ShuttleLuv
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2003
- Messages
- 7,295
![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
So how Serious is Serious Sam 3???
- Thread starter ShuttleLuv
- Start date
i've played Metro 2033. didn't bother to look at my vram usage but it played at a much lower FPS
I beat the game on hard and plowed through all the enemies on the last level - killed every single enemy. Maybe I'll try and tackle Serious difficulty next, but only after I upgrade my cards. If I were to tackle Serious difficulty, I want to be able to play the entire game at 60 fps or higher, which I currently cannot do. The last level was indeed crazy and dragged on a little too long, but nevertheless, I enjoyed and loved it because of its epicness. That epicness is what defines Serious Sam for me and that was what was lacking in the early levels of the game.
And as a side note, this is a great game to use to benchmark your pc. The last level is the best level to use to perform the benchmark because of how much shit they throw at you. This is what you do. Enable god mode and try and spawn as many enemies on the screen as possible. For added fun, enable aerial mode and fly over the entire level, which I highly recommend because it's cool as hell. Then, watch your fps PLUMMET. This is the new Crysis, baby.
Nice, I still might go back and try to finish that last map on serious difficulty; however, only after I get the random urge in wanting to willingly punish myself, hah. Your system can't keep 60fps pegged? Turn off a few settings in ULTRA (knock it back to 2-4x AA and turn off or lower the Post AA maybe) it should be possible. My system with just 1 GTX 580 @ 950mhz can keep 60fps with ULTRA on all settings save for AA and Post AA knocked back. Game looks fantastic, first Serious Sam I completed.
Agreed on this title being a great benchmark, hopefully more review sites use it in their tests.
addictedto60fps
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 1,329
It runs at 60 fps most of the times. But during certain scenes, it drops below 60. I've tried messing around with the settings but for those scenes where it drops below 60, it doesn't matter what my settings are. Are you able to maintain 60 fps during the entire game/every single scene? I believe this game performs better on Nvidia cards than AMD cards, as evidenced by [H] performance review:
http://hardocp.com/article/2011/12/21/serious_sam_3_bfe_performance_iq_review/4
And yeah, the game does look fantastic, especially at 2560x1440, with unlimited max 3d rendering.
Well for anyone keeping track
The Guardian of Time: Difficulty = Serious
Enemy Count = 1,700+
Yes folks that is not a Typo, One Thousand, Seven hundred plus enemies when the smoke from Sam's gun has stopped.
Compare that to
Serious Sam: The First Encounter, The great Pyramid
Enemy Count = 1300+
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. Cathedral
Enemy Count = 1500+
Basically more monsters and a proper end boss unlike Mordikai (End boss of TSE).
Beating it on Serious without dieing once from the begining of The Guardian of Time gives the user the Queen Hatshepsut achievment. Right now it is at around .1% lmfao.
Last edited:
addictedto60fps
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 1,329
Very nice. How'd you figure that out? However, one of these days, I want to see that many enemies on the screen at once! Not a total of 1700 enemies in an an entire level, but 1700 enemies in the immediate area that you're looking at onscreen!
There were a few times on the last level when I laid c4 traps that I noticed a dip but for the most part 60fps was pegged. The reason I can keep a steadier fps than you probably stems from the much lower resolution I'm running and stronger CPU?
Either way, that last level is definitely harder on the system than any level prior -- 1,700+ enemies with an estimated 1.5+ hours to finish was amazing to see when looking at the start of level statistics.
addictedto60fps
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 1,329
I actually get fairly good frame rates on the last level for the most part. At the opening first level, my frame rates are low - in the 40's. There are a couple of other levels where certain sections, I get frame rates in the low 40's as well. I've tried lowering the resolution, and it doesn't help - still low frame rates. It probably is the CPU. I'm going to upgrade my cards soon to a 7970 or if Nvidia has a comparable and better solution, to that one. And if I still can't sustain 60 fps, then yeah, for sure, it's gotta be the CPU. At this point, I'm thinking it's probably the CPU.
Edit: Actually, if by lowering the resolution, I don't really see much improvement in frame rates, then it's gotta be the CPU at that point, right? I believe that's how it works, I think.
