Topic: AMD uses my idea (kinda) for AMD Game! systems

[idolminds]

Groovy

AMD Game! being their new labeling for gaming PCs. Basically, they test a system with a selection of games. If the system performance is at least 30FPS at a certain resolution then the system can be branded AMD Game! so people can go buy them knowing that stuff with run.

The games tested are: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, World of Warcraft, Lineage II, Sins of a Solar Empire, Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, Sims 2 Deluxe, Zoo Tycoon 2

Not entirely sure how useful this will be since hardware changes rapidly, and new games are always coming out that push the limits.

[scottws]

Yeah, these kind of scales are almost useless on a PC.  Basically you'd almost need a constantly increasing scale.

[Antares]

Yeah, these kind of scales are almost useless on a PC.  Basically you'd almost need a constantly increasing scale.

I think thats the idea, it looks like the plan is to revise the scale every 6 months.  My question is how they plan to keep retailers honest and up to date with the specs.  What is to prevent them from selling a system that was AMD Game! certified 18 months ago, and would no longer meet the specs?

[scottws]

That's what I mean.  PC's should have a number.   Like this system is a 1, this one's a 2, etc. and then you'll have games that say "You need to have a 3 to play this, 5 is recommended."

Then next year the PCs would be like 6-10.  That's the only way I could see this working.

That definitely oversimplifies it because of course there is no guarantee (or even likelihood) you can get a 5 game to work on a 100 system.  But at least it's something a little easier for the average person that what's out there now.

[MysterD]

I do like the whole "AMD Game" idea, but that symbol is just as useless as the NVidia "The way it's meant to be played" symbol. It doesn't tell you much -- so, exactly what AMD processor does this run on with 30 FPS all the time? And at what resolution? But also, what about the RAM? And what vid card?? And what are the game settings gonna be at? See, you're gonna need symbols for the "RAM" and "vid card" on that box, too. As I look further at this, this just looks lime AMD marketing BS, as far as I'm concerned.

I think this stuff should be up to the designers/publishers. They are the ones that put the min specs on the box -- but I think it's also their job to write down the performance expected w/ those specs on the box -- the resolution, overall settings (Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High etc etc), and the expected framerate (which should always be a min of 30 FPS) if you meet those specs listed. Of course, the recommended specs should always play the game at the least an overall Medium setting at whatever resolution listed at 30 FPS.

[gpw11]

It's by no means perfect, but it is certainly better than what the industry has now for the casual PC gamer.  I remember coming across something about a similar system MS or maybe Intel tried to impliment years ago (Pentium 1 or maybe even before that). As I was reading it I remembered Idol's (much better and more fleshed out) version and was thinking of posting it here but totally forgot. Does anyone remember that?  It was before my time in PC gaming

[Cobra951]

Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to label it with an absolute benchmark number, from some respected standardized testing software?  That would be something like "AMD Game 11000".  That and a constantly updated list of what benchmark scores each game needs would actually mean something.

[Quemaqua]

Eh.  I doubt it'll work, but I suppose anything's worth trying.