TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?

By Richard Leadbetter Published 1 April, 2010

Assessing the new system in Batman: GOTY Edition.

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Last week's release of the Game of the Year edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum saw the debut of the brand new TriOviz for Games 3D system.

Designed to work with PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on conventional 2D displays, the system promises what developer Darkworks describes as "a high-quality, cutting-edge experience for the console audience without expensive barriers to adoption".

So just how does it work and how good is it?

"TriOviz for Games is the only quality solution that is currently available to every player out there, without the need to purchase further equipment," says Alexis Arragon, product manager for TriOviz.

"By quality I mean a good 3D feeling through an enhanced depth-of-field, dynamically changing according to the player's (or the camera's) point of view, with no colour loss and no impact on performance. Switch on your TV, we support both standard and high-definition sets, put the glasses on and you're ready to go with just an inexpensive pair of glasses."

With the new edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum, two sets of glasses are included in the package. They look just the same as traditional "paper" glasses, just with differently coloured lenses (pink and green as opposed to red and blue). The switch from 2D to 3D is accomplished during the initial calibration phase, or you can turn it on or off manually via a brief journey to the options screen.

The principles behind TriOviz are fairly straightforward. While the final image output from your gaming hardware is being rendered to a flat 2D screen, the consoles themselves are obviously operating internally in 3D. A key component in creating the image is through the use of the Z, or depth buffer. TriOviz operates on the engine level of the game it is incorporated into, extrapolating data from the buffer and then using colour separation to add the illusion of proper depth to the scene.

The concept of colour separation 3D is best known with the traditional red/blue anaglyph system, dating back over 50 years when poor-quality 3D first hit cinema screens. Although its system uses colour separation, Darkworks is keen to point out that there are some pretty big differences.

"Anaglyph is basically mixing a red image with a blue image, each one being shot a few inches apart from the other," explains Arragon.

"We tap into the game engine data to detect the orientation of the camera and we apply the 3D effect based on this plus the depth information available. Because we do not rely on the display mechanism to switch between two images (polarised screen, high frequency flickering), we need a way to display the 3D information, hence the coloured filters on the glasses. We keep this fringing to the minimum so the image still looks good when someone watches you playing, without the glasses."

'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot 360-1
'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot 360-2
'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot 360-3
'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot 360-4

Here's how TriOviz looks with the game running in 3D mode. Darkworks aims to keep colour separation to a minimum so the screen is still 'watchable' for those without glasses. You can of course turn on and off the 3D effect via the options menu.

Clearly there's additional processing going on here, which does add to the time taken to generate any given frame within Batman: Arkham Asylum. Having played the game, it's clear that the performance hit manifests in both console versions. However, the PS3 version tears more often than the 360 version even in 2D mode, and the impact to performance is more noticeable with the game running via TriOviz. However, it's still smooth enough and perfectly playable regardless of the host platform.

"The native integration of TriOviz for Games into a game eats up approximately 2ms each frame," reveals Arragon.

"That's below a 10 per cent hit in a 30FPS game. For more technologically-demanding games, there are memory and CPU optimisations to implement to go below the 2ms barrier. One of our prospects successfully integrated our solution in a 60FPS game. Because our SDK works like a shader, there are multiple ways to optimise performances when using TriOviz for Games."

'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot ps3-1
'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot ps3-2
'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot ps3-3
'TriOviz 3D: Too good to be true?' Screenshot ps3-4

TriOviz on PS3 is essentially identical to the 360 rendition. However, in games where 2D performance is lower the impact of generating the 3D imagery adds further to the gap.

Darkworks says that when Warner Bros. and Arkham Asylum developer Rocksteady saw the TriOviz demo, they were instantly excited by the possibilities.

"Since we started showing this technology to the industry, we've only encountered a couple of instances where people were dismissive," Arragon says.

"The vast majority are impressed by what the TriOviz technology adds, especially based on what it delivers using the equipment that 100 per cent of the players already own. Of course, some publishers and developers get more excited than others, as was the case with Warner Bros. and Rocksteady. It's amazing to be debuting on the market with such a great title."

The developer describes TriOviz for Games as a "straightforward, non-intrusive solution to turn any game into 3D" and reckons that the integration process is quick and painless. Darkworks itself will work on-site "commando-style" to help with the conversion.

"Depending on game engine specifics, the implementation can take up to a week to complete: meaning tapping into the codebase, getting the effect to work at its best in 100 per cent of the game, optimising the colours if it's required and adding a bit of polish here and there," Alexis Arragon reveals.

