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[JordanN]

So I'm slowly getting in back into gaming and was looking through some titles that interest me.

Saw one game that stood out and when I paused at the settings screen, there's an option to to run games at the lowest frame rate.

The fuck? Just get a new phone at this point bruh. There are actually people out there who want to play 5 fps on the go?

 

[Shifty1897]

On a phone it would make sense because you've got battery life to worry about. I've dumbed down settings before to avoid draining my phone battery as quickly.

 

[PhoenixTank]

On a phone it would make sense because you've got battery life to worry about. I've dumbed down settings before to avoid draining my phone battery as quickly.

Yeaaap. End of thread?

 

[JordanN]

Yeaaap. End of thread?

No.

Didn't the original Gameboy have a battery life of 10 hours+? Yet every game was nearly 60fps.

PSP and DS had 6 ~ 10 hours, but still had games run at 60fps.

Since phones are suppose to be like 100x more powerful, the idea of wanting slideslow like games on the go seems backwards.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Phone gaming is definatly slowly getting back into gaming.

put on your big boy pants

 

[JordanN]

Phone gaming is definatly slowly getting back into gaming.

put on your big boy pants

Actually, there's a trend. The games I like where being made on Mobile but they also get PC ports.

Just downloaded one of them actually. Honkai Impact 3rd.

 

[Soltype]

No.

Didn't the original Gameboy have a battery life of 10 hours+? Yet every game was nearly 60fps.

PSP and DS had 6 ~ 10 hours, but still had games run at 60fps.

Since phones are suppose to be like 100x more powerful, the idea of wanting slideslow like games on the go seems backwards.

Those devices are designed for games first, phones have the importance of being a telecommunications device.

 

[Husky]

No.

Didn't the original Gameboy have a battery life of 10 hours+? Yet every game was nearly 60fps.

PSP and DS had 6 ~ 10 hours, but still had games run at 60fps.

But those are dedicated gaming devices, and if their battery runs out, it just means an end to the gaming. If a phone's battery runs out, those are calls, texts, GPS that can't be accessed.

My initial theory was that it's to reduce temps though. It's why I always limit my framerate to my refresh on PC.

 

[baphomet]

Do you really need a game that plays itself once you enter your credit card info to be 60fps?

Most mobile games could run at 5fps and it wouldn't make any difference to the feel of it.

 

[JordanN]

Those devices are designed for games first, phones have the importance of being a telecommunications device.

But this is true of nearly any device today.

Even up unto the 3DS/Vita era, both handhelds had constant internet access. But to save battery/performance, you would simply disable those background tasks or disable the 3D effect.

 

[PhoenixTank]

No.

Didn't the original Gameboy have a battery life of 10 hours+? Yet every game was nearly 60fps.

PSP and DS had 6 ~ 10 hours, but still had games run at 60fps.

Since phones are suppose to be like 100x more powerful, the idea of wanting slideslow like games on the go seems backwards.

Battery capacity/density has decreased relative to computational power at some point after the gameboy. Peaking somewhere around DS era I guess? Couple that with more layers between the hardware and software. Very dependent on node shrinks now.
A lot of mobile games are slow paced and really don't require a high framerate for any greater enjoyment. Dipping in again later/playing for longer may well be preferable given the gameplay mechanics involved.

 

[JordanN]

Battery capacity/density has decreased relative to computational power at some point after the gameboy. Peaking somewhere around DS era I guess? Couple that with more layers between the hardware and software. Very dependent on node shrinks now.
A lot of mobile games are slow paced and really don't require a high framerate for any greater enjoyment. Dipping in again later/playing for longer may well be preferable given the gameplay mechanics involved.

Every game is better at 60fps. Every game.

Mobile is no exception, just like consoles. The fact that games from both platforms get ported to PC where the frame rate is unlocked should tell you this.

 

[MasterCornholio]

I've seen plenty of games that allow you to lock the framerate to the value that you want. I dont understand why you can choose less than 30 in some of them.

 

[Rbk_3]

I don't play mobile games, but it makes a lot of sense they now have graphical settings giving how wide the range of hardware is.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Every game is better at 60fps. Every game.

Mobile is no exception, just like consoles. The fact that games from both platforms get ported to PC where the frame rate is unlocked should tell you this.

