F.E.A.R. Graphics and Gameplay - bit-tech.net Forums

The_Pope · 24th Oct 2005, 14:52

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2005/10/24/fear/1.html

eek · 24th Oct 2005, 16:33

ooo the game does look pretty, it just appears that I had my settings all completely wrong!!

This sort of review is really good for someone as lazy as me as I had initially rejected FEAR on the grounds that it was jaggy and plain and couldn't be bothered to fiddle with the settings!

It looks like I am just about to lose my social life for a few days!!! doh!

The_Pope · 24th Oct 2005, 17:29

What did you have your settings set to mate? On what sort of system? To be honest, the Auto Detected settings are a little conservative - I only lost 2fps by enabling 2xAA yet benefitted massively in terms of image quality as a result.

Quote:

It looks like I am just about to lose my social life for a few days!!! doh!

That's what it's all about though, innit? Trust me - you'll enjoy it, and save some beer money by staying in this week

Reaper_Unreal · 24th Oct 2005, 17:32

So can we infer from this review that the graphics settings should be roughly equivalent to that of the demos? You guys didn't really cover my system. 4000+ and X850XTPE doesn't seem to really mesh with any of your choices too well, oh well, that's what demos are for.

The_Pope · 24th Oct 2005, 17:41

Well Reaper, it's possible to fill in the gaps using the existing data. A 4000+ is a bit faster than the 3700+ system, and a X850 XT PE is a bit faster than the X850 XT tested.

I played through the game on a 2.2GHz P4 but with a X850 XT PE and managed 1024 2xAA well enough. It wasn't 100% smooth all the time, but any stutters didn't impact on the gameplay, just a brief pause when entering a really big room etc Certainly tolerable.

I think you'll find that you could run 1024 2xAA smoothly; perhaps 1024 4xAA as well. 1280x960 0xAA should also be doable, according to Tim's numbers. At outside bet would be 1280 with 2xAA - the visuals will be crispy, but it may or may not be 100% smooth depending on your standards. Tim doesn't settle for anything less than super smooth, but some people like me can tolerate the odd stutter.

Tim S · 24th Oct 2005, 17:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper_Unreal

So can we infer from this review that the graphics settings should be roughly equivalent to that of the demos? You guys didn't really cover my system. 4000+ and X850XTPE doesn't seem to really mesh with any of your choices too well, oh well, that's what demos are for.

You should be able to play at 1024x768 2xAA 16xAF Medium detail with Volumetric Lighting through the whole game with pretty much no problems. A 3700+ is only 200MHz slower than the 4000+ you've got and an X850XTPE is a little faster than the X850XT.

My suggested settings for all of the video cards we tested should be pretty conservative and you can increase them a little if you don't mind a bit of lag here and there.

The_Pope · 24th Oct 2005, 17:44

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Detail: you can have a mix of Medium and Maximum. Have a play to decide what you think is important. Max Particles looks so cool, but gets in the way of the gameplay a little when you can't see what you're doing

Shadowed_fury · 24th Oct 2005, 17:44

Looks like my card is gonna have to go soon! Doh..

MrWillyWonka · 24th Oct 2005, 17:50

This has just tempted me to get a 7800GTX instead of a GT, oh well. I look forwards to playing the game!

eek · 24th Oct 2005, 18:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Pope

What did you have your settings set to mate? On what sort of system? To be honest, the Auto Detected settings are a little conservative - I only lost 2fps by enabling 2xAA yet benefitted massively in terms of image quality as a result.

That's what it's all about though, innit? Trust me - you'll enjoy it, and save some beer money by staying in this week

Settings were pretty much what it told me, then i whacked the res up to 1280x1024 to match my TFT - I guess that is where i went wrong, resolution over quality plus the fact i had no AA either!!

