410°

4K gaming: what can PC learn from PlayStation Pro?

Quote: Checkerboarding, upscaling, temporal anti-aliasing, dynamic resolution. Let's give credit where it's due: at its best, PlayStation 4 Pro's utilisation of these techniques produces some impressive results for 4K displays - no mean feat considering that the Pro's GPU is relatively underpowered compared to today's mainstream PC graphics hardware. And this led us to wonder - what if those techniques were rolled out in the PC space? Could the cost of admission to the world of 4K gaming drop dramatically if the techniques championed by Sony worked just as effectively for PC gamers?

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
KingKionic 2952d ago

I dont know why Digital Foundry made a article telling Pc users they should want developers to make fake 4K options.

No pc gamer gonna what a non native resolution or keeping sub resolution assets as discussed in the article.

Digital Foundry need to pump there breaks.

ninsigma2952d ago

You speak for all PC gamers do you?? When the vast majority are still playing at 1080P, I'm gonna bet that you're wrong. What if the latest Pascal GPUs had this tech built in and a consumer could upgrade to the 1050 for a lot cheaper than a 1070 or 1080, with a 4K monitor. Set the settings to checkerboard rendered 4K and get a boost in the FPS because it's not outputting native. Looks wise it will still be very good on a 4K monitor (almost indistinguishable to most people) AND get a boost in FPS or effects. Instead of downing the setting from high to medium you could turn it from native to checkerboard. Sounds like a very good thing to me.

KingKionic 2952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

1050 with a 4K monitor? Who the hell is running a 1050ti in a 4K monitor?

Nvidia never uses the 1050 or 1050 ti to advertise 1400p nor 4K.

https://vgy.me/TB1qkf.jpg

Nvidia are very serious about which tier card fits to that resolution.

There roadmap depicts were there silicon has gone over the years.

I mean lets just stop the nonsense please.

zivtheawesome2952d ago

@Kionic
that is exactly what he says, that people could have cheap cards which their goal isn't even 4k in the slightest to reach that resolution, what is the problem with letting more people experience hi resolutions?!? it is a choice not a neccessity...

starchild2951d ago

Many of the comments in this article are strange. On one side you have people ignorantly claiming that the difference between checkerboard rendering and native resolutions is nonexistent or insignificant. And on the other side you have people irrationally saying that PC wouldn't benefit from these techniques. Neither of these things are true.

Checkerboard rendering gives good results relative to the performance cost. It's a great technique that I would like to see become more ubiquitous in PC games. Having more options that allow you to get better quality at lower performance costs is always a good thing.

That said, checkerboard rendering doesn't provide the same results as native rendering. It's a decent approximation for the performance cost, but if you have the power to achieve native 4k it's clearly the superior option. I've compared several multiplatform games on my PS4 Pro and PC and the native resolutions on my PC showed improved detail and reduced aliasing compared to the checkerboard rendering on my PS4 Pro at the same resolutions.

MrCrabPuss2951d ago (Edited 2951d ago )

Yeah he kinda does speak for all PC gamers. If we PC folk can have the muscle to run REAL 4k then we'll have REAL 4k.....Not upscaled, Not checkerboarded, No quasi 4k with BS techniques. Its part of the fun of being a PC enthusiast.
If we wanted to run a utilitarian under-powered restrictive console we'd buy a utilitarian under-powered restrictive console and play the restricted vanilla overpriced games until the next utilitarian under-powered restrictive console comes around the corner the following year or two at best. No thanks.

Look kids, a horsey with a rainbow horn glued to its forehead isnt a unicorn, no matter how much you want it to be a unicorn...its still just a horsey. Sorry.

ninsigma2951d ago

@star child
I Agree that there's definitely extremism going on for both sides here. Checkerboard isn't identical to native but it is very close.

@puss
Eh no he doesn't. I'm a pc gamer and this would be great tech to have. Guess what, not everyone wants to or can upgrade to the latest and greatest. Just because PC gamers CAN make beastly PCs doesn't mean they will. Vast majority are still playing in 1080p so clearly most pc gamers don't want to spend tonnes of cash to get a 4K rig. Enough with the moronic elitism. Having these techniques won't harm you in any way. You can still have your precious native 4K while others can get a choose to go checkerboard for cheaper if they wish.

nX2951d ago

Many people don't realize how tough native 4k rendering actually is, you can't even use a GTX1080 Titan and expect 4k/60fps for every game. That's where checkerboarding the resolution comes in, you get like 90% of the image quality with 150% of the performance and you would have to be stupid to dismiss this as "fake chinese 4k" or "sub resolution assets". For the best image quality it's actually smarter to render at a slightly lower resolution with other graphical effects enabled but it's the ones who probably voted Trump that don't even dare to be smart.

Death2951d ago

Upscaling is upscaling no matter the marketing term you give it. Checkerboard rendering is upscaling. There are performance hits with this technique along with reduced texture quality. The Xbox One has been upscaling to 1080p from day one and PS4 fans can spot it a mile away. To want to apply the same techniques to PC seems counterproductive at best. There are a slew of different effects a stronger GPU has on gaming other than resolution. If you are casually gaming with your PC on a 4K tv, the tv will do some of the heavy lifting to upscale your 1080 image to a higher resolution. If you invest in a 4K monitor, upscaling is the last thing you want to do.

agent45322951d ago

No need to, once the new GPU comes out today's GPUS get their prices slashed. Besides real 4K resolution is better than fake.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 2951d ago
Liqu1d2952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

Options are bad now? Seems options only matter for some when it's on their platform of choice. PC gaming is all about having options so they would welcome this.

Death2951d ago

I'm not sure it's possible. Consoles have fixed hardware. How do devs create or use upscaling with an almost infinite combination of hardware? As a PC gamer I am thrilled when native resolution is achievable with the hardware I own. I can set the visual enhancements how I want for performance. This is something consoles can't do. I don't think it's reasonable to throttle back PC's to run like PS4 Pro. I think Scorpio is a better step forward in making consoles perform like PC.

thekhurg2952d ago

It's proof that resolutions that high aren't distinguishable to the naked eye. Checker board rendering is proof that DF has to zoom in at 300% sometimes to even begin to see the difference between 1440p and 4k.

Princess_Pilfer2952d ago

No, it's not. I can spot the difference, even in motion, from 10 feet away from my TV. The point is that it's a minor difference and more games should (officially) support such options for minor losses in image quality but huge performance gains.

thekhurg2952d ago

You can't spot shit regarding difference between 1440p and 4k, let alone checkerboard rendering at 1440p - from even 5 feet away.

starchild2951d ago

You have to be joking. I can easily notice the difference between 1440p and 4k even on my 27" monitor from 10 feet away. And on my 55" 4k tv the difference is massive.

Again, higher resolutions aren't only about resolving more detail, they also reduce aliasing of all kinds. These two things together add up to a significant difference in the quality of the image.

2951d ago
thekhurg2951d ago

Which is why Digital Foundry has to zoom in 300% to see the checkboard rendering to find the difference.

