Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion [2022]
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There's a point in the DF Direct where they're talking about the shader compilation stuttering issue and that's all great, but I kind of wish they'd stop from emphasizing the whole "...AND you have to precompile after every driver update.." thing as this big negative. Now obviously it is true, however I think framing it in that way works against helping to get the issue solved. People like DF who understand the technical aspects of PC gaming, understand why it's necessary.. and so I think the focus shouldn't be around making it seem like another big hassle of PC gaming.. but instead as a necessary step to ensure the best performance. To the consumer it makes the "solution" seem invasive and unwanted.. and I think even just continually bringing up that aspect could cause developers to potentially reconsider wanting to include the precompile process in their games in the first place. Which is what the goal should be right now.
Yes, there's negative aspects to it... but I think the goal right now should be to help consumers understand why these things are necessary and why it's a good thing, while also encouraging developers to actually do it. I wish DF would make a video specifically about helping the consumers understand and accept it better, showing games which were bad and have since been fixed by precompiling, and also show games which still have the issue encouraging developers to fix them through patches. Games like FF7R, It Takes Two, Stray, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Scorn, Hellblade... ect.
Let's try to get some attention on them again, and get the developers to fix them, while simultaneously encouraging them to not have the issue in their upcoming games by allowing us to precompile!
Yes, there's negative aspects to it... but I think the goal right now should be to help consumers understand why these things are necessary and why it's a good thing, while also encouraging developers to actually do it. I wish DF would make a video specifically about helping the consumers understand and accept it better, showing games which were bad and have since been fixed by precompiling, and also show games which still have the issue encouraging developers to fix them through patches. Games like FF7R, It Takes Two, Stray, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Scorn, Hellblade... ect.
Let's try to get some attention on them again, and get the developers to fix them, while simultaneously encouraging them to not have the issue in their upcoming games by allowing us to precompile!
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The true spirit of Christmas: arguing about which game pixels are the best. 
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I really like the RT reflection update on GTA 5. Upon inspection, as pointed out in this video, it can be both great while also still showing notable imperfections. However, when playing it adds a lot to the overall cohesiveness of the visuals as they try to represent a big city.
Now, if they would only go back and update the console version of RDR 2...maybe a 60 fps mode or a Performance RT mode
One can dream...
we're getting there.
We knew this would be a hybrid generation, the start of something bigger. By next generation RT will be in full swing. I'm happy with the progress, I know for those fighting each other, it may be not enough, or adequate progress, but it seems like it's moving in the general direction we all thought it would, and fairly so, it would be hybrid and over time that hybrid RT would just get better.
I like what we're seeing. We need more power to get more to the insane motherland, but we will get there. Things will get smoother, things will look better.
Is there an explanation for why PCs don’t get the GTA V raytracing updates? I think there was also an RT shadows update earlier this year that didn’t make it to PC.
New Improvements and More Coming Soon in This Month’s GTA Online Update - Rockstar Games
With this year drawing to a close, we'd like to thank our devoted community of enterprising criminals, creators, and competitors in Grand Theft Auto Online, and provide some details on what is still to come.
www.rockstargames.com
- PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will add ray-traced reflections — rendering real-time reflections on many surfaces — via the Fidelity Mode graphics setting.
Is there an explanation for why PCs don’t get the GTA V raytracing updates? I think there was also an RT shadows update earlier this year that didn’t make it to PC.
New Improvements and More Coming Soon in This Month’s GTA Online Update - Rockstar Games
With this year drawing to a close, we'd like to thank our devoted community of enterprising criminals, creators, and competitors in Grand Theft Auto Online, and provide some details on what is still to come.
- PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will add ray-traced reflections — rendering real-time reflections on many surfaces — via the Fidelity Mode graphics setting.
Like always PC will improve later like all Rockstar games(GTA 5, Read Dead 2...) and it will be much better than on consoles.
Hybrid rendering is perfectly fine but there’s really no reason for certain things to co-exist. Cube maps and SSAO for example should be dead and buried next gen. I’m hopeful that shadow maps are also a thing of the past but it seems most developers haven’t gotten the hang of local RT shadows yet so maybe they will live on. SSR will probably still be around in some form as not every graphical asset is represented in the RT BVH.
I hope so. It’s been over 6 months and still no RT shadows on PC.
I think its funny people forget that precompilation times were the initial issue and were a major motivation for Flappy to start a whole thread here about shader compilation and the issues it will cause.
