Microsoft Consoles and Updates

[mmmark]

Have to be honest, I’ve absolutely no idea what that game is. Doesn’t it have its own thread?

[Maryokutai]

15 minutes ago, bellow said:

1080p 60fps is all my telly can handle, and, with game pass, is all I'll be needing from next gen for a good while. I don't think you can dismiss the other features of the XSS out of hand, though, such as quick resume. In fact I think I'm looking forward to that a lot.

 

I'm not dismissing anything but until there's either a good Next-Gen exclusive on the system or a cross-gen game that runs poorly on Xbox One I'm in no rush to upgrade. I'd love to play my backlog in superior quality through backwards compatibility on Series X but I can't afford spending 499€ just for that right now. Neither do I want to, to be honest.

 

2 minutes ago, mmmark said:

Have to be honest, I’ve absolutely no idea what that game is. Doesn’t it have its own thread?

 

It's basically Panzer Falcoon.

[Maryokutai]

5 minutes ago, Nag said:

how frustrating is fumbling around blindly trying find the right port.

 

He he.

[Maf]

Alana demoing some boot up and quick resume times

 

 

[one-armed dwarf]

Then it would be a few seconds of black screen nothingness which would suck cause you'd spoil Sopranos for everyone

[bellow]

I worry about those gameplay hints disappearing that often appear on loading screens.

 

Not for me, you understand. I mean for lesser gamers, like @Maf.

[mmmark]

It’s not that fast. I was expecting instant. Crackdown loading up was still slow because that game is a mess. 

[Maf]

Compared to where current Xbox is at it’s extremely fast. Don’t know how it compares to PS5 but from current gen it’s lightning.

 

Although good to see Xbox still crashes when trying to start apps. She says that’s a preview build but current Xbox does that, too. 

[DisturbedSwan]

 

[mmmark]

Wealthy man opens box to find a box inside. 

[Maf]

Also more on this Auto-HDR feature

 

Quote

Auto HDR for everyone 

Modern games often implement high dynamic range (HDR) to improve overall visual quality. HDR allows a game to render a much larger range of brightness values and colors. This gives an extra sense of richness and depth to the image when compared to a standard dynamic range (SDR) image. For example, the light from a flashlight looks much brighter and red flowers look much more vibrant. 

 

However, thousands of Xbox games shipped before HDR was first introduced with Xbox One S, and even for some Xbox One games, developers simply didn’t have the development resources or time to implement HDR. With Xbox Series X and Series S we are introducing a new feature named Auto HDR. Auto HDR automatically adds HDR enhancements to games which only shipped with SDR. Auto HDR enhances the visual quality of an SDR game without changing the original artistic intent of the game. Auto HDR is implemented by the system so developers don’t have to do any work to take advantage of this feature. Also, since Auto HDR is enabled by the console’s hardware, there is absolutely no performance cost to the CPU, GPU or memory and there is no additional latency added ensuring you receive the ultimate gaming experience. 
 

The below images show how Auto HDR can improve the visual quality without changing the overall look of the game. The HDR images are brighter and more colorful only in the naturally expected areas, while the rest of the image retains its original intent.

There’s more in the blog post about back compat titles. Some getting double FPS (Although this sounds rare) and most games getting 1440p or 4K resolution boost 

[Maf]

This is how bad I am with frame rate I just watched that video and thought “Yeah, the one on the right does look a bit smoother” then I noticed 

[Maf]

The only time frame rate bothers me is when it gets to Dark Souls 1 PS3 levels of bad. Unless the FPS goes so low it’s actively destroying the game then ?‍♂️ I can’t really tell. I thought Mario 64 ran at 60fps until a week ago. 

[bellow]

I don't have much experience of 60 FPS. I still use a launch a PS4, and I assume the last modern games I played on it (Last of us 2, Ghost of Tsushima) were 30 fps, while looking fabulous to my eyes.

 

Having said that, when you play Splatoon 2 the hub area runs at 30fps but in the game proper it's all 60. You really do notice it in the context of that game. It's like night and day. 

[Sly Reflex]

I don't really get it when people say they don't see the difference. It's not all about seeing of course, it just feels nicer to control. Nice high framerate and a great display go a long way.

 

I'd warrant if people played on 60fps for a few months and then went back to 30fps or lower, they'd almost certain notice it.

[one-armed dwarf]

I think a rock solid 30 fps with good frame pacing is really underrated tho. I've been playing some witcher 3 on PC and it runs anywhere from 50-ish to 70 fps. But even if I lock it there is this horribly stuttery feel to the Witcher which is somehow worse than even some 30fps games I've played. It feels like it's going to fall apart.

 

I think FFVII Remake and also TLOUII this year stand out as exceptionally consistent at 30 frames. Not that smooth 30fps is better than smooth 60. But as long as you aren't getting distracted by performance dips or feel held back by how the game is running I don't have any real complaints personally. I even played TLOU Remastered at 30 cause I got in the groove with that game better at that level than the 60 option, which sort of dipped occasionally. It's a reason why I prefer games like that to push things graphically or simulation wise rather than trying to achieve 60 but toning lots of other stuff down.

 

WRT telling the difference tho I think the framerate difference kicks in more on PC due to M&K where when I play TFII or Doom Eternal even 60 fps shows judder and loss of info when moving the camera quick. Which is why I try to get them to run at 90 instead, motion clarity is the biggest differentiator which is why it doesn't matter for stuff like TLOUII which is very slow but fast intense stuff it's a deal breaker. You will absolutely notice and appreciate the difference in those kinda games. Even stuff like Civ feels shit with performance dips and that's just menus

[Sly Reflex]

The place where I noticed it most was Pinball. When everything is moving like a motherfucker it becomes harder to judge on consoles. Weird trajectories are harder to manage since you're only getting half the info between where it starts and where it ends when it's flying across the screen. Plus your inputs are halved as well. All that adds up.

[mfnick]

Like Sly says, it’s not a visual difference usually that’s noticeable but the feel of the game. It just feels better. 
 

I really struggle with unlocked frame rates though. I agree a locked 30 is better than a unlocked 60. When the frame rate is altering on the fly I think it looks and feels really weird, I can’t get on with it at all. It’s like if when streaming media is buffering, hangs  and then it suddenly goes really fast. It’s just not right.  

[shinymcshine]

£2000 off a new Xbox at Curry's PC World 

 

Bizarre story that to eliminate bots and scammers they've increased the price of the new Xbox Consoles by £2000 and will email all preorder customers with a discount voucher for the same amount (which requires manual input at checkout).

 

How could this possibility go wrong....

 

https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/14/currys-pc-world-charging-2449-for-xbox-series-x-to-put-off-scalpers-13422673/

 

 

[Maf]

Bakalar put out his Xbox SX impressions.

 

 

Says it’s really cool, quick resume is the star of the show, not a day 1 purchase. I think he comes to that conclusion because Dirt 5 is the only new game he got to play on it. I get it. Games system with no games is a hard sell.