Splinter Cell Blacklist based on an enhanced Unreal Engine 2.5 with DirectX 11 support. Despite supposedly proven technology, the game currently has more than a technical problem.
For Splinter Cell Blacklist puts Ubisoft as its predecessor Conviction on the LEAD engine, a heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 2.5. However, the developer of the PC version of the action game have added some new features, especially DirectX 11 This is intended to benefit from improved tessellation and ambient occlusion including PC gamers. Whether the expectations will be met, but only revealed in the technical checks.
However, slowed us down for the release on 22 August 2013, published day-one patch, the game will start at once out technical checks, because after installation no longer in DirectX 11 mode - a problem that many players complain about the official Ubisoft forum. A solution, however, does not seem to work all of the players is in the folder "C: \ Users \" username "\ Documents \ Ubisoft \ blacklist" to open the "videoSettings.ini" file and the value "WindowStyle Final = "to" 0 "(windowed mode) or" 2 "(Borderless windowed mode, also called fake fullscreen) position. We had the setting "2" and were able to continue the success of technology-check.
In addition Splinter Cell Blacklist a few more plague, technical shortcomings. Actually, the patch should eradicate extreme dips in the Bilwiederholrate, but we have now and still a waste by up to 20 fps measured indoors during the technical checks. Also, the frame rate often fluctuates back and forth, especially in missions that take place during the day.
Update 26 August 2013: We have now extended the technique to check the system requirements and technology table. In addition, it has been found that the problem with the DirectX 11 mode only affects Nvidia cards. Blacklist optimized obvious actually works for Splinter Cell GeForce 326.80 beta drivers are not error-free with the day-one patch together. On AMD cards we could with the beta drivers Catalyst 13.8 not reproduce the error - also ran this test in a little faster.
Splinter Cell Blacklist System Requirements
If the graphics card does not support DirectX 11 in the computer, only the DirectX 9 mode, which not only looks bad, however, but also eats more power remains. They may Splinter Cell: but then also play blacklist with a Radeon HD 4870 or GeForce GTX 260 liquid. But a three-core or quad-core processor is required to make older dual core even under our lowest configuration limp. Also, you need at least 2.0 GB of DDR3 RAM be present, and the load times for each additional gigabyte decline sharply. With only 1.0 GB, we advanced to the home screen - then there ended the attempt.
For high detail, dual multi-sampling anti-aliasing, and DirectX 11, we need at least a Radeon HD 5850 . As Nvidia owners should at least a GeForce GTX 560 Ti work in their system. A quick three-core processor is enough, a quad-core but we can recommend highly, and there should now be at least 3.0 GB of RAM. However, you have to give to tessellation.
The Ultra detail level at four times the multisampling calls on AMD side of the Radeon HD 7850 . Nvidia users already have a GTX 660 Ti to call their own. A quad core is now official, as well as 4.0 GB of RAM. If there is to be two-fold super-sampling anti-aliasing, you get a high-end graphics card like the Nvidia Geforce GTX 780 or Radeon HD 7990 are not around.
System requirements for 1920x1080, Ultra, 4x MSAA Antialiasing
Graphics card: GeForce GTX 660 Ti or Radeon HD 7850 Processor: Core i5 2400 or FX 4100 Memory: 4.0 GB
System requirements for 1920x1080, high details, 2x MSAA Antialiasing
Graphics card: GeForce GTX 560 Ti or Radeon HD 5850 Processor: Core 2 Quad Q8300 or Phenom II X3 720 RAM: 3.0 GB
System requirements for 1920x1080, high details, DirectX 9, FXAA anti-aliasing
graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or Radeon HD 4870
Processor: Core 2 Quad Q8300 or Phenom II X3 720
RAM: 2.0 GB
Splinter Cell Blacklist Graphic Settings
The graphics menu of Splinter Cell: Blacklist offers some important settings to customize the game to the performance of your own computer. But PC gamers are missing options to adjust the lighting and particle effects - two controllers, which often have great influence on the refresh rate.
