Uncharted 4: A Thief's End [PS4]

[(((interference)))]

I think we still will. Regardless of the relative ease of development between PS3 and PS4, when you work on a platform over a period of time it's very hard not to learn from past experience and optimize your approach with each iteration of your code.

Also, it's not just a matter of ekeing out every last % of GPU/CPU power but also new techniques, hacks and approaches will be developed that let you do more with less.

For example last gen we gained deferred shading, post-process aliasing, dynamic resolution, imposter LOD systems, cheap global illumination solutions (like Geomeric's Enlighten), procedural animation systems like Naturalmotion's Euphoria, procedural foliage (ie. Speedtree), approximations for ambient occlusion and sub-surface scattering which all made a huge difference when you compared games in the first years of the generation to those coming out at the end.

 

[Clukos]

I'd like to ask a question regarding adaptive Tess and high poly models. I can understand that for main characters it is possible to have high enough poly count for the main character to the point where adding Tess is not necessary, because the result you get is not that different and full Tessellation is very expensive to implement.

In the scene above almost everything seems to be smooth in a way that you'd expect Tessellation to work, even things that don't need to be high poly (basically things you'd never notice when playing the game) like the baskets the women are carrying, or the NPC silhouettes in the distance. Because I've read multiple times in this thread people refuting the possibility of adaptive tessellation for silhouettes in U4, can this be achieved in any other way other than just using high poly models everywhere in this scene?

 

[Akumajou]

I don't think we'll get a UC1-to-UC2 kind of jump this time around. PS4 is much easier to develop for and they already had the engine where they added all the systems they need on the new platform. On PS3 they literally started from the ground up, so clearly UC1 was a lot rougher round the edges than UC2.

We actually just did get such a leap...

Anecdotally analysis on the first 10 minute U4 trailer...and initial reaction was more of the same just 1080p?

The E3 2015 presentation trailer and the completed released trailer are mind boggling...surprised the "looks pre-rendered" arguments of the past generations never came up...the thing is it's so subtle you don't realize it unless you think about the details.

Hence if ND makes either a new Uncharted or Last of Us or something new...whatever it is it's gonna make this look first generation PS4 effort no problem.

 

[Mobius1aic]

I just recently played and completed The Last of Us Remastered. I have never played the PS3 original, and while I know the PS3 version looks really great, the PS4 version just blew me away during the cutscenes especially. I don't know what combination of motion blur and anti-aliasing they used for the cutscenes but they looked amazingly sharp. Looking at graphical differences shown on Digital Foundry's comparison video and what not As glad as I'll be having the Uncharted Collection on PS4 in general, I know I'll be even more happy when I see those games in the same kind of remastered glory TLOU received like 1080p, and [mostly] 60 FPS.

Uncharted 4 already looks amazing graphically, though really it's less about the graphics, and more about the fact that it's Uncharted!

 

[Akumajou]

Wanted to correct my statement...I recently reviewed the first Uncharted 4 gameplay 15 minute trailer again and was comparing to the E3 2015 7 minute gameplay trailer and then the completed 15 minute trailer.

The first one initially seems much like a more complex Uncharted game that to a quick view and you may miss out on subtle effects and details...not just the much more complex upgrade...

The latter two are just despite being the same game but taking place the way it did was just on a mind blowing level.

Specially considering that the E3 2015 trailer and the final complete one have slight variation in path selection.

Pausing and stopping just to notice minute details like the crane actually picking or scooping earth and other objects like the fan spinning slower after damage and more...I wonder if there's am article analyzing them.

I kept thinking if these trailers were shown prior to the console's launch we would have dismissed it as CGi...

Very curious because of the known limitations of these current consoles...since recent PC GPUs are approaching 8 to 9Tf, the next eventual gen consoles should be cracking 10Tf at a minimum on GPU alone...

 

[HTupolev]

I don't know what combination of motion blur and anti-aliasing they used for the cutscenes

They used the kind where you sample everything fifty million billion times over and store the result as bluray video.

 

[Clukos]

On the topic of cutscenes, since many people are trying to find a source about them being real-time in U4

@19:30

 

[Clukos]

Interesting talk about both TLOU and U4, apparently the name of TLOU throughout the project was "The downfall of Naughty Dog", couldn't be far from the truth, they actually hit the mainstream audience more than anything else with TLOU

 

[Clukos]

I am not happy either about the 60fps thing. They should do 30 and go crazy...e.g. Introduce fully interactive environment (destruction).

Prophetic post?

 

[Billy Idol]

ND reads B3D!!

 

[milk]

With that in mind, I think they should keep the 30fps, and give the game out for free to people with dairy related usernames on internet forums.
Just saying...

 

[chris1515]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=147633674&postcount=198

I remember where Naughty Dog said than they don't use adaptative tesselation for Uncharted 4. It is from an EDGE article.

Up close a system developed by ND and Sony's Advanced Technology Group offers a more efficient way of making highly detailed surfaces without using performance adaptive tessellation while farther away the studio is relying more on background LOD algorithms more than ever before.

 

[Clukos]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=147633674&postcount=198

I remember where Naughty Dog said than they don't use adaptative tesselation for Uncharted 4. It is from an EDGE article.

That system must be pretty good then because the results are incredible (especially character silhouettes). According to the same source ND are using some sort of procedural tessellation for the water apparently

Drake wakes to an island shore off the coast of Madagascar waking to a backdrop of procedurally tessalated water

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I'd have thought everyone uses procedural tessellation on water these days. You want detail up close but don't want a high density mesh when its in the distance.

 

[Clukos]

Yeah, i actually like how they used it on Witcher 3. Also, do we know what did Rocksteady use for Arkham Knight? Because that looks great as well.

 

[L. Scofield]

Crysis 1 uses tessellated water.

 

[Clukos]

Yeah even today Crysis 1 still has some of the best looking water. It was truly ahead of its time (and the hardware back then )

 

[HTupolev]

2007 was a good year for game water.

 

[Devious]

2007 was a good year for game water.

I used to watch these over and over. 2007 was indeed a good year for water.

Halo 3 - fast forward to 0:52 for the water bit of the ViDoc.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Bioshock

Uncharted 4's water about to be

.

 

[psorcerer]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=147633674&postcount=198
background LOD algorithms

Which is another way of saying: "adaptive tessellation done right".