3do experts - resolution question

[cityside75]

So I picked up the original Need for Speed for the Playstation today, I've had it for a while now on the 3do.

I fully expected the Playstation version to be completely superior with the couple years newer hardware and things I had already read online about the PS version. Sure enough the Playstation version was much faster in speed and framerate. It also had cooler lighting effects and clearer sounds.

All of this comes at a major price though, the PS version looks like it's running at about half the resolution of the 3do! I'm running both via s-video into a 47" hdtv, so both definitely look somewhat blocky, but the playstation version looks downright bad in a side by side comparison. For example, in the 3do version you can read the gauges on the car easily, on the PS version the guages are basically unreadable. The road and world textures are also a lot lower res on the PS. I was almost tempted to pull the systems over to my capture card and post the difference, but I'd have to mess up my (somewhat) organized cables to do it.

So, what resolution does the 3do typically run at, and does it use some special interlacing techniques? A google search found inconsistent answers. The difference was very surprising to me, especially doing the direct A to B comparison with both systems running.

[Anthony1]

Well, I think alot of that has to do with the fact that alot of the 3DO games that were ported over to the Playstation were just quickie ports to make a few bucks. It might be the same thing for other 3DO originals, like Road Rash and Total Eclipse and other games like that.


One advantage for the Playstation ports is the fact that they will run in RGB, while the best the 3DO can do is S-Video. An interesting comparison to look at, would be Need for Speed on a 3DO running on a Sony PVM in S-Video, and a Playstation with Need for Speed running on the same size Sony PVM right next to it in RGB. Then I wonder if the increased resolution would really be worth a damn?


The funny thing is, I might actually be able to try that experiment soon.




Oh, you know what, the Saturn versions of 3DO games also get an extra bonus..... The Saturn controller!!

[cityside75]

I'm sure the RGB output on the PS would be sweet, and you may be right about the quickie port, but I'm still surprised at how striking the difference is on identical connections.

The 3do version actually looks like its running in a higher resolution than many playstation games do, but again there may be some resolution/interlacing tricks at play that I don't realize.

I just assumed that the PS would look superior in every way. I would like to find the Saturn version to see how that compares.

[Anthony1]

Yeah, usually the Saturn version of alot of games are easily ignored. For example, many people actually think Wipeout on the Saturn is as good as, if not better than the PS1 version, which I find quite laughable. Of course I've actually never tried the Saturn version, so maybe they know something I don't.


I can say that the definitive version of the original Rayman, is definitely the Saturn version. The graphics are basically identical to the PS1, but the gameplay is better with the Saturn pad, mainly due to the vastly superior D-Pad of the Saturn pad.


You know another Saturn game that shocked me was Tomb Raider. I had always known Tomb Raider as a Playstation game, and never even considered the Saturn version, then I stumbled onto a Saturn version for super cheap, and played it for a little bit, and I was suprised how close to the PS1 version it was. There is always this assumption that the PS1 versions would always be the definitive version over the Saturn version, but apparently that's not always the case. Powerslave is another example of Saturn superiority.



Sorry I got off topic there. My bad. :eek 2:

[Kid Ice]

In the case of NFS it's not a port, it's an entirely different game. In this instance I'd say it's comparing apples to oranges. You might want to try Gex or Starfighter to make a more direct comparison.

[N-Lightning]

So, what resolution does the 3do typically run at, and does it use some special interlacing techniques?

It's using an interpolated and interlaced 640x480 (from an original 320x240) which accounts for the greater clarity. I thought that the Playstation could do the same thing, but I guess in this case it either can't or didn't. :/

[Candycab]

Yup the PS does RGB very well

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4105/641/1600/Picture%20177.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4105/641/1600/PS%20cabRGB%20plug%20solderd%20to%20ps%20board.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4105/641/1600/PS%20wiring%20009.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4105/641/1600/PS%20wiring%20013.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4105/641/1600/A.P.B.%20120.jpg

[Anthony1]

Yup the PS does RGB very well





What kind of monitors do you use for that? At one time I was going to try to buy a 27 inch Wells Gardner arcade monitor, until I found out that they have to go inside a cabinet, cause the back of them isn't enclosed in anything.

[Candycab]

Yup the PS does RGB very well





What kind of monitors do you use for that? At one time I was going to try to buy a 27 inch Wells Gardner arcade monitor, until I found out that they have to go inside a cabinet, cause the back of them isn't enclosed in anything.

Thats just a standard Medium resolution 25inch Zenith that runs @ 25 kHz