Base resolution for year 2015

Hey, been using C2 for many years, I am targeting several platforms, I always used a base layout size of 480*320 and then scaling (while using — sized sprites).

That is fine, except that now most newer phones have resolutions hovering in the 4k realm.

So my questions for you, lovely scirra community:

1) In 2015 what is a more reasonable base resolution?

2) Should sprites be designed and exported at 4k?

3) How does the base layout size impact construct2 performance? Looks like less pixels for C2 = less power to caluclate collisions and movement, thus resizing a small layout should boost performance, is this true?

Thanks

Interesting

Welcome back! Thought you were gone.

Personally I use 720p(1280, 720) as my target resolution. If I need to scale down it's not that much or if I need to scale up it's not that far either.

Even though a lot of phones/tables have super high resolutions there are still a TON that don't and aren't super powerful. I'm using a few layer shaders that work fine at 720p but they'd probably really chugg on a resolution higher than 1080P on a midline phone.

That's my two bits at least.

A small layout should not boost CPU performance as collisions are based on polygons and not pixels. A small resolution will hugely boost GPU performance however due to the difference in pixel fillrate.

— thanks for the warm welcome.

sqiddster I was under the impression that all sprites gets decompressed into memory as bitmaps, thus having a 4k screen, should theoretically use more memory even when starting with a smaller initial resolution.

Am I wrong or you simply mean that the FINAL screen res (a 4k screen against a 720p) makes a difference irregardless of the original layout size?

0plus1 yes, that'c correct. Larger image files will mean more VRAM is used regardless of the resolution

sqiddster that's really interesting.

If I understand correctly, it means that having a 1000x1000px on a 480x320px layout will use more memory than a 500x500px image on a 1280x720px layout?

If this is correct it means that with the right scaling your layout size means mostly nothing in term of performance?

You may want to read the memory usage tips manual article as well as the several links that are into it.

It's not offering a resolution "solution" but explaining a few things on memory usage.

You can also, if you haven't already read the accompanying performance tips manual article.

0plus1 correct. Memory isn't the only concern however, pixels being drawn per second is another issue, as well as number of draw calls.

0plus1 correct. Memory isn't the only concern however, pixels being drawn per second is another issue, as well as number of draw calls.

Interesting. What's the best way to limit/optimise draw calls, and pixels drawn per second?

I think it's premature to design 4K games. Some systems shipping with 4K displays today don't have a powerful enough GPU to run a game at full resolution - a single force-own-texture layer could use all the fillrate you have left. I'd stick to designing assets for 1080p. Low-quality fullscreen mode is the easiest way to save fillrate, and adding an in-game option to enable it should allow your 4K gamers with underpowered GPUs to get by.

tunepunk I'm pretty sure draw calls are directly tied to how many sprites/objects are being drawn (on screen, visible). To reduce pixels per second, just... think about how many pixels are being drawn, I guess? i.e. a full screen overlay, or a layer with 'force own texture' will draw window width*window height pixels.

I've never gone beyond 720 because I think for my case, it wasn't necessary at all. I am using vector style graphics, and in all honesty the visible difference is quite small from 720 to 1280. If you are using painting style or art with lots of fine details, the difference will be much more obvious. So depending on your art style and impression your want the player to feel, you'll need to decide on whether the cost of higher graphics vs performance will provide the most enjoyable gaming experience for your player.

I think it's premature to design 4K games. Some systems shipping with 4K displays today don't have a powerful enough GPU to run a game at full resolution - a single force-own-texture layer could use all the fillrate you have left. I'd stick to designing assets for 1080p. Low-quality fullscreen mode is the easiest way to save fillrate, and adding an in-game option to enable it should allow your 4K gamers with underpowered GPUs to get by.

This right here. It happens as a trade off, to sell more by the wow factor instead of actual functionality.

*ERMAGERD!! Quadcore snapdragon 2.8MHZ with 4K resolution and 6Gigs of RAM and NVidia GPU!!!! *

GPU is the lowest end Nvidia has for phones. Poor Snapdragon nearly spontaneously combusts trying to push even 2K rez. Phone is at dangerous heat level. Battery goes from 100% to 4% in 5.3 seconds.

Phone manufacturer: Its our most powerful, long battery life phone ever!

Ashley thanks for that answer, it does make sense, only thing is: are you suggesting to include two sets of sprites? One low res and one high res?

Jermfire That's a pretty generic comment, most new generation phone are actual capable of displaying 4k content, some phone even record video in 4k..