My system is DFI SLI-D, AMD64 3000+ (venice) @ 2.7GHz, 1GB Mushkin Redline, 6600GT etc etc so although it's not great, i expected more from FEAR than i got!

ufk · 24th Oct 2005, 19:31

even on my aging xp2600 1gb ram with an fx5500 its playable (autodetected as a meduim spec machine), frame rates are a bit low but with some tweaking of the detail levels even a modest machine like mine will play it quite happily, time for a new gfx card tho ,going to have a little overclocking sesh to see if I can get it running a tad faster whilst i raise some cash

and you're right the AI is simply amazing

funkbro2 · 24th Oct 2005, 21:22

hmm .. different setting for me for 6600GT

i have a much lower specced system than the testbed

AMD 3200+ (2.0ghz) Venice
ASUS A8V Deluxe // AGP , also using onboard sound
BFG 6600GT AGP (525/1050)
Kingston value dual channel DDR400 512mb x 2
7200 Rpm WD IDE Hd...
freshly installed pc

anyways

i play on 1024x768 0xAA 8xAF , no SS, every other option enabled to maximum (sound, cpu etc) except Medium Textures Medium Shaders..
performance decreases too much for my card when i put Max Textures.. i never tried full shaders though
runs smoothly for my taste.. i lower settings abit for multiplayer

boardsportsrule · 24th Oct 2005, 22:33

am i stupid or is the computer specs not listed..i see the video cards but not the specs of the comptuer..thanks

DickH · 24th Oct 2005, 23:27

Using the built in test, my system gets

Minimum 24
average 43
maximum 98
1% below 25 fps
51% between 25 and 40 fps
48% above 40 fps

My settings are:
Effects Detail Maximum
Model Decals Medium
Water Resolution Maximum
Reflections and Displays Medium
Volumetric Lights on
Volumetric Light Density Medium

FSAA 2x
Light Detail Medium
Enable shadows On
Shadow Detail Medium
Soft Shadows Off
Texture Filtering Anisotropic 2x
Texture Resolution Medium
Videos Maximum
Pixel doubling Off
DX8 Shaders Off
Screen Resolution 1024x768
Shaders Medium

In the advanced computer options, everything is at max aside from sound and particle bouncing, those are at medium.

I think these settings look pretty good, and the game plays nice and smooth. I believe I have room for upping something, what can I up that would be the most noticable without going too far?

Irvine · 25th Oct 2005, 00:49

Eeeek! You linked to the Multiplayer Demo instead of the Single Player one!

P2D · 25th Oct 2005, 01:45

I downloaded the MP demo a few weeks ago and this just promted me into installing it. Spent 20 mins setting up the gfx to get them to the best possible quality without too much performance drop (Will post settings tomorrow). I decided to make a server to explore the maps and get a feel for the game as i do with every game, The server filled itsself up, so i ended up running a server for 5 hours hauling some serious ass and really getting into the game! Really is a cool game.
(sorry

)

The_Pope · 25th Oct 2005, 01:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by boardsportsrule

am i stupid or is the computer specs not listed..i see the video cards but not the specs of the comptuer..thanks

You're not stupid mate, but you might need some glasses

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2005/10/24/fear/4.html

High-End System Setup:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (operating at 2400MHz, 12x200MHz); DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR (NVIDIA NForce4 SLI); 2 x 1GB Corsair XMS4000 Pro (operating in dual channel at 200MHz with 3.0-3-3-10 timings); Western Digital Raptor 74GB, 10000RPM SATA 150 Hard disk drive; OCZ PowerStream 520W Power Supply; Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2; DirectX 9.0c; NVIDIA NForce4 Standalone chipset drivers, version 6.66.

Tim S · 25th Oct 2005, 08:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by DickH

Using the built in test, my system gets

Minimum 24
average 43
maximum 98
1% below 25 fps
51% between 25 and 40 fps
48% above 40 fps

My settings are:
Effects Detail Maximum
Model Decals Medium
Water Resolution Maximum
Reflections and Displays Medium
Volumetric Lights on
Volumetric Light Density Medium

FSAA 2x
Light Detail Medium
Enable shadows On
Shadow Detail Medium
Soft Shadows Off
Texture Filtering Anisotropic 2x
Texture Resolution Medium
Videos Maximum
Pixel doubling Off
DX8 Shaders Off
Screen Resolution 1024x768
Shaders Medium

In the advanced computer options, everything is at max aside from sound and particle bouncing, those are at medium.

