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NOVA 3 |OT| Gameloft's Unreal 3 powered shooter sampler plate on your ios ($7)

I only got to play for about 30 minutes on an iPad 3.

Framerate is quite bad. Will give the single player another shot that is for sure.

I am wondering how this title would do on the Vita if it were ported over. I am starting to get sick of the lowered standards for iOS games....

Wait... what?

It's not like Vita games all perform perfectly without compromise.


I do believe Gameloft will someday reach the 'clicking' point where something comes out stellar (or get better level designers lol). They certainly have the tech.

And back on topic.

This game RUNS HOT on a 4S. I can imagine it burning up the new ipad as well.

All them effects.
 
my ipad 3 doesn't get that hot, it is hot but not boiling like a 4g touch or 4S would get under high load, anyway the ipad 3 has no effects to get hot with :p :p :p

I am tempted to try and get my 5 quid back on itunes because the way gameloft went about these awesome new features is a bit of a fib, if they said the ipad 3 lacks them I bet a lot of people would have bought nova 3 at a much later date then now.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
HAH!

So this is kind of funny. The game runs at a smoother framerate on an iPad 3 when connected to a TV with Apple's HDMI output wire. It makes sense, since it has the removed effects, and is only running at 720/1080.

It's not really a viable option, IMO, because you need to be able to see where your buttons are on the screen. But still, that's kind of funny. Some gameplay and cutscenes went up to 50-60fps.
 
HAH!

So this is kind of funny. The game runs at a smoother framerate on an iPad 3 when connected to a TV with Apple's HDMI output wire. It makes sense, since it has the removed effects, and is only running at 720/1080.

It's not really a viable option, IMO, because you need to be able to see where your buttons are on the screen. But still, that's kind of funny. Some gameplay and cutscenes went up to 50-60fps.
Interesting, over AirPlay it's worse for me when I tried it last night, I guess the hdmi method does something a little different. So no extra effects when you hdmi out?

*edit* Did a quick test using airplay at 480p, while airplay is limited to I think 30fps the game ran a lot smoother but still jumpy when shooting aliens, also random frame drops due to wifi streaming.

I'm going to have to go buy a hdmi adapter before work tomorrow, will help with my captures too.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Interesting, over AirPlay it's worse for me when I tried it last night, I guess the hdmi method does something a little different. So no extra effects when you hdmi out?
Nope, still vanilla. Looks great, all things considered. Easily on par with some launch 360 titles.
 
lol an AI getting a sexy physical body? Now where have I seen that pop up recently (To be fair, this game probably was in works for a while).

ibbTVPup8YczZV.jpg


And this is probably the worst way ever to do subtitles.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
No your not weird but to totally disregard costs makes you look anti mobile(as in iOS android) because everyone knows those games are lower budget.

LOL, so I should expect as much from a 7$ game compared to a 40$ game?

So please explain to me how that works in the real world of budgets and profit margins?
Yeah, they are lower budget, but that doesn't mean they're any good. I just spent $7 on this game and, quite frankly, I doubt I'll get more than 10 minutes of play out of it. It simply isn't a well designed shooter. Feels like a budget PS2-era FPS with improved visuals.

There really aren't many options for good mobile FPS games, unfortunately, but there ARE fantastic free to play FPS titles on the PC.

It's not like Vita games all perform perfectly without compromise.
Of course not (it uses similar hardware to recent iOS devices). However, I do find that performance is still generally much higher than just about any iOS shooter and, of course, the controls are infinitely better. Nova 3 tries to cram all of the standard functions you'd expect from a console game onto a touchscreen and fails as a result. The mechanics should have been streamlined for the platform.

You reckon NOVA3 would be a go'er on the Vita with little work at such a framerate? I'm a bit of a dolt when it comes to horsepower and application, you see.
The Vita basically uses the same hardware as the new iPad (but with more CPU cores and direct access to the hardware allowing for faster performance).

Not that it matters as Nova 3 isn't an Unreal based game.
 

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
Hey dark10x, on what device you are playing it and how's the framerate? Are controls indeed better than MC3? I tried a bit of MC3 last night... no, I can't stand it and played 10 minutes of Shadowgun expansion instead.
 
Yeah, they are lower budget, but that doesn't mean they're any good. I just spent $7 on this game and, quite frankly, I doubt I'll get more than 10 minutes of play out of it. It simply isn't a well designed shooter. Feels like a budget PS2-era FPS with improved visuals.

There really aren't many options for good mobile FPS games, unfortunately, but there ARE fantastic free to play FPS titles on the PC.


Of course not (it uses similar hardware to recent iOS devices). However, I do find that performance is still generally much higher than just about any iOS shooter and, of course, the controls are infinitely better. Nova 3 tries to cram all of the standard functions you'd expect from a console game onto a touchscreen and fails as a result. The mechanics should have been streamlined for the platform.


The Vita basically uses the same hardware as the new iPad (but with more CPU cores and direct access to the hardware allowing for faster performance).

Not that it matters as Nova 3 isn't an Unreal based game.

There are quite a lot of streamlining going on actually. Generous autoaim. No limit on amount of guns available to carry. Fast recharge of shields.

Stuff were done to minimize frustration due to less than optimal controls.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
So, did anyone notice that CNET is using NeoGAF for story material now?

I just noticed this one...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57432267-1/does-n.o.v.a-3-actually-look-better-on-the-old-ipad/

Lowensohn credits NeoGAF and Dacvak. Obviously, I haven't been around long enough to know if he is a member, but at least he attributes sources.
Mother eff.