But in general locked > fixed.

I always aim for a locked 60FPs in my games on PC.

 

[JordanN]

I don't play mobile games, but it makes a lot of sense they now have graphical settings giving how wide the range of hardware is.

Choosing low frame rate has nothing to do with graphics.

Unless you're going for low frame rate + high detail, in which case, why not just look at a Jpeg instead?

 

[PhoenixTank]

Every game is better at 60fps. Every game.

Mobile is no exception, just like consoles. The fact that games from both platforms get ported to PC where the frame rate is unlocked should tell you this.

If there is no battery left, there is no game and no frames.

 

[JordanN]

If there is no battery left, there is no game and no frames.

Or you could make games that are optimized around frame rate first and not visuals?

Especially considering mobile games right now mostly peak at PS2 to launch Xbox 360 quality, it seems weird to me you prefer to look at something that's both ugly and unplayable?

 

[Faithless83]

So I'm slowly getting in back into gaming and was looking through some titles that interest me.

Saw one game that stood out and when I paused at the settings screen, there's an option to to run games at the lowest frame rate.

The fuck? Just get a new phone at this point bruh. There are actually people out there who want to play 5 fps on the go?

Wow... you are a genius!
That OR there is the batery life being a consideration, while choosing the framerate?

Also too bad hundred souls turn out to be such a terrible grind after a while, I did enjoyed it.

 

[PhoenixTank]

Or you could make games that are optimized around frame first and not visuals?

Especially considering mobile games right now mostly peak at PS2 to launch Xbox 360 quality, it seems weird to me you prefer to look at something that's both ugly and unplayable?

Safe to say we're not playing the same mobile games. They're pretty much relegated to time killers for commute or similar for me.
Depending on how low the battery is and how long the remaining journey is or what I else need to do with the phone before I reach a charger I could take a lower framerate for a relative increase in lifetime, yes.
If it is a frame rate so slow that it is unplayable for that type of game I'd probably just do something else.

I'd also assume 60/45/30/15 for your original screenshot, btw, rather than 5fps low.

 

[JordanN]

I'd also assume 60/45/30/15 for your original screenshot, btw, rather than 5fps low.

If Majora's Mask was 20fps on N64, then mobile games are doing something even worse since I can't stomach it.



Like this to me is not playable unless it gets a PC port.

Good frame rate should always come first. Playing games at sub 30fps is the equivalent of torturing yourself, when you should be having fun.

 

[nkarafo]

Damn this looks awful.

 

[JordanN]

Damn this looks awful.

Funny enough, there's another video showing the developers playing the game on an emulator or native PC build.

And it looks far more smoother.




So yeah, there's never an excuse for wanting to play games at slideshow quality. That's not how games are made. Better versions always exists.

 

[Rbk_3]

Choosing low frame rate has nothing to do with graphics.

Unless you're going for low frame rate + high detail, in which case, why not just look at a Jpeg instead?

A lot of casuals, especially those that play mobile games, don't give a shit about framerate. They like prettier graphics. It is why consoles are still stuck at 30fps.

 

[theclaw135]

Mass Effect 1 on consoles can't even keep up 30fps.

 

[JordanN]

A lot of casuals, especially those that play mobile games, don't give a shit about framerate. They like prettier graphics. It is why consoles are still stuck at 30fps.

Call of Duty debunks this.

In fact, I'm not sure who was the first to report on it, but back around the early 2010s, we did see nearly all 1st person shooters ditch 30fps and go for 60fps on consoles instead just because COD showed it was more responsive.

Battlefield vs. Modern Warfare: Does 60FPS Really Matter?

This year's video games battle royale - Battlefield 3 vs. Modern Warfare 3 - is underpinned by an age-old technological…

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[BlackTron]

So a game let's you adjust settings from low to high, and this is news?

 

[Soltype]

But this is true of nearly any device today.

Even up unto the 3DS/Vita era, both handhelds had constant internet access. But to save battery/performance, you would simply disable those background tasks or disable the 3D effect.

That's why I said importance, people don't make sure to charge their Vita in case they get lost.

 

[JordanN]

That's why I said importance, people don't make sure to charge their Vita in case they get lost.