I think these settings look pretty good, and the game plays nice and smooth. I believe I have room for upping something, what can I up that would be the most noticable without going too far?

I found that very choppy when I played with a 6800 GT. I think the in game test scored something like 85% over 40fps, but the average during the game was like 41fps - I'll dig out the graphs if you'd like me to.

hitman012 · 25th Oct 2005, 11:24

This game is indeed hungry

I can run with everything on max @ 1024x768 except anisotropy at 8x and Soft Shadows off. Specs in sig.

r00t69 · 25th Oct 2005, 13:10

Top review again guys.

If I wasn't knee deep in Matrix Online I'd buy it. I might download the Demo and see how a 3800+/2GB/6800U SLI rig handles it though.

24th Oct 2005, 14:52	#1
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	F.E.A.R. Graphics and Gameplay http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2005/10/24/fear/1.html

24th Oct 2005, 17:32	#4
Reaper_Unreal Supermodder Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 380	So can we infer from this review that the graphics settings should be roughly equivalent to that of the demos? You guys didn't really cover my system. 4000+ and X850XTPE doesn't seem to really mesh with any of your choices too well, oh well, that's what demos are for. __________________ If you made a Venn diagram, there would be two non-overlapping circles, one of which was labeled, “Times when I am truly happy” and the other of which was labeled, “Times when I am logged in as root, holding a cable, and have the case open.”

24th Oct 2005, 17:44	#8
Shadowed_fury Natural Born Chaos Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Telford Posts: 7,134	Looks like my card is gonna have to go soon! Doh.. __________________ Steam: kev_fury New Frag Video - Gigabyte EP43-DS3L - E8200 - XFX 4870 1GB - 4GB Kingston - - Steel Series 7.1s - Logitech G11 - Razer Diamondback 3G - 2209WA -

24th Oct 2005, 17:50	#9
MrWillyWonka . Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southampton, Hants Posts: 5,746	This has just tempted me to get a 7800GTX instead of a GT, oh well. I look forwards to playing the game! __________________ Project Red - HL2 - PSOne LCD S-Video Guide Main Rig: Asus Striker Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 OC'd to 2.65GHz, 4GB Corsair XMS, 8800GTS in SLI, 36 & 74GB Raptors

24th Oct 2005, 23:27	#14
DickH Supermodder Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: USA Posts: 273	Using the built in test, my system gets Minimum 24 average 43 maximum 98 1% below 25 fps 51% between 25 and 40 fps 48% above 40 fps My settings are: Effects Detail Maximum Model Decals Medium Water Resolution Maximum Reflections and Displays Medium Volumetric Lights on Volumetric Light Density Medium FSAA 2x Light Detail Medium Enable shadows On Shadow Detail Medium Soft Shadows Off Texture Filtering Anisotropic 2x Texture Resolution Medium Videos Maximum Pixel doubling Off DX8 Shaders Off Screen Resolution 1024x768 Shaders Medium In the advanced computer options, everything is at max aside from sound and particle bouncing, those are at medium. I think these settings look pretty good, and the game plays nice and smooth. I believe I have room for upping something, what can I up that would be the most noticable without going too far? __________________ -The 500w Shuttle-, SN95G5, AMD3500+, msi 6800gt, 2x512mb ballistix, 200gb Seagate (sata), audigy 2zs, 500w internal psu

24th Oct 2005, 16:33	#2
eek CAMRA ***. Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: in meh own little world Posts: 1,514	ooo the game does look pretty, it just appears that I had my settings all completely wrong!! This sort of review is really good for someone as lazy as me as I had initially rejected FEAR on the grounds that it was jaggy and plain and couldn't be bothered to fiddle with the settings! It looks like I am just about to lose my social life for a few days!!! doh!