Last edited:
BababooeyHTJ
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2009
- Messages
- 6,951
No, read the [H] performance review. Your actual resolution doen't have much of a difference on performance. You need to adjust the megapixels if I'm not mistaken. Tweaking some of the other settings can help with performance as well. I would start by reading the [H] article.
addictedto60fps
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 1,329
Yeah, I've already read through it and messed around with all the graphical settings. I went back and played through all the areas where I get low frame rates. I think the problem might lie with gpu utilization. In all the areas where I get low frame rates, gpu utilization is very low - roughly 50% or less gpu utilization. Oh well - it doesn't matter anymore anyways. I've already beaten the game and would not even consider replaying it until I upgrade my cards.
A pair of 7970's overclocked to 1125/1575 should be nice, couldn't fault you for wanting to go that route -- but don't do it just for this game. I'd even suggest you wait a bit for the better cards to be released (be it MSI Lightning'esque models, ASUS DirectCU / ROG, triple fan cards, better board designs etc). Stock first release models are ok but it really is smarter to wait in this case given what you currently have in my opinion.
I would like to say I've come close before I got to the boss, but no cigar for me..........It's tough with your ammo limitations.
I sure have.
It was not pretty. I had to use a lot of the unlimited ammo boxes with rockets and c4. I blew myself up more than once with the c4. I also think I spent more time running backwards than forward. I think I did it in double the estimated time
addictedto60fps
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 1,329
Oh, no, I would definitely not upgrade just for this game - wouldn't make any sense, since I beat the game already. Yup, my original plan was and still is to wait for some factory overclocked 7970's to hit the market or wait for Nvidia - if they offer a competitive and compelling solution within a reasonable time period, that is. But I'm impatient and I have funds already set aside for the upgrade, so it just comes down to a matter of willpower at this point for me - lol. But if I were to think logically, yeah, I really should wait and see. Thanks for the suggestion.
Very nice. How'd you figure that out? However, one of these days, I want to see that many enemies on the screen at once! Not a total of 1700 enemies in an an entire level, but 1700 enemies in the immediate area that you're looking at onscreen!
Simple
start The Guardian of Time Stage (or any stage)
Run away from car to the first ammo stash.
Press ESC.
Select the statistics option.
Revel the 0/1750 monster count (and the thought that goes something like this... SHIT! 1750 monsters between me and the end!! You have got to be shitting me!! Oh well, lets begin!!). lol
addictedto60fps
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 1,329
I sure have.
It was not pretty. I had to use a lot of the unlimited ammo boxes with rockets and c4. I blew myself up more than once with the c4. I also think I spent more time running backwards than forward. I think I did it in double the estimated time
Remember
5 rockets take out BioMechs, ScrapJack, Adult Arachnid
5 c4 or 2 CannonBalls take out a Kuhn (and at one point you have 6 of them coming after you)
Werebulls, one cannonball, one sniper rifle shot zoomed in or two rockets.
Kleer, 1 rocket.
Mini BioMech, 1 rocket or 1 devestator round
If you have the unlimited Rocket box... guess what is your primary weapon of choice. Lol...
If you have a G15 or similar keyboard the game will also display stats on enemies, secrets, saves, and loads on it. It's actually the only game I've ever played that prints anything useful to that screen. I remember getting through the first canyon to the wide open arena and thinking, "Finally, all 1700 enemies down! That sure took forever. Time for the boss fight!" Then I look down, read "600/1750 enemies killed," and my jaw dropped.
FYI
here you go...
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198005544906/screenshot/649876689640260453?tab=public
That is the very very begining of The Guardian of Time in serious mode.
1773 Enemies!!!!
LMFAO.
djsb
lmfao
funny thing is that the remaining enemies are not the small rocketeers or Kamikaze's. No. Werebulls, Biomech's and Kuhn's. Kleers,
here you go...
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198005544906/screenshot/649876689640260453?tab=public
That is the very very begining of The Guardian of Time in serious mode.
1773 Enemies!!!!
LMFAO.
djsb
lmfao
funny thing is that the remaining enemies are not the small rocketeers or Kamikaze's. No. Werebulls, Biomech's and Kuhn's. Kleers,
addictedto60fps
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 1,329
Lol, yeah, I really disliked these enemies. I hope they don't reappear in the next Serious Sam.
