Difference between revisions of "List of games with 8-bit paletted texture support"

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m (Added another reference for Heretic 2. Minor grammar and style cleanup.)
m (Separated games which use paletted textures into three categories, for additional clarity. Added more references.)
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*[[S3]] UniChrome Pro IGP<ref>S3 UniChrome Pro IGP missing paletted texture support [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1091619#p1091619 (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>
  
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===== Games which require paletted textures =====
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===== Paletted texture use in games =====
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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.
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===== 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/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>
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*[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>
 
*[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>
  
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Note: These games either require paletted texture support in order to start, or 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.
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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.
  
 
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{| class="wikitable" style="margin:left"
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===== Games which can optionally use paletted textures =====
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===== List of games which use paletted textures to reduce visual quality =====
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*[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>
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*[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>
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*[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>
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*[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>
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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.
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===== List of which use paletted textures to improve performances =====
  
 
*[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/Forsaken_(video_game) Forsaken] (1998)<ref>Forsaken options menu [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1017839#p1017839 (screenshot)]</ref>
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*[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 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/Homeworld:_Cataclysm Homeworld: Cataclysm] (2000)<ref>Homeworld: Cataclysm video options menu and manual [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1112172#p1112172 (screenshots)]</ref>
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*[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>
 
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*[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>
 
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*[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>
 
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*[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>
 
  
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Note: Certain games can optionally use paletted textures to improve rendering performance, but do not require them in order to run. However, sometimes this performance improvement comes at the cost of visual quality, such as in games based on the Quake 2 engine.<ref>Quake II skybox [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1122356#p1122356 (screenshot)]</ref> This list is incomplete. It merely shows the currently known games for which 8-bit paletted texture use has been confirmed by testing.
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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==
 
==Related links==

Revision as of 22:09, 6 December 2022

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.[1]

Graphics cards which support paletted textures
Graphics cards which don't support paletted textures
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

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.

Paletted texture support comparison (Final Fantasy VIII)
Proper paletted texture support on a 3DFX Voodoo 3 2000
Missing paletted texture support on an ATI Radeon 9550 SE
List of games which use paletted textures to reduce visual quality

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.

List of which use paletted textures to improve performances

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

References

  1. ↑ J. Kilgard, Mark, (March 24, 2004), NVIDIA Corporation, NVIDIA EXT_paletted_texture specification (link)
  2. ↑ 3DFX Voodoo 3 paletted texture support (screenshot)
  3. ↑ NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX400 paletted texture support (screenshot)
  4. ↑ S3 Savage4 graphics cards seem to support paletted textures when using older driver versions (screenshot)
  5. ↑ Trident Blade3D graphics cards seem to support paletted textures (screenshot)
  6. ↑ Permedia 2 graphics cards support paletted textures when the relevant driver setting is enabled (screenshot)
  7. ↑ Matrox Millennium II paletted texture support (screenshot)
  8. ↑ Matrox Millennium II datasheet (PDF)
  9. ↑ Matrox Mystique advertisment, PC Magazine, February of 1997 (screenshot)
  10. ↑ ATI Radeon 9000 Pro missing paletted texture support (screenshot)
  11. ↑ ATI Rage 128 Pro missing paletted texture support (screenshot)
  12. ↑ Matrox G400 missing paletted texture support (screenshot)
  13. ↑ NVIDIA GeForce 6200 missing paletted texture support (screenshot)
  14. ↑ S3 UniChrome Pro IGP missing paletted texture support (screenshot)
  15. ↑ Driver configuration utility (screenshot)
  16. ↑ Driver gameplay video (YouTube clip)
  17. ↑ The unpatched retail version of Final Fantasy VII will not allow Direct3D acceleration on graphics cards which don't support paletted textures (screenshot)
  18. ↑ Even the fully patched 1.02 version of Final Fantasy VII displays visual differences on graphics cards which don't support paletted textures (screenshot)
  19. ↑ Final Fantasy VIII options menu (screenshot)
  20. ↑ Kingpin video options menu, manual and skybox (screenshots)
  21. ↑ Quake II options menu (screenshot)
  22. ↑ Quake II skybox rendering and manual excerpt (screenshot)
  23. ↑ SiN video options menu, manual and skybox (screenshots)
  24. ↑ Tomb Raider III setup program (screenshot)
  25. ↑ Forsaken options menu (screenshot)
  26. ↑ GLQuake documentation (screenshot)
  27. ↑ Heretic II in-game console output (screenshot)
  28. ↑ Heretic II Video Settings menu (screenshot)
  29. ↑ Hexen II in-game console output (screenshot)
  30. ↑ Homeworld video options menu (screenshot)
  31. ↑ Homeworld: Cataclysm video options menu and manual (screenshots)
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