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[brain_stew]

Wait. Are you saying you're getting that with a single 260? I tried enabling medium physics with my single GTX 460 and the framerate sucked. To make matters worse, the entire time I was driving (quit when I got to the warehouse), MSI Afterburner showed my GPU utilization in the effing teens. I'd never seen such a pathetic display in my life.
.

Yes.

 

[Goldrusher]

How are the tree textures on PC ?

In the PS3- version, they always face the camera. :/
That's pretty poor design. And distracting.

 

[leng jai]

Not looking good for the console version versus the console version unless the PS3 version is somehow better. Disparity looks huge.

 

[Zenith]

just to repost for the new page, how to get past the red barriers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHVZyXOnkrA

flatbed truck works just as well.

 

[Goldrusher]

Not looking good for the console version versus the console version unless the PS3 version is somehow better. Disparity looks huge.

Only normal. It would be pretty pathetic if a decent, recent PC couldn't run it better than a 5 year old console.

 

[Zeliard]

Since this gen is going on for so long, and the console hardware is staying where it's at (outside of accessories and add-ons), we're seeing the visual disparity between PC and console games becoming more dramatic as time goes on, even in multi-plats. There's always been a difference, but that difference is starting to become bigger and even more obvious.

 

[Dead Prince]

i tried using using the java app that brain_stew provided but it won't create the bat file? or where does it save to?

 

[MMaRsu]

Since this gen is going on for so long, and the console hardware is staying where it's at (outside of accessories and add-ons), we're seeing the visual disparity between PC and console games becoming more dramatic as time goes on, even in multi-plats. There's always been a difference, but that difference is starting to become bigger and even more obvious.

This has been the same for years though.. even back in the old days

 

[Goldrusher]

PS3 version runs fine if you ask me.

Around 30 fps pretty much all the time. Some tearing, but barely noticeable. If you've made if through GTAIV (much worse frame rate) and Assassin's Creed II (much worse tearing), you'll enjoy the game.

However, I don't like some of the textures.

- some are too bright, way too bright, as if they have spotlights above them; some bushes look radioactive
- also, lots of plant textures always face the camera, that's really not done

 

[Cobra84]

just to repost for the new page, how to get past the red barriers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHVZyXOnkrA

flatbed truck works just as well.

Fairly pointless, the game restarts if you go too far.

 

[Zeliard]

This has been the same for years though.. even back in the old days

Yeah, but this gen of consoles finally had the hardware to put out some good-looking, technically-solid games that weren't 20 levels below what the PC was producing. Even in the midst of so many 640p-happy games on both systems, there are some decent examples.

But now we're getting to the point where PC hardware is just so far above console hardware that ports which don't ignore this difference are seeing it pay off visually. Mafia 2's a primary example of it, with the game looking vastly better on the PC than on 360. Metro 2033 is another.

Virtually every game looks better on the PC simply due to the increase in resolution and AA, but now we're seeing some far bigger differences in games where devs don't just throw away the PC version.

 

[heringer]

Well, maybe that's old, but the demo is out on PSN US. :lol

Don't know what happened, but I'm downloading now. Can't wait.

 

[Aesius]

Since this gen is going on for so long, and the console hardware is staying where it's at (outside of accessories and add-ons), we're seeing the visual disparity between PC and console games becoming more dramatic as time goes on, even in multi-plats. There's always been a difference, but that difference is starting to become bigger and even more obvious.

I agree with this, but I think RDR is an exception. The game is stunning even on 360.

I can't imagine what it would look like on PC, maxed out at 1080p.

 

[brain_stew]

i tried using using the java app that brain_stew provided but it won't create the bat file? or where does it save to?

Same folder as the .exe you chose.

Framerate is fine with PhysX on high if I disable AA. Very rarely dips below 25fps and with a 30fps cap that's fine for me. Outdoors a constant 30fps and it only dips below 30fps once a lot of PhysX effects kick in during gunfights when indoors.

