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Face-Off: Evolve - PC/PS4/X1

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Is the TOD running in the cutscene? (not sure if it's a cutscene either) Seems to be many instances where shadows are missing. Could just be different time on PS4 of course.
 
That has never really been the case. I remember a user trying to prove that DF is biased towards Xbox by posting a Batman Arkham Asylum Face-off link in which the DF crew talked about how the PS3 exclusive missions were an advantage for the console, while also downplaying the PS3 version's inferior AA by saying "the game has dark environments so the jaggies are less pronounced". There is no bias. Of course that will never be accepted by platform warriors who just want to see their favorite platform "win".

I feel similarly. I haven't found evidence to suggest they are biased in any of their articles. There are a fee occasions where they may slant slightly into review territory as opposed to pure technical analysis, but their conclusion is supported by the evidence they present.

Now, this doesn't mean they do a great job understanding the tech they're talking about or that their methods are air tight.
 
To be fair, I suspect it's less of case of them having a bias towards Microsoft and more down to DF desperately trying to find a reason to stay relevant themselves.

The reality is that these sorts of face-off articles are of far less use than they were last-gen. 99% of multiplatform games nowadays are the same story - the PC version will always be the best if you have the hardware for it, the PS4 will be the best console experience and the Xbox One will bring up the rear.

I don't think Digital Foundry are insane Microsoft fanboys or anything. They just need to make it sound like there's actually anything of value to be gained from their articles. Hence all the clutching at straws about 'online experience' or some bollocks, they need the Xbox One to be competitive so they actually have something to say.
I think you're right, like how news shows make elections seem closer than they really are, or present both sides of an issue as equal when there's actually a consensus favoring one side. I guess I can't really blame them, they have to entertain more than inform if they want to get attention.
 
Yes shadows are definitely missing I guess. The light source is in the same position on each platform as seen by the specular highlights winch are the same.

Some fog is missing as well.

lSnb.jpg

Just a streaming issue?

I guess much of this AF and shadows is to maintain 1080p?
 
Lol, DF is so bad it isn't even funny. They don't even try to be impartial. These Face-Offs all regurgitate the same tired MS-biased bullshit.

If PS4 has better resolution, then they feel that Xb1 had a marginally better frame-rate, even though they post videos of both versions having mostly the same frame-rate.

If PS4 and Xb1 have same resolution and frame-rate, but the PS4 has better effects, then they say that the effects are negligible. Funnily enough, we got giant articles about foliage when it was PS360.

If the PS4 is better all round, then the online infrastructure is not as good (maybe they should check online number of players, that may have something to do with performance). If the game doesn't have an online mode, then they focus on saying how much better the PC version is, they totally downplay the fact the PS4 version is the console version to get.

As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.
 
Ok, my mistake. It's just because of the time of day though.

No worries.. :-) Unfortunately the TOD seems to be exactly the same on all platforms. Can somebody with the PS4 version post a screenshot showing shadows being casted by the environment please? This would help figure out what is going on.
 
Just a coincidental choice of screenshots to put on their site. Nothing more, nothing less ...

Since we're seeing it in a number of screens, including cutscenes, it's worth noting. If you could toss up screencaps or footage of the PS4 version that gives a better look at it, it would be helpful. I only ask because it seems like you're responding based on some experience with the final release.
 
As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.

Because they put it in to hurt people's feelings and ramp up the insecurity for their platform choice. (sarcasm)

PC is included to inform PC users (or anyone in general) about versions they should buy, what performance and cvar settings they should expect. Also, it is interesting.
 
No worries.. :-) Unfortunately the TOD seems to be exactly the same on all platforms. Can somebody with the PS4 version post a screenshot showing shadows being casted by the environment please? This would help figure out what is going on.
Just going off the video in the article there are some areas that appear to be identical, but there are other areas that don't appear to be. This scene from the video (ignore the compression, it's a streamed video lol) does have shadows missing on the PS4 version.
screenshot_2015-02-146zo78.png
 
Because they put it in to hurt people's feelings and ramp up the insecurity for their platform choice. (sarcasm)

PC is included to inform PC users (or anyone in general) about versions they should buy, what performance and cvar settings they should expect. Also, it is interesting.
Shouldn't they just have a PC-only article? They could then discuss the game more in depth when relating to PC metrics. So many of the PC considerations don't even exist on console.
 