Just a thought: if someone was really concerned their phone had only 10% charge left, you would turn it off or put it in standby mode until you got to the nearest charging station.

Not play games that will both distract you and still drain it anyway.

 

[Soltype]

Just a thought: if someone was really concerned their phone had only 10% charge left, you would turn it off or put in standby mode until you got to the nearest charging station.

Not play games that will both distract you and still drain it anyway.

It's up to the user how they want to allocate battery life. They could play at 5fps in normal conditions and keep some battery in case something happens.Phones are vital pieces of equipment in a lot situations, gaming devices are not as faceted.

 

[M1chl]

Well you can artifically lock framerate on PC as well...

 

[Soodanim]

To give an example that isn’t a mobile game and therefore easily justified, many PC ports have frame rate locks. Some are just 30/60 like Nioh, but some let you choose anything from 24hz all the way up to your monitor’s limit. I don’t want to meet the guy that chooses 24hz.

 

[hemo memo]

No.

Didn't the original Gameboy have a battery life of 10 hours+? Yet every game was nearly 60fps.

PSP and DS had 6 ~ 10 hours, but still had games run at 60fps.

Since phones are suppose to be like 100x more powerful, the idea of wanting slideslow like games on the go seems backwards.

But phones also does 100x more things than just running games.

 

[JordanN]

But phones also does 100x more things than just running games.

In what way?

Run an OS? That's been standard on handhelds since the 2000s.
Use the internet/email? Again, pretty standard stuff by now.
Play music? No.
Built in camera? Nothing new either...

And if you're the kinda person that has 100 apps open at anytime, I'm not sure why you would think lowering game performance is going to make your phone last longer.

Like right now, I could theoretically play a game while having 7 tabs open in Chrome, and Photoshop in another window, but why the fuck would I do that if I'm only going to be looking at a game for 30 minutes and all the background stuff just acts useless?

 

[JordanN]

To give an example that isn’t a mobile game and therefore easily justified, many PC ports have frame rate locks. Some are just 30/60 like Nioh, but some let you choose anything from 24hz all the way up to your monitor’s limit. I don’t want to meet the guy that chooses 24hz.

30/60 is fine.
Especially if we're going with the idea that certain effects are too demanding, even for the strongest computers to hold a locked frame rate. Like ray tracing.

But choosing to play a game at less than 20fps no longer looks optimal. The last time computers were that underpowered was when you tried running 3D games back in the 90s without a GPU. It was called software mode or whatever.

And that was the point where you should have upgraded your computer instead of torturing yourself with something that hideous.

 

[GymWolf]

Some people can't handle more than 24 cinematographic frame per second.

 

[JordanN]

Ok, this is epic.

Just downloaded my first game after a long hiatus, and there's a 120fps option.

All games need to make high frame rates an option. 30fps should be the absolute bare minimum. Not the damn standard.

 

[Trimesh]

Didn't the original Gameboy have a battery life of 10 hours+? Yet every game was nearly 60fps.

The Gameboy uses a tile-based display system - you can scroll the entire screen with a single write to the scroll registers and update the position of a sprite by doing a couple of writes to OAM. It also doesn't cost you any power to do updates every frame because the display controller is having to constantly read the memory to update the LCD anyway.

A 3D system has to do a lot more work to generate the display and typically employ clock gating - so the more work they have to do the more power they take.

 

[sxodan]

Human eye can't see above 24 FPS anyway.

 

[JordanN]

The Gameboy uses a tile-based display system - you can scroll the entire screen with a single write to the scroll registers and update the position of a sprite by doing a couple of writes to OAM. It also doesn't cost you any power to do updates every frame because the display controller is having to constantly read the memory to update the LCD anyway.

A 3D system has to do a lot more work to generate the display and typically employ clock gating - so the more work they have to do the more power they take.

I agree with all this, but, when I look at mobile visuals, the effort should be kept optimizing them relative to the hardware, not trying to outperform graphics we see on consoles/PC.

Take the 3DS hardware. The GPU & CPU were originally from 2005. Yet Namco/Nintendo managed to get Super Smash Brothers running at 60fps in both 3D modes.
The only sacrifices was removing Ice Climbers and some OS functions. But otherwise, still pretty impressive gameplay that didn't kill battery life.

