Digital Foundry: Assassin's Creed Origins Xbox One X is improved, but to what extent?

Assassin's Creed Origins arrives on Xbox One X, giving us a fascinating insight into how a key developer aims to scale their multi-platform projects..

[seanpitt23]

Basically the x wil give you more pixels between dynamic 2160p/1600p mostly hitting 1800p vs 1420p/1260p vs the pro and x has slightly better shadows. That's it.

So if you have a 4K TV then the x will look better with the more pixels but not a huge difference alot of people wouldn't even notice any difference only if you put them side to side. If you have a 1080p screen then you won't see much of a difference between the pro and x via supersampling.

[TheKingKratos]

Thought so
They look so damn close to each other.

[darthv72]

So the X at it's lowest point still is more than the Pro at it's highest.... damn that thing is a beast.

[UltraNova]

@darthv72

Yeah I thought the fact that 4tlfs is less than 6 made comparisons like this redundant but some people are still surprised...

Thing is in when you can barely see the difference, like in this case it speaks more about the Pro's perfomance being able to keep up than it does the X's. And dont forget this game was marketed by MS not Sony.

[Ceaser9857361]

oh darthv boy
The X makes the Pro looks like PS 2 era... you feel happy now... Go play on your X and enjoy the realism gfx...

[NewMonday]

A year later and for $100 more the difference should pass the eye test not the software test, when you need technical breakdowns to prove your version is better then you fail.

[andrewsquall]

@Woolly "On this occasion"

That just so happens to be the most talked about and marketed game that was coming to X that Microsoft wasted loads of money on. I hope it was worth it for you.

[XStation4pio_Pro]

Not in person or when playing. Way sharper on the x and runs smoother too. The textures and texture filtering are superior on X. I literally have both versions running on the same tv. And also on the X there’s virtually no pop in because so much is loaded at once.

[morganfell]

If I want more pixels I just get another exclusive game.

@UltraNova,

When you say things like that you take down his entire reason for posting.

[starchild]

Well, internet videos always tend to make different versions of multiplatform games look very similar to the casual observer. In my experience, though, the difference in person is usually significantly more dramatic.

I actually rented Assassin's Creed Origins for my PS4 Pro from redbox and compared it to the PC version and in person the PC version looked a lot better, with higher resolution, much better shadows and improved draw distance. Also, the PS4 version had quite a bit of stutter, while the PC version is smooth and runs at a higher framerate on my Gsync monitor.

The PS4 version still looks good and I'm sure some people won't mind the framerate drops, lower quality shadows and blurrier image quality as much as I do, but there's no doubt that the PC version offers noticeably better visuals and smoother performance.

[DarXyde]

darthv72,

Uhh, I wouldn't call that Pro's best (I know it isn't One X's).

Facts are that no console ever struts its stuff entirely with multiplatform titles. You need exclusives to do that.

Even then, One X and Pro may be shackled by their base platforms.

So in reality, as amazing as games like Uncharted or Horizon look on base PS4, I would argue Pro isn't fully utilized for those games either, but they are better utilized.

[strifeblade]

until another game like shadow of war comes out and then the x will feast on soup for breakfast

[DrumBeat]

Honestly, this all speaks to what the developers chose for both platforms. Not any hardware. Neither of them can reach a native 4K and I doubt this is the developer's desire. For performance issues, things are dynamic. Still, if you have an Xbox One X and a Pro, you're better served getting the X version.

[Neonridr]

a 55-60% increase in resolution is not huge? That's more of a difference than 1080p vs 900p when it mattered at the start of this gen.

[Gazondaily]

Haha I know right! 1080p to 900p was massive but this isn't? 🤣

[Thatguy-310]

Yea the difference will be too similar to how games looked on the ps4 and Xbox one vanilla versions.
That being said so much for *4k native uncompromised *

[MegamanXXX]

And yet Horizon Zero Dawn looks way better than all the multiplatform games I've seen this year so far. Even looks better than Wolfenstein 2

[crazyCoconuts]

It still matters. But as resolution goes up, the ability for your eye to discern the differences goes down - our eyes don't have infinite resolution. That's why you either need a bigger screen or get closer to your screen to tell. That's not an opinion, so I'm not advocating one console over another, I'm just pointing out a fact...