"Our team is available to come on site, do the integration and teach someone at the developer's side how to deal with 3D. It's like learning a new language in a couple of hours; the mastery just comes with a bit of experience. Then we make ourselves available for support through email, phone or even commando operations before submission."

The notion of repurposing the depth buffer for a stereo 3D style effect isn't new. Indeed, at the recent GDC event Sony revealed plans to adapt and improve this basic concept in order to allow more PS3 titles to transition into full stereoscopic 3D for the forthcoming launch of its dedicated sets (more on that in a future Digital Foundry post). Support for the so-called "2D plus depth" system is also a part of the new 3D-based HDMI 1.4 protocols.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Bremenacht #1 2 years ago

    So it works. Does it make a better game?

  • agparrot #2 2 years ago

    On April the 1st?

  • JahB #3 2 years ago

    i usually like the fact that DF articles stick to tech thing of side, but it would have been nice to mention if it has any (positive or negative) influence on the gameplay itself.

  • 00.00.01 #4 2 years ago

    So...if i understand this...They've used 'old technology' in a new wrapper. You'd still be sitting in front of the telly with your green-and-red-specs on.
    Thanks for developing this, but I think I'll pass this time.

  • tossum #5 2 years ago

    "Although its system uses colour separation, Darkworks is keen to point out that there are some pretty big differences."
    Perhaps I'm being thick- there seem to be NO differences here to a standard colour separation technique, as used by, ooh I don't know, Magic Carpet over 10 years ago.

    I'm calling April fools for this

    Edit: for a REAL pant-moistening article on 3d gaming, check this recent piece on Tom's hardware:
    [link url=http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/3d-polarized -projector,review-31849.html
    ]http://ww w.tomshardware.co.uk/3d-polariz...[/link]

    Oi Leadbetter!! build one of these and show it at the next Eurogamer event! :D
    Edited by 1 at 01/04/10 @ 11:13

  • CaptainQuint #6 2 years ago

    Having only ever rented this fantastic game, I'd be interested in buying this new version, if I could try before I buy.

  • Cafuddled #7 2 years ago

    I played BatMan in 3D on my PC about 6 months ago... what's new here?

  • berelain #8 2 years ago

    Im still not convinced by 3D. It works at the cinema ok, but at home, on a smaller screen, the effect is lost- because 3D objects only appear 3D within the confines of the bordered television. Perhaps if you're sat very close, like with a monitor, or using a handheld the effect might be mitigated, but I found it distracting enough in the cinema when a 3D object moved out of the screen and effectively dissapeared. It breaks the illusion, and I'm not convinced it adds anything to the expeirence either.

  • sneetch #9 2 years ago

    @designerheadache

    I think HD is a fad too. ;)

    I think that 3D, if done well, will have a huge benefit for gaming. There's a world of difference between 3D movies and 3D games, head tracking alone will be enough to make games much more immersive in 3D especially first person games.

    Red-green glasses aren't going to be enough: way there's no way I'd buy this, truly excellent, game again just for some dodgy 3D.

  • metalangel #10 2 years ago

    Fascinating stuff, really enjoyed that. A shame about the particle effects. I wonder if the effect would be better, given what you said about Detective Mode, for stuff with more basic graphics like Rez, Darwinia or Virtual ON? And in spite of the other well-publicised flaws, the 3D effect of the Virtual Boy worked really well. With modern technology it could finally work!

  • Retroid #11 2 years ago

    Red & green glasses do not work for me. At all. I just see a tinted picture with horrible bordering.

  • Tiger_Walts #12 2 years ago

    You can go to the TriOviz site and download a demo driver if you believe this an April fools.

  • Murton #13 2 years ago

    So Batman GOTY was released last week? Had no idea, I guess I'll have to be on the lookout for it then as I skipped the original release.

    Not too bothered about this 3D bit as I have to wear regular classes and I can't be bothered to try and wear both at the same time.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #14 2 years ago

    there seem to be NO differences here to a standard colour separation technique

    The differences are

    (a) There's less overhead involved compared to rendering the scene fully twice.
    (b) If you know the Z-values, you can supposedly do some processing to make regular anaglyph work a bit better that it does if you just have two images. Although ideally, I suppose you'd be working from an image and a depth buffer for each eye.

