View source for List of games with 8-bit paletted texture support

===== Paletted texture effect summary =====

A paletted texture is defined by giving both a palette of colors and a set of image data which is composed of indices into the palette. The paletted texture cannot function properly without both pieces of information so it increases the work required to define a texture. This is offset by the fact that the overall amount of texture data can be reduced dramatically by factoring redundant information out of the logical view of the texture and placing it in the palette. This reduction in space required is particularly important for hardware accelerators where texture space is limited.

Furthermore, paletted textures allow easy reuse of texture data for images which require many similar but slightly different colored objects. Consider a driving simulation with heavy traffic on the road.  Many of the cars will be similar but with different color schemes.  If full-color textures are used a separate texture would be needed for each color scheme, while paletted textures allow the same basic index data to be reused for each car, with a different palette to change the final colors.

Paletted textures also allow use of all the palette tricks developed for paletted displays. Simple animation can be done, along with strobing, glowing and other palette-cycling effects.  All of these techniques can enhance the visual richness of a scene with very little data.<ref>J. Kilgard, Mark, (March 24, 2004), NVIDIA Corporation, NVIDIA <code>EXT_paletted_texture</code> specification [https://www.khronos.org/registry/OpenGL/extensions/EXT/EXT_paletted_texture.txt (link)]</ref>

===== Graphics cards which support paletted textures =====
*[[3dfx]] cards<ref>3DFX Voodoo 3 paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=995969#p995969 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[NVIDIA]] GeForce 256 through GeForce FX<ref>NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX400 paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=995969#p995969 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[S3]] Savage4<ref>S3 Savage4 graphics cards seem to support paletted textures when using older driver versions [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1046069#p1046069 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[Trident]] Blade3D<ref>Trident Blade3D graphics cards seem to support paletted textures [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1033646#p1033646 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[3Dlabs]] Permedia 2<ref>Permedia 2 graphics cards support paletted textures when the relevant driver setting is enabled [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1083014#p1083014 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[Matrox]] Millennium II<ref>Matrox Millennium II paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1018604#p1018604 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Matrox Millennium II datasheet [http://www.vgamuseum.info/index.php/news/item/207-matrox-mga-2164w-millennium-ii (PDF)]</ref>
*[[Matrox]] Mystique<ref>Matrox Mystique advertisment, PC Magazine, February of 1997 [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1097151#p1097151 (screenshot)] </ref>
*[[ATI]] Rage Pro cards<ref>ATI Rage Pro has paletted texture support when older drivers are used [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1244487#p1244487 (report)]</ref>
*[[ATI]] Rage XL cards<ref>ATI Rage XL has paletted texture support when older drivers are used [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1172520#p1172520 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[ATI]] Rage 128 Pro cards<ref>ATI Rage 128 Pro paletted texture support depends on which driver version is used [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1114312#p1114312 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>ATI Rage 128 Pro properly supporting paletted texturs when driver version 4.11.6745 is used [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1251084#p1251084 (screenshot)]</ref> 

===== Graphics cards which don't support paletted textures =====
*[[ATI]] Radeon cards<ref>ATI Radeon 9000 Pro missing paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1018048#p1018048 (screenshot)]</ref> 
*[[Matrox]] G4xx cards<ref>Matrox G400 missing paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1018604#p1018604 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[NVIDIA]] GeForce 6 series and later cards<ref>NVIDIA GeForce 6200 missing paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1018604#p1018604 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[[S3]] UniChrome Pro IGP<ref>S3 UniChrome Pro IGP missing paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1091619#p1091619 (screenshot)]</ref>

===== Paletted texture use in games =====

How games make use of paletted textures depends entirely on developer intent. In some cases, paletted textures are used to render additional effects, thereby increasing the graphical fidelity of such games. In other cases, paletted textures are used as a means to improve game performance, but this sometimes causes a reduction of visual quality. Additional details are presented below.

