Saboteur's unique PS3 anti-aliasing

If there's one element of multi-platform development that comes up repeatedly in our Face-Off coverage, it's the implementation of anti-aliasing on current-generation HD consoles.

It's often the case that the Xbox 360 version of a game features edge-smoothing, while the PlayStation 3 counterpart will either leave it off altogether, scale it back, or use an NVIDIA specific technique called "quincunx", which refines edges nicely, but blurs the entire texture in the process.

The PS3 rendition of Pandemic's The Saboteur is different though. It's special. It's trying something new that's never been seen before on console, or indeed PC, and its results are terrific. In a best-case scenario you get edge-smoothing that is beyond the effect of 16x multi-sampling anti-aliasing, effectively delivering an effect better than the capabilities of high-end GPUs without crippling performance.

[GWAVE]

Bu bu bu but PS3 has teh worst anti-aliasing I thought???

[Darkeyes]

I would really love to see this technique implemented by PS3 first party devs... I couldn't see much jaggies in KZ2 or UC2, but still if this is possible, then the images will look a lot more sharper and the textures won't take a hit. The real surprise part is a third party dev cracked it before Naughty Dog or Guerilla Games o_0

Besides, isn't AA the most taxing on GPU? If this is implemented, then a lot of work load might be taken off the GPU leaving in potential to cramp in more detail.. PS3 never ceases to amaze me.

[Noctis Aftermath]

Since EA own(ed) Pandemic they would have to know about this right? cause using this on BFBC2..... omg.....please do it EA!
If this starts to be implemented into new games more(perhaps even patch some older games?) it would be awesome, i hope EA share this with sony 1st party devs like GG, ND and PD.

I think pandemic just gave sony a huge parting gift and it's left microsoft ripping their hair out.

[hay]

Wow. I sure hope they won't hold it greedily for themselves.

[raztad]

Expect some mad PC fans arriving soon around here.

Ontopic: MGS4, KZ2, UC2, Ninja Gaiden S2 are jaggies free.
GoW3 demo is jaggies free. GT5 is jaggies free. The PS3 can do a really good AA. It was mostly multiplat games (till now) lagging behind.

I love how Pandemic stepped up with this tech.

EDITED: I read the article. This technique is being keep under wraps and it seems very tailored for the PS3. From the article

quote:
"using the SPUs to do a full-screen FSAA filter". The satellite processors within the Cell chip are excellent for extremely fast processing of limited batches of data, making them perfect for the task at hand, which is to process the entire framebuffer seeking out all edges and then blending them.

/endquote

@imdboss

LOL. Panda is a really nice guy.

EDIT: This technique can be used on the PS3 becuase "TEH CELL" is the only processor out there capable to push it.

EDIT: Someone is mad with me. I'm getting a lot of disagree. I wonder why.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

@ raz
you know panda will be here soon lmao

[Guido]

We see just how our accusations of previous developers being lazy are now justified by a dev that took the time to learn the hardware. Now they need to just make a good game with the tech.

[WildArmed]

lol exactly.
PS3 is by far the most powerful console on the market. Been saying that since day 1.
'teh ceelllzzz' baby! teh cellz!

[Nathan123]

Panda and Dchalfont coming in any second now with damage control along with all the 360 fanboys.

Goes to show that if utilized, PS3 could really blow us away in the coming 2-3 years, not that it hasn't ATM, but at least we can expect a major jump in graphics from current games (UC2) in the near future unlike a few consoles who had a game come out in the first year and hasn't been able to outclass even that. Shame.

[Ocelot525]

watch my words:lens of truth is going to ignore this title, like they did with red alert 3, ninja gaiden 2,...

[UltimateIdiot911]

Good to see some developers out there are thinking outside the box instead of a one way path.

It's too bad EA shut down Pandemic.

[sikbeta]

Is The Power of The CELL

I don't know why you want to start comparing PC vs PS3, is just not make any sense, remember PS3 is a mass production Console whereas PCs can be fully upgradeable ++++

I don't know why PC gamers tend to defend xbox 360 either, this console don't have any chance to fight a Round against a PC, maybe cuz of teh window$

Gamers FTW!!!

[zeeshan]

I am pretty sure that techies from Sony must have talked to these guys and gained some tips if it wasn't the other way around. It's amazing how PS3 is becoming the sole shinning star of the next-gen gaming at such an incredible speed.

I also appreciate the developers behind this game! They tried to work and produce some great results. Great job you guys! Before I say what I want to say, let me clarify that I am NOT AT ALL looking forward or dieig to play any Valve game on my PS3. I don't even give a damn if they ever come up with something or PS3 but they could learn a thing or two from other developers. If you try to progress and actually get off your as* and work hard instead of insulting a particular piece of hardware or more recently, a community of millions of people, you can get a LOT of things accomplished and actually leave a mark on gaming industry so that other could get inspire and follow R&D tradition.

[ultimolu]

Oh cut the crap, you know the PS3 can't do anti-aliasing properly! :o
/sarcasm

But this is interesting to say the least. I wonder if this game is good?