    But in practical terms, for the user, it's pretty much the same.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #15 2 years ago

    The actual questions I have bout this are:

    (a) Is it better to play in TrioVis mode than just to do so in 2D?
    (b) Is there a patch for the original game, or is this exclusie to the GOTY version?

    I haven't bought Batman yet, and I'd be keen to play it in 3D, even if it isn't perfect, so long as it's a better experience than just not doing so. Otheriwse, I'll just save my money and get a marked-down original.

    (I've gone a bit bullet point mental today)

  • agparrot #16 2 years ago

    @Tiger Walts

    You can go to the TriOviz site and download a demo driver if you believe this an April fools.

    I take it all back, actually, it looks real. It was the pink and blue glasses thing that threw me.

  • cen4pgb #17 2 years ago

    Theres not really anything new here, apart from a way to get colour specs style 3d without an NVIDIA card (the 3D vision drivers have a tryout mode that does this), the dragging shit form the z-buffer is how it should be done.

    The problem is unless the games been made with these systems in mind there tends to be 2 big problems, as mentioned post processing, sghadows and the like game designers tend to get lazy with and just do in 2d, so they dont show up correctly (though in a few games the depth you gain from 3D more than makes up for this). The other big problem is UIs they tend to remder at a set depth, infront of everything else and the refocusing to use them can be headache indusing (batman being both designed for 3D vision and UI light is very good that way).

    Retrofitting to movies is more complex. Doing it for modern animation like toy story, and similar animations is simple if you have the original files you ran the render off, if you do its mostly a case of setting all the cameras abit to one side and re-running the render, redo any 2d postprosseing in 3d and you've got it. anything filmed on a proper camera however you're only going to get a faux 3D, and while if you're very painstakign you might get an improvemnet its probably not worth it.

  • GamesConnoisseur #18 2 years ago

    This was reported previously on numerous occasions at different times that the re-release would have 3D effect included, so certainly not April Fool.

    But it may be considered one if you feel that the system doesnt really work that well. I dont fancy repurchasing the game I finished last year and also putting up with the flaws.

    Still a very good solid effort in trying to include the great majority of gamers who would not be dashing out to get 3DTV including moi.

  • potter73 #19 2 years ago

    I bought the GOTY edition last week (mainly for all the included DLC) Have tried with the 3D option switched on (after finishing the game first). My issues are as follows

    - You look a bit of a bellend with the nasty carboard glasses on (more than usual in my case)
    - Colour quality goes out the window (in the accompanying booklet, they do say to give it a few seconds for your eyes to adjust...but colour quality remains poor)
    - Finally, the 3D effect is totally unimpressive (even sitting 1mtr away from a 42" LCD 1080P screen)

    Im one of these people that believes that the whole 3D 'w*nkfest' that is taking place at the moment in both the movie and gaming worlds is nothing more than gimmick/fad...another way for big corporations to squeeze and extra few £'s/ $'s out of us.

    3D at best only really works on the big (cinema) screen, you lose a lot of the impact on the smaller screens (50" and below)

    In my opinion the 3D option in Batman GOTY does nothing to enhance an already excellent game (tbh I actually believe it detracts from it slightly) and I cannot see me ever switching it back on again.
    Edited by 1 at 01/04/10 @ 12:13

  • Retrogamer101 #20 2 years ago

    Played it over the weekend. Only a slight drop in graphical quality but the 3D looks pretty sweet. Worth picking up the goty of you haven't already played it. It's still easily one of the best action games released over the last 5 years!

  • knightmt #21 2 years ago

    If 3D is a fad it is a popular one it just seems to keep coming back.
    I do not like the idea of expensive glasses or buying another screen,
    but if this is packaged with a game I have not played yet I will give it a go.
    From the 3d trailers I have seen in the cinema 3D is far more consistent in the digital domain.

  • RingoDX #22 2 years ago

    Oh come on you lot! This is an April Fools joke! Very subtle, I like it.

  • Arwin #23 2 years ago

    @potter: I don't think this tech compares that well with the real thing to be honest. I'm still looking forward to proper 3D on my own TV around this time next year, when I think prices are down sufficiently and you can maybe get a polarised system ...

  • Widge #24 2 years ago

    it would be if it hadn't been talked about on this site for months before this article

  • Doctor_What #25 2 years ago

    It's definitely real, unless Amazon are in on the gag: http://ww w.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003B...

