What difference does Anti-Aliasing make?

[macuser154]

Doesn't it just remove some jagged edges on the screen? I haven't had a computer powerful enough to anti-alias so I don't really know the difference it makes.

 

[jav6454]

Doesn't it just remove some jagged edges on the screen? I haven't had a computer powerful enough to anti-alias so I don't really know the difference it makes.

Makes rough surfaces or lines look smoother and more natural

 

[sammich]

I don't know what it's like on the more powerful computers but some reviewer said this about Doom 3 and AA: you can either raise the resolution one notch or turn on AA, the difference is negligible, the fps stays about the same.

Unless you already run at native resolution and you get a good fps already. Turn it on already!

 

[imassents]

You may find this an interesting read. If you want to look at the animated gif, save it to your desktop then right-click and open it with Safari. For some reason just clicking the link did not make it animate.
http://www.tweakguides.com/Graphics_11.html

 

[0098386]

It's a method of smoothing out the edges of polygons. I only find it useful in low resolutions. On older games that I can run at native res (1680x1050 from a foot or so away) AA makes no visual difference whatsoever.

Although low res+lots of AA has a natural soft look to it.

 

[Jimmys]

It makes a lot of difference makes it look better and run better. (only of your computer can handle it.)

 

[HiRez]

only find it useful in low resolutions. On older games that I can run at native res (1680x1050 from a foot or so away) AA makes no visual difference whatsoever.

Right, as you increase resolution the "jags" get smaller and smaller, because the pixels are smaller, so aliased lines and edges are less noticeable at high resolutions. Even powerful modern graphics cards can get bogged down with high levels of antialiasing, so be careful. Essentially you are making the computer render every pixel multiple times (2x, 4x, 8x, etc.) when you enable antialiasing. Antialiasing (variations of which are sometimes called multisampling or supersampling) can help, but there is a point where it may not be worth it (for example, I keep it off for World of Warcraft on a 24" screen). Basically just try out the various setting and see how they affect the frame rate, and pick the best balance.

 

[savvos]

Yeah, all it does is smooth the jaggies. It the right circumstances, it's great. I've been playing Final Fantasy VII with ePSXe through boot camp and when the anti-aliasing is turned on the difference in how the characters look is amazing.