Quote (Roger911 @ Mar 15 2023 11:11pm)
I just... What?
So let me dumb this down for you. 4k in itself is about resolution. You can use older models with a low count of polygons or vertices, and still run it in 4k. Heck, you can take the textures (basically a .png file), resize them to 4k/8k, and it will look pretty good!
Going 4k is more about hardware, and not so much development.
Let's get more technical here now.
If you're going 4k, chances are you're going to want high detail. The issue with games and high detail, is converting the 3d scene's number of polygons/vertices, into pixel data for the monitor. That means if your scene has 100 million polygons, unless it's running on a 4090, it's gonna lag.
100 million polygons isn't even that much detail. If every detail you see in games today was geometrically precise to what you saw, it would be waaaaay over 100 million poly per image. The reason it's not, is because someone smart decided, we can load a picture to paint the mesh with detail. This is called a texture. It is literally a .png or .bmp file, with details painted in. Scars, dents, cracks, etc... Most of this is done in textures.
To further optimize this, there's something called level of detail, where far away objects in the game, are rendered with a lower polygon count, and smaller sized textures. This optimizes calculations at run time.
If you're not a developer, you're probably thinking... blah blah blah, what does this even mean? Well, art in games is created in stages.
First, there's a concept stage, where different styles are drawn on (usually digital) paper. Once settled on a style, a 3d modeller will build a 3d model of it. When building the model, they usually add as much detail as they can at the get go. This results with a single model usually being over 100 million polygons on its own. Then, they need to optimize it, reducing the poly count. Then they start doing painting, texture work, and UV wrapping. Blah Blah what's the point? More powerful hardware = less optimization = less work.
That's not even considering unreal engine 5, and how they basically shredded the polygon cap.
TL;DR building a highly detailed game in 4k doesn't mean difficult. High fidelity graphics doesn't mean more work.
Actually, cross platform support from the get go is likely because of the Microsoft Acquisition. They probably provided the API, and workflow to this in a straightforward manner.
I'll numb this down for you:
You go in the Graphic Design section of the forum and someone pays you fg for artwork.
Would you charge more fg for a 4K desktop background or a 80x80 avatar?