09.02
The reason why a console does games better than a PC with the same specs (NOTE: a pc with better specs will do games better than a console) is that console hardware is designed to favour the traditional way games are made.
Typically the biggest problems with games are the visuals and sounds. Since telling the CPU to do these tasks will require a huge amount of memory and power, specialised processors were made for this. Over time we came to call these processors GPUs (graphics processing units) and we gave them all the work to do.
On the 360 we have a slower GPU. Therefore we should have graphics of lower quality. On the ps3 we have the mighty RSX. So why the design problem?
The design problem comes because sony had more reasons to sell the ps3 than just to sell games. They also wanted to push the CELL into the market, and to establish BLU RAY as a standard. The CELL is meant to be used in all kinds of consumer electronics, not only games. It is basically a supercomputer chip, capable of insane gigaflops figures. BLU RAY is an amazing storage technology able to hold more data than 3 DVD’s.
So far so good eh? Better GPU, better CPU, better storage? So why the probems? Why arent games as good or better ALL the time? Well here’s why:
* THE CELL ONLY ACHIEVES HIGH GIGAFLOPS WITH A SPECIFIC TYPE OF PROBLEM.
For tech reasons i wont bore you with, the CELL spe’s only perform superbly with a specific type of problem. This problem hardly surfaces in GAME PROGRAMMING except with reference to VISUALS. With all other operations, such as netcode, physics, AI, and game logic, the SPE’s cannot help
* THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM THE CELL CAN SOLVE IS ALREADY SOLVED BY THE GPU
GPU’s are basically cell processors dedicated to graphics alone. That means most of the graphics improvements that are gained from using the cell are already in effect in the RSX, needlessly duplicating functionality.
* THE PPE ALONE IS ONLY 1/3 OF THE POWER OF THE XENOS
The PPE in the cell is equivalent to just one core of the 360 processor. So any multiplat game that is using more than 33% of the 360’s CPU power immediately has problems
* THE WAY MEMORY IS SHARED IS NOT CONDUCIVE TO GAMING
On ps3, the cell has super speed access to its own half of memory. But the RSX cant access that memory. This is cool for a supercomputer that isnt trying to change a screen image 60 times a second. But for games, we need a system like he 360 where the xenos and xenon both access the SAME memory. The speed is high, not as high as ps3, but higher than when ps3 tries to shuttle data between the 2 halves of memory. PLUS the 10 meg EDRAM of 360 is custom built for gaming optimization.
* BLU RAY WAS NOT GAMING READY AT PS3 LAUNCH
Blu ray has high data capacity but low speed. that means that unlike DVD which can stream data during gameplay, bluray is much too slow and neccesitates hard drive installation.
* RSX HAS ONE CRITICAL FLAW
This is the closest to technobabble i will come, but it was a HUGE problem at launch until uncharted 1 showed everyone how to circumvent it (and it is still a problem, especially with capcom games, since capcom has no interest i updating MT framework to address this) : but the RSX will show Jagged edges on graphics if you try to use advanced lighting. Since practically all modern games use advanced lighting, it means programmers have to handle jagged edges manually instead of using the GPU. More on this below.
Now the technobabble ends. I tried my best to keep buzzwords to a minimum. So how does this affect the design of games on PS3?
>>> The CELL’s primary strength is its ability to do stuff that GPUs are supposed to do
>>> If you keep too much stuff in memory the PS3 will fail at moving them to the GPU in time
>>> If you are too cavalier about loading the PS3 will stutter during gameplay
>>> If you dont build your art to avoid jagged edges the PS3 will have more pixellation and more jagged edges than the competition
>>> If your game logic is too complex the PS3 will perform slower than the competition
SO what do you do? As a coder this is what you do:Adhere to the Laws Of Playstation:
>>> Make sure to include special graphical effects that neither RSX nor XENON can handle, and give the job to cell SPECIFICALLY to utilise the SPE’s, not out of neccesity.
>>> Build your art to minimize the amount of jagged edge removal the ps3 has to do BEFORE you use it
>>> Beforehand, design your art so the ps3 does not have to mess about with moving stuff between the cell and RSX too often
>>> Design your game assuming you will not have unlimited license to load whatever you like. If your world or level loads too much at a given time, redesign the world.
>>> Do NOT include game logic that will overburden a single PPE. If need be, dump gameplay features, dumb down AI, downgrade physics.
If you want a textbook example of a developer following these points look no further than Ninja gaiden sigma 2. The devs realised that to transition to ps3, they had to change the fundamental design of the game. When you adhere to the rules above, not only will you escape the pitfalls of the ps3s design, you will also:
GET SUPERIOR LOOKING VISUALS ON YOUR GAME
because the cell is doing extra effects, AND the RSX is already faster than the XENOS!!!!!!!
End result? Simply put: The 360 cannot show visuals as good as uncharted 2 because frankly it has no way to duplicate the cell-enhanced effects, and the art in Uncharted already is designed NOT to take advantage of the 360’s own advantages (automatic jagged edge fixing, Fast sharing of memory with the CPU, constant DVD streaming, more complex design)
However PS3 exclusives have to compromise on other GAME RELATED features due to the constraints above! For example MGS4 and KILLZONE both sidestepped the jagged edge issue by favouring straight line geometry in their designs. This means that if Kojima wanted to build something like the Ithavoll statue building in MGS4, he could not, because it would cause the Jagged edges to show glaringly. It also means that the designers of Killzone had to purposefully funnel players down a straight path, and were limited in their implementation of vehicles. It meant that Uncharted and Killzone could not include splitscreen modes even if they tried. It limited the variety of enemies that could be presented in Killzone because of AI issues. It limited the complexity of enemy AI and weapon ballistics in MGS4.
ALL THESE are non-issues in those games because the DESIGNERS OF THE GAMES DESIGNED AROUND THESE ISSUES. The console did not adapt to the designers, the designers adapted to the console.
On the 360 however, the only real constraints that you face moving from ps3 to 360 are visual. There are visuals that the ps3 can produce that the 360 frankly, cant. However you will not encounter a design issue that the 360 cannot handle. Need splitscreen? check. Need LAN play? check. 10 new enemy types? check. 10,000 enemies on screen? check. Genetic AI? check. Need the hero to fly between 5 different cities with no load screen? Check. Need a building with 10 stories and the ability to see each floor in a portable scanner? check.
If the ps3 version is WELL DONE, then maybe the 360 will show lower resolution, or maybe the depth of field effect or vsync is missing.
However more often than not, the ps3 version is unable to shine fully since designers may not adhere to the Laws Of Playstation above. Hence, the issues cause the ps3 to show inferior graphics. Hence the 360 version ends up looking better.
In the end, I say superior design because on the 360, the designers vision for the game is less limited than on the ps3. Great visuals can be created on ps3, but only if you build your game to avoid contravening the Laws Of Playstation.