Back in June it was revealed that the iPhone 3GS'
newfound support of OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics put one of the first meaningful, material boundaries in software capability between iPhone generations (magnetic compass and video would be two other biggies), meaning that 3D-accelerated games targeted specifically for the 3GS platform could look a good deal fancier than their 2G / 3G counterparts -- and furthermore, they could be built to
only work on the 3GS if the developer chose not to build in support for both. French software shop Eurocenter is touting that its newly-released Adrenaline Golf is the first game to take advantage of the 3GS' added graphics capabilities -- and while we can't verify that no other application submitted to the App Store in the past three months hasn't utilized OpenGL ES 2.0 in some regard, we can definitely verify that it looks way cooler on the 3GS. The good news is that Eurocenter has set up the game so that it chooses the correct graphics engine at runtime, regardless of the iPhone you're using, but after you see it on the 3GS it might seem a little inadequate on the older gear. Follow the break for our side-by-side demo of the sweet 3GS-exclusive water reflections, which are considerably better than real life since you don't risk getting wet.
Update: Sure enough, Eurocenter got a little overzealous with their claim --
Rocking Pocket's Blue Skies has had 3GS-specific enhancements for a while now. Thanks, everyone!
posted Sep 11th 2009 3:08PM
Cool Beans
PSP Still looks better
Hot Potatoes!
too bad Openpandora wasn't made by a big company. It would have been out with nearly the same hardware over a year ago. Possibly have support for great games. Instead it's two years behind schedule, other hardware makers have caught up to it and will leave it in the dust before it even releases. Who cares if iphone isn't open. it probably has more developers for iphone than openpandora has units. Glad I pulled my preorder over a year ago.
Lets get it for Galaxy on Fire, Star Pagga, Modern Warfare and Duke Nukem Forever: iPhone Edition.
I can't believe I bought this. Maybe the graphics are special, but the physics engine bites.
I thought 'Sketch Hop' was a 3GS specific game (it uses some sketch shaders). That was released quite a while ago.
Ya, but Sketch Hop didn't look impressive at all, and it was 3GS exclusive. This game works on both, and looks better on the S.
oh i thought ipod touch was aimed for "games".
@raymond.r
Yeahhhh, you'll have to get the 32 or 63gb models they just released (since they have the faster chipset)
http://fingergaming.com/2009/09/09/apple-reveals-third-generation-ipod-touch-with-opengl-es-2-0-support/
It's 64 GB not 63 gb
apple is now aiming at taking down the ps3 and 360...with an iPhone
Oh man... lol... you're totally wrong... but it could be possible if you can find "Apple Network Live" so you can play against your friends online!
Another way Apple found out to rip off customer's money
@Leonardo How does your comment make sense? The 3GS offers CLEARLY superior graphics to the original 3G. Even if they're not best in class, they're very good.
So ripping customers off? I don't think so...
Its AT&T thats doing the ripping off with the iphones....
thats right, be thrifty and buy a $250 psp go!
I believe it is best in class. Can't find a phone with better gaming capabilities than the 3GS.
What's a Tegra?
Famously striped type of big cat, isn't it? Lives in jungles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_Tegra
The Tegra beats the Cortex-A8 in raw power.
No, that's a tiger. A Tegra is a car model made by Acura.
How does the Tegra compare to a Henway?
No, that's an Integra. The Tegra is a river found in West Asia that joins up with the Euphrates.
No, you're thinking of the Tigris River. Tegra is a type of processor found in PDAs and smartphones made by NVIDIA.
no that's the tigris, tegra was an expanded version of Metal Gear Solid for the playstation
I believe you're thinking of Metal Gear Solid: Integral
So Metal Gear Tegra then?
SNaaaaaaaakkkkkeeeeeeee!
i hate to mess this up... ^^^ but that was f*cken awesome lol
Might wanna wait to see what Tegra is actually capable of doing before saying such things ;)
i love engadget people.
Best reply stream ever...
