Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion [2022]

[Inuhanyou]

For me personally A Plague Tale Requiem is peak. quite possibly best looking foliage I've ever seen in video games. the game also has great art design which helps. even support characters have great character models. only problem is the animation quality (from the face to actual gameplay)

I would have probably swapped portal rtx out for it as number 3 myself.

But both alex and John say they agree the game was let down by it's smaller budget nature being too evident which clashes with the high quality visuals.

Alex himself specifically notes that he takes game appreciation in totality in the video and that game graphics in isolation are not the end all, or else screen shots would be king. Which is why calisto had points knocked off for being broken on PC.

 

[BitByte]

A Plagues Tale should have been easily in the top 3.

Not with those animations and horrific input lag on Consoles….

Also, maybe it’s just me but the game doesn’t impress me with its visuals. Graphically speaking, it’s quite competent but the art direction runs me the wrong way.

 

[trinibwoy]

Has Callisto on PC really been fixed? I missed that.

 

[davis.anthony]

Not with those animations and horrific input lag on Consoles….

Also, maybe it’s just me but the game doesn’t impress me with its visuals. Graphically speaking, it’s quite competent but the art direction runs me the wrong way.

And yet the top two games have issues on other platforms but were given a free pass by DF.

It's the best looking game I've played by far this year and get's better looking as you progress through it.

 

[Inuhanyou]

And yet the top two games have issues on other platforms but were given a free pass by DF.

It's the best looking game I've played by far this year and get's better looking as you progress through it.

Eh. Animation is a sticking point on all platforms. Horizon being less impressive on PS4 is just a matter of basic logic. I agree about Callisto though. There is no reason to accept just the PS5 version considering how many platforms it came out on

 

[Remij]

Has Callisto on PC really been fixed? I missed that.

The Shader Compilation stuttering has been fixed, there's still some other stuttering related to zone loading.. basically when traversing from one zone to the next you'll get some stuttering due to the engine being largely single threaded and other reasons quite frankly.

The game isn't the most optimized game in existence.. especially on DX12 platforms like Xbox and PC, which honestly should be doing better than they are. If you have a stupidly powerful PC you can brute force a lot, but there's still CPU related issues, which can be particularly egregious when using Ray Tracing.

If you're considering buying it on PC, I'd give the game one more patch after the Christmas holidays to see if performance improvements are something the team will actually be able to do.. and if not then, perhaps by the time the DLC starts rolling around the game will be in a better place and you could pick it up then.

 

[trinibwoy]

The Shader Compilation stuttering has been fixed, there's still some other stuttering related to zone loading.. basically when traversing from one zone to the next you'll get some stuttering due to the engine being largely single threaded and other reasons quite frankly.

The game isn't the most optimized game in existence.. especially on DX12 platforms like Xbox and PC, which honestly should be doing better than they are. If you have a stupidly powerful PC you can brute force a lot, but there's still CPU related issues, which can be particularly egregious when using Ray Tracing.

If you're considering buying it on PC, I'd give the game one more patch after the Christmas holidays to see if performance improvements are something the team will actually be able to do.. and if not then, perhaps by the time the DLC starts rolling around the game will be in a better place and you could pick it up then.

Yeah it’s way down my todo list. By the time I get to it there’ll probably be a definitive edition with hopefully most bugs squashed.

 

[BRiT]

Yeah it’s way down my todo list. By the time I get to it there’ll probably be a definitive edition with hopefully most bugs squashed.

If that is after the DeadSpace Remake release, you'll probably find TCP significantly discounted too.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Its all subjective when it comes to graphics. I can somewhat agree with The-Pissartist’s opinions however Portal rtx sure would get a top 3 spot, for example.

Maybe we can get a list from Rich and Alex before end of the year so each platform is covered?

What might be more interesting is specific aspects of rendering , like best lighting, best people, most detailed geometry, most consistent framerate (maybe in an open-world game or something where framerates are notoriously low?), best upscaling, best water, best fire,...,leaving the 'art' side as much out of it as possible. This would also give room for smaller titles to shine in particular areas if they execute something particularly well inside an otherwise uninspiring and overlooked title. Maybe poor management produced a turkey but someone executed a really nice graphic component that deserves recognition?

 

[Dictator]

WRT - TW3 Complete Edition Ray Tracing

Q. Do PC and console RT share the same amount of ray per pixel for RTAO? Also do console and PC versions have the same ‘rays per probe update interval’ for RTGI?

A: RTAO is fixed resolution on consoles (800x900 checkerboarded), however on PC it is based on the render resolution setting and is not fixed.
Our Global Grid settings are on a relatively even keel between PC and consoles. Local grid is a little different, it is less dense on consoles where we use fewer probes and give more space between each. We have lower shading-rays-per-frame on the console local grid, but because of the reduced number of probes it should come out at a similar rays-per-probe. In addition it is worth noting that classification-rays-per-probe is reduced on console

 

[ethomaz]

N1 was rather obvious, happy to see gt7 on list as environemnt underwhelming but car models, dynamic lighting and hdr superb, little controversial lack of Ragnarok but on the other hand tough game very polished we should expect more from Santa Monica, generaly nice list.

