Performance was determined by capturing the frame rate per second with Fraps while playing a 5 on 5 LAN match for 60 seconds. The following video clip is representative of the type of gameplay that took place during each test.
Tests were conducted at a resolution of 2560x1600 with a single GeForce 8800 GTX using no AA (red line), 4x multisampling AA (blue line) and 8x multisampling AA (green line) and with two GeForce 8800 GTXs running in SLI using 8x multisampling AA (black line).
Timing Method 0
As documented by the results, timing method 0 maximizes the frame rate at any given point in time, but also causes the greatest fluctuations. The results also reveal that the gameplay was not repeatable, which is not important in this case since 8x AA with a single GeForce 8800 GTX was the only setting unable to maintain a frame rate of 30fps during the majority of the test.
Timing Method 0
Timing Method 1, MaxFPS 30
The second test consisted of locking the frame rate at 30fps while using a timing method of 1. Using these settings, the graphics engine maintained a consistent frame rate of 30fps in most cases with the exception being 8x AA with a single GeForce 8800 GTX.
Note the minor fluctuations in the frame rate with 4x AA enabled. This was done intentionally in this test to show the drop in performance that special effects such as smoke (from explosions) and dust/dirt particles (from moving vehicles) will cause.
Timing Method 1
Timing Method 2, MaxFPS 30
A final test consisted of locking the frame rate at 30fps while using a timing method of 2. This timing method will consume additional CPU cycles in order to provide a smoother frame rate than timing method 1.
Timing Method 2
CONCLUSION
As with the original Enemy Territory, which continues to be offered free of charge, Quake Wars appears to be destined to provide the same addictive style of gameplay. Although the graphics engine does not make use of DirectX 10-type technology, its use of MegaTexture is a compelling feature.
Aerial View
id Software and their development partners remain committed to using OpenGL in lieu of Microsoft's DirectX to power their graphics engines. In fact, id Tech 5 was demonstrated for the first time at Quakecon 2007 on an eight-core Macintosh, which uses OpenGL for 2D and 3D graphics acceleration. Although the engine did not feature any DirectX 10 technology, there is a possibility that the final product will as OpenGL 3.0 is close to becoming finalized.
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