Are you guys kidding me? He in no way was talking anything you guys are mentioning.. He is clearly talking about Le Tigre, is a clothing brand that was originally conceived in 1977...
i read Engadget for 3 years, but i never seen anything like this... Awesome reply stream!
I thought the special s version of blue skies was the first to use OpenGL ES 2.0
http://toucharcade.com/2009/08/06/3gs-specific-version-of-blue-skies-now-available/
Wow that game looks fun. Let me just buy a new 8gig iPod Touch to play it and....oh damn.
God forbid they make you pay extra for better hardware...
considering openGL 2.0 is nearly 7 year old SOFTWARE they should have had the HARDWARE support it in the first place. GL = Graphics Language = SOFTWARE CODING.
Yeah considering directx is now 10 years old and on its 10.1(th) version it should be able to run on my toaster. You realize that your statement makes you look like a complete idiot right? In fact you just pointed out one of the great things about openGL, is for the past 7 years it has been capable of A LOT more than directX, its just that nobody pays schools to teach directX like MS does.
They're talking about OpenGL ES 2.0, not OpenGl 2.0. It's been out since march 2007
Ignore my previous comment. Just saw your other comment
This game looks like ass... Nintendo 64 all over again...
and that was ass...
? It's a damn phone, do you expect Crysis? Regardless of which side your on, your comments just never make any sense.
Real Racing
Dexter
BackBreaker
Terminator
Modern Combat
Need for Speed: Shift
Castle of Magic
yeah iPhone graphics are just terrible, no games look good...
I didn't have the sound on so if he ID'ed the 3G vs the 3GS I didn't hear but when he opened the game it became VERY clear which was which.
This game looks great for a phone. A bit of overkill for a phone...but nice.
...and now regardless of how good or bad this game it, 3GS owners will rush out and get it b/c no others won't have the cool version. OK, not all 3GS owners, but you can expect that since this is being talked about that their sales will be improved. Good for the developer.
IS THAT CRYSIS?
nope. it's ca$hi$!
Like the rapper who signed with Shady Records?
For a second there at 00:29 I thought I saw a BSOD on the 3G as it tried to load the game.
My god Engadget...You just cant stop with the Apple posts. Post this over on TUAW... not here. I count about 3 pages with mostly Apple articles and they didnt even announce anything that great!! Then I see crap posts like that one about Ballmer.. Do you care at all about being one sided or are you proud of it? STOP with the excessive Apple/iPod/iPhone new please.
Sorry dude it's big news. When something has a lot of buzz and popularity you can't tell them to promote everything equally. No one cares about the Zune HD. What a stupid name, by the way. When are people going to learn you can't just put "HD" on something and it'll be popular...HD radio for one...
Dude, just STFU!!! already...
Engadget talks about what's popular, and yes, the iPhone is probably popular. 3 Pages? Really? Probably not the same 3 pages of Android goodness that they've been covering in the past 2 days. In fact, Even you read the article when you could have just as easily skipped over the article and not wasted your time posting; or say *gasp* gone to DVICE or something.
Just Stop. Engadget has a "Contact Us" if it really bothers you that much... Troll
**sigh, here comes the down ranking***
@JPN: Why don't you go over to amazon and check the bestseller mp3 player & accessories list before making claims like that? Pretty tough to get higher than #1.
It's not Engadget's fault that other companies can't come up with exciting stuff. iZune HD Touch? iWalkman nanos? AsusBook Pros? Been there, done that.
Android news on the other hand are always awesome.
Go somewhere else then.
No one complains when we get 5 Android posts in one day, even if it's "This Samsung phone that looks exactly like all the other Samsung phones seem to be running Android in this not-credible-at-all leaked picture." A few iPhone posts? We need to call the waaaaahmbulence.
JPN got owned.
Nice find Mark ;-)
Yay for Zune HD topping Amazon's charts for MP3 players, before it's even out.
@schtum: That would be the Integra.
It is overkill for a device that doesn't really have the battery power to power it and I certainly wouldn't be running 3D games (on any mobile phone really) except for the initial curiosity factor. It looks about standard for mobile 3D games in terms of quality of graphics.
