Dynamic Resolution

-
















Games are highly variable by nature with different scenarios having different le
vels of visual and behind the scenes complexity. One area might be large with very few moving parts such as enemies or NPCs and another might be a compact area with a huge amount of logic running underneath the bonnet. This variability can make it hard to optimise the game. Why compromise on the visual quality of the entire game to keep steady performance when only a few select areas or situations would benefit from visual downgrades. Dynamic resolution attempts to partially solve this issue.

The resolution is the number of pixels the game renders and displays on the players screen, the more pixels the higher the performance cost. 1080p is currently the standard resolution with 4K being supported more and more as time goes on. Dynamic resolution lowers the pixel count to decrease the performance cost based on data the engine pulls. Different engines have different approaches to implementing this solution (if they have them at all). Unreal uses information from the previous rendered frame to check how much the GPU is being taxed and adjusts the resolution accordingly for the next rendered frame. Once the GPU is being taxed less the resolution will go back up to whatever the default is, typically 1080p.

Changing the resolution on a single axis is less noticeable than adjusting it on both. Done properly the player will need to be actively looking for these resolution drops to notice them during gameplay. The resolution of UI elements is not adjusted to make the drops less noticeable and to retain the clarity of the UI.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creation of Minor Assets

-
In order to make my level feel less empty I need to create an array of smaller assets that I dot around for set dressing. Due to their small size and the fact that I will likely be placing a large quantity of these assets in my level I should ensure that the polygon count for these minor assets is low to prevent performance resources being used for such minor objects
Read more

Mixamo

-
Image
Today I have been testing out Mixamo. Mixamo is a website that features a handy auto rigger for humanoid characters as well as a variety of animations that can be hooked up to said rig. Since both animating and rigging are such a time consuming processes this website and the accompanying  animations will help a great deal in creating the gameplay of my project as obviously attacks and other mechanics will indeed require an animation of some sort. However there are some obvious downsides as not creating my own animations will inevitably limit the scope and features of the game as I will be constrained by what animations I have at the time. However, it is incredibly unlikely that my project will come close to needing specific animations made as if I want to complete this project properly I will have to limit some of my ambitions. It is simply impossible for me to make a fully fledged action game on my own in the time I have. These animations will put a hard lock on my ambitions ...
Read more

AI and AI Damage

-
Image
Since I have spent all this time on mechanics it would be a waste to not have any reason to use them so I have added simple AI enemies to attack and kill. This is done simply by using the apply damage event that is tied to a collision box attached to the players sword. This collision box is active at all times so the player can currently just walk into the enemy to do damage, however since the event only triggers on a single overlap the player can't just simply hold the sword next to an enemy and kill them. The enemy tacking/following system is very simple using a pawn sensor that when active tells the AI to move to the players location. I haven't scripted any sort of player damage mechanic as due to the simple melee nature of the game it would be very frustrating to play against a simplistic system. Right now hitting the AI has very little feedback so that's the next thing I will address. Likely by adding sounds upon impact. I have dotted the enemies around the le...
Read more