Sorry liars.

Princess_Pilfer2951d ago

Uh, no. they said they're pressed to see the difference. Doesn't mean they can't. Even if they can't, doesn't mean I can't. Sorry hostile douchebag, but I can actually spot the softness. 100% of the time? No. In a high action scene where there isn't time to examine anything I can't spot it without pausing. In a slow scene (for example a conversation) or if I stop to look at something, I definiely can. It's most noticable on hard, straight lines (like doorwars.)

starchild2951d ago

@thekhurg

He didn't say he had to zoom in 300% to see the difference. He actually zoomed in 200% not 300%, and he did it to "illustrate the difference" in a video.

Even watching the video on my phone I could easily see the difference in all the examples. In person, while actually playing the games, the difference is even more noticeable. Not only do you notice the difference in the amount of detail that is resolved, but you also notice the difference in aliasing (crawling and flickering) since the game is in motion, whereas all the examples in the video were just static since he wasn't walking or panning the camera around as you would be while playing the game. The reduction in aliasing during motion is half the reason higher resolutions look better.

Native resolutions look better than checkerboarding or any other kind of upscaling. That's the simple reality. If that weren't the case why would any developer use anything but checkerboard rendering? Why render at native 1080p on the standard PS4 if checkerboard rendering at 1080p looks identical and places 20 to 25% less demands on the hardware? Why wouldn't all games on every platform just automatically use checkerboard rendering by default? If there are no downsides and only advantages why wouldn't you?

As I said before it's a good technique considering the quality it gives you for the cost. But native pixel per pixel rendering does look better and is the better option if you have the power left over to do it.

MattE2951d ago

@thekhurg DF can see the difference, they are just saying followers like you won't notice as you have been told it's not significant.. but there's a decent difference.. even from sofa distant. Not to mention those artifacts in motion on PS4 Pro..

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 2951d ago
Princess_Pilfer2952d ago

More options for quality/performance ratio = better.

I would happily play a game at 4k/60 upscaled from whatever resolution I can manage 60 FPS at (usually somewhere between 1440 and 4k) over 4k/30 or 1080/60. Seeing as I have a 4k display, it's still going to be clearer than 1080p by virtue of the dramatic increase in pixel density. Can I spot the difference between native 4k and checkerboarding? Absolutely. Would I accept that difference for higher detail than I could normally get at 60FPS. Yeah.

@kionicWarlord222
You missed the point. The 1050ti has similar levels of power to the PS4 pro. That would mean if it used the same tricks as the PS4 pro, it could match or exceed (by virtue of having basically any CPU that isn't that god awful jaguar) the PS4s 4k image quality. There is literally no downside to that being an option.

Besides, you don't know peoples situations. Video cards die. People move. Stuff gets stolen. People hook up their PCs to 4k TVs they could only justify spending the money on because it's for the whole family not just their gaming PC. People get christmas presents. There are lots of reasons to have a 4k display and not be running a 980, 1070 or 1080 that can play most games at 4k/60/ultra.

I'm running a 480, for example, because was on a budget and had to pick between a 1070 and a 1440p screen that can't really use it's power, or a 4k screen and a 480 I can run Crossfire when I have a spare 200 bucks to run things in 4k. One of those requires spending an extra 500 dollars on a new display to play anything at all in 4k, one of those requires an extra 200 dollars to play more demanding games at 4k/60 (I can already do it with some of the less demanding games.) Money wise, one of those is the clearly superior choice.

starchild2951d ago

Well said. Every point you made is bang on. The fact you are getting disagrees isn't surpising unfortunately. Many people who frequent this site hate logic and facts.

ninsigma2952d ago

Why is it nonsense??
It gives more people an affordable option to higher capabilities. If you're against that then you're the worst kind of consumer.

Artemidorus2952d ago

Down voted for telling the truth, how sad are gamers defending this nonsense.

Babadook72952d ago

Yah the obvious answer is the combination of ID buffer, half precision floats with 2x performance boost, and the custom logic controller. These things will make a dramatic difference and are already making 4k possible for the pro.

snoopgg2951d ago

Your pretty closed minded for someone who owns a xboxone.

MattE2951d ago

Wouldn't take any notice, think they are just getting people ready for the war against MS and Scorpio..

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 2951d ago
zivtheawesome2952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

i am very supportive of this idea for a few reasons:
1) 1800p and the like are proven to not make much of a difference than 4k.
2) it would help people with a gtx 1060 and 970 to reach a higher resolution than they usually could.
3) the ability to find a middle ground between res/FPS and graphical settings.
4) with more people being able to play in 4k gaming, the 4k adoption rate would go up making larger support for it in the future.
5) (based on point 3) dev's would be able to push the graphical capabilities of video games further beyond what was thought possible.
6) choices are always good.
i really like DF pushing stuff like dynamic resolution scaling, manual scaling and checkerboarding as it would help to get gaming more mainstream, good job.

KingKionic 2952d ago

Lol 1800p are proven to not make much of a difference in 4K. I dont know where you got that idea from.

Just look at Battlefront in 4K

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Looks insane on PC.

You gotta remember 4K resolution also reveals the higher quality assets that are rendered with the engine.

zivtheawesome2952d ago

have you watched the DF's video? that is what he pretty much says while showing footage that 1800p is near identical to 4k.
also why do you think that if that video looks so good (BTW i have already seen the video and it is a modded game) then 1800p would look that much worse?

KingKionic 2952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

Yup i watched it it was a lot of nonsense.

Because if you read the article they show you screenshot comparisons of Ps4 Pro and Pc assets of Battlefield 1 :

"Battlefield 1 compared between our balanced GTX 1060 set-up, the ultra experience running on a GTX 1080 Ti and the PlayStation 4 Pro version. Pro is clearly operating at a lower resolution with reduced terrain quality apparent in the bottom-left of the image. Our GTX 1060 set-up has many compromises but compares well enough with the full-fat 4K experience."

Ps4 Pro

http://images.eurogamer.net...

GTX 1060
http://images.eurogamer.net...

No Pc gamer making that compromise of visual fidelity LOL

Digital Foundry can get outta here with that trash.

zivtheawesome2952d ago

so you are saying that people won't want to push higher resolution with a higher framerate and would prefer 4k 30fps above dynamic 4k at 60? also think that this option is offered to people with cards like GTX 970(like me) /1060 that they can't usually go to 4k on modern games so they are given a genius alternative.

KingKionic 2952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

Look dude if you want it fine but what Digital Foundry is saying is crazy. Because if you got a 4K monitor you must have the hardware to run it.

No Pc gamer who has a 4K monitor wants to keep there game at Ps4 Pro like settings and run it at 1800p.

That defeats the whole purpose of pushing GPU`s and what there capable of.

Thats the principal of PC platform to be honest.

If you have a GTX 970/1060 you can also just use DSR to get to 1800p DOWNSAMPLED.

