-2033?page=2

1. The game was first architected for PS3 and then ported to Xbox360 in 19 days. So Xbox360 version is really a PS3 port.

2. PC version has a bit more than a "couple" of flashy items:

• The internal PhysX tick-rate was doubled on PC resulting in more precise collision detection and joint behavior
• "render" almost twice the number of sounds (all with wave-tracing) compared to consoles
• Most of the textures are 2048^2 (consoles use 1024^2).
• The shadow-map resolution is up to 9.43 Mpix.
• The shadow filtering is much, much better.
• The parallax mapping is enabled on all surfaces, some with occlusion-mapping (optional).
• We've utilised a lot of "true" volumetric stuff, which is very important in dusty environments.
• From DX10 upwards we use correct "local motion blur", sometimes called "object blur".
• The light-material response is nearly "physically-correct" on the PC on higher quality presets.
• The ambient occlusion is greatly improved (especially on higher-quality presets).
• Sub-surface scattering makes a lot of difference on human faces, hands, etc.
• The geometric detail is somewhat better, because of different LOD selection, not even counting DX11 tessellation.
• We are considering enabling global illumination (as an option) which really enhances the lighting model.

Either way, you can't expect developers to produce a good game for PC exclusively. Why would you do that? You have 38 million Xbox360 users and 32 million PS3 users. To reduce your costs of development, you maximize your target market potential for sales. Common sense to me. If I was a developer, I would never manufacture a game which would be exclusive for PC.

So now if a game appears on consoles and PCs, it's suddenly bad? (i.e., BioShock, Gears of War, Battlefield Bad Company 2, etc.). Gamers don't care what platform a game is on, but only the quality of the gaming experience.

Some of the best and revolutionary games ever made such as Mortal Combat, Tekken/Soul Calibur, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye, Mario Cart, Gran Tourismo and Metal Gear Solid didn't appear on the PC. Because of consoles, we have good racing games, platformers and sports games. PC is good for FPS, Massively Multiplayer games and strategy. Neither gaming platform offers the complete package.

 

[toyota]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-tech-interview-metro-2033?page=2

Either way, you can't expect developers to product a good game for PC exclusively. Why would you do that? You have 38 million Xbox360 users and 32 million PS3 users. To reduce your costs of development, you maximize your target market potential for sales. Common sense to me. If I was a developer, I would never manufacture a game which would be exclusive for PC only.

heck I probably would not even fool with developing a game for the pc. sometimes 90% of sales are going to be console anyway so its hard to imagine the sales offsetting all the extra work optimizing and follow up tech support for pc. of course that might be why we dont see good optimizations and tech support in many games.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

If I was a developer, I would never manufacture a game which would be exclusive for PC.

heck I probably would not even fool with developing a game for the pc. sometimes 90% of sales are going to be console anyway so its hard to imagine the sales offsetting all the extra work optimizing and follow up tech support for pc. of course that might be why we dont see good optimizations and tech support in many games.

D:

 

[MrK6]

I really can't see anything in those screenshots that justifies those kinds of framerates, yeesh. Hopefully drivers will fix some of those issues. Also, why does depth of field tank the FPS so hard? Isn't it just a filter?

 

[RussianSensation]

WaitingForNehalem,

If you are Ford, would you only sell the Ford Focus in United States? (limit geographical exposure)

If you are Visa, would you only provide your "own" credit card service or would you pair up with various financial institutions and charge a licensing fee? (limit product offerings)

If you are McDonalds, would you sell the exact same products across the world? (limit innovation)

Everyone wants a "share of wallet".

Crytek probably couldn't afford to develop for consoles in the beginning. After they got recognized for their game by "hardcore" FPS gamers on the PC, they were able to earn a reputation and capital required to fund cross-platform development. In the end, a developer is a business, which seeks to maximize profits and shareholder value.

 

[Udgnim]

http://www.aggybong.com/temp/metro2033/metro2033%202010-03-16%2012-53-06-50.jpg

That archway looks like that with tessellation on?

the developer has to dictate what objects to tessellate

 

[ronnn]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-tech-interview-metro-2033?page=2

1. The game was first architected for PS3 and then ported to Xbox360 in 19 days. So Xbox360 version is really a PS3 port.

http://games.on.net/article/7836/Metro_2033_-_Technical_QA

In the video at the bottom Dean Sharpe states it was designed from the start as a cross platform game.

Lets hope it is as good as half life, which they reference several times in the video.

 

[Keysplayr]

I really can't see anything in those screenshots that justifies those kinds of framerates, yeesh. Hopefully drivers will fix some of those issues. Also, why does depth of field tank the FPS so hard? Isn't it just a filter?

I haven't tried the game yet, but isn't depth of field something like draw distance? More detail further away?

 

[cbn]

Does anyone know the FPS standard "console" game developers need to abide by?

I'm guessing it is based on minimum frames per second right?