The First DX9 "Game" Benchmark... Well, Nearly

[Dave Baumann]

One of the TWMTBP Games benchmarks has been release - Gunmetal. This is billed as a DX9 benchmark, but here the FAQ:

GunMetal FAQ[/url]]Q: What API is supported?
Microsoft DirectX 9.0

Q: What data does it report?
Frames per second are reported to an HTML file at the end of the benchmark. The final numbers are not a score; it reports an average FPS, minimum FPS, and maximum FPS at a set resolution.

Q: What Vertex Shader version does the benchmark use?
Vertex Shader 2.0

Q: What Pixel Shader version does it use?
Pixel Shader 1.1

Q: Can you turn off AA and AF?
The benchmark uses Anisotropic filtering & antialiasing by default, as these are must have features in modern gaming and that is level of image quality we are seeking from Gun Metal. Anisotropic filtering cannot be turned off.

Q: How many codepaths are there?
All GPU's take the same DX9 codepath. If not, the benchmark will report the results as invalid (or simply just fail). It is a deterministic benchmark, so every frame will be rendered the same on each piece of hardware.

Q: Is it a good GPU benchmark?
Yes, it is GPU-limited and uses complex DX9 features.

Q: Is it a good CPU benchmark?
It is neither a good nor bad CPU benchmark, as the application is GPU limited.

So, at least it got half way there!

Benchmark can be found here, although the server appears to be getting hammered at the moment.

 

[Evildeus]

It seems to be coded via CG and have some issues on Ati boards...

http://forum.hardware.fr/forum2.php...1&sondage=&owntopic=&theme=&trash=&subcat=109

 

[Arun]

Hey, nVidia is gonna love that benchmark. They're quite good at VS2.0. as long as there's not too much branching, and they're really, really fast at PS1.1.
I can already imagine it...

"We believe our GeForce FX architecture will show signifiant performance advantages over the Radeon 9700+ series in DX9 benchmarks, such as Gunmetal."
Eh, I wonder if they'll dare to do that. Neverthless, it is fairly obvious nVidia is going to look real good in the first "DX9" benchmarks, including Gunmental and Doom 3. Later on, it might not be so pretty, I fear... But hey, enthusiasts often buy a new card every year anyway, so they wouldn't care - I know I don't ( and yes, I will buy a 5900 Vanilla as soon as I can get my hands on one - mostly for testing purposes, though )

People keeping the card for several years, however, are kinda getting ripped off IMHO.


Uttar

 

[whql]

Hey, nVidia is gonna love that benchmark.

Well, they paid for it, so of course they are!

They're quite good at VS2.0. as long as there's not too much branching, and they're really, really fast at PS1.1.

Really, Really?

 

[Kristof]

Hmm, I wonder if you use a tool to rip out the shaders how many of those are really must have "VS2.0" vertex shaders. IMHO VS1.1 was quite usable at least much more so than PS1.1 - if they can live with the limitied functionality of PS1.1 I am quite amazed to see a requirement for VS2.0.

 

[Dave Baumann]

Considering its an XBox port I wonder what extra functionality they actually added for the VS2.0 requirement.

 

[Doomtrooper]

The demo that was released in Dec didn't have those artifacts, even the early version that tb included in 3D Analyze to allow other cards to run it, the demo that supposedly couldn't run on anything but Nvidia cards.



http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3662&start=0

 

[vrecan]

I have had the game for a long time it runs fine on my 9700pro without a single artifact

 

[CI]

Any chance of forcing VS emulation in CPU so that folks with DX8 cards can also try out?

 

[Ante P]

nVidia sent me the game along with the NV35 sample

I have random reboots and stuttering all the time in this game :/

it's not a good game but I just like a shoot 'em up where I can be braindead and kill 10000 identical enimies for a few minutes now and then

they also sent along another TWIMTBP game called ghost master
it too is stuttering as hell on the NV35 and crashes (random reboots are not as common, it mostly just skips to the desktop)
the cause seems to be that the board never gets into the "3d mode" (ie the fan doesn't spin up to 3d speed when loading a game)

both games runs fine on my 9700 pro, pretty ironic

 

[Doomtrooper]

Keep an eye on [H] for this to be added to their suite

 

[Ante P]

Keep an eye on [H] for this to be added to their suite

Why shouldn't they?

 

[Brent]

Keep an eye on [H] for this to be added to their suite

i haven't even been able to get a hold of it yet

download keeps timing out

 

[Doomtrooper]

Why shouldn't they?

If we want to start talking about balanced code (3Dmark using PS 1.4 ) like in some other threads, this is one title that should be thrown into the trash can, especially when the developer intentionally prevents others that don't use their 'card' of choice from using their demo for three months unless you use the 3D Analyze hack and waited for their patch.

The game is garbage anyways.