Babadook72952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

@Kionic

Don't confuse assets with resolution. This is about the former. Comparing image quality BF1 is fairly comparable at dynamic 1800p to 4k in image quality but PC gets more detail - from the assets. And that's merely a launch game for pro. A few months later we already see HZD at a full 4k (with checkerboarding) and to the human eye that image quality is comparable to native 4k.

Plain and simple. What ever settings you can enable while running 4k with a pc could be bumped higher because of the greater efficiency of checkerboard rendering. And you would notice the better settings. You won't notice the checkerboarding.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2952d ago
Guyfamily9992952d ago

I'd give up on talking to this guy dude, I think he's too elitist to even understand what you're saying. What you're saying is that 1800p and 2160p look damn near identical (FACT. F A C T.) at the same graphical settings. Except big difference in performance... You might only be averaging 42 fps at 2160p vs 60fps at 1800p (do the math, those are identical pixel throughputs). And even at 200 percent scaling I could not see ANY difference between battlefield 1 at even 1728p vs 2160p.

If you can't run a game at 2160p High settings 60fps, the first thing you should be able to do is drop the res to make room for other things.

Also, this goes to show that the scorpio is not going to blow anyone away. Most multiplats will simply either run at a higher resolution, or stick to the same res but without checkerboarding. Not going to be much of a perceiveable difference. But that's not the topic of this article/video.

Dynamic resolution scaling is another amazing technology. The resolution dropping by 20 percent in an intense scene is a lot better than the framerate doing the same (especially when we're dealing with such high resolutions already). Without dynamic resolution, you have to have your game be able to ALWAYS run above 60fps, which means much of the time it might be running around 80 on your 4K 60hz monitor. That's such waste. Wouldn't it be beneficial to enable dynamic res then bump up texture resolution and the like to ultra?

And properly implemented checkerboarding is one of the best techs in the industry. You get something indistinguishable from native (to my eyes at least) for only 65 or so percent of the necessary force.

It's not about what looks best, that would be native 2160p. We're talking about what's most efficient and what would grow the entire 4K market (which would provide better support and more media content in the big picture). But seriously, look at this math. And yes, I am well aware that hardware isn't this simple (bottlenecks in different areas and such) but still.

Checkerboard 1800p 60fps: 1800x3200 x 0.65 x 60 = 224,640,000.
Native 2160p 30fps: 2160x3840 x 30 = 248,832,000.

Checkerboard 1800p at 60fps has LESS required throughout than 2160p at 30fps.
In terms of image quality they're comparable, but you can double your framerate. Isn't that a no brainer? Only a very small portion of the PC crowd has a 4K monitor (not my opinion, steam statistics) because they believe that they can't enjoy their AAA intensive games at 4K 60fps without a PC that costs almost 2 grand. That wouldn't be true if the options were their to cut the requirements in half while barely hurting image quality.

Sorry for the lengthy reply I just think it's dumb how PC elitists are so elitist that they're fighting against good options for their community.

zivtheawesome2952d ago

i fully agree with what you say it is a great option to the majority of gamers.
a question though: is 0.65 some kind of a known coefficient for CBR? if so it sounds pretty awesome.

Athos2951d ago

That's because PC gamers have tons of options to tune their games. All you are saying is I can upscale a console with lower quality resources to look acceptable at 4K.

Get your upscale, low rez texture checkerboard crap out of here. It doesn't compare to a 4K gaming rig. And yes, I own a Pro and there is a ton of difference compared to my PC.

agent45322951d ago

But why would I want pseudo 4K when real 4K is already available? The GTX 1070 is already capable of Native 4K at 30 frames per second. That is a lot better than fake 4K, the PC is not the same as a console. The PS4 Pro is an overclock OG PS4 hence pseudo 4K

AuToFiRE2952d ago

Four times the resolution is a huge difference, like 30fps and 144. What you are agreeing with is a crime.

zivtheawesome2952d ago

the difference between 1800p and 2160p isn't anywhere close to 30fps and 144fps. actually if you do the math it is almost exactly the same difference as 120fps and 144fps which really aren't that big either.

AuToFiRE2952d ago

@zivtheawesome What? Have you ever seen 144fps or even native 4K?

freshslicepizza2952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

@zivtheawesome
"6) choices are always good."

Which makes this article totally redundant. Tell me, what choices are there really on the PS4 Pro? We have 'some' games that allow IQ or performance options but that's really about it. Instead what is happening is games like Destiny 2 being locked to 30fps and even Sony 1st party studios opting to not even offer downsampling for 1080p owners. So many games now just opt for 1800p checkerboard as the only real option.

The checkerboard technique is a good option to take some of the stress away from the hardware but the reality is when you play games in 4K the real bottleneck is not the CPU but the GPU. The PS4 Pro also only only allows 5.5GB of RAM for developers to use.

To talk about the PC learning from the PS4 Pro is laughable at best since on the PC you can lower or improve the resolution at will. That to me is far better than having an option of checkerboard rendering. Does the PS4 Pro allow you to play in 720p in order to improve frame rates to 60? No it does not, there is no real balance at all given to gamers. It's a locked system with parity clauses in place because it was designed to work in parallel to the regular PS4.

zivtheawesome2952d ago

you are taking the question of "what can pc learn from the pro" in a wrong way. what they meant is what we can take from it to increase the amount of 4k users. he is not talking about all the ps4 pro's features but only the useful ones such as res scaling, dynamic scaling or CBR which will be effective and help 4k grow.

freshslicepizza2952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

@zivtheawesome
"you are taking the question of "what can pc learn from the pro" in a wrong way. what they meant is what we can take from it to increase the amount of 4k users. he is not talking about all the ps4 pro's features but only the useful ones such as res scaling, dynamic scaling or CBR which will be effective and help 4k grow."

4K gaming was coming regardless of the PS4 Pro. Sony has not done a great job marketing the PS4 Pro to begin with and yes while some of the features used certainly helps, it is still not something that should be adopted on the PC. Why? Well because the PS4 Pro has limits and these features only exist to help developers work within those limits. Why would you want to impose that on the PC? Sure, having the option of checkerboard is something that could be added too but the whole reason it exists on the Pro is to help improve image quality on a system designed to run at parity with the PS4.

They talk about the popular midgrade GPU the GTX 1060. People are not buying that card for 4K gaming. Sure some of these tchniques could help them but the card still allows scalability. The PS4 Pro is still a locked system that you cannot improve the CPU or increase RAM that could also help those bottlenecks. The GTX 1060 can still play native 4K games but the frame rates would likely be very low on certain games. What you can do on the PC is adjust other settings like reducing shadow qulaity and other things. Does the PS4 Pro allow this to achieve native 4K gaming? No, so they opt to give barely any options at all and lock the gamer out of those settings and give you what they think you want.