Texture Detail
In Splinter Cell: Blacklist the texture details have little effect, neither the quality nor suffers greatly increases the frame rate properly, if we turn down the setting.
Shadow Quality
Since Splinter Cell Blacklist primarily is a slow game and very good lighting to create the right atmosphere, accordingly generates many shadows, set the shadow quality is doubly important: firstly tarnishes a bad shadow representation of the coherent game world, on the other This option always has a big impact on performance.
Parallax Mapping
Parallax mapping is a common method to actually make textures appear clear plastic plate with simulated depth. On the quality of the game world has a decisive influence. The frame rate suffers less from among them, so you should select the point on any reasonably current hardware.
Tessellation
The DirectX 11-exclusive feature provides similar parallax mapping for the two-dimensional textures with additional polygons that objects such as tree trunks or fence posts gain in volume and plasticity to enhance the impression of a real, three-dimensional object.
Texture filtering
As usual, from so many other games, the anisotropic filter on the frame rate only minor effects - the same goes for the traditional difference in quality between eight and sixteen times the setting. With the naked eye we see almost no difference here. Only if we reduce the level further, the visual difference is noticeable.
Dynamic Ambient Occlusion
When ambient occlusion Ubisoft makes no half measures and offers a full six levels. As a result of close cooperation with Nvidia particularly an improved version of the DirectX 11-exclusive technology HBAO jumped out: HBAO +, but that also works on Radeon graphics cards.
Antialiasing
Anti-aliasing seems to lie at the very heart of Ubisoft - all eight stages spread across four modes to choose from. We have the choice between simple FXAA, which robs little performance and leaves a decent impression of classic multi-sampling, which yields good results, but the hardware a little more stressed, eating the performance, but very high quality super-sampling. Add to that Nvidia TXAA, a mixture of FXAA and MSAA, which is to provide better quality than MSAA, which moves the load on the hardware below the level of the traditional method.
DirectX
Here we choose the render mode, DirectX 9 and DirectX 11 are to choose from. We recommend the clear version 11, if your graphics card supports it, because they not only get the beautiful picture, but also a performance boost. DirectX 9 Frame rate broke despite our inferior picture quality a partially ten frames per second. In addition, under DirectX 9 for anti-aliasing only "FXAA" and "SSAA" available and they can not reduce the resolution of the still popular 1680x1050 - 1280x1024 to 1920x1080 follows.
Splinter Cell Blacklist Conclusion
Splinter Cell Blacklist is clear that graphically beautiful game in the series, but still has some flaws, both technically and visually. On the technical side there is the announcement by Ubisoft to deliver a super-optimized PC game, problems such as the huge declines and fluctuations, the refresh rate. These things are hardly recognizable as the difference between the different levels of texture quality.
So that we do not misunderstand: Splinter Cell Blacklist is far from being ugly game, on the contrary, to please especially the lighting and white to create a harmonious world. Ever make great light effects many graphical shortcomings for it. But a super-optimized and finely polished on the PC and, moreover, equipped with DirectX 11 gaming but looks different. Advantage of the whole are of course the moderate system requirements - even if they turn out for Nvidia owners currently higher than for users of AMD graphics cards. We suspect that the new, actually especially for Splinter Cell: Blacklist optimized beta drivers from Nvidia is not working correctly with the day-one patch - unlike the latest beta drivers from AMD.
Bottom line, you can already play smoothly with a Radeon HD 4870 or GeForce GTX 260, a fast triple-core or quad-core and 2.0 GB of RAM - but with these cards only under DirectX 9 For the maximum level of detail sufficient a Radeon HD 7850 or GeForce GTX 660 Ti - Nvidia cards are currently in Splinter Cell spübar slower. A quad-core processor and 4.0 GB of RAM are required. To activate two times as super-sampling anti-aliasing in addition, but also brings a titanium GTX or Radeon HD 7990 sweat.