24th Oct 2005, 17:41	#5
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	Well Reaper, it's possible to fill in the gaps using the existing data. A 4000+ is a bit faster than the 3700+ system, and a X850 XT PE is a bit faster than the X850 XT tested. I played through the game on a 2.2GHz P4 but with a X850 XT PE and managed 1024 2xAA well enough. It wasn't 100% smooth all the time, but any stutters didn't impact on the gameplay, just a brief pause when entering a really big room etc Certainly tolerable. I think you'll find that you could run 1024 2xAA smoothly; perhaps 1024 4xAA as well. 1280x960 0xAA should also be doable, according to Tim's numbers. At outside bet would be 1280 with 2xAA - the visuals will be crispy, but it may or may not be 100% smooth depending on your standards. Tim doesn't settle for anything less than super smooth, but some people like me can tolerate the odd stutter.

24th Oct 2005, 19:31	#11
ufk Licenced Fool Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: nowhere, rural england Posts: 671	even on my aging xp2600 1gb ram with an fx5500 its playable (autodetected as a meduim spec machine), frame rates are a bit low but with some tweaking of the detail levels even a modest machine like mine will play it quite happily, time for a new gfx card tho ,going to have a little overclocking sesh to see if I can get it running a tad faster whilst i raise some cash and you're right the AI is simply amazing

24th Oct 2005, 21:22	#12
funkbro2 What's a Dremel? Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: ontario canada Posts: 9	hmm .. different setting for me for 6600GT i have a much lower specced system than the testbed AMD 3200+ (2.0ghz) Venice ASUS A8V Deluxe // AGP , also using onboard sound BFG 6600GT AGP (525/1050) Kingston value dual channel DDR400 512mb x 2 7200 Rpm WD IDE Hd... freshly installed pc anyways i play on 1024x768 0xAA 8xAF , no SS, every other option enabled to maximum (sound, cpu etc) except Medium Textures Medium Shaders.. performance decreases too much for my card when i put Max Textures.. i never tried full shaders though runs smoothly for my taste.. i lower settings abit for multiplayer

24th Oct 2005, 22:33	#13
boardsportsrule Multimodder Join Date: May 2004 Location: oregon, 60M E of portland Posts: 164	am i stupid or is the computer specs not listed..i see the video cards but not the specs of the comptuer..thanks

25th Oct 2005, 00:49	#15
Irvine Multimodder Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 163	Eeeek! You linked to the Multiplayer Demo instead of the Single Player one! __________________ abit IP35 Pro\|E6600@3.3\|7900gs@585/780\|2GB Corsair DDR2 800\|WD 250GB\|X-Fi XtremeGamer\|Zalman VF-900\|Modded Zalman CNPS9500

25th Oct 2005, 01:45	#16
P2D 99.999% Pure Spam! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Grimsby, England Posts: 2,425	I downloaded the MP demo a few weeks ago and this just promted me into installing it. Spent 20 mins setting up the gfx to get them to the best possible quality without too much performance drop (Will post settings tomorrow). I decided to make a server to explore the maps and get a feel for the game as i do with every game, The server filled itsself up, so i ended up running a server for 5 hours hauling some serious ass and really getting into the game! Really is a cool game. (sorry ) __________________ I got told to change my signature. So i did. Last edited by P2D; 25th Oct 2005 at 02:11.

25th Oct 2005, 11:24	#19
hitman012 What is a Dremel!? Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bristol / London Posts: 4,811	This game is indeed hungry I can run with everything on max @ 1024x768 except anisotropy at 8x and Soft Shadows off. Specs in sig. __________________ "Nothing is more practical than a good theory" - Kurt Lewin

25th Oct 2005, 13:10	#20
r00t69 Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 110	Top review again guys. If I wasn't knee deep in Matrix Online I'd buy it. I might download the Demo and see how a 3800+/2GB/6800U SLI rig handles it though. __________________ Pitch Black I always said I wanted to be someone, I just should have been more specific!