Recommended color-depth for 256 color STYLE games in 2014

[Elvisish]

Since AGS supports 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit, what is the preferred method these days for games that wouldn't need any more than 256 colors? Using Grafix2 for sprites, so I can limit the palette size in the image editor anyways, but is it standard protocol these days to draw with 256 in mind, then use 32-bit for the game? Is there a benefit using Direct3d over DirectDraw? I use a 1280x1024 monitor, is 4x scaling not possible using DirectDraw? Just a few questions in order to know how to get things started with my game!

[Ghost]

There really is no reason to use 8bit anymore. It only brings limitations, and on these day's hardware you won't gain any speed advantage. Don't use it, even if you just want to use 4 colours.

16bit is the standard and should be used if you do not need a) alpha transparency and b) really soft gradients. If you want to use alpha trans. or have a huge amount of fine shading, use 32bit. That's about the gist of it. Transparency and soft shading = 32b, everything else = 16b.

According to the manual D3D and DirectDraw offer different speed for some features like RawDraw (where you directly draw on temporary sprite surfaces). D3D seems to become
the default here- I remember several people stating that they can run only D3D because DD gives them graphic glitches or doesn't allow to run fullscreen. It's more a question of compatibility than speed I'd say; the user can naturally always just change the driver in winsetup, but you need to know that winsetup is THERE.

From personal experience I can confirm that D3D allows me to use scaling in windowed mode that DD does NOT support.

[Elvisish]

Excellent, so in short, currently 32-bit is probably the safest bet for compatibility with modern computers?

[Gilbert]

There really is no reason to use 8bit anymore.

I beg to differ. 8 bit is probably the only colour depth I'll use in AGS games. Yes, it's hard for ordinary people to get into, but if used correctly it introduces you to a wonderful world of palette effects.

[Ghost]

if used correctly it introduces you to a wonderful world of palette effects.

Hey, I'm as old-school as the next man . But the wonderful world of TWO palette effects has, like, TWO palette effects. Replacing a colour is cool and colour cyling would in theory allow awesome water effects, but for the love of the gods I can't really name ANY AGS game taking advantage of them... I would agree that it can decrease file size though. That's actually still something to consider AFAIC.

Excellent, so in short, currently 32-bit is probably the safest bet for compatibility with modern computers?

No, because colour depth and drivers aren't related. 16b and 32b are both safe to use and the latter gives you even more colours plus the option to use alpha channels. The other issue are drivers, where D3D seems to be a bit more compatible than DD. I don't have exhaustive info on that though, but I think all the commercial AGS games (which cost money, and thus give people a reason to complain when they do not run) recommend D3D.

Personally, I have been using 16b for all my games, and I still use DD instead of D3D because I notice colours are a bit off when I use D3D. I never had any problems running that and, again, the colour depth is for YOU and the driver is for the PLAYER.

[Snarky]

Last time I tried, I couldn't for the life of me get one of Scavenger's games to run and look right. (I seem to remember there's some kind of registry hack you have to apply to make 256-color mode work properly with AGS, but I gave up before that point.) 8-bit is just a compatibility nightmare these days: it's not properly supported out of the box on most PCs, and is hard to troubleshoot. If you make a game in 8-bit mode, you're doing it for yourself, not for players.

Palette effects are neat, but they're not worth it if they're not displayed properly in the first place.

Edit: I disagree slightly with Ghost, in that I think SetPalRGB() is enough to create just about any effect you want, assuming it's fast enough.

[Scavenger]

Last time I tried, I couldn't for the life of me get one of Scavenger's games to run and look right. (I seem to remember there's some kind of registry hack you have to apply to make 256-color mode work properly with AGS, but I gave up before that point.) 8-bit is just a compatibility nightmare these days: it's not properly supported out of the box on most PCs, and is hard to troubleshoot. If you make a game in 8-bit mode, you're doing it for yourself, not for players.

I looked up the registry hack, I'll be sure to put it in the manual of my next game.

I use 8-bit for my own reasons, partly aesthetic, and partly technical. I wouldn't recommend someone do their first game in 8-bit, but suits the game I'm making.

[Gilbert]

But the wonderful world of TWO palette effects has, like, TWO palette effects.

Sigh... Actually in my games I use a lot of palette effects. They're just not released yet.

[DoorKnobHandle]

If you make games for youself and you know what you're doing, use 8-bit. Else, don't.