[Xgamerzus]

PS3 doesn't need AA it can do Native 720p 1080P without limited EDRAM DOOOOE!!

Unlike Sh!t loads of 360PC games we all know and love to think were Next Gen tech..LMAO

[MmaFanQc]

the 360 is so much powerfull, its impossible to see a better looking multiplateform game on the ps3

ITS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!

the pics arte photoshoped!!!

/sarcasm mode off

[bumnut]

i run all my pc games at 1200p and aa is still needed.

have you seen 720p with no aa? it looks terrible.

[sniper-squeak]

This is why PlayStation has beautiful games such as Heavy Rain <3

[HolyOrangeCows]

The PS3 has really been on top of the 360 when it comes to graphics.
This year it had:
Killzone 2
Uncharted 2
Ratchet and Clank:aCiT
All great looking games taking advantage of Anti-Aliasing.

The 360 has had:
ODST
Left 4 Dead 2
GTA episodes
...other than Forza 3, the 360 hasn't kept up with games using anti-aliasing.

Make your second party developers step it up, Microsoft.

[HolyOrangeCows]

"Ontopic: MGS4....are jaggies free"
,':v/
Are you joking? Did we play the same MGS4?
As much as I enjoy MGS4....it is NOT "jaggies free"

[evilmonkey501]

with those spu's. It's nice to see pandemic use one of them for this.The longer the ps3 is out, the better the games will get. Developers are finally wrapping their heads around the cell and its "alien" technology. Now is a good time to "JUMP OUT". It only gets better from here.

[raztad]

@HolyCow

MGS4 has 2xAA.

I still remember how smooth was the game on my 1080p set, jaggies is not a word I associate with MGS4.

However I booted the game again to look for those jaggies, (someone PMed me about jaggies in the shadows). I can say yes, MGS4 have some, but they are quite minimal. I can see them now I'm looking up close.

[NewZealander]

im glad they are looking at ways to reduce jaggies on ps3, its one thing ive always hated and although i havnt had my ps3 long its been a noticeable issue in most of the games ive played, obviously it still has some issues to be worked out with the artifacts etc, but its a good start!

[GVON]

I'm sure the tech savy could answer this,but hearing about this and different science lab's,air force using cell,could Sony get away with using 4-6 Ps3 cell processors in Ps4,with a decent GPU and bit more RAM.
And if so is there anything Nintendo or Msoft could use without major investment that coul live with it processor wise.

Thank's in advance.

[FACTUAL evidence]

Still getting the 360 version fanboys? Or maybe you're thinking for a change?

[Sarcasm]

I'd definitely like to see this tech implemented onto other PS3 multiplatform games, BFBC2 in particular. The BF games look great, and runs in 720p, but man no AA detracts from the overall look.

[DMason]

Only a true fanboy would turn this into a PS3 vs Xbox 360 debacle and then start naming exclusives of 2009. It never gets old does it? How many times have we seen this same thing over again? I swear, people like you could turn an article on how the Wii cures cancer, into a PS3 vs 360 debate.

[darkmurder]

PC has up to 16x.

[BWS1982]

makes a great point. It's valid and that's my view, and though I still think there is some tweaking and milking with the 360, it doesn't have the flexibility left to pull cards out of its sleeves like the PS3 does. A PC is awesome because it is ever-evolving, but this is damn close, because if 3 years later this sort of "trickery" is being discovered, that is awesome.

Props to Pandemic, and I hope the best of their talent goes on to make more games (Battlefront 3 and an epic Mercs 3 from EA please)

[Maddens Raiders]

really?? you got a list mate? wanna keep an eye out for those...

[pixelsword]

Yes, it's a parting gift...

...but if Sony's recruiting staff have half a brain, they'd hire every one of them and have them re-create it.

If I gotta add a bu-bu-but, it would be:

bu-bu-but teh PC iz teh ultimate! Teh Crysis!

Now this game is No Crysis, but it brings that possibility a heck of a lot closer.

http://www.incrysis.com/for... '

If this tech gets into the hands of some competent developers, you could see a revolution in terms of blurring the lines between PC/console games.

So I gotta give Pandemic credit for that one.

[vhero]

but...but... gametrailers and other sites (360 fanboy sites) comparison vids shown a superior 360 version however these pics clearly show the ps3 has the superior version...

[y0haN]

@1.27

PC has 16X per GPU usually ... I've seen X48 and definitely X32.. like anyone uses that, lol.

[SaiyanFury]

I'm happy to see a cross-platform developer really taking advantage of the multicore beast that is the CBE. Modern computing really is all about distributed processing. PCs have been doing it for a while, but few third party developers have really taken advantage of it. Higher end GPUs can easily render up to 16x MSAA and such BECAUSE they're powerful enough to do so. That's why we pay up to and over 400 dollars for that performance. For a 300 dollar console to be able to eke performance similar to it with a GPU chip that's at least 2 GPU generations out of date when compared to modern GPUs, it's a real accomplishment. The GPU of the PS3 might not be on par with new PC GPUs, but combined with the ability of a beast of a CPU like the Cell, it really shows what can be accomplished. nVidia is always arguing that GPU matters most in game processing. CPU vendors also argue the same. I've been saying the same thing for ages. BOTH matter. The RSX chip is a very capable GPU and when combined with a monster like the CBE, who knows what's possible?

