Left 4 Dead 2 on Xbox 360 – graphics and performance
Left 4 Dead 2 is a slaughter multi -user shooter, designed for well -coordinated team work and developed clearly on the PC platform. Nevertheless, Valve launched a port on Xbox 360 in 2008. Orange Box was previously released for PlayStation 3. And although the port on the Japanese console was developed by the forces of another studio, nevertheless, after this experience, Gabe Newell admitted in an interview that it was not eager to release games for this platform anymore. At least on the Source engine.
People playing the video – they play the shooters badly. But they love them. Very. But they play badly in them. Especially on the gamepad. So do not focus on this and please excuse if such a game skill is damaged by your psyche :).
For a number of reasons, such short materials are more convenient for me (at least now). Is it appropriate to post such a volume on the site? If not, express myself about this, I will take note of it and I will not be like that anymore.
On GDC (Game Developers Conference) 2008 There was even presentations from Valve, which had a headline“How to Go from PC to Cross Platform Development Without Killing Your Studio”.
Slide from the presentation
It described the difficulties of porting their updated Source engine. It very, very often mentions the limits of memory of the game consoles of that generation. They also talked a lot about the complexity of debaging and testing on consoles compared to PC.
Part of the problems they had to face
Nevertheless, the ports of their games on the consoles of the actual generation Valve released. Half-Life 1-2, Team Fortress, Portal and here-Left 4 Dead. The second part in this case.
The game works with a resolution of 1280×720, but it seems without any smoothing.
Increase 200%. Clickable.
But there is vertical synchronization and tering in this game you will not see. This is amazing, because the games since the time of the original Xbox with enviable regularity ignored synchronization and, as a result, the gaps of the frame are the usual situation on Microsoft platforms. There is no such problem in Left 4 Dead 2.
With the resolution of the 720p, the effects of smoke and fire are displayed with a lower resolution. During a game race, you are unlikely to see this, but if you look closely, it is clearly visible.
In motion is completely noticeable
This small post -cutting hides a little – various blurry, including the classic Motion Blur, as well as the granularity of the film. These effects are unobtrusive enough not to spoil the picture.
Quite appropriate and unobtrusive Motion Blur
Shadows of low resolution and simplified lighting are familiar things for the seventh generation consoles, here are presented in full. The limits of the memory that I mentioned earlier were decided by changing models to simplified, as well as repeated rejection of zombie models in the game, changing the textures not only entirely, but also partially, applying various elements. As a result, if you don’t look closely, during the battle the zombies seem quite different. But in fact, from a couple or two of the zombie models, it turned out 24,000 (!) variations.
About zombies in Left 4 Dead 2 on GDC 2010
The absent pieces of the body at the zombies were cut off by primitives, and was smoothed out by applying textures.
Cut the primitive.
This was already described on GDC in 2010. Materials, by the way, are still available on the network. If interested, there is an opportunity to familiarize yourself.
As for productivity, there is a quite expected Lock for 30 frames per second, which the game engine more or less withstands on the Xbox 360 gland.
There are some subsidence with a large accumulation of effects, but, surprisingly, the large number of geometry GPU console processes with the best result, which is important to play with a bunch of zombies.
Of course, this contributes to this and optimization of the display – this is quite clamped Lods and the rapid disappearance of corpses and decals.
It becomes more interesting in my favorite game mode – a cooperative game behind one screen. When the screen separation is turned on, synchronization lies rendering on .. 20 frames per second.
And I can’t say that this is a bad solution. Yes, for a shooter, and even such, 20 frames per second are certainly not enough for a quick response of control. On the other hand, the console would not cope with the issuance of 30 frames per second in this mode, and with a elbow of 20 frames a more or less stable frame time is obtained, which is still better than if Framretic jumped from 19 to 30 with huge jumps in the frame time.
In addition, the Source engine perfectly operates with the sequence of events, synchronization of animations and other things. And as a result, it is played even under such circumstances quite good, and during the game Lock does not bother at 20 frames.
But taking into account what The purpose of the game session is to entertain, not a high result of high complexity. And as for me, the game copes with this – a good port, albeit with a low but stable performance that still entertains us.
Valve in the first decade of its existence pleased with its ports on systems with great restrictions. Half-Life for PlayStation 2 flaunted improved models, not bad performance and generally good picture. Half-Life 2 for the original Xbox, despite the significant cut of the graphics, is pleasantly surprising The same HL2 on a system that would seem even to launch the game could not really. Orange Box on Xbox 360 was pleasant in all respects – not bad picture, stable productivity and debugged control. I think Left 4 Dead 2 can be classified as successful ports of games from Valve.