That has never really been the case. I remember a user trying to prove that DF is biased towards Xbox by posting a Batman Arkham Asylum Face-off link in which the DF crew talked about how the PS3 exclusive missions were an advantage for the console, while also downplaying the PS3 version's inferior AA by saying "the game has dark environments so the jaggies are less pronounced". There is no bias. Of course that will never be accepted by platform warriors who just want to see their favorite platform "win".

Exactly. Some people just want to read that PS4 wipes the floor with the Xbone is every possible way, and anything less and they cry bias. This thread is full of crying fanboys.
 
Shouldn't they just have a PC-only article? They could then discuss the game more in depth when relating to PC metrics. So many of the PC considerations don't even exist on console.

There can be a massive range in quality for game releases on PC, whether they're released on the same date or as a later edition. Having all editions of a new game compared in one place makes perfect sense, and they note the sort of optimization/performance issues that can crop up in PC releases just fine in most write-ups.
 
That has never really been the case. I remember a user trying to prove that DF is biased towards Xbox by posting a Batman Arkham Asylum Face-off link in which the DF crew talked about how the PS3 exclusive missions were an advantage for the console, while also downplaying the PS3 version's inferior AA by saying "the game has dark environments so the jaggies are less pronounced". There is no bias. Of course that will never be accepted by platform warriors who just want to see their favorite platform "win".

Batman Arkham Asylum had no AO (and no AA) on PS3 either. Definitely the worse looking version by far.
 
Lol, DF is so bad it isn't even funny. They don't even try to be impartial. These Face-Offs all regurgitate the same tired MS-biased bullshit.

If PS4 has better resolution, then they feel that Xb1 had a marginally better frame-rate, even though they post videos of both versions having mostly the same frame-rate.

If PS4 and Xb1 have same resolution and frame-rate, but the PS4 has better effects, then they say that the effects are negligible. Funnily enough, we got giant articles about foliage when it was PS360.

If the PS4 is better all round, then the online infrastructure is not as good (maybe they should check online number of players, that may have something to do with performance). If the game doesn't have an online mode, then they focus on saying how much better the PC version is, they totally downplay the fact the PS4 version is the console version to get.

As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.
Its also a known fact the PS4 is more powerful than the XB1.
 
As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.

It's extremely interesting to see the actual difference between PC and consoles especially now with the x86 consoles.
 
Lol, DF is so bad it isn't even funny. They don't even try to be impartial. These Face-Offs all regurgitate the same tired MS-biased bullshit.

If PS4 has better resolution, then they feel that Xb1 had a marginally better frame-rate, even though they post videos of both versions having mostly the same frame-rate.

If PS4 and Xb1 have same resolution and frame-rate, but the PS4 has better effects, then they say that the effects are negligible. Funnily enough, we got giant articles about foliage when it was PS360.

If the PS4 is better all round, then the online infrastructure is not as good (maybe they should check online number of players, that may have something to do with performance). If the game doesn't have an online mode, then they focus on saying how much better the PC version is, they totally downplay the fact the PS4 version is the console version to get.

As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.

It's a performance comparison, why not include PC? People like to see, well tech heads anyway, how a game looks across different hardware. It's fun.


Because they put it in to hurt people's feelings and ramp up the insecurity for their platform choice. (sarcasm)

PC is included to inform PC users (or anyone in general) about versions they should buy, what performance and cvar settings they should expect. Also, it is interesting.

The comparison should be to see how they all look against each other. PC owners with a powerful GPU shouldn't need to read these articles to choose which platform to buy a game on.
 
Its also a known fact the PS4 is more powerful than the XB1.
Bu-bu-but online infrastructure. Bu-bu-but what about your friends, where do they play?[sarcasm/]

I thought these articles were geared to multi-console owners. That is why the "consoles" are compared. If you are a PS4-only or Xb1-only owner, then you shouldn't care about these articles. PC-only players don't really care how the game runs on consoles either.
 
