32-bit Resolution

[665c5be31b54cElitesse]

I'm using the old 1999 release of System Shock 2 but I heard that there is a patch for adding the 32-bit resolution to the game! Can someone give me the link if it is compatible with the old 1999 release? Oh and what's the main difference between 16-bit and 32-bit in SS2? I have always used 32-bit in my games but never noticed a big difference.

[665c5be31b7c4voodoo47]

see ss2tool.

to make it short, 32bit looks prettier and smoother, to make it long, here.

[665c5be31b93cJML]

How's it possible to fill in the million more colors if the game was made in 16 bit? Or is this just for the SHTUP and other modded textures?

[665c5be31bbdeOlfred]

Even if you only work with 16 bit textures, there are still things wich get computed on the fly, like the lightning and such.
So at least that would get an upgrade.

[665c5be31bce7voodoo47]

the orig textures were indeed made with 16bit in mind, so the switch to 32bit colordepth has very little effect on them, however, some other things like smoke effects and water do look significantly better. also, today's gpu's usually can't do 16bit properly anymore, so anything that isn't running in 32bit looks extra crappy.

[665c5be31c067ZylonBane]

the orig textures were indeed made with 16bit in mind

Not really. They were created in a 256-color palette, but that palette drew from the full 24-bit gamut (RGB888). The old Dark engine reduced all color values to the 16-bit gamut (RGB565), which is why you'd see posterization and sometimes a greenish tinge on smooth gradients. It was even worse on bitmaps with an alpha channel (aka Targas)-- in that case, to fit it all in 16 bits, it reduced the channels to RGBA4444. *

[665c5be31c18cvoodoo47]

ah, ok then. not really a texture guy you see. anyways, what I've said should still be true - the visual difference is not too big with the orig textures, but very noticeable on steam and water.