  • technotica #26 2 years ago

    Well I would really like a 3D System that works without a 3D Monitor/TV, I bought an expensive 40" LED TV last year and am playing my PC and PS3 games on it (which looks great even in 2D :p ) so I wouldn't want to pay another 2.5k € for a 3D TV just to play games in 3D. If some solution was there to play games in 3D on my good old (heh) 2D TV I'd love that.
    Edited by 1 at 01/04/10 @ 13:22

  • mcmonkeyplc #27 2 years ago

    It's not an april fools you fucking retards.

    Here's the article about this nearly a month ago.

    Fucking retards. Really.
    Edited by 1 at 01/04/10 @ 13:26

  • Syrette #28 2 years ago

    3D or 2D, reading this article reminds me how much of a stellar game this is. No gamer should miss out on it.

  • ant72 #29 2 years ago

    I does appear to be genuine or a very elaborate hoax, the TrioVis site looks the part.

    I'm still hoping The Conduit 2 is an April fool.

  • AaronTurner #30 2 years ago

    It's really not an April fools joke.

  • Invisible_Cow #31 2 years ago

    How can people think this is a hoax? Wasn't there a demo of Batman in 3D at the Eurogamer expo?

  • M_of_the_sys #32 2 years ago

    @Invisible_Cow

    Yes, and it was crap.

  • PlugMonkey #33 2 years ago

    knightmt

    "If 3D is a fad it is a popular one it just seems to keep coming back."

    Well, fads are popular, otherwise they wouldn't be fads. The point is, that it keeps going away again.

    The timing of 3D booms is quite interesting. It was popular in the mid 50s. Popular again in the early 80s. Popular again in the late 2000s.

    1955 + 27 = 1982
    1982 + 27 = 2009

    What's the significance of a 27 year gap? Well, in the areas that tend to watch things like 3D films, that just happens to be one human generation.

    [link url=http://www.nationma ster.com/graph/hea_age_of_wom_at_fir_chi-health-age-women-fi rst-childbirth
    ]http://ww w.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_ag...[/link]

    3D comes along, people love it, then they get bored of it, then 27 years later there's a new generation of people who have never seen it and it comes back.

    Maybe it's just coincidence, but I won't be investing the mortgage in 3D technology. At least, not until the 2030s.

  • Rorsch #34 2 years ago

    3D is like 16:9 or HD, give it a few years and no one will care again

  • schnide #35 2 years ago

    Rorsch, you are a true idiot - 16:9 and HD is quickly becoming standard, just like 3D will be when it's done right and in a format everyone can agree on.

    edit: I apologise, either the sarcasm wasn't heavy enough, or I was too quick to believe someone could actually think like that.
    Edited by 1 at 01/04/10 @ 16:24

  • Rorsch #36 2 years ago

    I was being sarcastic -.- people who diss 3D seem like the people who dissed 16:9 and HD when they came out
    Edited by 1 at 01/04/10 @ 16:19

  • tossum #37 2 years ago

    Right, to clarify something. Me calling April fools on this was meant to be taken with a pinch of salt and was to reflect how poor this whole article really is. Its a foolish article that has been posted on April the first.
    The implication is that this is something new- it is quite old. There are games that have done this before. In fact, download the iz3d driver and try it yourself now on any game! The chap is peddling this tech like its revolutionary and DF seems to have bought in to it.
    Its almost like (fictional april fools story Iv'e just conceived) "Hey theres a revolutionary new method of computing 3d objects- instead of rendering little triangles or thinking in terms of 2d pixels, what we're actually doing is making 3D pixels! (We're thinking of using some sort of helicopter game to showcase the tech...)"
    This article is basically free advertising.
    And im actually someone who is excited by this "whole 3D w*nkfest"

    Just say it like it is: If you havent tried out 3d anaglyph gaming before, the batman GOTY is a great chance to do so now; here are some nice pictures.
    Edited by 2 at 01/04/10 @ 16:16

  • funkateer #38 2 years ago

    So I think we can conclude that TrOviz is actually worse than anaglyph.

    ColorCode is a quite good full-colour Anaglyph method for example. Still not ideal, but as a low-cost 3D solution probably a lot better and less restricted than TriOviz.
    I guess the only real benefit of TriOviz is that the implementation can be faster because it doesn't have to render everything twice (like in a proper 3D implementation).

  • Retroid #39 2 years ago

    Rorsch: "I was being sarcastic -.- people who diss 3D seem like the people who dissed 16:9 and HD when they came out"

    You didn't have to wear special glasses to watch widescreen or HD. That's the main thing for people.

