..hey guys, am I wrong if I consider nVidia 5600FX as a low end configuration for casual/indie game market today?? If not, what should be realistically considered as a low end??
Low End configuration
Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Low End configuration the Geforce4 cards have been a standard as they were and still are fast cards, they just dont have the shader power.
I'd say keep the low end spec as low as the geforce3. Most cheap PC's today ship with Onboard video still- usually Intel. These are absurdly HORRID and you would expect the users of these machines to use web games more than proper full on commercial games as their system would not handle a modern PC game properly.
I'd say keep the low end spec as low as the geforce3. Most cheap PC's today ship with Onboard video still- usually Intel. These are absurdly HORRID and you would expect the users of these machines to use web games more than proper full on commercial games as their system would not handle a modern PC game properly.
My grandmother has an 5600FX (IIRC). It doesn't get much lower than that. I think anyone likely to buy a game (casual or otherwise) isn't likely to have a worse gfx card than that.
I have a 3100 laptop with one of those stupid sis internal things. And I play games on it. (Not main stream, but I would be "disapointed" if an indie game didnt work)
My girlfriend has a 5200FX and still manages to play modern games (i.e. titan quest), though there is horrible slow down at many points.
I'd say the Geforce FX-5500 is your best bet since it's the entry level Shader 2.0 card and can be purchased for under 100 US dollars.
I still have a GF4600ti in mine, and it is more than capable. I get a good frame rate on Half Life 2... Granted some of the newer games are out of bounds - Battlefield 2, Oblivion - but in general I don't have a problem with most games.
Onboard Intel and SIS. There are still shedloads of them about among casual gamers.
You're asking in the wrong place, really. Most people around here aren't developing casual games and don't understand the casual market. You're going to get 101 "I've got.. Great Uncle Sebastian's got.. " instead of actual first hand experience of what large numbers of people who buy casual games have got.
Ask ( or read, because it's probably already there ) on the IndieGamer forums and you'll do much better. You still have to filter the signal from the noise, but the ratio will be much better for casual gamer information there.
You're asking in the wrong place, really. Most people around here aren't developing casual games and don't understand the casual market. You're going to get 101 "I've got.. Great Uncle Sebastian's got.. " instead of actual first hand experience of what large numbers of people who buy casual games have got.
Ask ( or read, because it's probably already there ) on the IndieGamer forums and you'll do much better. You still have to filter the signal from the noise, but the ratio will be much better for casual gamer information there.
You still have to filter the signal from the noise, but the ratio will be much better for casual gamer information there.
Speculation is speculation, whether it's on IndieGamer or here.The problem with the assumption that casual gamers (who actually spend money on games) must have shitty hardware is that it's simply not true. Most people who develop casual games don't really ask their customers what kind of hardware they're running it on, so they have no way of knowing.
The truth is that most casual gamers are going to have decent PC's because they're going to be using the same PC their kids use for playing World of Warcraft on.