Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion [2017]

[dogen]

"Exactly. It’s also not an actual “best graphics” video either - that list would look very different."

And this sentence obviously concerns games like Zelda or Next Machina. Certainly not HZD.

imo Nex Machina would deserve a best graphics spot too. The particle explosions are amazing.

 

[Shortbread]

Most impressive technical game of 2017 award goes to Horizon Zero Dawn

I think this is a no brainer, Horizon combines state of the art techs with beautiful art that elegantly outputs something almost like Planet Earth in real time, plus one of the best HDR implementation ever which really brings out every nuances of the frame.

As a diehard gamer, but more so a PC loyalist, I have to say, HZD is drop-dead gorgeous on my PS4 Pro and the best overall technical engine (i.e. decima engine) I've seen within the console & PC gaming space. That being said, HZD visual quality can't compare to a fully maxed 4K/60fps Assassin's Creed Origins. Then factoring in extras like 6K/8k DSR sampling, leaves HZD dead on arrival. But I can see HZD beating ACO, if it had the same PC treatment allotted to it.

 

[ultragpu]

As a diehard gamer, but more so a PC loyalist, I have to say, HZD is drop-dead gorgeous on my PS4 Pro and the best overall technical engine (i.e. decima engine) I've seen within the console & PC gaming space. That being said, HZD visual quality can't compare to a fully maxed 4K/60fps Assassin's Creed Origins. Then factoring in extras like 6K/8k DSR sampling, leaves HZD dead on arrival. But I can see HZD beating ACO, if it had the same PC treatment allotted to it.

Look I'll be real here, there's no way a PS4 Pro game can compete with a high end PC game in terms of pure IQ, FPS or higher quality graphical fidelity due to obvious reason (power). But what all that power mainly lacks is the luxury of targeting a single base hardware at a decent power level, also one can argue raw talents and creative freedom. AssCreed for example no matter at what Ks or insane FPS or settings you're running at will always be limited by that 1.3 tf gpu and ancient Jaguar cores found in Xbone S graphically speaking. A 12 tf Titan Godzilla XPXYZ running AssCreed Origins will just look like an ultra clean, ultra fast and refined Xbone S version. Is it impressive technically? Sure, in a different sense. But my eyes are more pleased with Horizon's slew of graphic features that takes a 1.84 tf gpu as a baseline albeit running at 4k CBR 30fps running on the same display. Perhaps AssCreed at 8k would yield much better return to my eyes at a 75" or bigger TV but with my 65" ZD9, the res:quality ratio is perfectly balanced. In short, it depends on your own preference and display equipment .

 

[Recop]

https://www.resetera.com/posts/2617330/

 

[djskribbles]

So basically BF2, Uncharted LL and GT Sport probably would've been 8, 9 and 10 (not necessarily in that order) if it was a top 10 list.

 

[snarfbot]

tv's are so much better than monitors these days its hard to come back to this thing and look at its garbage screen.

anyway ive been playing horizon zero dawn too and while it is very pretty i wouldnt say its better than doom to my eye, it looks better compared to tomb raider which is probably the closest thing in terms of scope but it doesnt blow it away by any means.

as an aside that gravity rush game looked cool i never heard of it, gotta check it out!

 

[London Geezer]

Doom? I mean, we all have different eyes but still that’s quite a stretch. And I loved Doom.

 

[function]

Doom? I mean, we all have different eyes but still that’s quite a stretch. And I loved Doom.

There's some impressive work going on in the engine.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Idtech is A+

 

[AlNom]

Idtech is A+

The engine is pretty solid for what it's doing underneath the hood, but I don't see why one would make any comparison to Horizon given the different scopes of both games.

 

[Scott_Arm]

It has some cool things, but I don't see why you'd make any comparison to Horizon given the different scopes of either game. They're different.

I'm not. I'm just saying I think doom, wolf2 are great.

 

[ultragpu]

tv's are so much better than monitors these days its hard to come back to this thing and look at its garbage screen.

anyway ive been playing horizon zero dawn too and while it is very pretty i wouldnt say its better than doom to my eye, it looks better compared to tomb raider which is probably the closest thing in terms of scope but it doesnt blow it away by any means.

as an aside that gravity rush game looked cool i never heard of it, gotta check it out!

TR close in scope to Horizon? Not sure if serious. The lighting, level of detail, PBR and density in HZD are head and shoulders over TR. Doom in its interior does look stunning but it outdoor area is severely lacking in geometry density. the amount of techs gone into HZD is definitely more impressive to me overall.

 

[DrJay24]

Idtech is A+

Wolfenstein 2 is idtech right? It looks pretty damn good and runs great. Only the humans look odd up close.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Wolfenstein 2 is idtech right? It looks pretty damn good and runs great. Only the humans look odd up close.

Yep

 

[snarfbot]

I meant scope as in genre as an open world third person game tomb raider is closer than doom. Much like while uncharted is a third person game it's not open world so it can't be compared directly to horizon zero dawn either.

 

[Nesh]

TR close in scope to Horizon? Not sure if serious. The lighting, level of detail, PBR and density in HZD are head and shoulders over TR. Doom in its interior does look stunning but it outdoor area is severely lacking in geometry density. the amount of techs gone into HZD is definitely more impressive to me overall.

Yes indeed. The TR was a tiny fraction of HZ's map. This counts for both TR games. And in actuallity The Rise Of The Tomb Raider was some small maps sawn together