[Thatguy-310]

It mattered at the start because you were paying LESS for a more powerful console where as now you're paying more for a more powerful console. I mean it's self explanatory but go off. Xbox one X will be where one plays better multiplatform games will since the system is stronger. Curious to see the tears after it gets beat by the weaker consoles tho

[bluefox755]

No, it isn't. More pixels, yes, but perceivable difference is lower. It's extremely misleading to compare raw pixel count because of the nature of ever increasing diminishing returns when going to higher resolutions. Take 480p for instance, it was a massive, night and day difference when we jumped from 480p to 720p, despite there only being a mere 600k pixels difference. That 600k is FAR lower than the pixel difference between 1800p and 1400p (which is about 2 million pixels), yet the actual improvement from those 600k pixels, that we can see with our eyes, is much greater than the perceivable difference of the 2 million pixels. It comes down to human eyes being able to spot the difference between larger pixels easier than smaller pixels, for obvious reasons. It's the same reason we are less able to spot resolution difference when we sit further back from the display.

[UltraNova]

After a certain quality point (1440p) you get diminishing returns on perceived image quality, thats why AA is a waist of resources at 4K. This means visual differences when you have 1800p vs 1440p will be harder to discern due to the higher quality to begin with or even harder at 4K vs 1800p.

[robleroy]

ps4 pro is 100% more powerful than the ps4, yet we don't hear sony fanboys or Sony claiming it's a beast.
MS has a habit of overselling things.
the 900p mattered because MS XBO was sold as a powerful 1080p console.
MS claimed the ddr3 ram was not a problem, and that the power of the cloud and directx12/11 would power up its graphics to enormous levels.
It was laughable that most games ran on 720p or 900p, while the ps4 had no problems.
This is the main reason MS has been pounded on its 900P console.

You will not notice the difference between 4K and CB 4K on the ps4 pro or xbo x. The power of these consoles are just not enough to take games to a 4K level (not just resolution). The the theoretic minimum is 8Tflops for 4K (XBX has 6..ps4 pro has 4)

I do think that when consoles have 16 to 32 Tflops the 4K visuals be be as impressive as the uncharted or the last of us were at 1080P.
We are just not there yet.

For now even 4K CB ps4 exclusives look better than 4K XBOX one games concerning game graphics quality.
What does have a greater impact than 4K is HDR.
HDR has a greater positive and noticeable impact on experience than 4K. ask any gameplayer.

[andrewsquall]

No. How about the 810p 49fps of Wolfenstein II on Xbone to PS4's 1080p 60fps? Is that similar between Pro and X here? Exactly lol.

[Foxhound922]

@Neon, Septic, and Wooly

You guys seem a little lost, so listen, let me enlighten you on some grade school stuff. Ever hear of the "law of diminishing returns"? Regarding resolution and perceived quality of display, it is this neat little fact stating that the higher the resolution goes, the harder it is for the human eye to differentiate. Meaning 480p to 720p and even 900p to 1080p will be have a more noticeable effect than say 1600p to 2160p. Also, it was a bigger deal early on the generation because there were MASSIVE differences in certain games AND it was a $100 CHEAPER. What do you guys not understand about that? So it takes Microsoft 4 years of diminishing games, millions in R and D, a $100 hour expensive console, cancelled exclusives, minimal exclusives games output to finally achieve a "premium" console where even digital foundry (in Microsoft's pocket) to say that it's biggest front runner for "uncompromised 4k" which is Assassins Creed to be nearly identical to it's PSPro counterpart. Man, what a mind job...

[Brazz]

Yeah,but...

1080 vs 900 > ps4 wins by 30% whit same price ( Actualy it was less expensive at lauch lol), also more exclusives ( talking about numbers, if you like than... thats is a personal metter, but hey, if we go by metacritic... well ps4 wins hands down.)
On the other hand...
$100 more expensive, less exclusives, and just a resolution bump.... yeah, i will stick whit PS4 pro, or even the base ps4 that is $200 less expensive, lol.
Yeah, that extra $100 did the job on the power side... was it worth it? Is this a $100 worth difference? Not on my book....