[solidt12]

Man they keep coming up with cool ways to use the cell processor.

[tordavis]

This goes to show that all devs are different and have different sets of skills.

Now...

[fanboy goggles on]

They don't know what they are doing with the 360. Other devs have been able to get AA on their 360 games.

[fanboy goggles off]

[MNicholas]

Better than 16xAA AA on the PS3 is essentially free.

According to developers, this method (CPU based AA) would not work on the PC or 360 for performance and architectural reasons. Those platforms were simply not designed for the CPU to perform GPU tasks, and while the most expensive PC CPUs might be able to handle a cut back version of the algorithm, the 360's PPC based CPU is simply too weak.

They also say that it might be worth attempting to implement it on the 360s GPU if the performance cost of running this algorithm on the GPU will be less than the performance cost of tiling. Currently many developers simply don't do AA on the 360 because the rendering cost of tiling is too high.

[dragonelite]

There are trade offs the lighting on the ps 3 version doesnt look as good as the 360 version. They use the free spu i believe to do this.
Because the spu are specialized in processing little bit of data fast.
When the gpu is rendering the next frame the spu is doing its magic.
The drawback you get some artifacts but nothing disturbing for the average gamer.

Its more a architect thing then a performance thing.

[monkey nuts]

No doubt that the "Key" development staff that were moved down the road to EA's hq instead of losing their jobs probably had something to do with this new tech. Evolution at work? Maybe.

[Xgamerzus]

combine this with ID's "MEGA-Texture" Tech and we have a WINNER!
IDK about you guys but this is a fascinating article and great relief from the typical rumor mill and Flame bait Fany Articles!!

I only wished these guys could get together with ID and do more Console Specific optimizations On The PS3 and bring all this to the fore front of the Technology wars.
SPU's are so fast so powerful but only the brilliant and gifted can do anything with them and here you have some Dev teams with nothing but Talent and sheer brain power!!!!
AMAZING!!!!!
Thats Why the PS3 was built to last man!!

[The Lazy One]

theyd only slow carmack down.

that guy could probably do this on a cell phone if he wanted to. That is a compliment to carmack, not a cut at the PS3.

megatextures should do a good bit towards making normal AA work better anyway since the testures themselves will be of almost infinite quality already.

[Ju]

Its kind of ironic (and this might sound flame bait - maybe it is), but the lightning fast EEDRAM on the 360s ATI chip is supposed to be the wonder unit doing AA for free, and yet, the first clearly visible effect that we can actually see is done by the (one?) spu (this is easy to split across multiple SPUs).

Yeah, right. Cell doesn't have enough bandwidth to do "visual enhancements". Where have I heard that before? /s

Makes me wonder if they do that in VRAM or XDRAM. I think it should be fast enough DMAing that buffer from/to VRAM (CELL has what, 25GB/s r/w to/from VRAM ? Only RSX writes to XDR are slow 5GB/s). If so, no memory is wasted since they can filter this directly on the RSX's mem (no additional back buffer needed). 60fps 1280x720 needs 210MB/s bandwidth (x2 = ~500MB/s give or take for R/W), should be fast enough. Latency would be interesting (but bandwidth tops 50x the requirement). Seams it does it in realtime without latency (well, but KZ2 runs 3 or 4 render stages @ 30fps, so no surprise there).

Makes me wonder if that is part of PS3's SDK now or if it's really something Pandemic has invented. Idea is not revolutionary, algorithm to do this that fast possibly is. That should be in the SDK, though.

Great job, though. Hopefully this becomes somewhat of a standard. Maybe they can filter before they apply an overlay (not sure if that's possible. Needs to be integrated into Sony's OpenGL (?), if possible at all, eg. before switching to 2d - which you can do at any time, thus making this a bit impractical).

[INehalemEXI]

Yeah, That EDRAM is cool but has limits. This technique is fascinating. Always good to see devs tapping teh power of cell in different ways.

[pixelsword]

The lighting can be changed for the PS3, so that's a non-issue.

The real trade-off here is that if this is used on other games besides EA, the PS3 could easily last two generations; as 16x AA is used NOWHERE else that I know of.

[dragonelite]

This is possible because of the cell not used or fully used as a support for the gpu. Thats why the 360 lightning is better.
Because the 360 gpu is better thats a fact but the cell can really help the ps3 gpu to overcome its short coming. But if sony distributes this method to more 3rd party gen then most of the 3rd party games will have smooth edges.

On the exclusives games the ps 3 cant do this i think.
Because the exclusives uses the cell for almost 100% so they cant use the spu to do the FSAA.

This is really a good way to kill those jaggies :p

[cliffbo]

good to see

[chidori666]

the powarrr of cell \o/

[bot slayer]

NO EXCLUSIVES GAMES TO PLAY,NOW FACKD MILT PLATS ALSO LOL.