The PhysX effects make the firefights so much more enjoyable. Its great to see all different kinds of debris fly all over the place realistically and build up as the battle goes on.

 

[Mik2121]

Man, a couple little things I don't like about this game:

- Not being able to freely jump around. You have to press the run button and let the character jump on certain areas.
- Not being able to go around building roofs (I tried to jump to one that was easy to reach, and no luck...)
- Not being able to shoot from the car (really?..)
- Overall, not being as free to do whatever you want as in the GTA games
- Almost nobody in certain locations.

Now, what I like:

- The overall mood. Incredible, as happened with Mafia.
- Music is awesome
- Visually it's so pretty. Even though the 360 version is a bit.. uhh... but still, awesome.
- Buildings are so pretty on the inside.
- Story seems like it could be entertaining.
- Voice acting is superb.

 

[Xater]

I don't have anything to compare it to but I am quite happy with the performance on the PS3. The framerate had some dips but was ok overall (better than GTA4) and I barely noticed any tearing on my TV. I think this will be a buy for me. I loved the first game and I was just worried about how it will perform.

 

[Red Blaster]

Yeah, but this gen of consoles finally had the hardware to put out some good-looking, technically-solid games that weren't 20 levels below what the PC was producing. Even in the midst of so many 640p-happy games on both systems, there are some decent examples.

But now we're getting to the point where PC hardware is just so far above console hardware that ports which don't ignore this difference are seeing it pay off visually. Mafia 2's a primary example of it, with the game looking vastly better on the PC than on 360. Metro 2033 is another.

Virtually every game looks better on the PC simply due to the increase in resolution and AA, but now we're seeing some far bigger differences in games where devs don't just throw away the PC version.

Not anything new man, the first Mafia also had an enormous disparity between consoles and PCs. The fact that Mafia II actually is decent on consoles is a step up from its predecessor.

 

[Zeliard]

I agree with this, but I think RDR is an exception. The game is stunning even on 360.

I can't imagine what it would look like on PC, maxed out at 1080p.

There are a couple of recent exceptions, like RDR and FFXIII/God of War 3, but by-and-large I think the pattern is holding true. Those two PS3 titles were in development for quite some time, after all.

It mainly depends on whether or not devs take the strengths of PC hardware into consideration, though, and I think that they progressively are as time goes on this gen. Mass Effect 2 was a very impressive recent port, as was Assassin's Creed 2. The PC version of Dirt 2 is quite simply one of the best-looking games I've ever laid eyes on, and a big leap over its console counterpart.

RDR on PC would be a graphical stunner and it would be tragic if it never made it to the platform.

Not anything new man, the first Mafia also had an enormous disparity between consoles and PCs. The fact that Mafia II actually is decent on consoles is a step up from its predecessor.

There was an enormous disparity with every game in previous gens. That's not my point at all. I'm specifying this gen because this is the gen where the consoles have had the hardware to produce some fine-looking games that can somewhat measure up to the PC, if perhaps a lower-end version of it (since that's essentially what they are, especially the 360).

 

[Nabs]

they did a really nice job with the eye animations during cutscenes.

 

[Mrbob]

Same folder as the .exe you chose.

Framerate is fine with PhysX on high if I disable AA. Very rarely dips below 25fps and with a 30fps cap that's fine for me. Outdoors a constant 30fps and it only dips below 30fps once a lot of PhysX effects kick in during gunfights when indoors.

The PhysX effects make the firefights so much more enjoyable. Its great to see all different kinds of debris fly all over the place realistically and build up as the battle goes on.

Sweet I'll have to try out the demo tonight with physx on high. Do you offload physx to the CPU or keep it on the 260 in the nvidia control panel?

There was an enormous disparity with every game in previous gens. That's not my point at all. I'm specifying this gen because this is the gen where the consoles have had the hardware to produce some fine-looking games that can somewhat measure up to the PC, if perhaps a lower-end version of it (since that's essentially what they are, especially the 360).