Guyfamily9992952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

The exact checkerboard coefficient varies by game and implementation but it's around 2/3rds to 3/4ths. In battlefield 1, a comparison made is 16ms vs 21ms frame time (about 62 fps vs 47). In mass effect Andromeda a comparison shows 23.4ms vs 36.8 (about 43fps vs 27). There's actually a 60 percent performance boost in Andromeda's case through checkerboard rendering.

Here's a link to a very long dice slideshow on the topic (which I found the above examples in). There are a couple EXTREMELY zoomed in shots that show how checkerboarding is basically indistinguishable from native in there.

Edit: oops forgot the link haha
https://www.slideshare.net/... http://www.frostbite.com/20...

343_Guilty_Spark2952d ago

Not much of a difference? Are you serious?

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2951d ago
quent2952d ago

Freesync/60fps is more important to both console and pc gamers, resolution means nothing without motion quality, otherwise all we would do is stare at x amounts of P slideshow instead of gaming

I like DF content but more and more it seems like they're selling out to pander to marketing hype in the mainstream, they should know better, its they're job/expertise after all

Princess_Pilfer2952d ago

What? How are they selling out? It's a PC. There is precisely 0 reason you can't apply the same techniques being mentioned to target 60fps at 1440p or whatever. The whole point of the video is "look at all the ways we can and/or should be able to scale our performance/visual quality ratios by immitating techniques used in the console versions."

agent45322951d ago

The PC already offers native 4K why would I want fake 4k that's stupid

Princess_Pilfer2950d ago

I can't do 4k/60 in most games. Best I usually get is 1440p/60 (or slightly above if the game supports arbitrary resolutions ). On a 4k screen, "fake" 4k/60 is still going to look better than real 1440p/60, especially as managing 1440p/60 almost invariably involves turning AA way down or off so the upscaling is more obvious. That's why.

Athos2952d ago

I agree. The day I lay out money for my PC so it can do crap checkerboard up scaling is the day I quit gaming period. My $400 Pro has nothing to teach my PC. The only reason I even own it is for exclusives, not for garbage fake 4k

--Onilink--2951d ago (Edited 2951d ago )

Wouldnt their proposed idea be exactly what is needed to push higher fps in lower cards ??
Use 1800p + checkerboard on a 1060 to get 60fps in BF1 instead of 40-50fps in native 4k with lower quality settings or having to buy a 1080ti if you want native 4k

quent2951d ago

I see 4K dynamic or true 4K, don't really care which it is, as an excuse not get games to run at 60 fps, a resolution bump at 30fps is much easier to achieve then it is for devs to aim for 60 a fps. Standard in all games at 1080p, don't you think its strange how much "4K" gets mentioned over "60fps" in news articles and corporate PR

Its a shame really, having 60fps on console as the standard would go further in attracting the more enthusiast crowd than just a resolution bump, msaa and 50-60 fps gaming is where it gets good, ask any PC person FPS and no jaggies is where its at

--Onilink--2951d ago

I still dont see your point, this is about PC and the possible use of things like CB to maximize resources. Developers dont choose resolution instead of fps in PC, the players are the ones that choose what they want depending what hardware they have.

The thing is, right now if you want 4k/60fps the only way is to brute force it with a very expensive card. What DF is saying is that developers should allow people to use techniques like the ones used on Pro to achieve better performance from lower cards, which can only help the point you are saying about fps being more important, so i dont understand why you are complaining about them

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2950d ago
corroios2952d ago

They should have not done this. lol. Because this is what so many here have been saying while others trying to say bad and call it china checkboard, fake and so on.

The diference between 1800p to native 4k is just small and on tvs its even harder to tell.... then 900p to 1080p....

The diference wont blow you away or will be a gamechanger like some think it will be.

Guyfamily9992952d ago (Edited 2952d ago )

I can't even see the difference. I've tried. Switching the last of us between the two resolutions I really can't see a difference in clarity, even INCHES from the screen. I'm not denying that there are some (if not many) that can, but it's not worth the horsepower imo.

corroios2952d ago

What they already told is that if you are really near the tv you can see a diference, but at a normal distance not really.

Athos2952d ago

Get a better TV. If you can't tell the difference your TV is crap or you eyesight is.

Guyfamily9992952d ago

Athos
Got a 50 inch 4K Samsung, and I've got perfect 20/20 vision. It definitely does not affect the the gameplay experience.

I will admit that I could see a very slight clarity difference on the side by side super zoom in the digital foundry video. Maybe I could see the difference if I had 2 TVs running a game at identical settings besides the resolutions. But when I'm actually playing a game (especially, you know, moving the camera like a normal person does when, you know, playing a game...) I can't tell the difference. To me it all looks super sharp and excellent.

TheColbertinator2952d ago

PC gaming has no benefit from the PS4 Pro or any Sony product.

ILostMyMind2951d ago

I agree with you. That's why Sony should avoid making deals with developers by allowing games to go to PC. They should be exclusive to PS4 only. So everyone will be happy.

Show all comments (96)
50°
9.5

Review - Sekiro: Shadows Die more than Twice - Probably the toughest game of 2019. - BunnyGaming

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (or in the writer's case, definitely more than twice) is a Soulsborne type Action-Adventure Game by the annoying but legendary studio, FromSoftware. At first glance, Sekiro is similar to Bloodborne or any Souls series but in fact, they are not nearly identical. The writer wrote his first impression of the game after playing it for 24 hours and in this article, he'll break it down even further to constitute his review of the game.

Read Full Story >>
bunnygaming.com
490°

In Theory: is AMD's Ryzen CPU the game-changer for next-gen consoles?

DF: "With PlayStation 4 Pro on the market and Xbox One X to follow, Microsoft and Sony's R&D focus is inevitably going to shift towards the next wave of machines. Questions surround the kind of generational leap that's possible in the next couple of years, and how much these new machines will cost."

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
zivtheawesome2909d ago

i really wonder what kind of game could be pushed with a ryzen cpu... even if the next gen would be 499 (which considering inflation is possible) the game would just be stunning.

2909d ago Replies(10)
2909d ago Replies(5)
MegamanXXX2909d ago (Edited 2909d ago )

The One X should have this cpu in it especially for $500 dollars imo. A lot of gamers thought Microsoft was going to add this to the One x

2909d ago
MegamanXXX2909d ago

I feel like the One X is not worth $500 dollars because of the old jaguar laptop cpu. Should be $450

conanlifts2908d ago (Edited 2908d ago )

"I feel like the One X is not worth $500 dollars because of the old jaguar laptop cpu. Should be $450"

They redesigned the cpu. Doubled the cache ( over the pro), increased the speed etc. So yes its old tech, but it has been reworked to make it better. In addition the gpu itself outperforms the 1060, 480 and 580. The closest pc gpu is the 1070 ( which should outperform the X). So to keep up on a pc you would need a gpu that costs almost the same price.

The manufacturing costs for ms themselves are equal or greater than the console cost.

