2 features wow, one of them having nothing to do with graphics. I didn't say they didn't count either, but over the last couple of days nvidia have shown features that I think benefit games and gamers more than some fancy audio and a low level console style API that we know nothing about yet other than it will net you better performance. At least nvidia bothered to explain and show their new technology off during the conference.
We'll have to wait till next year to see which of them or maybe both of them really pulled it off though. Hopefully everything goes well for both sides to drive the industry on and create more competition.
Trueaudio has the potential for massive improvement in gaming. Sound is almost as important as visuals, most people just don't really think about it. Try playing an FPS, particularly multiplayer, without sound.... really fun and you'll do really well.
AS for Nvidia's features, should we really break them down. G-sync is separate hardware, will only support some screens and has questionable use. I have no tearing in games, encouraging developers that low FPS doesn't matter because we can get rid of tearing.... but not any of the biggest problems with minimums, is for me a very bad thing to do. LIkewise the 60fps target is much more of a console thing, outside of vsync I can't name a single PC game I've played that has stuck at 60fps without huge increases and decreases in framerate, so half of this "we have to aim at 60fps and it limits what we can do" is simply nonsense. Is anyone going to replace their 40"+ tv's with G-sync monitors, will there be any tv's with g-sync at all. Have you ever spun around in an FPS and seen the difference between 100fps and 20fps, it's laughable, just because there isn't tearing doesn't change that you're talking about a 360' turn divided either by 100 or 20, it's insanely noticeable and by FAR the biggest issue with low FPS.
They are trying to ditch tearing completely at low FPS and pretending it's the biggest issue in smoothness... it isn't close. When you spin and you jerk around it's got nothing to do with lag, vsync or tearing but a lack of frames.
Shadowplay... re-announcing a feature due a year ago that they said would be available soon back then.... yes people stream their games on social media, I never have, never will, absolutely no interest what so ever and has no bearing on actually improving a game at all. Gamerstream(if that is what it's called) appears to be giving a desktop name to another feature already announced for Shield, for a device no one seems to want.
Of the 3 major features one was promised a year ago, one benefits you at low FPS but fixes only one of about five problems with low FPS and requires extra hardware, and the third requires extra hardware.....
Mantle will improve performance, enable more effects to be used, enable the actual things Nvidia claimed g-sync would. They said along the lines of, repeatedly "if we didn't have to care about drops in performance so much, then we could add in more quality and not worry about the drops". Yeah, adding 30% performance would do the same, except MUCH better. Likewise good audio can effect EVERY game you play in the future.
I would take AMD's supposedly non graphical features over Nvidia's features, which I would rename as marketed honestly....
"we want to provide you lower FPS in the future but we'll tell you it's a feature, package it, charge you for it.... G-sync, your game can chug along and be unplayble but thank **** the screen isn't also tearing".
"going back to our GTX480 days we like to launch something, then relaunch it, then relaunch it again, Shadowplay, probably one more launch away from being a month away from available"
"buy Shield and use your £600 GTX780ti to stream content to a tv(without G-sync) at 720p....... every gamers wet dream... to not use their new expensive g-sync screen or graphics card... woo".
lastly "the GTX780ti, every three months we promise to release a new marginally less crippled GK110 for a silly price, collect every version of the GTX780xx and we'll reward you with $100 off a crap handheld that no one wants, is overpriced, isn't available and we don't appear to actually be manufacturing.... yay"
Graphics performance and audio can improve every single game made, AMD has two features based around these. Nothing Nvidia talked about will improve gaming, but add other features.