Bu-bu-but online infrastructure. Bu-bu-but what about your friends, where do they play?[sarcasm/]

I thought these articles were geared to multi-console owners. That is why the "consoles" are compared. If you are a PS4-only or Xb1-only owner, then you shouldn't care about these articles. PC-only players don't really care how the game runs on consoles either.
These are simply comparison articles. They're not geared toward any one type of person.
 
I thought these articles were geared to multi-console owners. That is why the "consoles" are compared. If you are a PS4-only or Xb1-only owner, then you shouldn't care about these articles. PC-only players don't really care how the game runs on consoles either.
Nope, they are geared towards everyone and tech enthusiasts. I'm sure PC owners would be very interested in knowing where do consoles stack up against various PC settings.

I certainly am.

By the way, here are some benchmarks by Techspot, stock 5960x (3.0 ghz)
http://www.techspot.com/articles-info/962/bench/1920.png
 
As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.

I would guess that in a series of articles where the different versions of the same game are compared in order to determine which one is the best to buy, not including one of the versions would defeat the purpose of the whole article. Why would anyone want the PC version excluded? People who only care about console comparisons get the relevant information anyway and people who want all versions compared get more useful information out of each article. I see no reason to exclude PC, unless... Just throwing it out there but... is it possible that some people don't want to get useful buying advice out of these articles and only want to see their platform win but the existence of the PC version makes that impossible? That can't be it, can it?

Bu-bu-but online infrastructure. Bu-bu-but what about your friends, where do they play?[sarcasm/]

I thought these articles were geared to multi-console owners.

Why? What gave you that idea?
 
Another DF thread devolves into infighting over a seemingly innocuous statement... keep it up guys.

Nope, they are geared towards everyone and tech enthusiasts. I'm sure PC owners would be very interested in knowing where do consoles stack up against various PC settings.

I certainly am.

By the way, here are some benchmarks by Techspot, stock 5960x (3.0 ghz)
http://www.techspot.com/articles-info/962/bench/1920.png

Nvidia GPUs doing really well there compared to other sites.
 
People are saying that the PS4 got a raw deal in the article, yet after saying this...

"The level of anisotropic filtering remains noticeably lower on the PS4, blurring texture details on the ground as a result."

this...

"While we see the same highly detailed artwork and shader effects bestowed across the lush landscapes and characters, lower quality LOD (level of detail) models are sometimes displayed for longer on PS4 compared to the other versions"

and this...

"However, the poorer quality filtering and slightly slower streaming doesn't always show the PS4 version of Evolve in the best light - but thankfully, in the darker environments these issues don't distract from the quality of the gameplay on offer."

the author concludes...

"the PS4's 1080p resolution gives it a slightly more refined experience"


It's too late! The thread is locked on infrastructure mode.

Get it? :p
 
No worries.. :-) Unfortunately the TOD seems to be exactly the same on all platforms. Can somebody with the PS4 version post a screenshot showing shadows being casted by the environment please? This would help figure out what is going on.

6OLnrgVh.jpg


I would post more but its a tedious job from a phone.

Oh, wow, the compression is horrendous, but you get the picture.......barely.
 
I'm not talking about Shadows or AF. I was referring to what they said about the online infrastructure.

Cause clearly M$ tossed them a whole bag of $$$ to get them to give the X1 a nod. Is that really what you want to hear or what you think. The sheer amount of conspiracy in some of these posts is silly.

It is an article on an online game, the noticed a slight issue that I'm sure will be fixed and commented on it. Why people are getting so hung up on this idea that they were attempting to slight the PS4 or toss the X1 a bone is really odd.
 
I guess there are situations where Nvidia can outdo AMD's best cards but overall this is a rather clear victory for the GCN.

I'm not complaining about my performance at 1080p, my 970 does a superb job.

I was talking about Kepler, Maxwell doesn't seem to have problems with this game (or any game, really).

The 770 is almost as fast as a 780 in that graph for example, which is just really weird to me, usually the 780 would have at least a 20% lead on it.