I think you really need an exclusive game to showcase the hardware. God of War 3 still looks stunning to me. Uncharted 2 looks great. Killzone 2 is pretty crazy as well, but a bit tight knit. If Killzone 3 is more open with the same graphical level that would be amazing. Sony first party pushing the platform very well.

 

[Goldrusher]

Good demo.

But I hope bish makes sure the radioactive, fluorescent plants and "always facing the camera tree sprites" are gone in the final PS3-game. Unless both are in all versions, as intended by 2K Czech ?

 

[sn00zer]

Wow....wow....

 

[LiquidMetal14]

PS3 demo ran well, looked good, and impressed me with the action/VA.

 

[Mrbob]

I found this on the anandtech forums:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2096624&page=2

Originally Posted by tviceman View Post
Can anyone confirm that physx at either medium or high settings is being offloaded to the CPU and this link is indeed a work around to improve performance?
To answer my own question, I have confirmed that without a simple fix the game will offload gpu-accelerated physx effects onto the CPU.

You must uninstall your current physx version, then under C: \Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\mafia ii - public demo\3rd, install the version of physx there.

On my gtx260 216, with physx on medium, my average frame rate went up from 23 to 30 by doing this.

Brain Stew I'm not at home right now, can you check this out see if it boosts your in game performance?

 

[brain_stew]

There's no way its offloading the PhysX calculations to my CPU atm, enabling PhysX actually reduces my CPU load (as I'm more GPU bound).

This may help others though.

 

[Erebus]

I just downloaded the demo from Steam and thought I'd chime in with my first benchmarks:

I kept the AA and SSAO always off. Everything else is maxed out at 1680x1050

Physics off

Physics on [High setting]

Overclocked GPU - Physics off

Overclocked GPU - Physics on

 

[brain_stew]

No need to turn AO off, it barely affects performance and adds a lot to the scene.

 

[Zeliard]

You should be able to run it with both AO and AA (from the options) on with that rig, and it should stay at around 30.

 

[brain_stew]

You should be able to run it with both AO and AA (from the options) on with that rig, and it should stay at around 30.

I wouldn't recommend using the ingame AA setting tbh.

With that sort of performance I'd definitely recommend capping the framerate.

 

[Elios83]

Just finished the PS3 demo. I was impressed, it takes a bit to get used to controls but it's really rewarding. The shooting feels absolutely realistic and is the best thing in the demo.
Graphically it has detailed textures, very little tearing, runs decently and does not look sub HD. My only complaint is the lack of anti aliasing. There are unfortunately a lot of jaggies.
Btw day one =)

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Is vsync something I should normally have on?

 

[Metalic Sand]

Is vsync something I should normally have on?

Yes, It stops tearing.

 

[brain_stew]

Is vsync something I should normally have on?

Do you mind tearing? If not you can leave it off but if you do either switch it on or (and this is by far the better option) use D3DOverrider's triple buffering option otherwise you'll see a dip in performance by enabling vsync.

Yes, It stops tearing.

Its a very inefficient way to do that though.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

The deatil of this game is just incredible. I cant wait 27th of august, this game is going to be brutal.
This thing is awesome:
1. Went to the gun shop to buy some guns, the I started a gunfight outside and came inside so the old man at the shop help me with some guys.

2. "I dont need you more, oldman" I kill him and got all the money. then I go to my home to change clothes so the police doesnt chase me.

3. Went again to the gun shop and the police had started an investigation putting the dont cross line :lol

This happens also in the cafeteria, the clothes shop and the petrol station.

More little details, the blood in the door was when I ran thorugh a man and his head hit the car.

An the smoke with Physx while cutting the grass is awesome:

And the last awesome shot in the forbidden area:

 

[Zeliard]

I wouldn't recommend using the ingame AA setting tbh.

Borked?

Is vsync something I should normally have on?

With triple buffering, yes. It stops tearing and triple buffering mitigates the FPS loss to some degree.

 

[DodgyGeezerFella]

Heres mine -

Game runs and plays great at those settings.

 

[Erebus]

You should be able to run it with both AO and AA (from the options) on with that rig, and it should stay at around 30.

