Screenshot Comparisons (PCE vs MD vs SFC) — awack's enduring legacy

[wildfruit]

I remember lurking in the original topic a long time ago. I realize these are more than likely emulation shots, but man do those super crisp Mega Drive pics sure make me want to upgrade from the crappy composite output I'm currently stuck with.

streets of rage 2 through rgb is a feast for the eyes
and ears

[Black Tiger]

okay, well a) I'm stupid and can't find it and b) it would be real cool if some person with big muscles updated that link at the top of this thread to incorporate all the additions from the actual thread...

ALSO if someone with boundless time went and made sure all the screens were at their proper display resolution that'd be easier for comparison's sake too.

look at me, volunteering others to spend their time!!!  :-"

It's at the top of the PC Engine section.

http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=6609.0

Esteban is just a

Do you mean proper display aspect ratio? That's only good for comparing proportions and distorts the image quality. Almost all of the screen shots are taken from emulators and are in their proper resolution.



Awack: Tom recently talked about how many games use as much as 32kb just for code, which makes CD2 games in general all the more impressive.

[Mathius]

Awack: Tom recently talked about how many games use as much as 32kb just for code, which makes CD2 games in general all the more impressive.

I would like to hear more about this in greater detail while dumbing it down for neanderthals like myself. 

[roflmao]

Awack: Tom recently talked about how many games use as much as 32kb just for code, which makes CD2 games in general all the more impressive.

I would like to hear more about this in greater detail while dumbing it down for neanderthals like myself. 

Seconded!

[turboswimbz]

Awack: Tom recently talked about how many games use as much as 32kb just for code, which makes CD2 games in general all the more impressive.

I would like to hear more about this in greater detail while dumbing it down for neanderthals like myself. 

Seconded!

Quadrupled!

[Black Tiger]

Awack: Tom recently talked about how many games use as much as 32kb just for code, which makes CD2 games in general all the more impressive.

I would like to hear more about this in greater detail while dumbing it down for neanderthals like myself. 

Basically, it would mean that CD2 game stages, cinemas, etc spend half their space on code (leaving only the size of the smallest SMS game for graphics) while SCD games spend 1/8 their space on code and the rest can be used for graphics. It would also prove how valuable any repurposed adpcm space would be for games like Monster Lair. If it's possible to use all of the adpcm memory for graphics, then a CD2 game could potentially have 3 times as much artwork in a single stage (but I think there are restrictions in how you can utilize it). I wonder if Spriggan uses some adpcm space for graphics?

[exodus]

Black Tiger - I mean that while the games are in their proper resolution, they're not displayed at the actual aspect ratio you'd see on a television.

for example:
pce vs snes
 

unless SNES owners had square TVs, there's no way that SNES image (right) is shown at the correct aspect ratio. I'm just saying that if one wanted to curate this stuff for real, it would be best to bring everything to the aspect ratio that users see, for comparison's sake, and also for the sake of representing the game properly as it is *displayed*.

Sometimes it's the SNES, sometimes the MD, sometimes the PCE, but in many spots on this list, there are games shown in proper resolution, but they were designed to be squashed and/or pulled to fit a screen, so wouldn't actually ever look like those screengrabs.

Of course, a gargantuan amount of work has been done already, it's just a wishlist thing for me.

[Black Tiger]

Black Tiger - I mean that while the games are in their proper resolution, they're not displayed at the actual aspect ratio you'd see on a television.

for example:
pce vs snes
 

unless SNES owners had square TVs, there's no way that SNES image (right) is shown at the correct aspect ratio. I'm just saying that if one wanted to curate this stuff for real, it would be best to bring everything to the aspect ratio that users see, for comparison's sake, and also for the sake of representing the game properly as it is *displayed*.

Sometimes it's the SNES, sometimes the MD, sometimes the PCE, but in many spots on this list, there are games shown in proper resolution, but they were designed to be squashed and/or pulled to fit a screen, so wouldn't actually ever look like those screengrabs.

Of course, a gargantuan amount of work has been done already, it's just a wishlist thing for me.

You still can only simulate it in pictures and it still is only good for comparing how things are proportionate to one another. The only way to see how the games would really look on any given TV, is to hook each system to two identical TVs and compare them in real-time.

Emulator screen shots allow you to judge the actual image/graphic quality best. There are so many details to appreciate in emulated screen shots that are lost the moment you re-size them to an uneven integer and/or filter them.

These pics aren't a great example for just how distorted the graphics get at 4:3 aspect ratio, but you can see that they are not what the game looks like on your TV. Filtering increases the color count by 400 times and introduces thousands of colors that don't exist in the PC Engine's palette.


89 colors <---------------------------------------------------> 116 colors



35089 colors <------------------------------------------------> 30135 colors

[exodus]

hmm, could it really be that there is *no way* to properly display them on a PC?
I guess the scanline thing is one issue, but screenshot comparisons wind up being rather difficult when things are stretched and skewed... to me that has a greater effect than colors, but, well... I guess I'll look into it more!

[Gillian Seed]

I personally would like some comparisons of actual hardware in the future. I might start it myself since I have a capture device and I do enjoy buying the same games on multiple consoles.