I have one on my Nokia E71 called Mystery Island or something that's full 3D and runs rather well considering the E71 isn't equipped at all to handle gaming.
Must be because my E71 is a great gaming device.
Oh come on. Nobody here would accuse me of being an Apple fan, but it's pretty obvious that that's well above par in the mobile graphics category. This isn't just about 3D, it's the fact that the game is clearly using shaders to create the reflection effects in the water. This completely outclasses anything I've ever seen on a phone.
Well, honestly it doesn't look any better than what I've played on my E71 in full 3D. Even the water reflect was pretty darn good. The game above itself simply isn't the best candidate, imo, to showcase how much *better* the OpenGL can do in terms of graphics and rendering.
I wouldn't doubt that it could do more. Just saying what's shown isn't any better than what's available now for even non 3D accellerated software.
consdiering the tegra has been out for long then the first iphone and openGL 2.0 is older then that, there is no reason the first iphone shouldn't have supported this in the first place
first openGL phone came out in 2006 from nokia (a year before the first iPhone)
even if the first iphone lacked openGL support, the G should have had it.
this is BS.
To be fair, I believe the original iPhone does support Open GL ES 1.0. It's just that the chips are just being put in phones to handle 2.0. 2.0 added a programmable graphics pipeline, which requires a pretty big jump in hardware. Sure, there were chips that were announced back then with such capabilities but it takes a while and a good amount of R&D to actually throw them in a phone. It's not entirely fair to expect the iPhone to be absolute top of the line in everything.
you make a point mark, and like I said, I am forgiving for the first iphone not supporting it. But there was no reason 2 years later for the iphone 3g not to support openGL ES 2.0; the technology was out for prototyping in 2004 or 2005, the first product implantation was in 2006. 3 years after the fact they should have had it, but no, it took them 4...almost 5 years to implement it (right when openGL 3.0 ES is right around the corner).
There is a fine line between linetime obsolesce/new technologies emerging and planned premature obsolesce. and apple often (seemingly purposely) falls into the latter category. And people don't get mad, which astonishes me.
Wonder how much this kills the battery life
Has anyone played Gangstar on an iphone 3G??? Is impossible to play the frame rate drops down to zero every other second. I haven't tried it on a 3GS for a full comparison.
No matter how Apple pushes the iPhone, it's too expensive. AT&T want me to pay $499 to upgrade to the 3GS. So Apple pushes and AT&T pushes back. The same price for everyone, otherwise stop pushing games with better graphics on new model.
Yeah Yeah, the phone is subsidized, but that concept is thrown out when it's more than a telephone and the pricing comes from Apple.
Buy a Nokia N-Series recently? It makes 499 look like a bill for lunch. We are talking 800-1200 bucks for a phone with really really bad openGL capabilities.
but where are the buttons?
I keep hearing how the iphone should have had this and should have had that. If that is the case that OpenGL 2.0 was so easily implementable then why did every other phone not have it included? Now how many exactly have OpenGL 2.0 in them now?
@Tsing Tao
Oh, now we're buying phones for their openGL capabilities?
We shloud be, since the iPod Touch is so great for games, the iPhone should be also.
A step forward for the ipod touch in terms of graphics. But nothing comes close to Tegra, a well established company like nvidia cant be beat, DONE. No ones got shit on um.
@Andrey, JPN is right you need to STFU engadget is failing at everything right now, please shut them down before I do.
I think it still will take a long while before a lot of games get support for ES 2.0 graphics, developers are having such a hard time making money in the 99cent jungle that is the App Store that they would never consider making games that a majority of the customers can't use.
The Satio supports OpenGL ES 2.0 :-P
Blue Skies 3GS was the first 3GS game to use pixel shaders. It was released on July 22nd. We went even further and added deferred rendering and high dynamic range to our other title Dark Raider S which came out Aug 7.
If you want to know about the iPhone GPU secrets, you can visit iPhone Secrets at http://www.edepot.com/iphone.html