Sites grab stories from GAF all the time (even I've done it), but when you're posting images, it's common practice to contact the owner, first. I wasn't contacted, but I also don't care. Good for them if they want to use 'em.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Hey dark10x, on what device you are playing it and how's the framerate? Are controls indeed better than MC3? I tried a bit of MC3 last night... no, I can't stand it and played 10 minutes of Shadowgun expansion instead.
I have a 4S and new iPad. Game runs about the same on both but looks much better on the 4S. Unfortunately, I didn't find the framerate to be all that smooth. It's almost always well below 30 fps with occasional jumps up to 60 in very simple areas. It's wildly inconsistent and feels pretty poor as a result.

It's not unplayable, I suppose, but it's certainly not optimal. Uncharted Golden Abyss (which has plenty of performance issues) runs like butter compared to this game.

There are quite a lot of streamlining going on actually. Generous autoaim. No limit on amount of guns available to carry. Fast recharge of shields.

Stuff were done to minimize frustration due to less than optimal controls.
Yes, but what I'm talking about is streamlining of actual controls. They provide more functions than are necessary for this game.

The old Doom style of shooter, for instance, is still valid and interesting in 2012. It's also way less common. Doom Classic controls beautifully on iPhone as a result. It's almost as if you're pushing your character around the world and the limited number of actions keep the button count low. When you throw jumping, iron sights, a special power, firing, reloading, changing weapons, AND looking around all on one side of a 3.5" screen it starts to feel cramped. They should have focused on creating an interesting, streamlined control scheme that relies on fewer virtual buttons. The game would simply be more fun to play if the controls were FUN as opposed to dumbing down the rest of the content.
 
Not played much part level 2 since I am waiting for either a graphical update or a dedicated day to sit and play through it like this weekend maybe.

What I have done however is bought the official av adapter (£35, wow) to do hdmi out and the difference in 3rd gen ipad performance is huge, intro is 30-60 fps compared to like 20-30 on the ipad, action hovers around 30 and walking around between fights is like 40ish compared to again, 20-30 normally.

I am used to airplay and I can see what is different here, when you use airplay you are ALWAYS using a set res you pick on your apple tv such as 640x480p, 720 or 1080 and the video does what it needs to do to scale, however with this av adapter my capture card will change res every time I load an app or go back to the dashboard of the ipad telling me that it is changing resolution.

So nova 3 running in 720p on ipad 3 hardware = smoother frame rates while on airplay it's worse, I understand now.

Worth the money if it means smoother games on my tv in 720p

I will make a youtube direct recording to show.
 

McLovin

Member
Just a warning, the game runs at a choppy frame rate on a new iPad, also missing a lot of visual effects like depth of field and motion blur on the new iPad...

Good game so far but damn that my iPad can't show those awesome filters :(
A new ipad 3 or new ipad 2?
 

BigDug13

Member
So it seems as though the resolution bump of the new iPad does not translate to a better gaming experience because the hardware cannot push that resolution at the same speed the ipad2 can push its resolution.

So with an ipad3, I'm basically suck at the same level as ipad1 but in high resolution.
 
So it seems as though the resolution bump of the new iPad does not translate to a better gaming experience because the hardware cannot push that resolution at the same speed the ipad2 can push its resolution.

So with an ipad3, I'm basically suck at the same level as ipad1 but in high resolution.

I would not put it in the same boat as an ipad 1, that thing suffers below the powers of an iphone 4 and ipod touch 4g, but the ipad 2 is still probably best for gaming right now IMO.

A new ipad 3 or new ipad 2?

the new ipad aka retina screen one.
 

BigDug13

Member
I would not put it in the same boat as an ipad 1, that thing suffers below the powers of an iphone 4 and ipod touch 4g, but the ipad 2 is still probably best for gaming right now IMO.



the new ipad aka retina screen one.

The other bad thing is that the ipad4 will most likely hold the same gaming power as ipad2 but in high res. It might be 2 more years before we see an actual boost in graphics beyond just resolution.

There should be an option to run at ipad2 settings on ipad3. Not every game needs to be insane resolution if effects are removed.
 
The other bad thing is that the ipad4 will most likely hold the same gaming power as ipad2 but in high res. It might be 2 more years before we see an actual boost in graphics beyond just resolution.

There should be an option to run at ipad2 settings on ipad3. Not every game needs to be insane resolution if effects are removed.

doesn't help that Gameloft tends to release a game and forget about it. They usually don't patch something unless it's a huge gamebreaker. And if they patch stuff, it usually takes a while.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Quick post, gameplay of the first mission using hdmi out on an ipad 3, the video compression was just me using the wrong settings but the frame rate is a ton better as you can see in the video.

In fact the game should just render in 1280 x 768 or something if it can run this smooth, also I love the intro in this game.
Damn dude, great video. I love how well it runs over HDMI, but I find it personally a lot harder to accurately hit all of the virtual buttons, since they're not on the screen I'm watching. You didn't seem to have that problem, you played really well.

If someone told me 4 years ago that this was a 360 title, not only would I believe them, I'd probably want to buy it.
 

Mrbob

Member
So it seems as though the resolution bump of the new iPad does not translate to a better gaming experience because the hardware cannot push that resolution at the same speed the ipad2 can push its resolution.

So with an ipad3, I'm basically suck at the same level as ipad1 but in high resolution.

Gameloft should just let Ipad 3 owners run the game in Ipad 2 mode, and just scale the resolution difference.
 

ss_lemonade

Member
Now playing it at max settings on my s3. Runs pretty good but I only tried the beginning.

Now I don't know if its missing any effects or what, but this has to be the most intense mobile game I've played visually. Its pretty much way ahead of what I saw on my Vita (Resistance demo). Depth of field, particles, lighting effects etc, lots of visual goodies in here.
 
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