 

[micron]

Brent the benchmark slayer says

Absolutely and completely FAIR[benchmark], love it

 

[Doomtrooper]

http://discuss.microsoft.com/SCRIPT...=directxdev&D=1&F=&S=&P=24598

 

[Hellbinder]

Here are my scores. Game at 1024x768 with 4x FSAA and no AF

Benchmark 1
Min 10.46
Average 17.92
MAX 43.01

Benchmark 2
Min 9.89
Average 17.92
MAX 48.66

My radeon 9700pro finished both benchmark 1 and 2 just fine. however there are numerous and hideous Graphical errors. Serious issues with the shadow rendering, Major AA corruption issues on my 9700pro. Yeah.. SURE its using General DX code..

Also Funny how Nvidia *recomends* this as a DX9 benchmark when they Claim 3dmark03 GT4 is not. Simply becuase it does not use all PS/VS 2.0 for every effect. Yet here they are Fully endorsing this as a Dx9 test.. When it still uses PS 1.1

I am so sick of PR *beep* games I could PUKE.

I still love this from the Nvidia web site

Cg Specific Graphical Features:

Cg support for all materials
Cg: 'Motion Blur' effect for the plane, proportional to speed
Cg: Realistic 'Water Refraction' effect
Cg: Further effects under consideration
DX9: 'Occlusion Query' for optimised rendering and realistic flare effects
DX9: Use of 128bit floating point buffers, enabling use of high contrast colour and overflows (such as retina bleach)

 

[Brent]

Brent the benchmark slayer says

Absolutely and completely FAIR[benchmark], love it

i said that in response to this in the FAQ

Q: How many codepaths are there?

All GPU's take the same DX9 codepath. If not, the benchmark will report the results as invalid (or simply just fail). It is a deterministic benchmark, so every frame will be rendered the same on each piece of hardware.

but since i haven't even seen or tried it yet i really can't make a judgement on it

it sounded good at first, but i am learning more stuff about it as time goes on for sure....

please don't condemn me for ignorance, i am taking everything in with an open mind and learning all i can, i read these forums among others everyday learning taking in new information

opinions on things can change as new info enters my brain lol

 

[KimB]

Also Funny how Nvidia *recomends* this as a DX9 benchmark when they Claim 3dmark03 GT4 is not. Simply becuase it does not use all PS/VS 2.0 for every effect. Yet here they are Fully endorsing this as a Dx9 test.. When it still uses PS 1.1

Where did nVidia recommend this as a DX9 benchmark?

 

[Reverend]

I think Yeti sent a mass email out to several sites. I received it too and this is what it said :

Gun Metal DirectX 9.0 Benchmarking Tool Now Available

I am sure you are aware we have been working hard to complete our upcoming title, Gun Metal. I also hope you have already had a chance to check out the demo. We are about to release the full version of the PC game and we are very proud of the work we have accomplished, both from a technological and playability standpoint.

To give your readers another glimpse of the technology behind Gun Metal, and to generate a little buzz for Gun Metal in the process, Yeti Studios is pleased to announce the availability of the Gun Metal benchmark. The benchmark utilises our the game engine to generate 3D scenes that utilise a broadly-overlapping set of DirectX 9.0 features. As Gun Metal is a real game, this benchmark presents real-world demands of users' hardware for an accurate performance measurement. We hope you decide to incorporate it into your test suite. Obviously the Benchmark includes a number of features and functions that would not have been sensible to include in the retail version of the game without sacrificing compatibility. We do believe however that the Benchmark really pushes today's latest hardware with real game requirements. Our intention was to build a Benchmark that included the functionality of our dreams with no regard to installed base.

Gun Metal is an action-combat game set in a futuristic world and allows gamers to take control of a highly-manoeuvrable prototype combat vehicle known as the Havoc Suit in a land and air fight to save the world. One of the first games to utilise high-level shading languages (such as Cg) during its development, Gun Metal features movie-like special effects, such as breathtaking environments and spectacular explosions.

We are currently in the advanced stages of negotiations with a number of publishers and aim to release Gun Metal in all territories this summer. IF you would like us to send you a full review copy of the game then please let us know.

Additional game features include:

+ The freedom to transform between Mech and Jet at the push of a button.

+ An extensive armoury of devastating weaponry that can be customised before each mission.

+ Spectacular battles in a variety of breathtaking environments.

+ A 'persistent damage system' that records every bit of destruction.

+ Cooperative gameplay allows games to assist allied forces as they take their last stand.

We will be hosting the Gun Metal benchmark at www.yetistudios.co.uk, but only for a short time. Please download the benchmark and post it for download on your own site to make sure it remains available. If you will be hosting the benchmark, please let me know so we can link to you from our site. We will also make it available on www.fileplanet.com.

Thanks for your help and for helping promote our title. Happy testing!

Best regards,
Yeti Studios