Android - Request Beta Build with High-Resolution Tables Enabled

[Baron Rubik]

You could also try killing off running apps, and clearing the RAM to improve your performance.

 

[Ryan Routon]

It's actually not that we can't push higher graphics, it is the fact that due to the nature of our game we have to run at 60fps for the physics to react properly. A lot of games will clamp to 30 and push more graphics, but we just can't do that. That being said I think the hardware will catch up soon, I can't wait until we can actually right shaders with lighting....

 

[jaredmorgs]

It's actually not that we can't push higher graphics, it is the fact that due to the nature of our game we have to run at 60fps for the physics to react properly. A lot of games will clamp to 30 and push more graphics, but we just can't do that. That being said I think the hardware will catch up soon, I can't wait until we can actually right shaders with lighting....

So that is the key. Lock at 60 fps *and* push more detailed graphics for TPA physics to work correctly.

Even with Tegra 3 this can't be done, eh? Zen must be running their high res graphics at 30 fps then, or it must be the particulars of their engine that allows them to push higher frame rates. There are some tables that look so crisp.

Thanks for letting us know, Ryan. Well just have to wait until some higher spec devices come onto the market. Roll on Tegra 4, eh!

 

[Carl Spiby]

You're forgetting the rom emulation takes quite a bit of CPU power, Zen isn't having to emulate anything.

 

[jaredmorgs]

You're forgetting the rom emulation takes quite a bit of CPU power, Zen isn't having to emulate anything.

That's a valid observation. Zen is all hand crafted rule sets executing in their native environment. That's indeed a very big difference.

 

[Damianiw]

That's a valid observation. Zen is all hand crafted rule sets executing in their native environment. That's indeed a very big difference.

Indeed yes the rom emulation is different.

So all versions run at 60fps ? blimey I didn't realise the ipad 2 was pushing that.

I doubt zen runs 60fps

 

[Carl Spiby]

What happens to the physics when the device can't maintain 60fps? RBioN on my Nexus 10 for example...

 

[brakel]

What happens to the physics when the device can't maintain 60fps? RBioN on my Nexus 10 for example...

You can start to see artifacts like the ball might appear to have done something impossible like go through a flipper or bounce off something not there. The physics engine continues to run at 60fps so you're getting more physics calculations than you're seeing.

 

[Ryan Routon]

It will be clamped to 30fps, our engine was not designed to handle anything in between. At 30fps it appears to lag and since the ball is moving so fast but the renderer can't keep up with it it appears to be doing strange things (ghosting etc). Something we have struggled with from day 1. We experimented with variable rate physics but never got it to work.

What happens to the physics when the device can't maintain 60fps? RBioN on my Nexus 10 for example...

 

[TomL]

It will be clamped to 30fps, our engine was not designed to handle anything in between. At 30fps it appears to lag and since the ball is moving so fast but the renderer can't keep up with it it appears to be doing strange things (ghosting etc). Something we have struggled with from day 1. We experimented with variable rate physics but never got it to work.

It's a pity that there's no option for having the game slow down render time in order to stay in sync with the physics engine. Sort of like bullet time in the Matrix, with multiball!

 

[brakel]

It's a pity that there's no option for having the game slow down render time in order to stay in sync with the physics engine. Sort of like bullet time in the Matrix, with multiball!

Actually it is the opposite. Rendering is getting delayed while the physics keep jugging along. Ryan was saying above your post that they tried to make the physics variable to match the rendering but they couldn't get it to work correctly.

 

[TomL]

Actually it is the opposite. Rendering is getting delayed while the physics keep jugging along. Ryan was saying above your post that they tried to make the physics variable to match the rendering but they couldn't get it to work correctly.

I understand now, thanks for pointing it out.

 

[brakel]

I understand now, thanks for pointing it out.

No problem. I wasn't born understanding this stuff. Mike Reitmeyer taught me!

 

[Damianiw]

Its been an interesting read, is there any performance increase likely as I've got a tegra3 android tablet, my wife an ipad2 and I will probably buy table pack 1 or 2 but so far the ipad is far smoother on some of the really complex tables :-(



Regards

Damian

 

[jaredmorgs]

Implemented.