 

[Optimistic Gamer]

Yeaaap. End of thread?

Should have been tbh...

 

[INC]

Phone games lol

Buy coins to unlock frame rate

 

[Damigos]

OP if you want to come back to gaming you chose the wrong platform.
Get a PS4 or a Switch, not a phone

 

[Wonko_C]

Ok, this is epic.

Just downloaded my first game after a long hiatus, and there's a 120fps option.

All games need to make high frame rates an option. 30fps should be the absolute bare minimum. Not the damn standard.

That game is ruining my life. I've been playing it for 300 days straight just to grind for materials to upgrade characters and weapons.

I could just login whenever there is a new story chapter (It's surprisingly good and there is a manga that fleshes it out even more) and just play that, but I can't stop myself from wasting 1-2 hours a day doing the dailies without fail. But fuck them I'm not giving them any money.

 

[JordanN]

OP if you want to come back to gaming you chose the wrong platform.
Get a PS4 or a Switch, not a phone

I'm indifferent to modern console gaming.
Like I know they exist, but they appeal to a different generation of gamers that I no longer have the same connection to.

Mobile gaming also seems to be where all the Asian developers went as well. And I always liked whatever content they put out.

The only issue I have are the controls. Yeah, you can tell this stuff was designed for a touchscreen.
But that's why I said I'll wait for the PC versions to come instead.

 

[JordanN]

Phone games lol

Buy coins to unlock frame rate

The gacha stuff is embarrassing.

But I find it hard to deny this platform as somehow being the future.
No matter how much we wanted traditional gaming to win, mobile just continues to grow at a faster rate.

At the very least, if developers could look past the gambling stuff, it could honestly be another PS2 in terms of sheer amount of games being produced.
The potential is there, they just gotta be less greedy. Especially as there are some games that are impressive for the hardware it's being made on.

 

[BlackTron]

I'm indifferent to modern console gaming.
Like I know they exist, but they appeal to a different generation of gamers that I no longer have the same connection to.

Mobile gaming also seems to be where all the Asian developers went as well. And I always liked whatever content they put out.

To me it seems strange to judge all console gaming based on connection to the other people using them.

I think connection with others is the very last thing on my mind when I get home with a new copy of Zelda, Mario, Doom, Astrobot, etc...to the extent that I'm actually thinking to myself, "screw your opinions" lol.

It's even lower with Nintendo because it never works online anyway

 

[Miles708]

Every game is better at 60fps. Every game.

Mobile is no exception, just like consoles. The fact that games from both platforms get ported to PC where the frame rate is unlocked should tell you this.

You look like you care about graphics and performance, still you (honestly) choose the absolute worst possible way to experience it.
PhoenixTank explained pretty awesomely, but yeah you won't have top performance when you have to:

1. make sure the phone doesn't instantly overheat
2. battery lasts more than 1 hour
3. make sure your games work on the widest range of devices as possible

 

[BlackTron]

The gacha stuff is embarrassing.

But I find it hard to deny this platform as somehow being the future.
No matter how much we wanted traditional gaming to win, mobile just continues to grow at a faster rate.

I don't see how this has any effect on what you would want to play? We can put up with embarrassing gacha mechanics because mobile is growing faster than traditional gaming? Do we just automatically default to whichever platform has the biggest numbers?

It seems obvious to me that mobile would be bigger because it requires no hardware purchase; 99.9999% of mobile gamers are just downloading something on the phone they already had anyway, just to have a cell phone. So because a zillion people put a dollar into some mobile game, console titles are invisible?

I'm sorry, this is like a joke.

 

[JordanN]

You look like you care about graphics and performance, still you (honestly) choose the absolute worst possible way to experience it.
PhoenixTank explained pretty awesomely, but yeah you won't have top performance when you have to:

1. make sure the phone doesn't instantly overheat
2. battery lasts more than 1 hour
3. make sure your games work on the widest range of devices as possible

Performance always comes first.
The days of sub 20fps games are relics of the 1990s era, and even then 3D hardware at the time actually felt like a step back since the Arcades or SNES/Genesis where always spitting out super smooth 60 frames per second.

I think it's a waste of time to defend this, since time and time again, the defense of low frame rates always ages badly.