Today, I want to discuss a feature that you might not care much about, but your Android phone probably supports: Variable Rate Shading (VRS).
What is this technology for?
If you want the most complete explanation, you can refer to Qualcomm's official website.
Okay, if you can understand the article on Qualcomm's official website, you likely have a substantial understanding of gaming computation technology.
In fact, this isn't a very novel technology; similar effects have been around in the gaming industry for many years.
The primary purpose of this technology is to enhance the efficiency of game operations and reduce the hardware burden.
In simple terms, if used properly, hardware can present a superior and stable gaming experience without using as much computational resources or occupying as much hardware capacity.
A classic example of similar technology application is the "BIOHAZARD 2" on the N64 console decades ago. Back then, developers managed to fit the content of two CDs (each CD had a capacity of about 700MB) into a cartridge with only 64MB of space. To achieve this, the development team utilized a lot of technology for optimization, including computations similar to VRS.
How Does This Technology Work?
If you find the information on Qualcomm's official site too complex and hard to understand, here is a much simplified version.
Simply put, it saves performance by "copying & pasting" repeated areas on the game screen (is this explanation simple enough?).
This technology is mainly applied in the computation of game visuals, with the primary goal of reducing the hardware's computational burden without altering the visuals.
The game visuals we see are the result of a series of complex computations.
To display smooth game visuals, our hardware needs to do the following:
It has to quickly calculate what color each pixel on the screen should be, then rapidly compile these into a complete image.
Then, at a high speed, it continuously projects these consecutive images onto the screen, allowing us to see complete, continuous, and interactive visuals.
Just thinking about this task shows how complex it is.
So, now that we have the visuals, how can we save computational resources?
A simple method is not to recompute the same colors or objects on the screen, but rather copy and paste the already calculated results.
If a certain area of the screen remains the same over a period, we might even retain the previously calculated results for that area.
That's essentially what Variable Rate Shading technology involves.
By reducing the need to recalculate the same results, it saves hardware resources.
How Can This 'Shortcut' Technology Be Utilized?
If we had extremely powerful computational hardware, we wouldn't need to think about reducing the hardware's workload.
But in reality, hardware capabilities are limited.
So, how to calculate smoother, more refined visuals with limited computational power is a critical issue.
For example, if a game places a heavy load on hardware, ideally, engineers could use these technologies to save some power, then reinvest the saved power back into processing the visuals, improving the game's refresh rate and making the gameplay smoother.
Are There Downsides to This 'Shortcut' Computation?
Firstly, it might slightly affect the quality of the visuals.
Moreover, the more complex and dynamic the game visuals are, the harder it is for this technology to perform effectively.
It can be understood this way: the fewer repetitive objects and colors there are on the screen that can be filled by "copy and paste," the less power can be saved by this technology.
How to Activate This Feature on Android Systems?
Good question.
As far as I know, this power-saving computation is usually directly incorporated into games, rarely provided as an option for us to toggle.
But there are exceptions, such as the ROG Phone 8, which offers an independent feature called "AutoVRS" for certain games.
The activation process is as follows: Open Armoury Crate, select "Game Profiles" => "Advanced Mode" => "Edit" => "Display."
↪︎ Open Armoury Crate, enter "Game Profiles," switch to "Advanced Mode," then click the "Edit" button.
↪︎ If the game supports this feature, we can see the "AutoVRS" option at the bottom of the menu list. It is usually turned off by default.
Currently, the games confirmed to have this option include Honor of Kings(CN), Arena of Valor, and PUBG MOBILE.
If you're interested, why not turn on this option and see the actual effects it brings?
