It even supports the more advanced relief mapping technique if you switch to it via editing the config file though this will hit performance a bit, still I manage ~30 - 40 FPS with the current adjustments which is way higher than I expected. (I mentioned it earlier but the Ultra presets are not the highest possible settings, for that you need to customize things a bit and also edit the config file.)
I don't see what all the fuss is about this game's graphics. Overall they're very ordinary IMO, even on Ultra, and only occassionally do they impress, such as the floor in the screenshot above. The shadow draw distance is especially poor for a 21st century game and looks like the settings where taken from the console build (I understand an Xbox 360 version is imminent) as I can see them popping into view close by as I move around with a really obvious cut-off distance. Reminds me of Assassin's Creed II actually. Most of the textures are poor as well. But graphics do not a good game maketh anyway and that's where Serious Sam 3 comes totally unstuck for me. It simply is not as enjoyable as previous instalments IMO. It's not terrible, just terribly average.
The new 301.xx beta drivers killed this game's performance for me. Haven't played it in a while, installed the beta's last night, fired it up and blah, 28 frames no matter what. Too tired to reinstall the old ones. Every other game ran fine with the new betas, crysis 2, bf3, alan wake, etc. But the one f&*^%ing game I wanted to play...lol... I'll buy the DLC. I gotta support croteam.
The game has had two or three patches in recent weeks, SerotoNiN, so it may be those rather than the drivers which have killed the performance.
It's had four patches within the past two weeks. The majority of them small, though a couple did offer some longer lists of changes. Performance for me in the game has actually increased with the patches.
I think it's the drivers, I'll reinstall the old drivers tonight and see. All other games work fine, so it's hard to figure out if its a patch from croteam doing this or the drivers, as I updated both last night. Ugh! Gotta love PC gaming =) Actually sh*t like this makes it fun.
I think the recent patches have mostly focused on the OpenGL and newly added MacOS functionality but there could be hidden fixes, I usually check the config file between updates as they version number the different Cvars and there's normally one or two updates for each time they've patched the game. (Nothing major, a while back a over-the-shoulder based third person camera mode was added for example - part of the in-game options also if I remember correctly - and two OpenGL commands were altered as a recent fix to a Mac related issue.) (I've no idea what it's used for but there's also a software based render mode, audio also has four different API's being - software, direct sound, OpenAL and XAct2 - with XAct2 / DirectX being the default - I guess it's OpenAL on Mac.) EDIT: Though the game is already pretty demanding, AA can really affect framerate if you enable the extras for shadows and it also uses a FXAA variant with four presets from Low to Ultra plus the game supports upscaling the resolution as a form of SSAA option but I've never been able to use it for long due to how demanding that is. (Default "2x" value sets the render to 1.5 - 1.0 being normal - with 4x setting it to 2.0)
Serious Sam 3: Jewel of the Nile Expansion coming to the PC this October http://www.d sogaming.com/news/serious-sam-3-jewel-of-the-nile-expansion-coming-to-the-pc-this-october/ :banana::banana::banana:
hmm. i uninstalled this because of the crap performance. i wonder if i should install and finish the game.... when the patch comes i would like to hear if performance has increased.
Great I see a lot of cpu fixes, hopefully it runs better. I remember windowsXP compatibility mode helped a bit, min 45-48fps.. When is this patch due?
i cant hold 60fps vsynced. my gpu usage doesn't increase but my fps drop... not in all situations but a lot times. SLI isuue maybe i dunno, and lowering settings desn't help either....
^ Yeah i had similar problems, in heavy fights gpu usage dropped to ~ 40-50% and fps down to 45-50fps, cpu usage stayed the same.. Anyway i can't wait for this patch, it looks to good to be true
ya, i think i might install it again after the patch comes to see. out of curiousity if nothing else....
A very disappointing game IMO after the brilliant, simplistic fun and garish colour schemes of the first two games but it is good to see the developers still supporting it all the same.
i liked the first and second encounter, but didn't care for the smurfness of SS2. to cartoonish for my taste.