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The Quest For Frames Per Second In Games
VL writes "Ever wondered why it is exactly everyone keeps striving for more frames per second from games? Is it simply for bragging rights, or is there more to it than that? After all, we watch TV at 30fps, and that's plenty." This editorial at ViperLair.com discusses motion blur, the frame-rate difference between movies and videogames, and why "...the human eye is a marvelous, complex and very clever thing indeed, but... needs a little help now and then."
With a higher framerate, a game just feels and plays better, it's as simple as that. 30 fps is just *not enough* to have good action and feel on most pc first person shooters.
That article reminds me of the TV ads with scientists explaining how our patented hydro-oxytane reaches deep into your pores and assasinates uglificating bacteria.
Author seems to understand about as much about the primate visual system as... well... anyone else that's never studied it. The visual cortex doesn't "add blur."
His general point is probably correct, but is reasoning is fucked.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
Movie projectors cheat by displaying every frame twice, which doubles the frame rate from 24 fps to 48 fps. Cinematographers also avoid certain shots, like rapidly panning from left to right, which look terrible on a movie screen.
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The argument that 24 FPS should be enough for every medium is false, and here's why:
The reason film projection can smoothly present video is because the blur on film caused by movement of the target on a slow-shutter camera. This blur actually helps because when displayed with 24 other frames in one second (all having the blur effect themselves) it looks rather fluid. Even digital movie cameras accomplish their video quality using the same trick.
Video cards however, do not have the luxury of using this trick for video games. To show the movement of an avatar, for example; every single measurable instant of movement must be rendered for each measurable instant. Those instants are misleadingly called "frames". Achieving higher framerates is actually critical for good gameplay because there are more instants in a given amount of time. That's why low fps seems to feel sluggish on some games because 15/20/25/etc. instants are certainly not enough to show fluid movement. I myself feel right at home right around 75 fps on any first person shooter or what not. This is because the human brain registers information from the brain at about 75 Htz (at least that's what I was taught).
So, next time you hear "24 fps is all you should need!", you can tell them why it's not.
Of all the Universal Constants, here's one I know: Nice guys finish last
I tried to RTFA, but I fainted mid-way during the first paragraph.
(They're all from the one paragraph introduction...)
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The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.