[Neonridr]

well you also have to consider things like your screen size and how close you sit to the TV as well when you factor in the law of diminishing returns. If you play on a 70" TV at like 6 feet away, you would definitely be able to notice the difference. But say at 10' away on a 55' TV then correct, it would be much harder to notice a difference.

I definitely agree that it gets harder to differentiate the higher the pixel count because everything becomes so damned small :P

[Bronxs15]

1080p vs 900p was a bigger deal because 1080p was the cheaper console!

Paying as much as you are for the one x you should expect it to be better. Are the extra pixels worth the extra cost? That’s for individuals to decide.

[thekhurg]

From the distance most people sit from their TV. You can barely tell the difference between 1080p and 4k. It's only when you're close or playing on a large monitor up close that pixels begin to really matter.

[Computersaysno]

Diminishing returns tho. From the same distance away from a large tv in a living room 900p to 1080p is more noticeable than 1300p to 1700p.

Only so many pixels your eyes can see on a tv at a set distance. the gap gets smaller the higher the resolution gets to the point you couldn't tell the difference between 4k and 16k unless you were only a metre away from a tv or the screen were the size of a whole wall

same for phones you can tell 720p to 1080p phone screens easily but then any more resolution is kinda useless

[DarXyde]

The irony is that now, native resolution matters to you all.

[crazyCoconuts]

X: 1656p-2016p
Pro: 1350p-1584p

[Neonridr]

basically even at the X's lowest, it is still higher than the Pro's highest.

[JackBNimble]

Keep counting your pixels to justify your purchase.

[chrisoadamson]

Watched the video .you left out the part about the pixel increase being 90% that of the pro in parts . 90%!

[CP_Company]

at least make your wrong numbers right.
X: 1656p-2016p
Pro: 1350p-1584p

[Professor_K]

Thats a huge difference, can't wait this black Friday

[Zeref]

Hope you were saying the same thing when it was base X1 vs PS4.

[Professor_K]

LOOOL I strongly disagree , 4k on a 1080 screen looks fucking amazingl idk wtf your talking about.
Sonyfans gonna fan

[freshslicepizza]

XB1X is the best console version, pretty self explanatory.

[Cryptcuzz]

Da beast my ass.

Sure it is running the game better than the Pro -better hope so considering it came out a year later and costs $100 more, but the fact that I saw plenty of people going around saying "True 4K console" "Da Beast" "Uncompromised 4K" sure is looking pretty silly now when hyping up the Xbox One X before.

[Professor_K]

Nobody but PlayStation faggots cling to that 4k marketing. I just wanna play on the most powerful console and if that bothers you guys go pray on ur praystashun!

[WaqarYounis23]

@professor

Says the xbox faggot. Where your games at?

😂😂😂

[Mr Lahey]

Have fun with the best version then. My Pro version on my 4K/HDR-TV looks stupid good! The HDR in this game is the best i've seen yet. Makes a huge difference.
Anyways. Difference between Pro and X is not big at all on a new massive open world game. What we Pro owners have been trying to say all along.

What TV you have makes a bigger difference.

[Professor_K]

LOL not when the X is running a high end game with a perfect frame rate and the other struggles. How can you be so narrow minded.

[Mr Lahey]

struggles?? Its the same fucking 30fps. ACO on the Pro have smooth 30fps. And narrow minded?? WTF are you ranting about?

[Aenea]

"Wake me up when you guys finally stop coming into multiplat comparison topics with your salty attitude"

That's touch coming from you. Why don't you stick to pc articles and not comment on console things...

[Professor_K]

Ghost

Yo can't decide what makes a console a beast or not, the XBOX is still ahead of being closer to your 60fps 4k unrealistic standard than the pos pro

[CP_Company]

numbers which are most important 1.0.3, 1.0.4 :) you have to show somehow x power :D

[maybelovehate]

Since they added HDR to the PC version, PC version clearly wins here.. And PS4 Pro clearly loses.