Arnon2908d ago

@sd11

Actually, in terms of horsepower, the X1X is comparable to a GTX 1060 or RX 580. More memory in a GPU does not equate to more power. A GTX 1060 or RX 580 are comparable to the GPU in the X1X, but they have less memory.

http://www.pcgamer.com/here...

conanlifts2908d ago

@arnon yes but you will never get the same level of performance out of a pc gpu. Consoles are always more efficient so it will outperform a 580/1060.
It was digital Foundry who stated the closest was a 1070.

Cobra9512908d ago

Ryzen replacing Jaguar in the XOX, even if feasible in hardware cost, would have changed the nature of the system entirely. It was meant as an upscaling of the current (8th) console generation, not as a new gen. XO games would not work right out of the box on the XOX if it featured an entirely different CPU. Games would need modifying or porting individually. That was never going to happen mid-gen.

Great video from the DF. It explains in detail why the weak CPU in current consoles holds the games back. You can up the resolution and the prettying of graphics in general, but the games themselves can't be much more complex or alive than the previous generation's.

Arnon2908d ago (Edited 2908d ago )

@sd11

"yes but you will never get the same level of performance out of a pc gpu. Consoles are always more efficient so it will outperform a 580/1060.

Lol what? That must be why consoles always outperform PCs right? I'm kidding, they don't, ever. But that's to be expected when you're spending half, or a third of the cost of a gaming PC.

"It was digital Foundry who stated the closest was a 1070."

Not sure where you found this, but it is most certainly not comparable to a GTX 1070. In fact, typing in xbox one X vs PC on Google results in the top articles stating that it is comparable to a GTX 1060 or RX 580. The only person I have seen state that the X1X is comparable to a GTX 1070 with 16 GB of RAM is an ARK developer.

The X1X, as shown in this article, has a high memory bandwidth but a low clock speed, which means the X1X's GPU bandwidth will be bottlenecked. Whereas the GTX 1060 has a lower bandwidth than the X1X, but a much faster clock speed, which means the GPU can take greater advantage of that bandwidth.

https://www.vrfocus.com/201...

conanlifts2907d ago (Edited 2907d ago )

@arnon.
So for the first time in console history are you saying that a console gpu will perform on an equal footing to its pc counter part. This has never happened. Look at the xbox 1 and ps4. Both consoles outperform their pc equivelants. It has always been the case that you step up a tier. Why do you assume this has changed? Xbox X will outperform games on a pc using the 480, 580 and 1060 due to the architecture and optimisation that occurs on consoles. As was mentioned by Corrios below " on consoles they go to the metal".

A few quotes from digital Foundry regarding xbox x.

"The bottom line is that Scorpio's six teraflops will almost certainly go a lot further than an equivalent PC part."

"Out of interest, we tested Forza 6 Apex with similar settings at 4K on GTX 1060, 1070 and 1080. Frames were dropped on GTX 1060 (and a lot of them when wet weather conditions kicked in), while GTX 1070 held firm with only the most intense wet weather conditions causing performance dips. Only GTX 1080 held completely solid"

"From what I've seen so far, there is some evidence that Scorpio's true 4K performance could pose a challenge to the likes of Nvidia's GTX 1070 and AMD's Fury X-class hardware."

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 2907d ago
threefootwang2909d ago

Whatever the game changer is, I just hope the end results is 4K native, 60FPS, HDR, and SSDs.

If next gen needs a couple extra years for that to happen, I'd be more then happy to wait it out.

Whatever ensures competitive prices, reliable hardware, and preferably full backwards compatibility (which shouldn't be hard with everyone going X86)

objdadon2909d ago

Doesn't even need to be native 4k for me as long as it hits 60fps consistently.

Omnislashver362908d ago (Edited 2908d ago )

SSDs will NOT happen in the next 10 years, maybe if we're lucky they'll develop some kind of caching method(no idea how it would work though, as it'd still have to load off of a HDD). Considering 4K will require 2-5TB HDDs, SSDs in that range would run $2-3K. They're NOT dropping to $50 in the next 10 years.

The only hope we really have is of a 7200RPM SSHD if we're lucky. Or if more games will support a user-installed SSD, but we're not getting this stock nex-gen.

zivtheawesome2908d ago

Dont count on native 4k pal. Most likely devs willl continue to use checkerboarding and other methods as they can push the graphical settings with it.

Liqu1d2908d ago

SSDs will not happen. Manufacturers will opt for cheaper, higher capacity drives. 60fps across the board won't happen either, 30fps will still be a thing.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2908d ago
andrewsquall2908d ago

Well it must be a game changer. Remember when XboneX was DEFINITELY going to have this CPU and definitely be a next gen console lol?

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2907d ago
corroios2909d ago

This is a very nice video. Next gen the biggest jump will be the CPU. They show us that the rysen 1700 at 3. GHz is 2 or 3 times more powerfull then the current jap cpu on the sony and Microsoft machines.

DF show us that the diference in power could be even bigger, because on console they go to the metal. That would be amazing. First in terms of rez, the video shows us a HUGE diference to the crappy and old mobile jag, then we get much better AI, phisics and so on.

I really hope that both companies used some kind of Rysen CPU with 8 or more cores, because in terms of GPU there are many choices.

Asuka2909d ago

If Sony and MS decide to go the AMD route again they may do another APU as it is cheaper, and easier to maintain temps in the small form factor consoles come in.

Raven Ridge is AMDs next line of APUs consisting of 4core 8thread Ryzen CPU and Vega GPU. In 3 years time these may be cheap enough to manufacture and sell in a console, and by cheap enough i mean production yields as Vega is having issues (tho that is mainly due to HBM2 having yield issues as well, and i don't see that coming to consoles for a little while).

Whatever the case a proper CPU should be the focus for next gen.

Ashlen2909d ago (Edited 2909d ago )

As I understand it Raven Ridge won't actually be using HBM.

I'm not sure that HBM2 supply has actually been the delay issue. I know a lot of people say it is, but AMD has said it's not. I tend to side with the people that say the delay was on the software side, drivers and software just weren't ready. There have been some pretty credible studies that have shown that Vega FE isn't actually using several of the promised hardware features because they have yet to be enabled by divers.

Asuka2909d ago

yeah you make a valid point. Drivers could be holding Vega back, and the FE edition is pretty much proof of that. Let's just hope the Driver team can get something ready for end of July/beginning of August when RX Vega (hopefully) drops.

Omnislashver362908d ago

They're also coming out with 8-core Ryzen/Vega apus called Pinnacle Ridge.

Asuka2908d ago

oh are they now? well that is very interesting. I have been considering on updating my HTPC, and Pinnacle Ridge sounds perfect.

ABBAJESUS2909d ago

We need 15 teraflops from GPU just for great vr and 4K experience so...yeah there is plenty of room for gpu's to get better, but also CPU

zivtheawesome2909d ago (Edited 2909d ago )

i think that we would get 12 TF TBH. it'll also be about the same jump as the one between ps3 and ps4 i think

jmc88882909d ago

It's about timing. 1080ti @2000mhz is ~14 TFlops (about 17 AMD TFLops) and it's not even Volta.

