![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , July 21, 2009
- Author:
- Mark Warner
- Editor:
- Brent Justice
- Google +1
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Gameplay Perf. and IQ
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is in town to once again provide your spaghetti western fix. The first game broke new ground for graphical fidelity, and we're very keen to learn if this new game will do the same. We'll take a good long look at Bound in Blood with eight of the best video cards around.
Image Quality
The available graphics options in Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood offer the gamer considerable control over the rendered environment. The settings are plentiful but not excessive, and most of the options have a noticeable impact on image quality. During our testing, we found that these video cards were able to play CoJ2 at all resolutions with maximum in-game settings, except for one. The very inexpensive Radeon HD 4770 was not able to play at 2560x1600 with the highest settings, so we had to turn down the Post process quality option from Normal to High. Apart from that, however, it seems that most gamers will be able to enjoy Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood at the highest possible settings. Nonetheless, we will still show you what these options actually do.
Material quality
The Material quality option is essentially a shader quality option. Material is the technical term in DirectX for the combination of a texture and shader for any given surface. The Material quality option controls things like specular reflections, bump mapping, and other shader-based surface treatments.
In the above screenshot, there is little visible difference between the High and Low sections at the top and center. But when you look at the Low section at the bottom of the image, you can see that the per-pixel lighting is gone, and it took the bump-mapping with it. Consequently, the surface looks as flat as it really is, geometrically speaking.
Texture quality
The Texture quality option controls the resolution of textures used for the landscape, and for some objects. Using higher settings here requires more video memory.
In the far left section of above image, the text on the blackboard is readable, and the textures on the ground and boardwalk are relatively sharp. In the middle section, the text is washed out a little, and the textures on the ground and boardwalk have become quite a bit less detailed. In the far right section, using Low Texture quality, the text is impossible to read and the ground and board textures are blurry and indistinct. Notice, however, that the burlap bag behind the chalkboard is sharp and clear throughout the image.
In this screenshot, we can clearly see the disparity between levels of detail in some textures. In the High section on the left, the textures cardboard shotgun shell boxes and the ammunition crate are both sharp and readable. In the middle section, the shell boxes remain sharp, but the ammo crate has lost some of its clarity. It is still readable, but only just. In the right section, using Low Texture quality, the shotgun shell boxes are still clear and sharp, but the ammo crate textures are extremely blurry. The text on the side of the crate has become unreadable.
Shadows
The Shadows setting determines what objects cast shadows. Using the High setting, landscape objects, characters, and buildings far off in the distances will cast a shadow. Using the Normal setting, most distant objects will lose their shadows.
In the image above, you can see that the Saguaro cacti in the background have shadows using the High setting, but those shadows are lost when the option is reduced to Normal. Also, some of the landscape shadows in the rocks appear to have better contrast using the High Shadows setting.
Shadow map size
The Shadow map size option controls the resolution of shadow maps used by the dynamic shadows system in the game. Shadow maps are often created by applying a mask to a special type of camera which is located with the light source. The Shadow map size option controls the resolution at which that camera "sees" casting objects.
In the above screenshot, you can see that the lines on the shadows in the top half of the image are somewhat clearer and have more detail than on the bottom half of the image. It is especially apparent around the character’s shoulders and in the brim of his hat.
Post process quality
The Post process quality option has a huge effect on image quality, and on performance. It controls options like HDR, depth of field, motion blurring, and this games implementation of shader-based FSAA.
In the screenshot above, you can clearly see the difference in overall tone created by the Post process quality option. With the Normal setting, the forest is lush and green. With the Simple setting, it is brown and seems quite a bit darker. In addition, you can see the effect that the FSAA shader has on the clarity of textures in the game. Looking at the zoomed-in section, it is clear that the boulder’s texture is quite a bit less distinct with the Post process quality option set to Normal. But you can also clearly see that the edge of the rock is very smoothly blended with the surrounding forest. This is a function of the FSAA effect as well as the depth of field effect.
In this screenshot, you can easily see the difference that HDR makes in Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. While the game certainly doesn’t look bad without it, it looks far more bright and dynamic with it.
Random Screenshots of Interest
The following screenshots were taken in various levels of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. The screenshots were taken on a Radeon HD 4890 running at 2560x1600 with no AA, 16X AF, and maximum in-game graphics options. We have resized the images to 1920x1200 to reduce the file size and make the images download faster.
