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Machiavellian on 12 August 2014
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CGI-Quality said:
Machiavellian said:
CGI-Quality said:

-snip

What does parity means to a developer.  Gamers throw this term around without really understanding what it means to a developer.  Nothing has changed from this gen then last gen when it comes to parity.  Last gen, developers worked harder to get the PS3 to perform and look as good as the 360 because it took longer for developers to access the strengths of the PS3.  Same thing goes this gen.  Developers have to work harder to get the X1 to look as good or close to the PS4.  Parity does not mean that developers gimp the PS4 version but instead, developers have a target of what they can and cannot do with both consoles.  What we have seen from parity is that developers are working with the tools and SDK MS have given them to attempt to either meet the PS4 on resolution or graphical effects.  

The thing we will see and are seeing is that the easier to code for console is not the one getting the most attention from developers because its easy.  Few tweaks are needed and thus those resources are sent to work on the hardware that takes the longest.  If the easier to code for hardware really make a lot of difference, we would see the same games on the PC totally outstripe the consoles but that does not happen.

As a developer myself, I know exactly what parity means. Let's not try to talk down to people. Never once did I mention "gimping". I said if parity is on the table, individual specification advantages become moot. Such a "clause" was not there last gen (which is why so many PS3 games remained behind their 360 counterparts).

Next, you ignored my question about the math (since you attempted to talk down to me in that last post, as well). Beyond that, your argument has shifted from: "last gen had bigger differences" to "the differences are the same". Which is it?

First to adress your math question.  The reason I did not address it is because its not the point.  I am not debating the difference between 720p vs 1080P, I am debating that there is a gap between games from 3rd party developers where you have a difference of 720P vs 1080P.  This is what it appeared to me you were alluding in the post I responded to and I asked which game show such a gap.  

From my understanding of the discussion, the question was the difference between this gen and last and whether or not the gap between the 2 systems in question is larger or smaller.  I my opinion you seem to be exagerating the gap and the numbers as your numbers appear a little to generic.  What titles showed 50% difference between 3rd party games as measuring first part is not possible.

Now with that explaination out of the way, lets address your first paragraph.  I have no clue what your level of experience or understanding of topic and terms.  We see a lot of people throw terms around not fully knowing what they mean.  If I came off as talking down to you then I apologize.  I am also a developer but do not develop games.  My specialty is Enterprise level software that communicate on cloud platforms as well as local installations.  I also teach and develop API for the software my company sells to other businesses.  The thing is, none of that means anything in this discussion because I do not develop games.  I do understand the development process but for this discussion it matters not.

So with that out of the way to answer your last paragraph, what i see this gen is no different then last gen.  I do not see the PS4 having so much power that it will really make that much of a difference then last gen.  From the crop of 3rd party games coming out, you either see games with all features running on both consoles with the X1 at 900/60 or 30 and the PS4 with all features running at 1080P/60 or 30.  Thats pretty much it.  The last analysis I just read was on Diablo 3 where the game is running 1080P/60 (sort of) on the PS4 while running 900P/60 on the X1.  In this scenerio, the X1 has the smoother framerate with lower res while the PS4 is the one getting the stutters.  Even so, Blizzard stated they may be able to get the X1 to 1080P so things might change come release.

Botton line is that even though there is a difference between teh PS4 and X1, I am stating nothing has really changed from this gen then last even if the PS4 is more powerful than the X1.  Its not by enough margin to make a difference and if anything it might not even show that much once developers lock in on both systems.