[mesh1]

wait wait LOL ps3 fanboys Are getting delusional tbh in these screens it shows the 360 version to have better litghting +better textures while the ps3 version looks a little bitt blurry . the article is misleading the writer has no clue of what he is talkiong about its still the same old qunux aliasing being used they are trying to damamge controll the ps3 version, PROVE ME WRONG WITH TJHE SCREESN PLZZZZ..

[SSCOOLCHEA]

and go play your 260 on the your 14 inch rca TV......

[PirateThom]

This is the sort of thing Cell SHOULD be used for. Hope this filters through to other EA devs now, as well as outside EA.

[The Lazy One]

but the cell should be used for anti aliasing? It's fine for extra SPUs, but why not something that's actually important to the gameplay if you need to.

Volumetric smoke and more realistic explosions being simulated on the cell is a far better use than anti-aliasing when it comes to visuals.

[raztad]

@Lazy

Have you heard about a little game called KZ2?

Besides, the CEll is pretty powerful, developers are finding a lot of ways to use it. Why not some AA if possible?, unlike Xenos the RSX doesnt have AA builtin.

[Ju]

Well, this filter needs to be fast anyhow. And must not generate any latency. That said, it shouldn't eat up all of the SPUs cycles, leaving enough room for other things in between frames. That said, low latency means certainly below say 66ms - which is a worst case @ 30fps, and what I think would be pretty noticeable, like one frame delayed. Therefore I'd guess its much faster than that. If the DMA is the bottleneck (which I would think), then processing time (pessimistically said) would be way below 1ms per frame (this wouldn't even saturate the bus at all, btw).

[Sarcasm]

You know let's just put all "CELL" theoretical questions away since Uncharted 2 is able to do an un-stuttering LOCKED 30fps, V-Sync, smooth Anti Aliasing, extremely detailed textures, and extremely high poly counts.

It's not a matter of "if" the CELL can do it, it's a matter of "how" these developers need to take advantage of the SPEs. Kudos to Pandemic for trying out this new tech. Hopefully before they shut down they passed this onto other devs.

[The Lazy One]

I know KZ2 had volumetric smoke. That's what I was getting at. I assure you that has a much larger effect on the feel of the game than anti-aliasing.

I was purely criticizing him saying that AA is what the cell's power should be used for. If you want stunningly smooth edges, go for it. If you want good games, spend the extra cycles doing something relevant to the gameplay/feel of the game.

[LordMarius]

Power of the cell

[saint_john_paul_ii]

this article has gotten me thinking...what would happen if sony opened up development for the 8th spu of the cell. aparently the 8th core is currently ¨off¨ right now

[PirateThom]

They couldn't. They intentionally stopped it working to increase processor yields in early days.

[TheBand1t]

It'd be impossible to do so, and it'd probably cause alot of problems even if they did.

[DevastationEve]

Or add a 9th and leave IT off instead. But the problem is that they leave one dead just in case there are units that roll out with a bad SPE, that way they don't have to bin the bad ones.

edit at below:

CellBE doesn't really put any modern gaming system from the last 4 years to shame, maybe something from before processors were dual core.

*in the pc world gaming rigs can have SLI/crossfire
*memory is never an issue, the pc world has the highest capacities AND bandwidths
*processor technology has evolved just about every 1-1.5 years, and the price to upgrade a cpu or motherboard has remained very competitive
*and finally there's THERMAL. we have the best cooling solutions and nothing beats being able to put the guts into a slick case with room for more. or if you want you can build it small and lean and still fully featured

[Darkeyes]

I think that core is reserved for the OS and XBM stuff. Would be cool if they did open, but will be useless to most devs apart from first party since most games don't even use more than 2. Shame when you see so much potential go down the drain. Just make my blood boil that we still get half as@ ports for games like Beyonetta and Ghost Busters when the power under the hood can even put decent gaming rigs at shame...

Cell is a beast man.

[PirateThom]

The 7th core is OS and XMB. Developers only have access to 6 of the cores.

[Ocelot525]

on many PS3's this SPU is broken to improve yield. they do that so that they don't have to discard a chip in the factory if one SPU doesn't work.

[Darkeyes]

Thanx for clearing out Thom...

[jack_burt0n]

still eight threads

[mastiffchild]

There's a ton of issues with the blanket, and high end right, proclamation that PC games always look better. Sure, my PC runs well enough to manage decent levels of performance thjat in raw terms(say on Crysis) beat out anything on a console-but I'm realistic enough to understand that not that many of us actually have a decent rig-and for lots of reasons. Off the peg gaming rigs are often dear as anything and cheaper ones have some aging parts anyway while the cast majority of PC owners wouldn't have the knowledge/the confidence to vuild their own-which, if you don't know your way around CAN end up in a lot of tech issues a lot of the time too.