I guess enabling AA from the in-game options doesn't entail MSAA? Can I force 4xMSAA via nHancer then?

 

[1-D_FTW]

I found this on the anandtech forums:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2096624&page=2



Brain Stew I'm not at home right now, can you check this out see if it boosts your in game performance?

I'm gonna have to check that out. I have a dual core that I've overclocked pretty good, but it's still only 2 cores. Enabling physics absolutely tanks my framerate (and as I've said, my GPU utilization was like 13-17 percent the entire car ride over). For me, it's clearly loading the physics where I can't afford it (dual cores) and letting my GPU (GTX 460) idle around doing nothing.

 

[brain_stew]

I guess enabling AA from the in-game options doesn't entail MSAA? Can I force 4xMSAA via nHancer then?

Yup. Its still slightly broken but better than the ingame option at least.

 

[Stallion Free]

Can anyone confirm if preordering from Steam still gives you Mafia 1 for free? I really don't want to have to break out the 3 discs to install it and the store page doesn't say anything about it anymore.

Nevermind.

 

[LongDongJunon]

There seems to be a very noticeable decrease in blood splatter and decals in the ps3 Demo compared to 360 demo.

But the Ps3 Demo does run better than the 360 demo. (As stated before)

 

[Blackface]

Game is fucking amazing on PC. Both normal PC controls and 360 gamepad is awesome. Runs good, looks fantastic.

Day 1 after the demo.

 

[Erebus]

So I ran the benchmark again but this time I have had both 4xMSAA (via nhancer) and SSAO on.

Physics off

Physics on [High]

Keep in mind that in both cases my GPU was overclocked.

 

[metareferential]

The game is stunning.

Though there must be something with my rig.

Without physx, I get an average of roughly 65 fps, 1680x1050, everything max, vsync on, 8xaa forced through n-hancer.

With 3d vision on and same settings, I get an average of 40 fps, which is great.

With physx on medium the average is 33, with it at high, I get 29.

gtx480 here.

 

[eternaLightness]

Just played the ps3 demo. Thought it looked great and I love the details in the game. Controls definitely take some getting used to. Really not feeling the "automatic jump" they put in but I guess they want to make it as realistic as they can. Also, can't wait to see all the weather changes in the final game. I love snow.

 

[Erebus]

The game is stunning.

Though there must be something with my rig.

Without physx, I get an average of roughly 65 fps, 1680x1050, everything max, vsync on, 8xaa forced through n-hancer.

With 3d vision on and same settings, I get an average of 40 fps, which is great.

With physx on medium the average is 33, with it at high, I get 29.

gtx480 here.

From what I gather, setting physics on high has a huge impact on the game's fps. Dunno if it's normal that your fps plunged so much with a GTX 480 though.

 

[JRW]

I played through 360s version and then again on PC using a 360 controller...

It runs so much better on my PC (avg. 60fps in the benchmark / i7 920 / gtx 480) and the control is way smoother, it feels clunky on 360 and appears to be running around 20-25fps, Ouch..

 

[Persona7]

PS3 demo seems fine, only problem I noticed so far is heavy screen tearing.

 

[Dennis]

The game is stunning.

Though there must be something with my rig.

Without physx, I get an average of roughly 65 fps, 1680x1050, everything max, vsync on, 8xaa forced through n-hancer.

With 3d vision on and same settings, I get an average of 40 fps, which is great.

With physx on medium the average is 33, with it at high, I get 29.

gtx480 here.

Very interesting. Could you try running it with:

PhysX on High,
vsync off,
no AA,
no 3D vision

If you are actually getting 29 fps with High PhysX and 8xAA, I would be pretty happy with that performance if I were you.

 

[JRW]

I wonder how much a GTX 260 Superlclocked would help with the Physx performance in this game if I add it in? Currently running a single EVGA GTX 480 / i7 920 @ 3.36ghz.

I have the GTX 260 sitting here unused (was gonna sell it) but not sure if its worth using as a dedicated physx card.