Forums > MobyGames > EAX Games
St. Martyne (3648) on 8/1/2007 4:00 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
How about making a game group for games that utilize Creative EAX technology? Here's the list from Creative.
St. Martyne (3648) on 8/1/2007 10:39 AM · Permalink · Report
Does it have EAX? Many games had a great 3D sound but not EAX.
Corn Popper (69027) on 8/1/2007 4:30 PM · Permalink · Report
yeah a tech spec.. need a descrip and dates
St. Martyne (3648) on 8/1/2007 4:53 PM · Permalink · Report
The reason I suggested it as a game group is because game groups help find similar games based on the specific criteria. OpenAL as OpenGL is simply a set of libraries that games use to relay sound to a hardware device. And considering that Vista dropped the support for DirectSound I suspect that many games released for Windows Vista in the future will be using OpenAL. And when that number approaches that of OpenGL games I am sure no gamer in his sane mind will be browsing a list of OpenAL games. Therefore OpenAL is clearly for technical specs.
EAX on the other hand is a hardware-based technology that enhances the listening experience adding environmental filters into the sound processing queue. Playing the games that support EAX is quite a different thing that just OpenAL support which not necessarily means that a game sound was enhanced in any way.
So while OpenAL should certainly be certainly added as a tech spec, EAX belongs to game group simply because I am sure that many people (me included) would like to browse a list of games featuring an enhanced sound. As for it still being a technology related criteria, here's a list of groups that Oblivion is part of.
* Elder Scrolls series <br>
* Games with alchemy <br>
* Middleware: Gamebryo <br>
* Middleware: SpeedTree <br>
* Physics Engine: Havok <br>
* Technology: FaceGen <br>
As you see only two of them are not technology related.
Sciere (930490) on 8/1/2007 6:02 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
To my knowledge, EAX was only initially hardware-based, and later changed (unfortunately with the same name for additional confusion) to a library to Microsoft's DirectSound3D. That will make it very difficult to distinguish between hardware-based EAX and software-based EAX support.
St. Martyne (3648) on 8/1/2007 6:08 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Are you sure of that? Taken from wikipedia:
Most releases of EAX versions coincide with increases in the number of simultaneous voices processible in hardware by the audio processor: the original EAX 1.0 supports 8 voices, EAX 2.0 allows 32 (Live!), EAX Advanced HD (EAX 3.0) supports 64 (Audigy), EAX 4.0 again supports 64 (Audigy 2), and EAX 5.0 allows 128 voices (and up to 4 effects applied to each) (X-Fi).
EAX is a Creative Labs technology. While some of newer non-Creative audio cards can reproduce EAX 1 and maybe 2. EAX 3, 4 and 5 are definitely supported by Creative cards only. And Creative openly supports OpenAL now. So even if what you say is true this trend will not be continued since DirectSound was abandoned for good.
Anyway I don't see a reason to distinguish between hardware and software version of EAX (even if this one exist). Both of these versions support EAX powered games. Thus they feature an improved sound picture in both cases.
EDIT: Yes. The software version was integrated in DirectSound so I stand corrected.
tarmo888 (5258) on 8/1/2007 10:11 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--]The reason I suggested it as a game group is because game groups help find similar games based on the specific criteria. [/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--] what?
tech specs are also browse-able
St. Martyne (3648) on 8/2/2007 4:52 AM · Permalink · Report
I stand corrected twice then. In this case I see no reason not to include it in tech specs.
But can I reach these kind of pages from a leftside menu and not through the tech specs of specific games? From what I see finding an specific OpenGL game would require me finding any other OpenGL game first. That adds to confusion considerably.
Corn Popper (69027) on 8/2/2007 6:46 AM · Permalink · Report
you ready to be corrected again? do a search on opengl
St. Martyne (3648) on 8/2/2007 10:41 AM · Permalink · Report
I was careful this time and made an assumption in form of a question, but thanks anyway. It suddenly made MobyGames a lot more user-friendly to me.
Shoddyan (15004) on 8/6/2007 10:27 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--]I was careful this time and made an assumption in form of a question, but thanks anyway. It suddenly made MobyGames a lot more user-friendly to me. [/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--]
Part of the confusion might be because we list Middleware and 3D Engines as groups.... mainly because overall they tend not to be tied to specific hardware/platform (though there certainly are examples where they are also).
Игги Друге (46653) on 8/6/2007 6:36 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start WildKard wrote--] Part of the confusion might be because we list Middleware and 3D Engines as groups.... mainly because overall they tend not to be tied to specific hardware/platform (though there certainly are examples where they are also). [/Q --end WildKard wrote--] What do you mean? Isn't middleware is extremely tied to a specific hardware platform?
Shoddyan (15004) on 8/6/2007 11:05 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Игги Друге wrote--] [Q2 --start WildKard wrote--] Part of the confusion might be because we list Middleware and 3D Engines as groups.... mainly because overall they tend not to be tied to specific hardware/platform (though there certainly are examples where they are also). [/Q2 --end WildKard wrote--] What do you mean? Isn't middleware is extremely tied to a specific hardware platform? [/Q --end Игги Друге wrote--]
Not always. For instance, the Havok Physics engine is just a software library running within the game. It doesn't depend on any specific capabilities of any piece of hardware (other than the need to have enough raw power (CPU + memory + caching) to process it in realtime)
That software library is already in use inside of several console, handheld and PC games.