As a result of their market not having a uniform tech level PC devs don't ever push their games to maximise the tech like console devs do and have to-this means, in real terms, that there hasn't been many post Crysis games that really went to town on the visuals making the gap between the best res on the best games on the best rigs nowhere near what it used to be compared to the PS360. The exceptions where the PC version of a game on a console is way better are more limited, of late, to games like L4D which is pants on the 360 rather than excellent on PC(looks wise AND more importantly content and support wise-not to mention the price!)-otherwise the differences, even when your rig is cool, are lesser than they once were and on many, normal rigs almost non existent.

So, yes, as an ultimate at the higher PC end you will find multiplats and PC exclusives well in excess opf anything on console BUT not as many do it by as much as they would have once and with fewer games pushing high end tech it makes the choice to splurge on your rig a hard call. Compared to the ease of console gaming, the fact that online it's fairer with everyone basically using the same tech and controller and the out of the box ease of use with no need for any PC knowledge it's easy to see why console gaming is so popular even if console gamers should speak out more over the way they're forced to pay more for less.

Certainly, I wouldn't want to be without my gaming PC but by the same yardstick you have to appreciate how far devs have pushed relatively old tech un performance terms on cnsoles-you copuld argue that it takes even more talent to pull of Uncharted2 or Killzone2 on a console than it would on a PC with all the advantages. Also, some things in Killzone2, for example, were the equal or bettered their counterparts on PC-some effects and some of the multiple light source stuff were incredible, imo, and the result of someone knwoing the tech of their market and pushing it really hard. I fear that the furore over the Crysis question(i.e can your rig run it at a decent lick?)has led to fewer high end PC games and more to the area we're in now where games like ME and ME2, while still better looking on PC, really aren't THAT different. Factor in how few PC gamers have a killer rig and the picture's more muddy.

Obviously, console gamers should, and largely do imo, accept the truth that games can be made to look better on PC very easily BUT PC gamers should also see the great strides made in consle gaming and that PC gaming isn't the only place you find great looking games. I was playing Resi5 at my mates before on 360 and didn't gind any great difference there to the PC version I played. It's not that I disagree about PC being the most powerful but it isn't always the most powerful in that many people's homes and as a result the superiority can be overstated and some PC gamers don't help the situation by seeming agressive or arrogant when talking to console gamers onthe subject and even moreso if someone says they can't afford a decent PC. Honestly, it's not a sign of a better person just cos you built, and knew how to, your own top end rig. We're all gamers with different priorities but the gloating and goading that goes on between console and PC gamer and 360 and PS3 gamer is getting mental. If we all changed the attitude and toned it down maybe we'd be ready to support each other more so we don't all get shafted by the industrywe support so damn often, no?

[itsralf]

@mastiffchild

nobody is going to read that.

[BWS1982]

oh, now you talk like you're a PC gamer, huh, because a PC will always beat a console, is that your endgame or something? Your wild card to fall back on? Just stop with your smokescreens, we know your history.

"we have the best cooling solutions"

Uh, what happened to your worshiping of the 360? Now you're "in" with the PC gamers because you're changing sides? Typical spin by you and your kind. If you were a gamer, and not a fanboy, you wouldn't have to be in with a "we" crowd and see dividing lines. Anything you can join and rally to that is NOT a PS3 is the way to go for you, gee.

[DevastationEve]

Dude, I've been a PC gamer for A LONG TIME. I've built PC gaming rigs ever since Quake 3 Team Arena was an actual benchmark. I've worked on PCs for several years, currently I'm in Geek Squad and am attending Woodburry University for my degree in MCD (Media, Culture, and Design).

I also own an Xbox 360, and before that I owned a GameCube, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, GameBoy, and even a Virtual Boy (lol).

I don't own a PS3 because I've already put my money on ONE (1) game console this generation and I have other things to do in life. Xbox 360 suits my needs just fine. If I didn't already own one then PS3 might be an option.

Not having the money to own 2 consoles doesn't make me a fanboy, though I do have an agenda against Sony and its PS3 this gen. Doesn't matter to me how many of you will disagree with me. I'm plenty happy with my Xbox 360 and what it's done for me so far.

[BWS1982]

I have with that entire thing, while I appreciate your honesty, is your "agenda with Sony"...there's no reason for it, and does you no good. Before I got my 360, I couldn't afford it (and was waiting on better reliability, which may never come, TBH), yet I never bashed 360 for the sake of it, I ridiculed their practices and arrogance at times, but appreciated the exclusives I wanted (Crackdown, Dead Rising, Fable 2, Gears 2, Chrome Hounds, some others) and the competition it brought. And I never included any "sly" innuendo in my user name regarding it, either, which it's clear your "...PS3" portion does.

I have to wonder if you were just given one for a gift if you'd move on and start enjoying more games. It may or may not help with your studies, but it sure would give you a broader exposure to this hobby and allow you to relax. You could spend less time with your agenda and more time with more games. Sounds fair to me, but you can make your own choice.

[rawd]

Powers of the cells

[TheColbertinator]

Fascinating article.I'll bookmark it for future reference

[tdrules]

Good to hear, optimisation is the best thing for consoles because the hardware is so unique and aging.
But the PC version still looks better :3

[TheBand1t]

Shame money is tight around my house. I HAD 1500 dollars to get a rig, but ended up spending it on family issues instead.

