One of these things is not like the other

Go to this link: http://www.geocities.com/drunkpikachu69/Pictures.html

You will find two simmilar pictures with only one noticable difference. To the middle left in one picture are a group of mountains, in the other one there are no mountains. What I ask everyone to do is to save these two pictures and answer me this question: Were the mountain edited out of picture 1, or edited into picture 2? The more specific you get with your answers the better. In a day or two I will post my own answer to compare to everyone elses. As of right now I will not tell you which one is or isn't edited, I want everyone to figure it out on their own. Remember, right now, there is no wrong answer. But if you do answer, give whatever proof you can.

While this isnt exactly a question about photoshop technique, I want people skilled with photoshop to look this over.

easy. the mountain is shoped into #2 because the game doesn't use antialiasing but the mountain is antialiased.

right?

I play games and I photoshop as a profession. It's impossible to tell, in truth. People can give long winded reasons for their beliefs, but the reality is it's not possible to tell with any accuracy.

My instinct says the mountains were added. I am going on the presumption of screen draw, distance fog and drop-off distances at the periphery. Playing games like AA it is a known issue that players and objects come into view at the left and right periphery before they do the centre.

Therefore if they are both the same screen grab, I can only presume the mountain was added. To be in view, the 1st person view would have to panned to the left or right to reveal the mountain. If that was the case it would be viewable in both.

There you go a confusing long winded explanation!

Im gonna say added, definetely. The pixel patterns on the first, where the mountain should be, are too inconsistent to have been cloned from a similar area.

First, from photoshop POV, I will say the mountain was removed.
If you overlap the images then turn layer1 on/off, you will notice there are far too many different pixels outside the mountains, that would justify an addition.
(usually when you add something, it is at an edge, yet the pixel differences are outside the edges of the mountain, too far away for even a sloppy addition IMHO)
Only being aggresive with clone tool could explain this.

Second though, from a photographer POV, I would have to say addition, b/c there would be no reason to remove mountain, and leave emty hole at that part of screen.
Adding mountain there has given point of interest, that helps eye move around the image.

But seeing as its not a photo, I will go with first idea
I'm with hermit as well though. Sloppy or pro, added or removed, the end result is impossible to tell the difference because of the source it came from (game)