Warp2Search.net » News » October 2004 » Shadow Ops -- 64-bit Gaming Revolution?

PC Perspective have thrown up their new article which looks at the first 64-bit game to have hit retail shelves Shadow Ops! Is the 64-bit gaming revolution really here? or a AMD/Atari scam?

If you have been following PC games at all recently, you'll have noticed AMD getting into a marketing swing promoting 64-bit gaming. As the new Microsoft XP 64-bit edition comes closer to availability, AMD is getting more and more anxious to show off their 64-bit advantage before it disappears with the arrival of Intel's desktop 64-bit processors



Yesterday, the very first game with 64-bit support right out of the box was released, titled "Shadow Ops: Red Mercury." Published by Atari, this game features the AMD64 logo on the box as well as during the loading of the game. 64-bit versions of several other popular games have been in development for some time, so this release seemed not too out of the ordinary, so at first it was just minor news.

However, we then received this link to a page at Atari.com: http://www.atari.com/shadowops/us/amd.html

It shows screenshots from both the 32-bit and the 64-bit version of the game side by side. What struck me was how different the quality in these screenshots appeared. In first set of images, you can see big differences in qualities of the ground, the gun and the shadows the characters are creating. The second set of images again shows the detail added to the gun, character and shadows, but this time we see the addition of items on the table in the room that do not appear in the 32-bit screenshot. The third set shows a big difference in lighting and shadow enhacements and the fourth set shows big differences in textures and lighting as well on the floorboards, characters and surrounding area.

I was immediately curious about the enhancements that Atari made to the game in the AMD64 version of that might improve the visual quality so drastically. So I began to dig deeper into the information available.

Shadow Ops -- 64-bit Gaming Revolution?

digitalwanderer Junior Member Posts: 3 Joined: 2004-02-22

#57223 Posted on: 10/03/2004 04:34 PM ...and I hate to admit it but I've been enjoying the hell out of it. There's nothing really special about the game, it's just a straight linear run-n-gun....but it's a pretty decent one. The textures are nice, the eye-candy is good, it runs smooth and quickly...pretty fun. (Ok, I might just be a little biased because of the main characters name. My last name is Hayden and it's kind of cool that they're always yelling, "C'mon Hayden, get it moving!" and such. )

Mertsch Moderator Posts: 3001 Joined: 2002-08-22

#57224 Posted on: 10/03/2004 05:19 PM LOL this article is a joke right ??? 4/1 ??? they do really want to tell me that the stonewall ropund the tree is ONLY available on 64bit ??? LMAO come on AMD ... you really must lol yourselfe right ??? come on and give some serious 64 apps instead of such BS ... to fake some fools ... AND LOL weaponflash ... how stupid u think we are the screenshot show totaly differen scenes ... on the 1st the guy uses trigger and on the other he doesn't YES 64 bit is of such an advantage here OMG continue like this AMD and i get intel next since the prices do really get the same

thomas997 Junior Member Posts: 12 Joined: 2003-04-21

#57225 Posted on: 10/03/2004 09:19 PM damn I hate this crap. They are just trying to sell more 64 bit processors that nobody needs. Obviously these effects can be ran on a 32 bit processor just fine.. bastards.

hinkle Unregistered

#57226 Posted on: 10/03/2004 11:03 PM I'm waiting for a crack which enables all the 64-bit content on 32-bit CPUs... won't probably take too long

cmsmith Unregistered

#57227 Posted on: 10/03/2004 11:07 PM First of all, I'd like to say this article is crap. I explained why in the forum on that articles website. The text I wrote was just to big to leave here. I invite everyone to read the article which is linked to above. Then, at the end of the article, there is a link to discuss it in that sites Forum. I left my response there under the userid "cmsmith". The reason why I can sum up as follows: There is a lot more going on in a game than just graphics. Those screenshots don't show us a damn thing.

hinkle Unregistered

#57231 Posted on: 10/03/2004 11:31 PM in short: you don't understand what this is about There is nothing a 64-bit CPU can do which cannot be done on a 32-bit one except address more than 4 gig of RAM (which is also not exactly true --> Xeon). A P4 or an Athlon 64 running in 32-bit mode can handle the enhancements of the 64-bit version of Shadow Ops just fine. This 64-bit version is just a plain dumb marketing trick nothing more. The article makes that pretty clear and that's the whole deal about it.

cmsmith Unregistered

#57233 Posted on: 10/04/2004 01:11 AM Yes, I do understand what this is about. You simply don't have the slightest idea what you are talking. You're statement of "There is nothing a 64-bit CPU can do which cannot be done on a 32-bit one except address more than 4 gig of RAM" isn't entirely correct. In 64-bit mode, there are enhancements available to 64-bit programs that aren't available to 32-bit programs which can be used to help speed up programs. The possibility exists there are enough features in the 64-bit version that if, all enabled, would slow down a 32-bit CPU due to the fact the program wouldn't have the architectural improvements available to it in a 32-bit environment. The press release from AMD & Atari clearly states THX 5.1 mode wouldn't work on a 32-bit computer due to the extra processing required? When in 64-bit mode, there are more graphics for the CPU to work with. Who's to say AMD/Atari aren't right? I'm not saying they are or aren't, I don't know as I have no idea how much processor work is involved in this game. Fact is, investigating this issue by taking dinky pictures isn't enough. People who like to talk about 64-bit vs 32-bit, at least in the AMD64/Intel EMT-64 narrowly focus on the fact it's 64-bit. They are forgetting that, in 64-bit, there are other improvements to the architecture. The end result, they are comming off looking silly. The end result: people need to petition AMD/Atari to release this game such that the exact same features are available in 32-bit mode that exists in 64-bit. Then, run some benches and see what happens. Those screen shots in that article are practically a waste of time.

ewwhww01 Unregistered

#57234 Posted on: 10/04/2004 05:58 AM I hope this article doesn't have the opposite effect and cause people to wait on upgrading to the AMD64 bit cpu. I upgraded this last April, and I love my AMD 64bit 3200+ cpu based system. It is fast in 32bit Windows & 32bit Mandrake, and faster in 64bit Windows & 64bit Fedora Core 3 Test 2. Don't get left behind, upgrade as soon as you can.

ewwhww01 Unregistered

#57235 Posted on: 10/04/2004 05:59 AM You are either mistaken, or just poor and can't afford to upgrade at the present.

ewwhww01 Unregistered

#57236 Posted on: 10/04/2004 06:01 AM Don't wait too long, because it AIN"T going to happen. ) Seriously, if you have been visiting Microsoft's Windows 64bit newsgroup you would know that only 64 bit drivers can run 64bit apps. And 64bit drivers WILL NOT work on a 32bit cpu.

ewwhww01 Unregistered

#57237 Posted on: 10/04/2004 06:05 AM You need to do some homework on this. The AMD64 bit processors not only process data better, they also have graphics extensions that make games play smoother and faster. The jump between 32bit and 64bit is not as evident at this moment because Microsoft hasn't released a non beta of its Windows XP Pro 64bit OS. And the game that this is about is either the first, or one of the first 64bit games to be released.

ewwhww01 Unregistered

#57238 Posted on: 10/04/2004 06:07 AM Why go Intel when you can get a better CPU with AMD for less? Just because you haven't upgraded to the AMD64bit CPU yet, doesn't mean these things are jokes.

thomas997 Junior Member Posts: 12 Joined: 2003-04-21

#57259 Posted on: 10/05/2004 05:40 AM nope 64 bit is useless at the moment. It will become usefull once Longhorn comes out and people start programming for 64 bit. Speed gains are minimal at the moment.

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