Also people need to realize that whatever resolution you want is a moving target.

What ran 1080/60 in 2005 was 1/10th of what is needed in 2017 for 1080/60. Same thing will happen for 4k and VR. What is needed for various resolutions and framerates will continue to go up as developers add better IQ.

Whatever the case is, the CPU is clearly the bottleneck in PS4/XB1/XB1S/Pro/X1X.

In some cases up to halving framerate.

house2908d ago

imo the only way we get 15 TF is with the pro console

dcbronco2909d ago

I think we get back to the $399 price point. But we will move to Zen. But that time we will be swing 7nm parts. If rumors are true that Ryzen hits over 80% on their yields the chips will be cheap. I think we might even get a low powered Threadripper. I'd love to see a 16 core CPU and 12-15 teraflop GPU. Threadripper is currently believed to be made at a cost of $120-40 per chip at 14nm. AMD's quarterly reports a few months after launch will tell us if that's true. If profits are way up, it's true. That is if the chip is popular and does sell for $850.

I don't see there being a rush to 8k so the power will go to gameplay, physics and AI. We'll get 4k and a steady 60fps on all games. The most interesting thing to me is the possibility of what could be done with the AI built into the Zen processor. It seems to me that developers will use that AI in quality control and transfer what it learns to the end user AIs. It would be kinda like the old VIP system from 2k football that learned a players tendencies and adjusted to it. The AI would learn the things that cause crashes and prevent them from happening as well as predicting what the user will most likely do next and use the consoles assets in the most efficient way for that.

The on chip AI could also greatly increase replay value as well as adjusting difficulty. It could make adjustments to the games AI enemies to match your playing style or bump up difficulty in real time. Or completely reset the games AI approach after you complete the game to give you a new experience with replay.

Next generation will be the golden age of consoles.

2909d ago Replies(3)
jmc88882909d ago

I would hope so, and I definitely see WHY we need to get to $399.

But every year that goes past, a $399 console gives you less. It would be fantastic if AMD/Nvidia get better yields. That would definitely help.

To make a 360/PS3 powerful device in 2020 would be like $1200. (and I mean in terms of relative performance for the time)

Wages aren't going up, but due to money printing and bailouts the currencies of the world are depreciating.

That's not going to stop, the world is printing more money every day in 2017 'after the crisis (even if we're still in it)' then we were at the 'height of the crisis in 2009'. Just wait until this biggest bubble in the history of the world pops. How much more do they print past the most ever they currently are?

That's why we get cheaper consoles. $399 in 2005 was like $270 in 2013, which would be like $199 in 2020. Give or take. But real inflation is 3-4x higher then that reported.

Sony and MS are hit hard by these policies because the end user can only afford what they can afford. That's why we get low-medium end tech from years earlier in our consoles.

Heck when the next collapse happens, it might even delay launch of the consoles, just like Sony and MS said that it did last time. 2019 is probably a pipe dream. 2020-2021 might be too early.

dcbronco2908d ago

The next crash might will likely be far worse than any previous crash because it will most likely be a currency crash. The US has been driving on fumes since the seventies and is long overdue for a major correction. The old empire staple of attack another country to boost your economy is about to run its course.

We're fighting over oil because old money won't accept that it's time has past. The people have gone from not being a part of it to not getting it to not caring anymore. The Middle East is a mess with Saudi Arabia calling others terrorist so they can sell more oil. And Russia has reawakened and isn't backing down from efforts to surround it and force it to roll over.

Our poor schools have leaked into the White House and Putin is almost single handedly running us in circles. More and more countries are switching to other currencies for oil and the US still can't sell much more than weapons, movies and music to the rest of the world. Plus we have companies and a government so stupid they believe a consumer economy can survive if most of the people are retired, under employed or unemployed. Winter is coming.

Omnislashver362908d ago (Edited 2908d ago )

Very good points here from both of you. If we get a delay to 2020-2021 it's because of a change of landscape in the economy, as well as lower yields. Sad on both ends, but I can dream with a 2019 release regardless- truth be told though, AMD will likely run into some delays like they are currently, and console jumps just aren't what they used to be. Adjusted for inflation we should be able to afford $499-699 consoles and get another worthy bump, but the economy is so shit it's laughable to sell a console at that price. Inflation has gone up but not wages. Too bad.

If we didn't have these issues just imagine what these consoles would be running. Previous jumps were 20-40x the power. We'd have graphics many couldn't distinguish from real life in some games. Hell, some might consider them better because of art-styles and fantastical landscapes.

Back to reality- at least AMD is making some improvements now with Ryzen/Vega. We might not be getting the 20-40x increase at a cheap price, but I'd love to see what a 5x increase will look like with twice the RAM and a processor capable of more physics and more steady framerate. Since I value art style as much as graphics, Gen 9 may be a golden age for me. Depending on which devs max it out.

dcbronco2907d ago

Omni, I don't think AMD is running into problems. I think they're tweaking. I think they are taking what they've learned from Pro and X and adding it to Zen+. This wouldn't be the first time. Remember they released an APU based on the PS4 design. I think they are going to use a lot from X.

AMD was supposed to release their APU in the first quarter of this year. Now it's going to be a year late. We know Ryzen yields are great. Vega is late too but the power went up some in later roadmaps. That's why I believe they are tweaking.

When new consoles come out, if that's in 2019-20, I don't think yields will be an issue. I think the fabrication process being used for 7nm is based on the 14nm process. That is part of AMD's plan to offer better price to power ratios than Intel and keep undercutting them. Also by dropping under them on die size. Intel doesn't expect to go 7nm till 2022. So AMD uses die size to counter process and their process to counter price.

So basically Intel better have a huge war chest saved or they're screwed. They've blown their roadmap counterpunching this year. They changed to tic toc toc but are already on a fourth or fifth toc. They're losing market fast on desktop and will soon on laptop and tablet. I also believe they will take heavy losses on server. They gave up on mobile and Qualcomm is going to make a huge move on laptops and tablets. There won't be much space for Intel. And if Intel has a major miss on estimates, they may hide a lot of it, it means AMD pricing is causing them to take a hit on their bottom line. Because if Intel was gouging so they could payoff vendors, now they can't gouge, make payoffs and are losing market in every segment. Enough of a perfect storm to sink most companies.

Omnislashver362907d ago (Edited 2907d ago )

dcbronco

That's all very good news and thanks for the insight. Nex-gen is sounding a little brighter the more AMD progresses, and I'll definitely have to make my next PC build AMD because of it. I've currently got a Skylake i5 which is decent but I got one that doesn't overclock. I'll definitely go Ryzen+/Navi in 2019 and put the i5 in an HTPC build. I wonder if Ryzen+/Navi will be used in the next consoles as well, considering they're already working on it.

dcbronco2907d ago

I think they'll go back to the previous generation GPU formula. Vega will be cheaper and offer the power they will be looking for. They will add Navi upgrades but I believe Navi will be a brand new architecture so I'm not sure what limits that will cause. But GPUs will be 7nm at that point too so 12 teraflops on the old architecture at size should allow for the sub $150 APU they want. I don't think we will see another console take a loss per unit again.