[raztad]

I guess it is because the better texture work on PC but I havent seen any version in action. This game has received a lot of mediocre to bad scores, so I'm not feeling like buying it.

[trancefreak]

everytime i get a chunk money same thing. something comes up and dont see the money.

[Ocelot525]

"But the PC version still looks better"

let's correct this sentence:
"But the PC version still looks better on MY PC"

well not on my PC, but I have a geforce 8400, and it looks like sh!t.
I just want to tell that not everyone has a decent PC

[tdrules]

Couldn't give a damn about anyone elses PC.
Shame to hear about the family issues btw, gaming is good but you definately did the right thing

[peeps]

"well not on my PC, but I have a geforce 8400, and it looks like sh!t. "

haha does any game released in the last few years look good with that card! no wonder it looks bad if thats the gpu. i mean the cards 2 years old, and when it was released it was a low end card. u can pick 1 up for less than £20! i am not at all surprised it looks bad

[Ares84PS3]

I think everyone knows that games look better on a PC because of the constantly improving hardware. That is no secret. But one thing you guys forget is that you have to upgrade every 6 months to keep up to date and don't forget that the newest video cards alone can cost more than a PS3, Xbox 360. I know, I've been a PC gamer for many years but no more. I refuse to waste my money on PC parts when their price drops drastically within months and are outdated in no more than 6-8months. I got a PC at the time Crysis came it....I spent $1500 on it. It was the best PC I could get for $1500 and guess what...it wasn't good enough for Crysis. SO if you want to play the newest games with the best gfx you will shell out $500-$600/ 6-8months on PC parts. That is the disadvantage of PC gaming and not all of us are made of money sorry. With the console...you just get it once and you are good for years. I got my PS3 since 2006 and gfx still amaze me on some games on my 55" Sony Bravia. Thank you very much.

[tdrules]

no way are you a PC gamer if you changed your gear EVERY 6-8 MONTHS
you are a man with more money than sense.
or youre lying

[Ares84PS3]

No, I never said that I did change my hardware every 6-8 months but if I wanted to keep up to date I should have done that. I changed my PC's every 2years and sometimes I got a little ram or a new HDD or a new videocard here and there. But it is a fact that if you want to be up to date all the time than PC gaming is very expensive. If you want the latest games maxed out than you need to shell out money.

[Ju]

I strongly doubt that. I got a Quad, 4Gb and a 9600GT/512MB. Well, not the latest, I admit, but on paper that baby should be running circles around my PS3. But matter of fact is, it doesn't. The only thing it does pretty much for free (in most games) is AA. But, to get the same details on most of the games (to match with thinks like KZ2 or UC2) I need to run the games on the same res (1280x800, that is), some with pure geometry and not a whole lot effects run fine in 1080 (well, 1920x1200). You need a significant faster machine to just say "PCs are better anyway". I bought mine in Feb 09 for about $700. Great price, but still twice as much as $299 these days.

[snaileri]

Console players are like "OMG, Anti-Aliasing in a video game!11"
PC players have been using +8x AA for ages.

[Mr Logic]

Learn to read @$$hole.

"In a best-case scenario you get edge-smoothing that is beyond the effect of 16x multi-sampling anti-aliasing, effectively delivering an effect better than the capabilities of high-end GPUs without crippling performance."

Better than 16x AA!

[Ares84PS3]

You should have kept your mouth shot on this one. You have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. All you have shown us is how much of a misinformed fanboy you are.

[dirthurts]

Best case scenario, is very little detail and limited geometric detail. What I see in the image...is about what 2xAA performs. There are still some jaggies in those pics.
16xaa is just stupid smooth. Even 4xAA is crazy smooth. No jaggies in sight.
I own both consoles, and a pc. And I can tell you, this game does not AA better than a Pc (good pc to be fair).

[raztad]

@dirt

You realize is not the guy above making that comment but the guys at digital foundry themselves? give the article a shoot. Remember that probably if you run your games at very high res that helps A LOT to smoothen the jaggies, something that doesnt happen at 720p.

[siyrobbo]

its good to see PS3 developement taking off, and from third parties as well as 1st

[ikral]

...the power of Play Station, anyone remembers that?

[DJ]

And I'm glad that they finally have Anti-Aliasing running on the Cell processor. If they downsample the frames from a higher resolution, it'll probably hide some of the sub-pixel artifacting. Or they can possibly run 2x AA on the GPU, and then further refine that output on Cell before displaying the final rendered frame.

[ian72]

Its a pity Pandemic are no more. They have done a good job with this game. IMO its the best game they have made. Got this day 1 and its been well worth it. Well done PANDEMIC.

[kaveti6616]

I heard this game is pretty mediocre.

[BWS1982]

I'd be surprised to find out from what others have said (again, I want to play it to judge for myself still) if it's better than SW Battlefront 1/2 or Mercenaries 1. Even if you go off of reviews (which I always take with a few grains of salt), the reviews are agreeing with that theory.

