Image Quality and Framebuffer Analysis for Available/release build Games *Read the first post*

Well I didnt want to go adding anything to the shots period. That would be dis-ingenious. I figured a small disclaimer would help, but most people seem to brush over that. A lot of the complains seem to stem from that, which is a shame, since there are more valid area's of discussion.
 
Discussion about design designs and how we all hate blur moved to here where it should be. I shouldn't be needing to do this, this far into the thread! This thread is for analysis, not discussion.

Further, if the current PS3 subject is a demo, it should be being discussed in the IQ for unreleased games thread. Otherwise we end up with these meandering OT discussions that lack much scientific investigation. Thanks.
 
Saints Row 2 *seems* to be 720p, 2xMSAA on 360 and 720p QAA on PS3. But I could be wrong on resolution as edges look really rough.

How about when it's moving? Which one have more noticeable aliasing? Sharper image may look better for screenshot, but I wouldn't mind more blurry image for less aliasing, especially for a fast moving games.
 
Those last two posts are exactly what isn't wanted. I'm getting grumpy now. If what you're writing isn't analysis or questions about IQ, it's not part of the discussion. All this "looks better to me" is OT. There has been plenty enough warm-up time now for people to come to understand the nature of these anlysis threads, and more than enough polite reminders from the mod team. From this point in, all and every OT quality discussion or platform comparison post in this thread will be deleted and accompanied with an official warning.

There are other threads for discussing developer choices and which versions of titles look better. Don't pollute this thread with that talk. :devilish:
 
Thanks for the clarification. The edges do look pretty rough, almost as if a sharpen filter has been added on the 360 version, but upscaled 640p with AA makes more sense.
 
Side by side it looks like one of the best cases against using QAA.

Sure there is slightly less aliasing but it is far too blurry for the pay off in this instance.
Not fair to judge QAA based on those screens.

The 360 version screenshots look like they've had some kind of weird sharpening filter applied to them. Anything, Quincunx or otherwise, is going to appear softer/blurrier when directly compared and contrasted to them. There's no way of telling whether those PS3 screens really are that blurry, or if it's only perceived as blurry (imagined) when placed next to the oversharpened 360 screens.
 
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Not fair to judge QAA based on those screens.

The 360 version screenshots look like they've had some kind of weird sharpening filter applied to them.
Yes, there are clear sharpening halo's in image one. I took the PS3 shot, applied a simple 'sharpen' in PSP, and the end result looks very similar to the XB360 screenshot. The texture detail is lifted and the edges show the same sharpening halos.

Use of post effects does make analysis of AA and rendering modes a bit trickier! But of course, whether we prefer one choice of AA over another ISN'T A SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION IN THIS THREAD!
 
Yes, there are clear sharpening halo's in image one. I took the PS3 shot, applied a simple 'sharpen' in PSP, and the end result looks very similar to the XB360 screenshot. The texture detail is lifted and the edges show the same sharpening halos.

So, are there realtime 3d image sharpeners or were those pictures photoshopped? Never heard of any game that had a "sharpening filter"...
 
The capture source is grandmaster, so we're know what we see if exactly what's being output by the boxes. You can run a convolution matrix or anything else you want on the pixel shaders. That's the whole basis of post-processing!
 
So, are there realtime 3d image sharpeners or were those pictures photoshopped? Never heard of any game that had a "sharpening filter"...

Sure there are games that do. Take for example Crysis, it does several Photoshop style post-process effects in realtime (like sharpening etc). Dont think it is any taxing unless something special, but not sharpening.
 
So, are there realtime 3d image sharpeners or were those pictures photoshopped? Never heard of any game that had a "sharpening filter"...

We have shipped two so far. Works great for texture detail in the nearest part of the scene, but you shouldn't do it on the distant geometry.
 
Sorry for bringing this up again but I was wondering about MGS4's resolution.

Usually games will choose to run on their native resolution unless forced or designed to choose the highest display mode if available regardless of their native resolution.

Examples like the first are Uncharted and DMC4 which are displayed at 720p.

Examples like the second are Bioshock and Rainbow Six Vegas which run automatically at 1080p but appear slightly blurrier because their native resolution is 720p.

I popped in MGS4 to try it for the first time on a 1080p display and I noticed that it automatically picked the 1080p mode as shown by the TV's info. It looked very crisp and clear and I think probably cleaner than if I choose to run it at 720p mode. This brings me the question what kind of technique does the game use to display and look that clean at that resolution when its native resolution is 1024x768? Or is there something else going on?
 
There might be some filters added when upscalling to 1080, like sharpness or something. I'm noticing quite an IQ difference from 720p to 1080p myself. Could just be the TV that displays 1080p better than 720p somehow.
 
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