Often a deciding factor for me purchasing games is how it will run on my computer. If I'm choosing between two games, often the one that I believe will run smoother on my computer will win out. Demo's are great ways to test performance on my computer, but with game size getting larger and larger, I just don't feel like downloading a 3gb demo to find out, it takes too long and I don't like being preoccupied with thinking about the download while im doing other things. I often just want a quick, visual, yes or no my computer will run it alright and not look like a 5 year old childs drawing of the Mona Lisa.
So what I'm asking is, is there a way for developers create a small file size, non interactive, program that will demonstrate how the game will run on a computer? I feel it would be especially helpful for those companies who dont want to release a demo.
In short, no.
Most games now adays are lucky if they can get released on time and be finished when they are released. Adding more dev work load is a bad idea.
Actually, demos aren't alwayas a good indicator. For example, the Medieval II: Total War demo ran terribly on my system, so bad that I was disheartened that I wouldn't be able to play it. Then I bit the bullet and bought it anyway and it ran great.
Some games like F.E.A.R. have little performance tests that give a nice cross section of everything you'll encounter in a game to adjust your settings. These tests should be downloadable for free for every game.
A lot of it depends on the game and the demo. Some companies release demos after the game ships, which means the demo uses finalized code and you can expect it to run like the release runs.
Some release demos based on non-production code (most recently, Empire: Total War did this) so that's not really a good indicator. Usually the final games run better in the end, but you never know how much.
Also some demos are engineered to, or by the very nature may run better on your computer. Be aware I've seen it happen many times.
The Last Remnant offers a benchmark tool in a separate file (~250mb). You can run this file, you´ll see some scenes and at the end, you´ll see your result. Really nice step from Square Enix (I love them anyway due to Final Fantasy )
Also be aware that demos may install SecuROM or Starforce on your computer without telling you.
*edited per Sole Soul (you're right)
"Will" implies that this is always true. While that may have been the case in your experience, it is not always so. It is better to say "may".
For instance, neither the demo for Sins nor the demo for GC2 does.
Vista has the built-in benchmark utility, if you're running Vista and if the game suggests a rating.
There's always srtest, though I would like to see a more proactive trend of companies getting their games on there and such. It pretty much works, though is a bit different than what ye seek. www.srtest.com
[quote]There's always srtest, though I would like to see a more proactive trend of companies getting their games on there and such. It pretty much works, though is a bit different than what ye seek. www.srtest.com[/quote]
This works great for desktops, but it can produce strange results on my laptop.
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