BababooeyHTJ
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2009
- Messages
- 6,951
The space monkeys didn't really bother me. It was that damn witch bride that felt really out of place and annoyed the crap out of me.
The space monkeys were a fun enemy when they were simply added to the mix to make the fight even harder (like throwing a bull in with a bunch of kleer) but in too many places they were the only enemy and the fight just got boring and drawn out because it takes so long to find them all unless you have the explosives to destroy all their cover.
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2004
- Messages
- 21,888
Indeed, especially the limited hit window she had. You could waste a lot of ammo if you didn't watch to see when she was vulnerable.
BababooeyHTJ
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2009
- Messages
- 6,951
It really broke up the pace of the game for me since the best way to deal with them was to retreat and use cover. It felt really out of place compared to the rest of the game. The space monkeys are fun for me. All that you have to do is move quick and blast them in the face with the pump action shotgun when they leap at you.
That did work, but you had to go looking for them half the time if you wanted to kill them all. Sometimes they looked like roof or wall decorations from a distance.
So finally got around to purchasing SS3 and just got done finishing the game 100% in Co op with a buddy. Is everyone here in agreement that SS3 was the best out of the 3? You really can't count SS2 (not talking 2nd encounter) because it was pretty bad. But comparing the original to this, I really thought this was great. I was a bit shocked on how long the game was. But thought everything in this was an improvement on the original. That doesn't happen every day.
LuminaryJanitor
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2005
- Messages
- 2,340
Nope.
Pacing was off; too many drawn-out uneventful sections, and too many of the bigger battles just had enemies trickling in for minutes on end. Slow movement/sprint button was a mistake. Way too many hitscan enemies. Not nearly enough ammo. Weapon selection was worse. Exploration was tedious and generally unrewarding. Witch-brides were an absolutely terrible idea, especially in arena fights. Space monkeys too, unless you've got a C4 crate handy.
Still a great game, but I think the last map was the only place where they really got the formula right.
BababooeyHTJ
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2009
- Messages
- 6,951
You mean the level where you walk forward and shoot up a horde while back tracking, rinse and repeat?
IDK, I thought that some of the levels before that were a bit more entertaining where enemies spawn all around you.
LuminaryJanitor
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2005
- Messages
- 2,340
Wasn't quite my experience of it, aside from the first few waves of rocketeers and kamikazes.
But what made it stand out for me was that it was about the only time in the entire game where I felt like I had enough ammo to go all-out. Even late in the game, I swear there were a couple of maps where I only saw 200-300 minigun bullets, which obviously doesn't do you much good. And don't get me started on the lasergun...
It feels like I spent 70% of the game with the coach gun / rifle, and another 20% camping the bottomless rocket crates. Compare that to SS1, where you had twice the ammo capacity, and by the end they were handing out full ammo backpacks before every wave (if not more). These are certainly not games which lend themselves well to a conservative play style.
Great game - finished a month or so ago. By far, out of any enemy, I SITLL hate those stupid running skeleton things that throw the ladder golf things. I really freakin' hate 'em. If they just completely took 'em out of the game, I'da liked it much better.
That is why they should stay in.............You hate them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would be boring otherwise.
MindBuster
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2002
- Messages
- 3,115
Yeah the "Mental" difficulty was too easy in SS3, it was like on "Normal" with just the added fading of enemies, "Serious" was more challenging.
ReaperTech
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2012
- Messages
- 237
SS3 was a blast prefered the first game more however this one was pretty damn good made me feel nostalgic enough to pick up the original again.
In retrospec as I'm playing around with SS3 again, I do find it easier than SS1. There's less, "oh crap, out of that ammo" times for me.
I have spent a lot of time using the assault rifle (zoomed as needed) for much of it this time.
yeah was my favorite weapon.
I really, really enjoyed SS3, felt old school, no frill no bs, pure shooting and fun.
Could have been a wee bit longer though, guess I'll need to redo it at the hardest difficulty at some point.
The only downside is I couldn't play it for more than an hour or two at a time, that game makes my adrenaline sky rocket! Probably has to do with getting older