Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion Archive [2015]

[AlNom]

Then again... Diablo 3's unpatched issue was apparently the 60Hz engine vs 59.94Hz HDMI...

"Essentially what's going on is we're updating at 60 frames per second, except on the consoles it's 59.94. Effectively it's like a round-off here - we're updating 59 frames on the first second, and 61 frames on the next [meaning] we're literally double-writing a frame."

Wouldn't that difference propagate to 30Hz titles as well? (30Hz vs 29.97 -> 59.94Hz)

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Digital Foundry: Is Bloodborne the next-gen Souls you've been waiting for?

Compared to Dark Souls 2's remaster on PS4, which runs at mostly 60fps with some dips, this shows a classic trade-off between performance and graphics quality. The remaster is simpler in visual design certainly, but we get a sharpness in controller response at 60fps that's simply not afforded by From Software's sub-30fps title. For landing crucial parries, this uneven frame-rate can make all the difference between success and another "you died" screen.​

 

[London Geezer]

/waits for patch to downgrade graphics and increase framerate.



Oh yes I did.

 

[BRiT]

Would said patch have anything to do with AF and/or POM?

 

[DrJay24]

It will probably be DX12 and boost it to 60fps.

 

[Cyan]

Would said patch have anything to do with AF and/or POM?

Have you heard of it too? It would make for an interesting DF article.

Apparently, GTA V patch 1.8 on the PS4 and X1 has the word "downgrade" written all over it.

It seems like they downgraded the AF, the Parallax Occlusion Mapping, frequent popping, draw distance LOD decreased, car damage modelling got also downgraded.

 

[DrJay24]

You are about two days behind. Damage was patched back in with 1.09 and AF was never changed (bogus claim) and any other changes ate likely also a bug, Rockstar is investigating it (scroll up).

 

[Cyan]

You are about two days behind. Damage was patched back in with 1.09 and AF was never changed (bogus claim) and any other changes ate likely also a bug, Rockstar is investigating it (scroll up).

The damage thing is mentioned in the video, yes. AF... I don't have the game so I can't tell. I know about the bug and investigation thing, but it'd be nice to have a DF article on the matter. What puzzles me is the fact that the guy who created the video seems to say that the bug affects both the PS4 and the Xbox One, but I guess he is only playing either the PS4 version or Xbox One's... so maybe it only affects the version he is currently playing.

 

[DrJay24]

The guy who made the video was either incompetent or trying to mislead IMO.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Digital Foundry: Has Rockstar really downgraded GTA 5?

• PS4: POM removed, AF unchanged, framerate improved.
• XBO: POM removed, AF unchanged, framerate unchanged.

Interesting but inclusive. It could be the removal of POM did influence framerate on PS4 but doesn't on XBO, or it could be POM and framerate are entirely unrelated and some other change improved the framerate on PS4. I guess we'll find out when/if Rockstar rectify the bug they're currently investigating.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Digital Foundry: Face-Off: Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

Better than the 360/PS3 versions but..

Unfortunately, this level of satisfaction doesn't last long, and within a few minutes, frame-rates start crashing down as we encounter the first couple of firefights. Our first major battle in an expansive control room sees performance drop down into the mid 40s across both PS4 and Xbox One, immediately creating a jarring mix of judder and a distracting loss of controller response.​

 

[goonergaz]

Digital Foundry: Has Rockstar really downgraded GTA 5?

• PS4: POM removed, AF unchanged, framerate improved.
• XBO: POM removed, AF unchanged, framerate unchanged.

Interesting but inclusive. It could be the removal of POM did influence framerate on PS4 but doesn't on XBO, or it could be POM and framerate are entirely unrelated and some other change improved the framerate on PS4. I guess we'll find out when/if Rockstar rectify the bug they're currently investigating.

I guess this update confirms also that the 'issue' with junctions on PS4 was not due to the slower CPU as some had speculated at the time.

And anyway, didn't R* already say the POM is a bug or are they talking about some other gfx downgrade?

 

[Globalisateur]

I guess this update confirms also that the 'issue' with junctions on PS4 was not due to the slower CPU as some had speculated at the time.

If anything that was less due to a slower CPU but more because of a lower number of available CPU cores back then, which was confirmed in the leaked XB1 SDK:

Titles shipping on the October XDK can use a 7th CPU core...any title planning to ship on the October XDK or later can take advantage of this additional processing power.

I think the most interesting thing to note in this 1.09 patch is that apparently performance across junctions only improved (and dramatically, from ~25fps drops to solid 30fps in junctions) on PS4 and not on XB1 (which had also drops in junctions, still has, only they were less severe).

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I guess this update confirms also that the 'issue' with junctions on PS4 was not due to the slower CPU as some had speculated at the time.

The PS4 initially had a higher percentage of simulated female drivers who panic at junctions causing an increased AI load on the processor. They fixed this in patch 1.04

 

[London Geezer]

Improved framerate at junctions has zilch to do with POM.

 

[DrJay24]

Digital Foundry: Face-Off: Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

Better than the 360/PS3 versions but..

Unfortunately, this level of satisfaction doesn't last long, and within a few minutes, frame-rates start crashing down as we encounter the first couple of firefights. Our first major battle in an expansive control room sees performance drop down into the mid 40s across both PS4 and Xbox One, immediately creating a jarring mix of judder and a distracting loss of controller response.​

Unfortunately, overall performance is extremely variable across both consoles, with the experience feeling especially compromised during those intense gunfights that define what Borderlands is all about - shooting and looting.

As such, drops in fluidity are regularly joined by bouts of screen-tearing on both consoles, though the Xbox One is far more heavily affected, with near constant tearing occurring during both large and smaller scale skirmishes.

And no recommendation for the XB1/PS4 shoppers, though they had no issue recommending the XB1 version of DmC a week earlier.

http://i.imgur.com/ImfR9Yl.gifv

 

[iroboto]

And no recommendation for the XB1/PS4 shoppers, though they had no issue recommending the XB1 version of DmC a week earlier.

http://i.imgur.com/ImfR9Yl.gifv

Those tears are horrendous. Goodness SMH.
Cut the resolution or something, its so painful being right in aiming view.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

And no recommendation for the XB1/PS4 shoppers, though they had no issue recommending the XB1 version of DmC a week earlier.

Perhaps David Bierton (the author) does not know that the definition of "verdict" is a decision, ruling or adjudgement on an issue.

 

[Shortbread]

Improved framerate at junctions has zilch to do with POM.

This. Plus, I'm quite certain that traffic density has increased in the later patches as well . I noticed freeway traffic can be staggering at certain times of the day... something the original PS4 trailer conveyed. Anyhow, only a few more weeks until the PC edition. :drool:

 

[Shortbread]

Those tears are horrendous. Goodness SMH.
Cut the resolution or something, its so painful being right in aiming view.

Why would you want to reduce the resolution on the XB1 edition for minor screen tears?

Outside of combat, the Pre-Sequel regularly offers up a decent slice of 60fps gameplay across both consoles in less detailed areas, mostly free from any unwanted hiccups. The Xbox One game still has a tendency to drop or tear the occasional frame, whereas in similar scenes performance remains stable on PS4. But for the most part, things remain consistently smooth across both formats when the engine isn't being taxed too heavily. Here we are given a true visual and gameplay leap above the last-gen consoles, a taste of the kind of upgrade we would hope to see across the board on both PS4 and Xbox One.