By 2020 desktop GPUs should be at 25 teraflops. So 12 on a console is reasonable. We could also see dual GPUs finally hit consoles. Like something where they add a discrete GPU through Infinity Fabric kind of like the setup with Epyc with dual chips. So you could have the APU from X pushing strictly graphics coupled with a GPU geared towards physics and AI. You figure if you add Ryzen to the X APU in three years it's still cheap and gives you 4k/60 in most games. Add a specialized discrete GPU and offload all AI and physics to it and that APU should hit 4k/60 on all games and we get huge boost in AI, physics and environments.

Bump up to a 16 core Threadripper and you really get a beast with 8 cores on the APU and it's work and the other 8 focused on the rest and the other GPU. But if you look at Epyc, that setup allows for CPU cores to focus on wherever the need is. So 12 Zen cores can focus on the discrete GPU.

I also think the cost would remain pretty low since this would be old tech by then.

dcbronco2906d ago

Omni, I was on Beyond 3d last night and a thread there reminded me of something. I never took into consideration the difference in the size of cores. Zen is much bigger than Jaguar. Threadripper couldn't work. The chip would be huge. That means fewer per wafer and that dictates cost. Threadripper is overkill anyway. Maybe Microsoft will just do their own CPU based on Zen. Plus who knows where things are going. Having cash available might take AMD back to Skybridge and we could see a x86/ARM hybrid. Four Zen cores and eight ARM cores.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 2906d ago
2908d ago
Show all comments (75)
430°

Ubisoft: AC Origins To Run at 4K/30 FPS On Both Pro and Xbox X

Windows Central: I spoke to a developer from Ubisoft working on that game and inquired about the version parity between PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. He told me that Assassin's Creed Origins will be 4K at 30 FPS on both the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro,

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
ninsigma2933d ago

This is what people have been saying. Big multiplatform games for the most part will be much the same, with likely less fps and resolution drops on XOX than Pro. It'll be Microsoft's own games, like halo, Forza and Gears that will make the console shine.

Gazondaily2933d ago

Time will tell but I reckon we will see a few examples where the differences are more obvious. Who knows though; we'll see.

Genuine-User2932d ago

Anthem might be that game in the multiplatform space. That said, Microsoft's first party simply can't compete with the likes of Spider-Man and God of War.

MegamanXXX2932d ago (Edited 2932d ago )

Whatever you say 😁 by the time we know the difference PS5 and Xbox two will probably be around the corner. Again the Jaguar cpu is to weak and not powerful enough this gen but people are still in denial.

Ceaser98573612932d ago (Edited 2932d ago )

I will still say multiplatform will be almost same on both Pro and X... Its only the Exclusives that will shine

bouzebbal2932d ago

We will for sure not see the same kind of difference X1 ps4 original.
Pro is an amazing piece of tech for that price.
Too bad for xbox fanboys that the difference isn't noticeable from the start.

TankCrossing2932d ago

Multiplats from the big studios will differ in more ways than just resolution. You only need to take a cursory glance at the PC space to see that.

The lowest common denominator is crucial for the core design of the game, but the elements that are scalable (assets, textures, and a wide array of features we'll just call "visual effects") are built for the top end of the spectrum and scaled down for the respective platforms. Scaling the Xbox One X down to the same level as the Pro wouldn't make a lick of sense.

Gazondaily2932d ago (Edited 2932d ago )

"Too bad for xbox fanboys that the difference isn't noticeable from the start."

And it won't be noticeable to Sony fanboys now...even though some games ALREADY have DOUBLE the frame rate and 4K res and additional graphical fidelity over Pro. 😊

2932d ago
freshslicepizza2932d ago

When the games come out sources like Digital Foundry will do their thing. Only this time we will see a segment of the forums all of the sudden not care about those differences.

The target is 4K but one system will hit that target more than the other, plus other graphical and performance gains. If these things are of no interest to you then I guess the PS4 Pro, Xbox One X and the PC market aren't that interesting to you either.

_-EDMIX-_2932d ago

Lol

I like that you're in denial

the reality is why on Earth would these developer spend all this extra time to try to make one specific version better when it's also the one with the very least install base in the first place?

Basically the vast majority of developers are simply just going to use Pro settings which is making this existence of the system even more irrelevant. Looks like Sony was correct all along to make the pro price friendly because they already knew that the extra Hardware was going to be irrelevant to the vast majority of developers as we're seeing right now with the Xbox One X.

So who's stupid enough to pay more money for the same settings to also get less games?

Gazondaily2932d ago

@EDMIX

"Basically the vast majority of developers are simply just going to use Pro settings"

In today's episode of making things up..

Dark_Knightmare22932d ago

Yeah probably with ms first party games it's just too bad there's so few of them

OC_MurphysLaw2932d ago

I think it is a pretty obvious notion that most 3rd party games (especially ones coming this year) are likely going to be close in paper spec between Pro and X. I have zero doubts X will run smoother / more consistently hitting the target especially when you look at some of the really poor Pro Boost implementations we have seen from some companies. 2018 likely will be very different with a year of XBOX dev kits being out in the wild vs just a few months so far (reports are dev kits started getting sent out in January this year). I think that valley of what both boxes can do will grow next year. Does that truly matter? that is the question to ask and for most on N4G who have their flag poll planted the answer is no.

JackBNimble2931d ago (Edited 2931d ago )

Scared of of the xb1x? You guys keep telling yourselves that if it makes you feel better. There power difference between xb1x and pro are smaller then the differences between xb1 and ps4.
So there maybe differences but it's highly unlikely that you will even be able to notice them without side by side comparisons and being very nit picky. 😁

starchild2931d ago

Framerate and resolution targets might be the same, but that doesn't mean the two versions will actually look and perform the same. The framerate may be more stable in one version, while the other frequently drops below 30fps. Both console versions use dynamic resolution scaling, so it may turn out that one version drops below 4k most of the time while the other doesn't. Moreover, resolution is far from being the only aspect defining graphical quality. Things like shadow quality, draw distance, texture quality, ambient occlusion quality, antialiasing and effects are some of the areas where there will likely be differences between the various versions of the game. Almost certainly the relative quality will end up like this: PC > XB1X > PS4P

xfiles20992931d ago

You wont be able to tell the difference with the naked eye you will need DF to tell you whats what trust me on that

Skull5212931d ago

Anyone thinking about getting a PS4 Pro should hold out until the XBOX release, the value is going to plummet and you'll be able to get Pro's a dime a dozen on craigslist.

Babadook72929d ago (Edited 2929d ago )

I hate to say I told you so but...

Microsoft has over promised on native 4k.