    Watch the expressions on people's faces when they're told they have to wear 3D glasses at home and see how enthusiastic they are in comparison to the offer of wider / higher-detail pictures without special glasses.

  • TRUTH #40 2 years ago

    I certainly won't be jumping on the 3D bandwagon - it's the next to next generation that will be worth waiting for. Also I feel the 3D effect wears off, as you realize it's only a gimmick in your TV. The color problem & strain to peoples eyes is another problem that 3D will have to deal with,

  • fil0 #41 2 years ago

    A few hours ago I tried the TriOviz option in Batman: GOTY. Although a commendable first attempt, with no need for a special display, there is still room for improvement as the article states.

    Some people here are commenting that 3D is a fad. When it comes to movies, having watched many 3D releases these past couple of years, I tend to agree. When it comes to games, though, IMHO this couldn't be more false. A few months ago, after checking various forums on currently available 3D gaming solutions for PCs, I decided to try Nvidia's 3D Vision product.

    My first impression ? I was simply blown away. The 3D experience in movies is IMHO vastly inferior. It may sound strange but I found gaming in 3D to be emotionally more involving compared to standard 2D. Maybe it's the illusion of 'realness' that is being conveyed, the clarity, sharpness and colour vibrancy of what is being shown before you, seemingly being able to reach out and touch things in the virtual environment.

    A good game to try in 3D is Pure ( http://ww w.eurogamer.net/articles/pure-r... ). The way particles (grass, dirt, etc) fly off the screen towards you, the perception of the game world delivered through 3D, words cannot accurately describe the sensation. Another plus of 3D : you don't have to try so hard to calculate when to turn; having a proper sense of depth helps here a lot.

    There are many other games that are really impressive in 3D, such as Bioshock 2, Metro 2033, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, DiRT 2 and of course Batman: AA.

    Sure, it is not a perfect solution, requiring among others driver updates for certain new games that come out, along with the initial investment on a compatible 120Hz monitor + active shutter glasses. Despite these shortcomings, though, I've rarely being as impressed with a new piece of tech as with gaming in 3D. I've demoed the system to a number of people, some not technically inclined at all, and they too were impressed with the technology (so it's probably not in my head!).

    People, try to find a demo root or friend to experience the system in person. There is no other way to have a proper opinion on this; going to a 3D screening of Avatar is not an accurate representation of (this type of) 3D gaming.

    I could easily not see a 3D movie again in my life, especially after Alice in Wonderland 3D :( . I don't think I could ever play a game on my PC in 2D again.

    English is not my native language so please excuse any grammatical/spelling errors. I'm not affiliated with nvidia or any gaming
    company - everything mentioned above is my personal opinion, don't all flame me at once, insert standard disclaimer here :) .
    Edited by 1 at 01/04/10 @ 21:32

  • BadBoyBonner #42 2 years ago

    Anyone wanting to try 3D,slightly, above and beyond what we have here for about £ 1.50 should fork out for these [link url=http://cg i.ebay.co.uk/3D-Glasses-Movie-Magenta-Green-Anaglyph-X-2-Pai rs_W0QQitemZ170459200539QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_CD _DVDStorage_SM?hash=item27b028fc1b
    ]http://cg i.ebay.co.uk/3D-Glasses-Movie-M...[/link]

    Then get this for the PC [link url=http://www .tridef.com/download/latest.html
    ]http://www .tridef.com/download/latest.html
    [/link]

    Then boot up almost anything on the PC - Batman works especially well - with the software above you can mess about with depth and convergence settings to your hearts content.

    Plus it has a 3D movie viewer which is something akin to alien technology in how effective it is in changing 2D to 3D on the fly.

    Higher the res of the feed the better the effect, with Iron Man being a particular fave of mine.

    Also Google Earth in 3D is a site to behold when viewing the Alps or New York etc.

  • BadBoyBonner #43 2 years ago

    Just to be clear the TriDef software can be used with other colour anaglyph glasses like the Green/magenta ones included in My Bloody Valentine, Coraline, Journey to the centre of the earth 3D etc.

  • BadBoyBonner #44 2 years ago

    "We keep this fringing to the minimum so the image still looks good when someone watches you playing, without the glasses."

    Which can be translated as, "we keep the sense of depth to a minimum, which may underwhelm lots of users."

  • BadBoyBonner #45 2 years ago

    P.S. anyone who has the free glasses from the films mentioned above - can pop them on and check out the screen shots to see the 3d effect for themselves without having to resort to buying the game.

