Just because the numbers seem like a no brainer, that means nothing. There is a TON more going on and there are loads upon loads of technical reasons why you can't run the graphics of Uncharted on ANY current apple device. Things like DirectX and the PS3s microprocessor are ingrained into the system. Hundreds of millions were poured into milking every last ounce of graphical ability from the systems. You couldn't turn even a launch day title into one that would look remotely close on an iPad 4 or iPhone 5. Saying that there is no technical reason is just completely wrong. Here's just a random link talking about it: http://beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=62607 I'd look for more but I don't have the time to now.
Lol. I got an iPad2 and I got no problem with what andsoitgoes said. Everything gets old. We're lucky they've had a good crack at it, and we'll probably see an update.
To a certain extent you're right, but let me put it in some more familiar (and less ambiguous) terms than GFLOPS and RAM count: The PS Vita is/was touted as being "close" to the PS3 in terms of graphical power. It runs the likes of Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, etc. Not dumbed down mobile versions - the full, real thing. The iPad 3 has the exact same GPU as the Vita, with more RAM to boot. The iPhone 5? A slightly modified GPU that is a bit below the iPad 3's. Then there's the iPad 4, with a GPU about twice as powerful as the PS Vita. The argument about pixels being pushed could be made, but keep in mind that this isn't even running at Retina, and that the ratio of GPU power to pixels pushed isn't 1:1. Most of what you said about this being an impressive work of optimization, surprised it's even running, etc is bull, plain and simple. There's nothing terribly complex going on here, and the game isn't especially pretty on consoles, either. Leave that moniker to the likes of Far Cry, BioShock Infinite, Crysis, etc. Have you played some of the newer iOS games coming out nowadays? Xcom doesn't look in any way impressive in a technical level compared to Gangstar Vegas, NFS: Most Wanted, Ravensword, Bastion, Modern Combat 4, NOVA 3, and a plethora of other titles. My point? The reason why this runs poorly and looks so bad is not due to lack of hardware power. It's shoddy optimization. I'm not trying to start or continue this hardware debate, which has gotten extremely tiresome in other threads, but I just wanted to point out a few facts
Hahaha... Aren't we defensive? I commented that: - The iPad 2 is running 2+ year old hardware - Games like infinity Blade were touted as "graphically amazing!" and were considered the upper echelon in how far the 2 could go. - The iPad 2 was not designed to be able to run games this complex. I own a 2, it's the primary device everyone in my family owns. If I did not have a 4th gen iPad and was still using the 2, I would understand its shortcomings and not expect this would run smoothly. Heck, I don't and am sad my wife won't be able to play. But smug? Really? Talbs - thanks. I was just trying to stress the fact that we are running devices that are still on the bleeding edge. The iPad 1 was half baked, the iPad 2 came out to keep apple at the top for power but none, not a single one, has the kind of design that is put into consoles, and therefore doesn't have the same abilities. ESPECIALLY not devices 2+ years old. Simple as that. I just got lucky in my being able to upgrade, otherwise I'd be in this same exact boat.
Yeah I'm surprised they got it working on the iPad 2 aswell. In no way am a surprised it runs poorly. What I am surprised is that they say it does work on it. Surely it's better to say to those with low end systems "sorry but hold off on this one" then saying "$20 please and good luck if you get it to run". In terms of the TA review I don't really find it suprising that its not overly critical. Eli has said before that the site is more of a game discovery site. Their reviews aren't overly critical and do not often use a broad scope. That said they were one of the 1st out of the gates with a review so mission accomplished I guess. The difference between TA and its forums is the equivalent of the relationship between an angsty teenager and their daggy Dad. The social front of the family is easy going and takes things at face value while the teenager is passionatly analyzing every tiny detail. We're one big, maladjusted family. Still enjoying this on the i5. The base looks great on the small screen
That's the CPU, which is largely irrelevant for gaming, unless you're playing something with a lot of 3D physics calculations (ie BF3 or Crysis). Besides, the stuff omitted - such as textures and lighting - is almost solely dependent on the GPU and RAM.
Yes there is. SPACE!! On consoles they can STORE ALL the graphics and shaders as well as store stuff on a cache to be swapped in and out as required by the game. How they gonna do that on an idevice with limitations by Apple as well as limited space? What we need is a Terabyte ipad with 8 gigs ram and 3gz quad core and then we can trash our pcs and consoles.
So iPhone 4S here = avoid due to poor performance? ~$20 was cool for console-like games like Chaos Rings II and Drakerider, but no way I will pay that for a console-like game that has many framerate issues and crashes. I can't believe they are asking that much for a game that isn't even optimized.
I was actually thinking of the iPad 2. my mistake... anyway, regarding the graphics, other games look better because an effective trick is to fake lighting/shadows/etc. in order to fake good graphics, you need artists to paint everything in textures. XCOM, being a port, had everything rendered in realtime. There was no need to fake it. The only real solution when porting unfortunately is to turn off a lot of features. You can't fake it as it would be ridiculous to hire new artists and get the engineers to implement all the new assets.
No, it has 256MB. 256MB or XDR-based RAM, which is CPU-only, and used for processes like making the console run at a stable rate, and keeping the Cell CPU functional. It also has 256MB or GDDR3 RAM, which is GPU based. The Xbox 360 has 512MB of GDDR3 RAM used for both purposes.
I saw the bolded text, and you're still incorrect. 256MB of DDR3 RAM + 256MB of XDR RAM does not equal 512MB of DDR3 RAM, which the 360 has. It equals 256MB of DDR3 RAM, and 256MB of XDR RAM. I should clarify, I don't own an Xbox 360. I have a PC that has 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a GPU with 2GB of VRAM. The GPU and VRAM is what matters, and frankly, RAM is only really used for caching data. The less RAM you have, the more frequently data needs to be cached. This results in slowdown, loading screens, and long save times.
I didn't say the PS3 has 512MB of GDDR3 RAM. I am disputing this statement: "with 256MB of RAM in all". PS3 has 512MB of RAM in all.
I kinda realistically expected the not-vary-many maps of the other versions to make it in. We were never exactly taking dozens, it was a low number even on PC. Make it as low-end as you need, just give me the actual game stuff.
I'm thankful I upgraded from a Mini to an iPad 4! For $20, I was expecting pretty stellar optimizations. Without a general multiplayer release date, I may pass. If multiplayer had been included from the get go, it would have swayed me more to buy it I will read a lot more reviews before deciding to plunk down $20
512MB of RAM total, of which 256MB of RAM is VDR RAM, while another 256MB of RAM is DDR3 RAM, which are not compatible formats. You can say it has 512MB of RAM, but that's correct only by a technicality. It never utilizes 512MB of RAM. It only utilizes 256MB of RAM. Simple addition is not going to work.
