Cells ability to be used for rendering is very limited, and not very worthwhile graphically it can't really help to a great extent, it could render low res (and help process high res) but we are talking the low res standards from games back in the 2000 era. The thing it will help at though are the main backings for games like physics, lighting, geometry mapping, texture streaming, etc, etc. The processing abilities of the cell will help a game more then a graphical spit shine.
The some of the techniques used by square for there games are rare, some of the things they used to make FF12 look the way it is have never been employed in the industry before and they really do try and push a console to its limits with each game, however generally there first attempt on a new console is normally lesser then there successors so they can improve. They could max out the console with there first game but this doesn't leave them much room to move for its successors so they tend not to do it to make there games look better later.
Most would argue that its because they get more fimilar with the hardware as the generation progresses but half the time its a lie because these are professional in the industry who know more about using hardware and its limitations then your local rocket scientist. Of coarse normally over the generation span new techniques will be employed to help but most are never really employed til the end of a consoles life span.
Geows has done this, whilst graphically impressive it isn't maxing the console and has room to improve but unfortunately geows has set a rather high standard for many developers to try and live up to graphical that many will try to achieve it.
Now on-topic more...
The cells central core and only core can unfortunately get outperformed by P4 chips so it isn't a freak of nature like people seem to think it is and whilst people think it is a beast it can get bottlenecked by itself without the interferance of the rsx at all, yeah you heard that right the cell can bottleneck itself if you overload it with to much data so you have to clearfully optimize to make sure you avoid these things by spreading the load across the DPS's (SPUs) and don't stuff up otherwise you get framerate problems, etc, etc.
Those ffxiii pictures and the sprit within are cgi, meaning they are pre-render cutscenes made specially out of engine (sometimes in-engine but rarely).
Whilst you believe that many current ps3 games aren't using the cells 7 DPS's (SPUs as nicknamed by sony) most of them actually are but they ain't being used effectively like the exclusive games on the system use them, now alot of those games ain't using all the DPS's (SPUs) most games are generally having to use atleast 2 of them to function properly because the single and only core of the cell is pretty average.Â
Now take into account that the majority of gaming uses general purpose code which cell itself isn't built for and you have even more problems but thats another story all together and i'll end it at that because i could debate this hardware stuff all night but i need sleep for work like everyone else.
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