===== List of games which use paletted textures to increase visual quality =====

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_(video_game) Driver] (1999)<ref>Driver configuration utility [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1119901#p1119901 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Driver gameplay video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHUquneKSak (YouTube clip)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Air_War European Air War] (1998)
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII Final Fantasy VII] (1998)<ref>The unpatched retail version of Final Fantasy VII will not allow Direct3D acceleration on graphics cards which don't support paletted textures [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1017839#p1017839 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Even the fully patched 1.02 version of Final Fantasy VII displays visual differences on graphics cards which don't support paletted textures  [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1118256#p1118256 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII Final Fantasy VIII] (2000)<ref>Final Fantasy VIII options menu [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1018048#p1018048 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Final Fantasy VIII rendering differences [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1111468#p1111468 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://www.mobygames.com/game/41546/metro-police/ Metro-Police] (1998)<ref>Metro-Police rendering comparison [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1297402#p1297402 (screenshot)]</ref>

The games listed above use paletted textures to increase visual quality, and exhibit rendering issues on graphics cards that don't support this feature. This list is incomplete. It merely shows the currently known games for which 8-bit paletted texture use has been confirmed by testing.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:left"
|+ align="top" style="caption-side: top; text-align: left;" | Paletted texture use comparison (Final Fantasy VIII)
|-
| [[File:Paletted_Textures_3DFX.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Using 8-bit paletted textures in FF8 increases visual quality]] || [[File:Paletted_Textures_ATI.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Not using 8-bit paletted textures in FF8 reduces visual quality]]
|}

===== List of games which use paletted textures to reduce visual quality =====

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingpin:_Life_of_Crime Kingpin: Life of Crime] (1999)<ref>Kingpin video options menu, manual and skybox [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1122385#p1122385 (screenshots)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quake_II Quake II] (1997)<ref>Quake II options menu [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1072343#p1072343 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Quake II skybox rendering and manual excerpt [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1122356#p1122356 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Quake 2 and other games based on its engine use <code>GL_EXT_shared_texture_palette</code> [https://registry.khronos.org/OpenGL/extensions/EXT/EXT_shared_texture_palette.txt (link)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SiN SiN] (1998)<ref>SiN video options menu, manual and skybox [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1122383#p1122383 (screenshots)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider_III Tomb Raider III] (1998)<ref>Tomb Raider III setup program [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1084437#p1084437 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Tomb Raider III rendering differences [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1122620#p1122620 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_IX:_Ascension Ultima IX: Ascension] (1999)<ref>Ultima IX configuration utility [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1292467#p1292467 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wargasm_(video_game) Wargasm] (1998)<ref>Wargasm configuration utility [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1292474#p1292474 (screenshot)]</ref>

The games listed above use paletted textures to improve performance, but do so at the cost of visual quality. Paletted texture use is optional in such games and is usually turned off by default. It is primarily meant for improving performance on low-end graphics cards which support this feature. This list is incomplete. It merely shows the currently known games for which 8-bit paletted texture use has been confirmed by testing.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:left"
|+ align="top" style="caption-side: top; text-align: left;" | Paletted texture use comparison (Quake II)
|-
| [[File:Q2_8bit_textures_YES.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Using 8-bit paletted textures in Quake II reduces visual quality]] || [[File:Q2_8bit_textures_NO.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Not using 8-bit paletted textures in Quake II increases visual quality]]
|}

===== List of games which use paletted textures to improve performance =====

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forsaken_(video_game) Forsaken] (1998)<ref>Forsaken options menu [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1017839#p1017839 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quake_(video_game)#GLQuake GLQuake] (1997)<ref>GLQuake documentation [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1085219#p1085219 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heretic_II Heretic II] (1998)<ref>Heretic II in-game console output [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1085345#p1085345 (screenshot)]</ref><ref>Heretic II Video Settings menu [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1122460#p1122460 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexen_II Hexen II] (1997)<ref>Hexen II in-game console output [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1085298#p1085298 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeworld Homeworld] (1999)<ref>Homeworld video options menu [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1111997#p1111997 (screenshot)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeworld:_Cataclysm Homeworld: Cataclysm] (2000)<ref>Homeworld: Cataclysm video options menu and manual [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1112172#p1112172 (screenshots)]</ref>
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_Commander Panzer Commander] (1998)<ref>Panzer Commander uses paletted textures [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1226063#p1226063 (screenshot)]</ref>

The games listed above use paletted textures to improve performance without any apparent impact on visual quality. This list is incomplete. It merely shows the currently known games for which 8-bit paletted texture use has been confirmed by testing.

==Related links==
*[https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=58930 Table Fog & 8-bit Paletted Textures] - forum discussion with screenshots
*[https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/List_of_games_with_Table_Fog_support List of games with table fog support]
*[https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/List_of_games_with_EMBM_support List of games with EMBM support]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Graphics Cards]]