[bjornbear]

that doesn't let down! =D

Time's are achanging =)

[lh_swe]

I mean it's all about learning the parameters of the hardware.

[aaronisbla]

Hopefully this doesn't turn into some spin fest though.

[playnation]

hopefully this will be implemented on other games, not only on this one.

[ReBurn]

It's good to see some real software engineering going into this stuff. This is a good, concrete example of how the power of the Cell processor can aid in the graphical presentation of games.

This sparks a question in my mind. If the developer can implement a solution in software that doesn't seem to impact the performance of the PS3 version then why doesn't the 360 version have anti-aliasing when there's hardware support for 4XAA?

[xg-ei8ht]

2aa 4aa is fine for games.

x8 x16 is overkill. Do not disagree, it's a fact, unless you want to zoom in 200% while u play.

I've played games at 2-4aa, used 8, but noticed it was not needed.

But at least they are doing it on cell. It's all good.

[Noctis Aftermath]

After reading the forum links in the eurogamer article, i will disagree, having better AA helps increase the quality of the game and make it look more like CG quality, and who doesn't want to play a game as beautiful as shown in CG videos?

[ReBurn]

It is possible to overuse anti-aliasing. Depending on the resolution images can look really blurry if there's too much in use.

[dirthurts]

4x is pretty slick. 8x is about the pinnacle but beyond that...tooooo much.

[Sarcasm]

4x is probably the most optimum as far as consoles go. Warhawk in particular uses 4xAA with 720p resolution and looks solid.

However, I'm okay with 2xAA too. It's that no AA thing that is sometimes detrimental to the overall look via Battlefield BC or BFBC2

[Anti-Fanboyer]

I know Gordon Van Dyke said that Anti-Aliasing takes a lot of memory but with the amount of space in a Blu-ray I think they can make use of this technique.

[baum]

How is Blu-ray related to Anti-aliasing? It's a processing issue, not a storage issue. He meant RAM, not Blu-ray. That is, unless you mean when Blu-ray is used for texture streaming.

[McDomination]

Memory (as in System Memory) has absolutely nothing to do with how much space is on a BD.

[bigrudowsky]

the demo tells me no which is sad.. Does the xbox version have it?

[Shane Kim]

bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu teh XeNz0rZ?!

[ultimolu]

CELL POWA! :o

[TheGuardianFID]

I just got back from picking up my copy of the game, the guide, and my preorder codes, life is good when you’re The Saboteur!!! :P :D

[xcox]

i just ordered that bad boy on amazon.

good devs get my money
lazy devs get my finger

[karan8624]

Get your finger where?

[Mc187]

Hilarious, ou gets bubbles.

[xcox]

>Get your finger where?
up what gabbe newell's sitting on ;)

[getupahh]

Not enough purell in the world.

[Gamer71]

...the PS3 version looks SLIGHTLY better (jaggies-wise) than the 360/PC versions ONLY because they worked extra hard on an AA solution for the PS3 version, and did NOTHING for AA in the 360/PC versions. Gotcha. And now we know just ONE reason why Pandemic has sucked so bad, since Mercs, and EA had to shut them down.

[Batzi]

Can't wait to get my hands on this title. Stealth FTW!

[CryWolf]

The PS3 version of Saboteur looks more like s PC graphical game then anyother thank to Sony/NVIDIA technology, I wouldn't be surprise if they can put crysis on PS3 running at 60FPS.

[Chaos Striker]

Errr....If you are talking about a medium to low setting equivalent on consoles then yes (based on the tech demo presentation, but other than that, I am not too optimistic). Otherwise, it would be too much for consoles to handle everything at full settings.

[dirthurts]

Crysis wouldn't even run on minimum settings on the PS3. There's just not enough ram.

[dirthurts]

Anyone here actually ran test on Crysis to see what it uses? I have. On average, the game alone uses over 1.6gb of memory. That's not including the os.
Give it up fanboys....it won't run!

[Pumbli]

dirthurts - It would take a lot of tweaking but I think the PS3 would be able to run it at minimum settings.

PS3 maybe has little RAM but there's other stuff backing it up... Man I really need to start remembering all these hardware words in English... :P

[dirthurts]

A heavily modified Crysis would run (ex: Crysis 2) but the Crysis we all know, as it is obviously couldn't happen.
I do admit, although Crysis is crazy demanding on even the fastest computer it's mostly due to lack of efficiency and optimization. Hence the massive amount of ram usage.
The new engine should fix that.

[CryWolf]

The Power Of Sony/NVIDIA graphics card technology and the Cell processor

[YoungKiller25]

not even that GPU is why the ps3 is so weak in multiplatform titles is the one downside to the system

[ajkla92]

bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu but what about 2x AA?!?!?!

[rob6021]

This is very exciting for PS3 owners, big question is if it starts getting implemented across the board.

[xg-ei8ht]

dirthurts.

Memory is correct, but there are ways around that.

This is what pc gamers do, i should know, i used to to it all the time.

So many ways to increase fps.

Shadows.
Shadow rez map. Some games u can change this. and if your into configs and read it all up. you can increase fps while hardly touching graphics.

