Poll: Why not use benchmark tests instead of demos?

[SomebodyNowhere]

considering how quickly pc technology advances at the very least a benchmark test would help ensure a game will work on a person's system. I'd prefer a demo, but if a company doesn't want to slice up their game to make a demo the least they could do is release a benchmark.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

For me, it would be useless. I don't use demos to see if I can run the game, I use demos to see how the game is and see if I like it. I haven't had an issue running a game in years, but my computer is a but overpowered since I use it for gaming and programming (right now I have two servers running on it).

I play games for that thing called fun, not to see if I can max it out to boast about how awesome my computer is.

 

[Joccaren]

Seems rather pointless to me. I never need to know whether I can run a game on OMG MAX settings or not to purchase it. What I do need to know is whether or not its fun to play, and a benchmark tells me nothing about that. Demos can, and its on the devs to make a demo that demonstates how fun the game can be to convince me to buy it. If a game doesn't have a demo these days I'm a lot less likely to buy it, and that wouldn't change if it had a benchmark tool instead.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

That would be sweet.
Although... it isn't like demos always help very much. For instance, I downloaded the Heroes of might and magic VI demo and it worked fine. So I got the full game. And the full game requires Ubisoft's shitty Uplay service, which doesn't fucking worrrrkkkk fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...

[sub]I hate you Ubisoft.[/sub]

 

[JaceArveduin]

Seems rather pointless to me. I never need to know whether I can run a game on OMG MAX settings or not to purchase it. What I do need to know is whether or not its fun to play, and a benchmark tells me nothing about that. Demos can, and its on the devs to make a demo that demonstates how fun the game can be to convince me to buy it. If a game doesn't have a demo these days I'm a lot less likely to buy it, and that wouldn't change if it had a benchmark tool instead.

it's not the OMG MAX! settings this is for, it's for broke bastards like me who hasn't been able to upgrade their computer in years. There is some sight that's got something like that, tells you if you've got minimum specs I think. All I know is that it told me my cpu would die trying to play Borderlands 2, so I didn't bother even attempting to scramble cash together for it.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Can someone explain what a benchmark test is? Unfortunately i have no clue .

It's a little app that detects your computer's resources and measures that against what the game needs. It's something people run because they can't or don't want to read tech specs.

... Or the tech specs are horribly inaccurate like Dishonored's. It's listed minimum requirement is a GTX 460, but the game can be run smoothly on an 8800GT.

 

[Jzcaesar]

Voted no. But only because the last time I actually had to worry about my system being able to handle anything was in 2000 when my computer was woefully and pathetically incapable of dealing with Shadows of Luclin for EQ1. Since then, I've learned to build with way more power than I need right now, and when things start to get close to what I have then it is time to upgrade.

Still, not a bad idea. It just wouldn't help me, so I had to vote no.

I had the same thought, since upgrading to a home-built desktop. But I remember the days of laptop gaming, when I would never know if I could run any of the latest games, and I wonder if this benchmark idea would help those people out.

 

[janjotat]

I love the idea so my friends would get more into PC gaming, but since I built my computer I don't even bother looking at the maximum recommendations. Horray for overclocking!

 

[Worgen]

Bench mark tests are neat and can help you find out of your pc can run a game or help you tweak one so it runs better but you don't get to feel how the game plays at all so they don't help you decide if you really want to get a game or not.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

Just go to http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri

I don't trust that one bit. It tells me my computer can't run games that I know it can run just fine (for example, it told me I can't run Magicka, a game I was playing just the other day).

 

[Woodsey]

I've been saying this forever, but my lips don't whisper in the ears of developers and publishers like they used to.

 

[Strazdas]

Just go to http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri

I don't trust that one bit. It tells me my computer can't run games that I know it can run just fine (for example, it told me I can't run Magicka, a game I was playing just the other day).

it compares "official" system requirements with your computer specs (altrough quite incorrectly at some cases, for example it cant decide how much ram or graphic ram i have) and if any, at least one of them, fail, it shows as a fail.
however in reality many games can still run decently if you have say a powerful GPU but your CPU is just bellow the specs, so your situation is udnerstandable. i personaly use that site as a place where i can always find out the officail system requirements without needing to search "Teh intternetz" for it.