[Ceaser9857361]

"Since they added HDR to the PC version, PC version clearly wins here.. And PS4 Pro clearly loses."

PS4 PRO Clearly LOSES?? lmao! really.. that's the best you have got... We will see when RDR 2 comes out who loses then and who write petitions...

[maybelovehate]

Just telling it like it is. PS4 Pro was a mistake.

[starchild]

Nah, that's lame. Do you know how many games the PC gets that the PS4 or XB1 misses out on?

Besides, Red Dead Redemption 2 will almost certainly come to the PC at some point and will be the definitive version just like GTA5 on the PC is.

[Ceaser9857361]

starchild

"Nah, that's lame. Do you know how many games the PC gets that the PS4 or XB1 misses out on? "
Know i dont Name me one ?? or let me know petitions after petitions from console gamers asking to release a PC exclusive.. I know Exclusives which PC askes for... Please dont say DOTA CS .. Those are meant to be on PC and must be played on PC..

RDR 2 is highly unlikely since RDR 1 didnt come.. almost all GTA games gotta pc release.. Also that definitive version is nothing but gimmick R* used to sell GTAV on PC..

[Longshot810]

Im pretty sure that the game sold mostly on the ps4 so does the ps4 really lose?

[starchild]

In a graphics comparison? Yes.

[Ceaser9857361]

lol gfx comparison.. Now GFX is considered for loosing and winning... Daaayuuumm!!!

[Psychotica]

Hate to burst your bubble but they didn't add HDR to the PC version..

[maybelovehate]

In that case X1X clearly wins and PS4 Pro clearly loses

[Ceaser9857361]

"In that case X1X clearly wins and PS4 Pro clearly loses"

Ya you make it look like Pro has PS2 era and X has realism GFX... troll elsewhere .

[xSNAKExPLISSKENx]

Maybelovehate keeps copy saying that same comment and posting it over and over, that's a true definition of a troll. pay no attention to him and his salty attitude

[fatbastard11]

Yup and that's why I refunded..I'm not getting the full experience

[MegaMohsi]

Ok so resolution difference aside why no higher resolution textures? After seeing what ROTR and Shadow of War devs did, is X support going to be hit and miss depending on whether the developer wants to go the extra mile for the X?

[Lennoxb63]

ROtTR and Shadow of War were optimized for Xbox before other platforms. Aside from Shadow of War which is also a XPA game.

[Longshot810]

I think it was a matter of Microsoft dumping a load of cash into EAs pocket. Same with Crystal Dynamics for Tomb Raider. They actually focused on adding specific textures to make the overall game appear to be worked on.

[Urzusix]

Fighting over the bare basic of visual bumps yet to 2 best games of the year ( Zelda and Mario) most people play at 720p.

[Lennoxb63]

Zelda and Mario are much older and established franchises than any of these games.

[Longshot810]

They are also still relevant and still able retain their fun factor.

[WaqarYounis23]

Yeah, and better than all M$ games combined. 😂😂

[DEEBO]

Just admit it,the X1X is a strong console but the pro is no pushover.

[Elda]

Still no deal breaker what so ever the game looks great on both mid gen consoles.You need a microscope to differentiate the minor differences.

[talocaca]

I wonder how Horizon, The Last of Us 2, Uncharted 4, God of War, Detroit, Ghost of Tsushima, etc. run on the Xbox X.

Oh wait....they are PS4 exclusive so they won't 😉

Enjoy your slightly better shadows and textures while you miss out on the best exclusives.

[AZRoboto]

People are allowed to enjoy both. Halo 5 in 4K and Horizon on the Pro are both awesome, not missing out.

[Zeke68]

Did you just compare Halo to Horizon in the same sentence ?! Oo
I would laugh myself to death if that wasn't so sad. Seriously, Halo ain't nothing compared to Horizon Zero Dawn, thats for sure.