Nothing controversial about Ragnarok imo.
I finished it last week and while it is an amazing game the graphics are PS4 enhanced at best.
It clearly shows how cross-gen can affect games... HFW while being cross-gen too seems to have more care from Guerillha with PS5 version (the differece is clear to anybody that played both games on the machine)... Santa Monica in graphic department really disappointed me this time

 

[snc]

Nothing controversial about Ragnarok imo.
I finished it last week and while it is an amazing game the graphics are PS4 enhanced at best.
It clearly shows how cross-gen can affect games... HFW while being cross-gen too seems to have more care from Guerillha with PS5 version (the differece is clear to anybody that played both games on the machine)... Santa Monica in graphic department really disappointed me this time

Imo it still looks better than some games on the list but agree, great game but disappoitning graphics

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Looking at DF's list, while a nice technical achievement I don't think Portal deserves to be in the top 5 much less the top 3. Top 10 certainly as it's quite an achievement even if outside of the lighting the game is quite dated.

I'd put the recent UE 5.1 Fortnite ahead of Portal RT. I find that it's a much more impressive showcase of total overall graphical improvement that is more represetative of what we might see in games in the next 2-4 years even if Portal RT's improvement WRT lighting is significantly better. They both solve different problems that have plagued real time computer (console as well) game graphics for decades. Lighting and asset geometric detail especially out to long distances. Both arguably impact the other to enhance the implementation of each. So, while Portal RT shows impressive capabilities in solving lighting and reflections, that's all it does.

Fortnite, while it's lighting solution is less pronounced comes with an equally important and arguably (IMO) more important solution to geometric detail (especially WRT LOD) that combination of improved lighting solution with a potential solution to constantly varying geometric detail just puts it significantly and noticeably ahead of Portal RT. Now, it's not perfect, but it's such a step beyond anything else that has come before, that it represents a breathtaking view of what's possible in the future beyond what "only" RT brings. Basically, the best lighting in the world can still not be incredibly impressive if you don't have the world detail necessary to really showcase it. Portal RT shows a solution to one of those (lighting) while Fortnite UE5.1 shows 1 solution for geometric world and asset detail with another partial solution for lighting. And thus the lighting in Fortnite, ends up looking as good as the lighting in Portal RT just because there are better world assets with which to show it. And those assets aren't just limited to a small view space in front of the camera but runs out as far as there is visibility in the game (again, not perfect, but significantly beyond anything else that's come before it).

For top 3? That's rough and depends entirely on whether we focus on purely technical reasons or if aesthetics plays a part. If asthetics, asset quality and variety and world building play an important part (and they do for me) then Elden Ring would likely be at the top for me with HFW being a very close second. Then it'd be a fight between A Plague's Tale: Requiem and Callisto with the nod going towards Plague's Tale just because it didn't have such a shoddy launch on all platforms other than PS5.

If it's weighted more towards the technical side? That's tough as well, because such a large part of why the technical bits matter is WRT to how well they contribute to presenting the aesthetics of a game. So, I'd have a hard time seperating the technical bits from the aesthetic bits. Technically, Fortnite UE5.1 would likely be in my top 3 even if aesthetically it wouldn't be in the top 5. Outside of that, there's a lot of games doing interesting and technically impressive things that would make a case for inclusion in my top 3. So, I'll waffle on this and just not put forth a list of games that could make a claim to the other 2 spots in the top 3 games I find particularly interesting from a purely technical standpoint.

Regards,
SB

 

[trinibwoy]

WRT - TW3 Complete Edition Ray Tracing

Q. Do PC and console RT share the same amount of ray per pixel for RTAO? Also do console and PC versions have the same ‘rays per probe update interval’ for RTGI?

A: RTAO is fixed resolution on consoles (800x900 checkerboarded), however on PC it is based on the render resolution setting and is not fixed.
Our Global Grid settings are on a relatively even keel between PC and consoles. Local grid is a little different, it is less dense on consoles where we use fewer probes and give more space between each. We have lower shading-rays-per-frame on the console local grid, but because of the reduced number of probes it should come out at a similar rays-per-probe. In addition it is worth noting that classification-rays-per-probe is reduced on console

That sounds like the RT features are quite scalable and they just shit the bed on the PC config.

 

[pjbliverpool]

That sounds like the RT features are quite scalable and they just shit the bed on the PC config.

And the recent mod confirms that. This seems like far to great of a glaring oversight to simply be a poor implementation. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if CDPR came under some pressure from a particular vendor to ramp up the default RT settings for marketing purposes.

 

[Henry swagger]

And the recent mod confirms that. This seems like far to great of a glaring oversight to simply be a poor implementation. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if CDPR came under some pressure from a particular vendor to ramp up the default RT settings for marketing purposes.

And which vendor is that ?

 

[pjbliverpool]

And which vendor is that ?

I think if the answer to that is obvious then it further supports the point.

Out of curiosity I just had a look at the Steam Hardware survey to see what percentage of the PC market sports RT capable GPU's in ballpark console RT performance or less (3060/6070 and below) I.e. those setups which would benefit from the more relaxed console settings...

It comes in at around 20%! That's not 20% of all RT capable GPU's, that's 20% of the entire PC market. I.e. probably a similar number of PC's as there are PS5's. There's maybe another 15% on top of that that are comfortably or significantly more capable, but this shows that there is no excuse from the developer point of view in saying "we set the PC higher because its more capable". That's fine if there's also a lower setting available, but not when you are locking more than 50% of PC RT capable GPU's that sport similar or lower performance to the consoles to much more taxing than console settings.

 

[Dr. Nick]

 

[Cyan]

And the recent mod confirms that. This seems like far to great of a glaring oversight to simply be a poor implementation. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if CDPR came under some pressure from a particular vendor to ramp up the default RT settings for marketing purposes.

which mod?

 

[Phantom88]

^ https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/7432?tab=description

Higher GI distance than Vanilla so less pop in. Half the total ray count. Lower performance than previous version. 25% fps uplift.

Download version 0.3 if you want higher performance uplift (40-50%)