 

[2fish]

Because I know my computer is able to run crysis, however for some reason it crashes. Thus the test fails me in this area where the demo would work for me.

 

[Joccaren]

it's not the OMG MAX! settings this is for, it's for broke bastards like me who hasn't been able to upgrade their computer in years. There is some sight that's got something like that, tells you if you've got minimum specs I think. All I know is that it told me my cpu would die trying to play Borderlands 2, so I didn't bother even attempting to scramble cash together for it.

Even then such specifications are listed in the system requirements, and you can easily check if you meet them or not with websites online like http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri. System requirements aren't perfect, they list things slightly above what is actually needed, but if it says you can run it you can run it its generally right. Most a benchmark'll do is give you 100% certainty that you can run that benchmark with reasonable performance.

 

[DazZ.]

Can someone explain what a benchmark test is? Unfortunately i have no clue .

It's a little app that detects your computer's resources and measures that against what the game needs. It's something people run because they can't or don't want to read tech specs.

...No, not at all. A benchmark tests actually runs a camera through a section the game playing itself and gives you the min/max/average FPS in a report at the end and what gfx settings you had it run on. They're usually far from little as they have to hold the games engine, textures, sounds and things.

It doesn't (need to) look at your hardware.

 

[JaceArveduin]

it's not the OMG MAX! settings this is for, it's for broke bastards like me who hasn't been able to upgrade their computer in years. There is some sight that's got something like that, tells you if you've got minimum specs I think. All I know is that it told me my cpu would die trying to play Borderlands 2, so I didn't bother even attempting to scramble cash together for it.

Even then such specifications are listed in the system requirements, and you can easily check if you meet them or not with websites online like http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri. System requirements aren't perfect, they list things slightly above what is actually needed, but if it says you can run it you can run it its generally right. Most a benchmark'll do is give you 100% certainty that you can run that benchmark with reasonable performance.

Yeah, I was just saying that's why some people would want them. The min specs and such will tell you if you can play it, but I'm guessing it doesn't tell you whether it'll drop down to 5fps during hectic fights.

For the record, I doubt I'd use them even if they came, I was just saying who they'd be for, seeing as I've no experience with benchmarks*

 

[Yopaz]

I agree, I have thought of this myself for a long time. Personally I would prefer this over a regular demo since it gives you more detailed information than a demo. It tells you how well your computer can run it, recommended settings, average framerate, framerate during stress. A demo can be deceiving because it usually shows the start of the game and that might not always reflect well on how intensive it can get.

However I voted other because it wont affect my purchases. My computer plays the games that are being released. At worst I have to play on medium which isn't a dealbreaker. However if I still had my old computer I would love this. I hope this will one day be a reality for all games.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

if any, at least one of them, fail, it shows as a fail.

Yeah. I pretty much always get 'failed' based solely on my video card which, to be fair, isn't that great. But it still works well, which is what I don't understand (in fact, it exceeds the minimum requirements for pretty much every game).
It really just seems to be failing the card purely because it's an integrated card, not because it doesn't work well enough. So, I don't really trust it.

 

[Spitfire]

There are two main problems with your idea.

First of all, you can't benchmark a game without actually having a playable section of the game, which renders the whole notion useless, because the developer might as well release a demo instead.

Second of all, if the developer is stubborn enough to release a benchmark anyway, then you have to face the fact that a benchmark is not capable of engaging the player. Assuming that the developer provides an objective and accurate benchmark for their game (which is assuming a lot), the only thing that shows is how well the game will perform on your machine, and it offers no indication of the game's story, how fun or scary the game is, how well the mechanics are designed, and countless other factors that would otherwise help people determine whether they'll purchase a game or not.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I'd imagine they wouldn't be very popular. People tend to want to know if a game is fun more then if they can play it. PC games also have recommended specs posted publicly already. It just seems kind of redundant.