Obviously aa,af(though not much now)
Foliage
View distance
Fov

I'll be honest, it's nice to see devs tying new stuff.

Would love this aa in BFBC2-PS3, While i'm talking about BFBC2, they really need to blur the particles. Would look better.

[jalen247]

Wow! If this technique is refined and implemented on all multiplatform titles, it will give the PS3 version an advantage over both the xbox 360 and PC version of games. Very impressive!

[clevernickname]

Ah, I don't understand why the 360 version of the game is not AA. What about the technically "free" 4x FSAA capabilities of the 10 MB eDRAM?

Anyway, this is great news for PS3 gamers. Hopefully this technique will catch on with other studios.

[Saaking]

lmoa at all the bots who thought the 360 even came close. Soon, multiplats will look far superior on the Ps3 and then what will you have? Same thing you have now: NOTHING.

[roguewarrior]

interesting read

[garos82]

where is the truth to remind me why the xbox is superior? i know thinking about some bs wall of text to justify his idiotic statements

[Ninji]

Poor xbots :(

[CernaML]

And to think. This is just the beginning. :)

[TABSF]

There is

Full Screen AA
Multi Sampling AA
Super Sampling AA
Quality AA

2x, 4x, 8x and 16x

Some graphics cards can support 24x or even 64x but there is no software to support this.

[thehitman]

Saboteur is the first to support higher than 16?? Only on the Ps3.

[jc48573]

PS3 would loose in a multiplatform comparison. Actually, I think pictures help a lot more than videos cause when you start seeing something move, you really can't tell what's going on man.

[AuToFiRE]

AND another kick in the nads for xbots, their excuses are flying out the windows left right and center, before you know they will be making up excuses, false facts and using totally irrelivant data to shwo why they think the 360 is so great... oh wait..

[tawak]

who the hell going to play with 300x zoom?!!!
seriously!

[robotnik]

not you! Filthy Xmaggot!

[tawak]

guy above ,your everyday fanboy

[Shane Kim]

Hahaha Robotnik ;)

[ChickeyCantor]

Seems like 360 has always been more vibrant in the lightning department. But whatever, rage on!!

[MGOelite]

can i just say this is an aweful game, graphics may be good but rotten story and doesnt anyone else think the women in the mini picutre looks like sheva?

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

No one gives a crap about the game but it's the newly discovered AA capabilities of the PS3 we're all talking about. With using this method of AA you could pull off 16x's AA on the PS3 which would make every PS3 game look smooth as heck! not to mention outshine the 360's 4x's AA.

PS3 can be pushed to achieve 16x's AA whereas the 360 can only do 4x's AA.

[OmegaSlayer]

People has not understood yet that 3rd party only utilize max 3 SPU (to emulate 360's architectural design).
One day devs will learn how to unlock all the untapped raw power.

[DigitalAnalog]

Sooner or later down the road we will hear more secrets of the cell. Kudos to Pandemic Studios, now it needs refinement.

-End statement

[FxckOSX]

AA is processed in the ROP usually, but system that has more Pixel Shader power can processing AA by PixelShader.
multisampling by shader method used in SplinterCell Chaos Theory as you know.

ofcourse, it can achieve only GPU that have powerful shader power.

[Ju]

SCEE has a nice presentation about SPU usage for graphics tasks, and its impact on render performance for its PhyreEngine reference code. You can find it here: http://www.technology.scee....

It describes that in some cases the SPUs (together with the GPU) can outperform the PS3s GPU (the RSX) in certain cases. Obviously, current GPUs could possible do the same faster.

[avengers1978]

As more companies learn more about the PS3 the games are looking so much better. Alot of companies made there games with the 360 as the lead because it held more of the market, and now people are seeing that games made for the PS3 are better games, better looking anyway. That is making developers turn to sony for making games. Even Bayonette was handed over to sony to fix problems with the game before it came out. It is really simple now that more is known about developing for the PS3 then all games will begin to be better for the PS3 then the 360. Really games made for the 360 are made with less tech and it's easy to see that when you put it onto a far superior machine. Of course the tech that makes it runs it a little better.
ALL GAMES FROM HERE ON OUT THAT ARE FOR BOTH WILL BE BETTER ON THE PS3

[LONEWOLF231]

Not bad but still such commodities come with un-wanted things such as artifacts that ruin the over all feel of the game. Yes granted they are not that big of a Nuisance but still they are there which means that this new style of AA has its limitations on the PS3.

[likedamaster]

Remind me not to take this website serious.

[gamer0123456]

lets all defend this rubish game...lol

thank god AC2 look better on the 360....now thats a game out there to argue graphics...Saboteur ......not so much ROFL

[jack_burt0n]

lol ppl talking about lighting, the lighting in ac2 is much much better on ps3 srsly check it out.

[gamer0123456]

thank god a real game like AC2 that people will actually buy looks better on the 360...power of teh celL

[Persistantthug]

Apparently, the technique is not new, wasn't created by Pandemic and continues to be refined....basically.