Then the 2560x1600 graph from the same review, some Kepler GPUs take a massive performance hit, the 770 is like 50% slower. Extremely erratic performance out of them lately.
 
Such a relief we have a graphical comparison site advising on us on highly subjective (nowerdays) online infastructure differences.

No kidding. I don't even get why they included the infrastructure point. Subtle advertising?

DF is quickly becoming a satire gaming site.
 
As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.

The PC version represents the best, so many people are curious as how the current hardware stacks up against the best. So why not compare them all?
 
There's plenty of shots on DF where PS4/XBO/Shadows all appear. PS4 is not without throughout. Perhaps CozMick can post that area in question, not the jungle.

Anyway, getting away from that slightly. These two are from the same shot comparison.
You'd think PC/XBO are running same tod
HSnb.jpg

Same shot sees PC miss some shadows
GSnb.jpg


Not sure if there's some shadow bug on PC/PS4 or weird TOD.
 
There's plenty of shots on DF where PS4/XBO/Shadows all appear. PS4 is not without throughout. Perhaps CozMick can post that area in question, not the jungle.

Anyway, getting away from that slightly. These two are from the same shot comparison.
You'd think PC/XBO are running same tod
HSnb.jpg

Same shot sees PC miss some shadows
GSnb.jpg


Not sure if there's some shadow bug on PC/PS4 or weird TOD.

I think these are from the tutorial area which has a set time of day.
 
Lol, DF is so bad it isn't even funny. They don't even try to be impartial. These Face-Offs all regurgitate the same tired MS-biased bullshit.

If PS4 has better resolution, then they feel that Xb1 had a marginally better frame-rate, even though they post videos of both versions having mostly the same frame-rate.

If PS4 and Xb1 have same resolution and frame-rate, but the PS4 has better effects, then they say that the effects are negligible. Funnily enough, we got giant articles about foliage when it was PS360.

If the PS4 is better all round, then the online infrastructure is not as good (maybe they should check online number of players, that may have something to do with performance). If the game doesn't have an online mode, then they focus on saying how much better the PC version is, they totally downplay the fact the PS4 version is the console version to get.

As an aside, WHY do they include the PC version in these Face-Offs? When is the PC version NOT the best version? It is a known FACT that consoles are underpowered in comparison to PCs. It would be like including a Ferrari in the comparison of 2 go-carts, simply idiotic and obvious.
This is a PERFECT writeup.

Also - online infrastructure claims are BS unless DF gives us some hard data on those claims. "It feels like the online infrastructure is not there"
 
I was talking about Kepler, Maxwell doesn't seem to have problems with this game (or any game, really).
Kepler is not great at compute, even top end GK110 don't fare very well against the R9 290 / 290X. That was foretold long ago, ever since the consoles specs were confirmed. There was ONE thing we could be adamant about : compute would play a bigger role than it did before.

The 770 is almost as fast as a 780 in that graph for example, which is just really weird to me, usually the 780 would have at least a 20% lead on it.
Perhaps this a case of being slightly limited. The core clock of the CPU used for the benchmark is rather low (3.0 ghz).

Then the 2560x1600 graph from the same review, some Kepler GPUs take a massive performance hit, the 770 is like 50% slower. Extremely erratic performance out of them lately.
At 1600p bandwith is a much more limiting factor hence cards like the 770 being left in the dust.
 
Obviously the general resolution improvement still trumps these drawbacks in their opinion. You can disagree, of course, but it seems fair to me.

Certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I just found it ironic that DF found issues with AF & LOD on the PS4 version, yet their final verdict is that the PS4 version is "The more refined version".

The very definition of refined is to remove impurities. So if the XB1 version has better AF & LOD, wouldn't that make it the more "refined" version?

I simply found their final statement to be very contradictory.
 
I don't mind pc in these comparisons I just wished we got different ranges or tiers of pc specs. So people could get a better sense on a couple of HW and game setting comparisons. The pc used here is unlikely to tell me how my PC will run, thus less effective in deciding which version to get
 
DF continues to muddy the water of their graphical face-offs by throwing in unrelated and negligible variables to put the XB1 in a better light.

Keep fighting the good fight.
 
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