  • TheJuriel #46 2 years ago

    "especially based on what it delivers using the equipment that 100 per cent of the players already own"
    I know I certainly don't happen to own special glasses.

  • TRUTH #47 2 years ago

    Just watched Clash Of The Titans in 3D - It was NAFFF!

    3D has a good 6+ years before it's something of a must have. The problem I have is that the 3D is contained within the size of your TV box making it feel artificial more then it really is.

    The glasses did not he;p either.
    Edited by 1 at 04/04/10 @ 18:01

  • lockload #48 2 years ago

    Still no clearear if it works or not really may check it out...maybe

  • ChromeMud #49 2 years ago

    3D tv's at a few grand a pop, lcd glass's at 150,what with not much 3D content out there, TrioViz, to me sounds like sound value to get some 3D gaming fun.Calibrating the TV to get the most out of them is the only hassle.
    I like the idea that it uses the z-buffer,theoreticaly driving games and FPS's could still get close to 60 fps on the current console generation because it's only 10% processing overhead.
    My head and eyes ache with cinema 3D after a film just as much as anaglyph.24fps doesn't help even when the screen refeshes at 72fps, I can still see image blur on fast/large moving scenes.James Cameron has said that the 3D in Avatar could be improved with 48 FPS.So 60fps with this tech could be good enough for some depth to games.I want to play Forza with some depth purleeease :)

  • darc #50 2 years ago

    "English is not my native language so please excuse any grammatical/spelling errors."

    Interesting, this was one of the most articulate posts I've ever read on Eurogamer! (And for the record, I've always thought that gaming, and particularly racing sims, were a better application for stereoscopic technologies than film.)

  • darc #51 2 years ago

    I do suspect that this TriOviz solution is too good to be true, however. It sounds too much like an optimization of the same old solution (colored lenses) which has never worked well. I gave it a try with TrackMania a couple of years ago, and it was just terrible.

  • Miths #52 2 years ago

    BadBoyBonner: "... get this for the PC http://ww w.tridef.com/download/latest.ht...

    I just bought a pair of plastic red/cyan glasses today and downloaded the TriDef trial.
    While the old fashioned colored glasses 3D wreck havoc on color reproduction, sometimes suffer from ghosting and colored shadow issues, and are much harder on my eyes than the RealD "sunglasses" I used when watching Avatar in the cinema (and I'm very much looking forward to some of the 3D movies coming later this, most notably Tron 2 and Resident Evil: Afterlife - the latter using the same camera system as Avatar), I've been very impressed with my initial tests of the TriDef media player.

    So far I've only tried it briefly with video clips - I'm planning on giving it a proper test later tonight, for as long as my eyes can stand looking through those red/cyan glasses anyway - but the on-the-fly conversion to anaglyph 3D was actually fairly impressive. And the media player faired even better when I loaded up a bunch of 1920x1200 landscape photos, most of which gained depth rivaling some of the best proper dual camera anaglyph photos I found on Flickr.

    I haven't given TriDef a spin for gaming yet though. Or rather I loaded up Mass Effect 2 through the TriDef launcher, but even just the menu screen was suffering from a massive framerate drop, down to slideshow levels.
    I'll try a few other games later.

    Personally I'm feeling just about ready to jump on the 3D "fad", but these colored glasses definitely isn't the way to go other than for a flawed sample of what the whole 3D thing is about.
    Too bad the first one or two generations of 3DTVs will probably cost a lot more than I'm willing to pay. A 120 Hz monitor and shutter glasses might be worth looking into in the meantime, but it's only been a couple of month since I bought a new, fairly expensive 24" H-IPS panel monitor.
    Well, at least it looks like one of the local cinemas has a fair number of RealD 3D movies lined up for this and hopefully next year.

  • edulinares #53 2 years ago

    I bought the GOTY edition for PS3 and I'm really enjoying playing the game in 3D. It actually looks very cool, and if it's not a life-changing experience, at least is a fun mode and to me looks quite impressive.
    I can't afford nVidia solution at the moment nor will I be able to buy a Bravia 3D and Sony's glasses for a while (things are way overpriced in Brazil) so I got really excited to know there are actually decent alternatives with little to no cost whatsoever.

    I don't see why some people seem "angry" about it. I mean, come on...this is one hell of a game and it's available cheaper, with more content, and has a 3D mode that everyone can play in - even SDTV users. We only have to win with this, so I dont see a point to go about complaining so much. If it doesn't interests you, just skip it. Other people might be interested.