[Doomeduk]

Couldn't agree more
Bought this for my daughters pro and 4k
TV as she likes the assasins creed games but the same day I seen jakuza 0 on sale on psn £18 for myself and she tried it but fighting games not her bag
Now she's hooked on yakuza story now she wants all the others and the consoles that can play them
I asked about my gift as she said " I gave it a couple of hours" and I'll play it someday"
PlayStation and exclusive oh and PC for my total war series and I'm all good

[CP_Company]

it is not just exclusives on PS4, it has ones of the best games in gaming history.

[PS3_Noob]

No difference at 1080P which is what most gamers have. Please don't misguide people to spend 500$ console

[Longshot810]

Agreed. Had they focused on 1080p 60fps and made that mandatory for all xb versions of games, they probably would be better off.

[WilliamSheridan]

Still the biggest improvements can be seen in Shadow of War...

[boing1]

To be expected. And hey, this year's iPhone is faster than the previous one too. Mind blowing, I know.

[pingthing]

Seams like the game engine is into the realm of diminishing returns as you push more pixels. I suggest that it wouldn't look too much different at 8k.

[King_Lothric]

I just wouldn't pay $500 plus $100 external hard drive just to see this little different and have a console that doesn't have a good exclusive catalog of games as the Playstation or Switch.

No wonder even Microsoft says this console is not for everyone. It is just for the Xbox hardcore.

[zivtheawesome]

UBI AND ALL OTHER DEVS I HAVE THE SOLUTION! and it's called CHECKERBOARDING! the ps4pro has about enough capabilites for 1800p with this method and the X has enough 2160p with additional upgrades. honestly checkerbaord is such a great method i don't get the lack of it's use here.

[windblowsagain]

A console costing more and comin out later with a newer GPU and more ram should run the game better.

Image quality on PS4 or PS4pro were never a problem in the first place.

The main problem this gen has been is CPU bottlenecks and even with the 2.1ghz and 2.3ghz of pro and x, these are still a problem in some games. Framerates still dip here and there.

Hopefully at the start of the next gen, these will be addressed.

[2cents]

Running it on the X. It's beautiful.

[UnHoly_One]

I don't see the point of these comparisons.

It doesn't matter to me if it looks better than a PS4 Pro. I was never going to buy this game on PS4, I only buy exclusive games on PS4.

So it only matters to me how much better it looks to the Xbox One version.

That's what I want to read, is detailed changes on each "enhanced" game. And on the not-enhanced games, for that matter.

Tell is if games that used to not hold 30 fps on the One hold it perfectly on the X. That is the kind of stuff I'm interested in.

Tell us if Just Cause 3 still runs like balls. Inquiring minds want to know. lol

[Goozex]

So the x has better resolution in some games. Will the x play Sony exclusives?

[Goozex]

Pixel increase or exclusives?

[PS3_Noob]

Games over pixels. Moreover PS4 and PS4P are not like having PS2 gfx or something lol

[Gh05t]

TFW she tells you that the other guy was bigger/better but she could barely tell... Everyone here making "motion in the ocean" excuses.

You know what is a huge difference. Going from an Xbox One to an Xbox One X... That is what the majority will be doing so can we stop trying to whip the measuring sticks out and just enjoy what we have.

[OpenGL]

I don't find it shocking that some people don't notice the difference. A lot of people can't tell the difference between 900p and 1080p and as the resolution increases the difference greatly diminishes. I've used a 5K monitor and despite it having 6.5 million more pixels than 4K, most people would probably never notice since the resolution of 4K is already high enough to not be discernible at a reasonable viewing distance.

[StormSailor]

No 4K true again, where's the monster?

Was hunted down by a fake marketing

[Tankbusta40]

Are you stupid? Ubisoft is to blame for this, even regardless the game looks amazing on the One X.

Its absolutely mind blowing that dumb posts like this even get written. Microsoft didn't develop this game

[StormSailor]

Most games are not running 4K native on Xbox One X, who is to blame?

It has already discovered that even Microsoft's Halo 5 can't run native 4K. Stupid is ignoring reality and not questioning marketing liar

[Edito]

This is just sad because the difference in visuals it's just not there in a form that justifies having the xbox one x Microsoft did a Mistake with this console they should have invested in studios, games and release the games and a new console in 2020 while releasing new and cool games for the xbox one s.