+ Show (14) more repliesLast reply 2929d ago
butchertroll2933d ago

So much about Destiny 2 and reason that Sony paid Bungie for parity. Now, MS has a marketing deal with AC Origins and look where we are now

ninsigma2933d ago

Hopefully that ridiculous narrative can be put to rest now.

morganfell2932d ago

In before "We all know that Sony secretly paid Ubisoft before the MS deal was struck."

thekhurg2932d ago

Dude we all know Sony secretly paid Ubisoft before the MS deal was struck.

Ceaser98573612932d ago

Thank god Anthem wasn't with Sony's marketing .. Or else few section would have complained and blamed Sony for checkerboard rendering ...

morganfell2932d ago

@thekhurg,

Ha ha thanks! Coffee almost shot out my nose when I saw your post. Funny as hell...

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2932d ago
CyrusLemont2932d ago

Even if they're the same resolution and FPS, parity will be impossible, simply because one system will always have more power and always be more stable running titles. In addition, there are other graphical effects that might be dialed up on one system compared to the other. Doesn't mean games are gonna look bad on either system, people just whine a lot. This gen has had so many pretty multi-platforms, you never really "lose".

bluefox7552932d ago (Edited 2932d ago )

That's a fair point, but those really haven't either. I mean, look at Crackdown...and Sea of Thieves, while it has a pleasant art style, is nothing ground breaking technically.

cellfluid2932d ago

But gears forza and halo are all shined out. To much rinse and repeat.. This is Goin to be a tough battle for Microsoft.. All sony has to do is drop the price of the pro when the X comes out and it's definitely a wrap..

2932d ago
GUTZnPAPERCUTZ2932d ago

It will run the same output, but not the same graphics settings, more RAM means Higher res textures, further draw distance, water effects, etc.

Zeref2931d ago

Ubisoft is notorious for their parity bullshit.

mark_parch2931d ago

Being 4k 30fps on both consoles is fine but if they aren't adding other graphical features to the 1X version then they aren't making the best version for each console which sucks

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 2929d ago
2933d ago
OB1Biker2933d ago (Edited 2933d ago )

'The developer told me that both versions use dynamic resolution scaling to maintain frame rate stability, so more intense scenes might see the 4K resolution drop below momentarily to keep the game running smoothly. He said that the Xbox One X version's resolution would most likely drop below True 4K far less often, and perhaps not at all when compared to the PS4 Pro, but also that the differences would be "imperceptible to the human eye."

True 4k and dynamic 4K for all but no flying 4k

CyrusLemont2932d ago

Wait til you hear about "Real 4k", bringing the best picture quality to UHD screens, using a native pixel count render through advanced software processing to emulate the 4k format. Nothing is realer than "Real 4K".

*last line must be read with EA sports guy voice.

TheCommentator2932d ago (Edited 2932d ago )

perhaps not at all = perhaps Native 4K... Guess we'll see what it is upon release.

Neonridr2933d ago

we will have to see if both versions are rendering at the same base resolution before being checkerboarded up to 4K.

Cryptcuzz2932d ago

Why do I keep seeing you make comments like this?

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but this game is said to be using a dynamic resolution technique. That's different than 4K CB, is it not?

Based on the Xbox website, it is different.
https://news.xbox.com/2017/...

To MS, 4K Ultra HD is a game with a 2160P frame buffer output.

"A game has a 2160p frame buffer output. That includes Native 4K, Checkerboarding, and Dynamic Resolution."

moegooner882932d ago

" Why do I keep seeing you make comments like this? "

Desperation.

Neonridr2932d ago

ahh, my bad. I thought for some reason it was being upconverted via checkerboard rendering.

Aenea2932d ago

I believe DF said it was using both, CB and dynamic resolution, basically dynamic CB....

TheCommentator2932d ago

Yep Aenea, it's dynamic Checkerboarding, with the Pro version dropping a lot and the 1X version perhaps not at all... which would essentially make 1X Native 4K.

Let's not forget how many people trolled MS for having dynamic rendering on XB1, when all of us said it wasn't even really noticeable. It seems the tables have turned as much with Sony fans as with MS fans, huh.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2932d ago
Genuine-User2932d ago (Edited 2932d ago )

What do you mean?

They have to render at the same resolution to achieve 2160 checkerboard.

Edit:

2160 Checkerboard requires the same base resolution regardless of platform. I'm not talking about upscaling.

Neonridr2932d ago

nope. The game could be rendered at 1800p before being upscaled via checkerboard to 2160. Or the game could be rendered at 1440p before being upscaled. Just because the end result is the same number doesn't mean that they both started at the same number.

But in this case, I think Cryptcuzz is right and they are using a dynamic resolution.

Bathyj2932d ago

Nope. That's not what checkerboard is.

Aenea2932d ago (Edited 2932d ago )

Still don't know how checkerboard rendering works, huh?

There is no base resolution, there's just a target resolution...

------
"nope. The game could be rendered at 1800p before being upscaled via checkerboard to 2160"

That's impossible! That only works with upscaling, not checkerboard rendering...

You target a resolution, say 2160p, you create a 2160p framebuffer, then divide that framebuffer in 2x2 pixel squares and then render half of the squares (and thus pixels), which ones are being rendered switches every other frame in a checkerboard pattern. Then the current and previous frame are combined with several techniques. If there was no movement for example between the two frames it IS native 2160p, if there was movement then movement data is used to make a calculation of how the pixels from the previous frame are placed into the current frame. On the PS4 Pro there's the ID buffer that can track 3d objects, their edges, etc. in the scene, this helps with determining movement, but also helps to only smoothen the edges of objects with AA.

I hope you thus now understand that you can't just take a native 1800p frame and turn that into 2160p using these types of methods...

The Pro has GPU customisations in there to do this (one of them is the ID buffer), not sure if the One X has any. I do know that the ID buffer and the CB implementation that's build into the GPU of the Pro is a Sony custom thing and AMD is allowed to use it, but only in PC components, not console ones. Tho am sure MS thought of something else to help with this.

Neonridr2932d ago

fair enough, thanks for the clarification. I still thought checkerboarding was an upconversion of sorts so there had to be a base resolution. Guess not.

cheers

Bathyj2931d ago

Finally someone that realised checkerboard and upscale are two completely different things.

Aenea2932d ago

Yeah, it's sort of an upconversion, but not in the traditional sense, also always uses exactly half of the pixels as the target resolution. But it would also not be correct to stat that it's half the resolution then with the way it works. It is a rather ingenious way to get higher resolutions with less GPU power...

ocelot072932d ago

Am shocked you haven't blamed Sony for this.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2931d ago
TocaCannaBowl2932d ago

But i thought X Marks the Spot ?

2932d ago Replies(1)
EatCrow2932d ago

Also marks some stitches.

SKullDugger2932d ago

Grow up man you act like a child, people on this sight do nothing but take shots and attack the people that do not support the console of their choice AKA SONY..........

2932d ago
feraldrgn2931d ago

"AKA SONY" You just said that people take shots & pointed the finger at PS4 owners, not to mention it's after you said "Grow up man you act like a child".

Show all comments (97)