Hi,
I hope I've caught your attention with that unusual title. good 🙂!
Maybe you can help, I'm trying to solve the biggest mystery of all mankind, eh the universe,
no, just in the entire gaming scene.. no, not even that, not really,
because only a bunch of people might have asked themselves the same question,
simply because JA3 is rather a small "hidden gem" in the entire gaming universe -
which is a shame, because the game's pretty darn good.
But some of us, including myself, who have actually played the game, and even if it was only the Demo, for a little bit,
and those who like to read and watch Game Reviews, Performance / Benchmark Comparisons..
..well, some of those might have noticed, and also wondered, and it's been bugging me now for quite a while now:
WHY is Intel Arc performing so darn strong in JA3 ? see for example,
https://www.computerbase.de/2024-03/grafikkarten-benchmark-jagged-alliance-iii/#diagramm-jagged-alliance-3-1920-1080
..the Intel Arc A770 is ~45% FASTER than AMDs RX 6700 XT, or Nvidia's RTX 3060Ti,
yes it even sits directly between RX 7800XT & RX 6800XT, and only ~3-4% slower than a RTX 4070.
that's IMPRESSIVE for Intels Arc, or, put it in another way, very UNUSUAL.
because normally, in ANY other game out there I've tested myself or seen benchmarks of,
Arc is usually about -10 to -40% SLOWER than it's direct competitors..
if you compare AMD/Nvidia vs Intel performance characteristics in JA3,
you'll notice it's just simply the complete opposite as we know it from most if not all other games / benchmarks.
and it's not just a small difference, it is rather a HUGE gap. so big, so unusual,
that the well-known german PC comminity site "computerbase"
titled and dubbed "JA3+Intel Arc" the "unicorn-superman" combo..
now you know why I also like to call JA+Arc like that,
simply because if you're a big fan of that sub-genre and this game / series in particular,
there's almost no better budget-friendly way than to enjoy it on an Arc, because (only) here it'll give you the best bang for your buck.
and now, I'd just like to know why..
what's special about JA3, it's engine, the type of calculations/operations it relies/emphasises on,
or Intel Arc dGPU architecture in particular? does it have anything, that others dont have that Haemimont was able to use to an advantage here?
PS: I've read both JA3 and Stranded Alien Dawn are said to be built using the same game engine, called Sol...
Is Stranded ALien Dawn also showing the same performance characteristics?
(Intel faster than everywhere else / AMD+Nvidia slower than usual)