JIT shader compilation has turned precompilation from an annoying inconvenience into a godsend (at least until gamers’ short memories kick in and stuttering is forgotten). LOL
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Transistion to a new paradigm takes times especially when BC is a must. A complete shift may never happen. Fixed function is still around even though most of it can be provided through compute.
lol I will admit, I hang my head in shame. I absolutely dreaded waiting for shaders to compile whenever the next patch for COD Warzone came out, so much so I uninstalled the title. But, it ran really well =P
Probably a lot more effort on PC. Is there any data on what the split is for player numbers between consoles and PC?Is there an explanation for why PCs don’t get the GTA V raytracing updates? I think there was also an RT shadows update earlier this year that didn’t make it to PC.
New Improvements and More Coming Soon in This Month’s GTA Online Update - Rockstar Games
With this year drawing to a close, we'd like to thank our devoted community of enterprising criminals, creators, and competitors in Grand Theft Auto Online, and provide some details on what is still to come.
- PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will add ray-traced reflections — rendering real-time reflections on many surfaces — via the Fidelity Mode graphics setting.
That is hilarious. Things tend to work out like that though!
I've personally never held that opinion though. I've always advocated for doing whatever necessary to ensure that when I get into the game itself.. the experience is great. Waiting some amount of time for a pre-compilation step is nothing but a minor inconvenience... just as waiting to download the game in the first place... or getting up and putting the disc in... or going to the store to have to buy the damn thing... lol
Just think when cloud gaming has taken over... people will actually look back and think "how did we ever think it was acceptable to take hours to download a game to play it?"... Kids will be so used to the gratification of things being instant and not having to wait for anything, that even those minor inconveniences of our day will seem major to them.
Like I've said though... those compile times, will come down with faster hardware, and can be augmented to speed up the process to where I believe it would be almost unnoticeable. Steam is already most of the way there with Steam Deck.
As with most games theres no data on this other than that GTAV sold 170m copies in total since its PS360 generation release. Online its very active on both PSN and PC, no idea other platforms but probably very alive aswell.
Sales should be higher on consoles, as it seems that you have to buy a new GTAV for each generation of consoles, thats 7th gen, 8th and now 9th generation. On PC you obviously can stick to your one and only version once aquired almost a decade ago.
Or because theres a huge community on PC who have providing and are still delivering mods and enhancements including all sorts of ray tracing modes to the basegame (for free).
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Inuhanyou
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To be fair. The RT modes on console are technically free as well. Even if the actual game itself isnt. Damn rockstar...
On another note. I have heard the argument that glossy and shiny surfaces(more recently in regards to RT) are a "cheap" way to make games look good .
Seeing these mods on PC, I can fully say I don't understand wtf those kinds of people are talking about. Does it look exaggerated to show the effect? Yes. But I think it's a lot more natural of a mod than those old amateur gta4 "ultra next gen" mods many years ago which just blew out tons of effects haphazardly thinking it made the game look better
John's 11 favourite games of 2022. Won't comment much on the video, aside from the fact that it is another great video and surprises galore, and that a detail he mentions when he talks about the competition of one of the games is something that I also felt with some Forza series and the likes of it, where they throw too many cars at you, to the point you never get to use nor find appealing at all many, if not most, of them.
Rather prefer a few special cars that make a difference when you use them, just like Ridge Racer games. When you unlock a new car in Ridge Racer, or a new vehicle in F-Zero Maximum Velocity, that really means something and you feel you are ready for the next challenge in the game.
How he ranked Shadow Man is really not a surprise because I do think this game was actually the main inspiration of From Software when they did Demon's Souls! At some point they almost shamelessly copied whole aspects from Shadow Man! The whole Souls business (duh), the complex maze-like level design, death respawning all ennemies, the very immersive atmosphere notably thanks to the music, the way the story is put forward to the player etc. I would also rank Shadow Man really high as it's actually my most played game this year! (the game is quite long...)
Also he maybe didn't know but this remastered version has actually plenty of new content, including levels (very complex too!) and new audio. But yeah this game is such a great game. All Souls players should play it as it's, I think, the precursor of Demon's Souls and the whole Souls formula.
hmmm, that might explain why he chose the game he placed at number 1 this year, given his devotion to Shadow Man. I've never played that game tbh. If things go well, in 2023 one of my favourite retro games, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is going to have a path traced version with FSR2/XeSS/DLSS support, and while I liked modern Wolfenstein games -specially Wolfenstein Youngblood 'cos I liked the idea but somehow the execution wasn't good-, none of them manages to beat that classic, some missions -specially one with a sniper rifle and a tower- were the most fun I've played in a game.
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