Digital Foundry Tech Analysis: Watch Dogs on PlayStation 4

Inconsistent at 30fps. Welcome to next-gen.

This shit will never go away because people are satisfied with it. They don't give a fuck. TLOU is game of the geneation with an avg. framerate of 27 or so.

Next gen - already old before even released. So far there is no good reason to throw $$$ at those machines. XBOX 1 is even worse than PS4.
 
You mean will the CPU be the bottleneck? The answer is almost certainly not. Any decent CPU in the last 5 years easily outpowers Jaguar.


Not if devs took advantage of all the 8 cores. Have you ever asked yourself why not even a $600 6 cores CPU like the 3930K can't keep stable 60 fps in 5 years old game like GTA IV? Or why PS2 will run at maxed settings on PS4 while even high-end CPUs struggle at that setting? It's because 99% of PC games has shit multithreading support.
 
Its very interesting to have these cross gen games. You can only imagine what true next gen exclusive titles in a couple of years can put out.
 
Sure you get to turn on some more reflections, maybe the fps is a little better and shadows somewhat sharper. Then console devs catch up and spend more years optimising for consoles, not really bothering to push PC because they rely on that extra power, right?

Don't they usually have more devkits than highend gaming PC systems available too? Or at least told to focus on them (perhaps after a certain point).

Until the next mindblowingly awesome CPUs come out that effortlessly push things to where you can notice differences even using your PC in couch mode. But if you upgraded twice for that in the space of a single generation from launch to finish then you've spent like at least 4 times as much as a single console. Steam sales might have saved you a bit though.

Disagree, then high-end PC users start playing stuff at 1440p/4K and 60fps+ as hardware advances, and eventually niceties like DX13 and PhysX start appearing. Looking back at this gen, high end PCs from 2006/2007 that can run games like Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 2 at console settings. Also it's unlikely a CPU upgrade will be necessary provided you own an i5/i7.
 
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Not if devs took advantage of all the 8 cores. Have you ever asked yourself why not even a $600 6 cores CPU like the 3930K can't keep stable 60 fps in 5 years old game like GTA IV? Or why PS2 will run at maxed settings on PS4 while even high-end CPUs struggle at that setting? It's because 99% of PC games has shit multithreading support.

So what you're saying is that AMD PC gamers will do excellently on a budget.

Yes.

And when the cross-gen multiplatform stage comes closer to an end? Ouch.

Given that 4 year old PCs blow away current gen consoles and processors from 2009 overwhelm Jaguar and any $200-$300 videocard now overwhelms the PS4, you'd be factually incorrect.

According to Steam stats 44% of users own a 4 core CPU. Any 4 core CPU within the past 4 years outperforms the PS4 CPU.

This. Jaguar just does not stack up against desktop processors.
 
Until the next mindblowingly awesome CPUs come out that effortlessly push things to where you can notice differences even using your PC in couch mode. But if you upgraded twice for that in the space of a single generation from launch to finish then you've spent like at least 4 times as much as a single console. Steam sales might have saved you a bit though.

According to Steam stats 44% of users own a 4 core CPU. Any 4 core CPU within the past 4 years outperforms the PS4 CPU.
 
I'm not convinced - I went in not so long ago with the c2quad and performance jumped off a cliff when i5/7s came.
And you just know intel will release something again that melts minds like i5/i7 did and shit will get expensive or terrible again, unless you had lucky timing - because devs won't bother optimising downwards like that.

Okay 60fps when it isn't there on consoles will be great while it lasts, but for the time you get to enjoy the superiority, it's not worth the costs and headaches of perpetual tweaking that you end up doing in the later years of a systems life.

Obviously if you are interested in mainly non-multiplatform titles then it's somewhat different.
 
I think a lot of people here don't realize how poorly optimized some of PC games are, forget about console optimization, unified memory, GPGPU computing and whatever and let's just compare PC specs to PC specs.

Game with good multithreading

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Game with bad multithreading


Notice how there are barely any difference between the $60 dual core G2120 and the $200 quad core i5-3470.

So what you're saying is that AMD PC gamers will do excellently on a budget.

Not until the vast majority of PC devs learn how to optimize for more than 2 cores.
 
Was The Division running on actual PS4 dev kits, or on overpowered PCs? That game is much more impressive to me.

Unknown. The general consensus seems to be if a game is running poorly, it's the console version and if it's smooth, it's obviously the master race version.
 
There is no reason why the game should look any worst than the PC version. My pre-order weighs on this, so I hope the final product catches up otherwise I'm not interested.

What if they downgrade the PC version as to have it seem that all versions are of parity? Would you be ok with that?
 
Not sure what to think of their claim. I just don't see a game looking that good on the PS4 anytime soon unless major compromises are made like extended loading times, limited NPCs, reduced AI complexity, small rooms, and limited gameplay interactions. A bit like Heavy Rain I suppose.

Or how about Beyond?

Not sure what inside info you have to back up your assumptions, but I don't think launch software is a good barometer at all of what the system is capable of. The QD demo was apparently unlocked and running between 30 and 90 fps with little optimization for what it is worth.
 
Was The Division running on actual PS4 dev kits, or on overpowered PCs? That game is much more impressive to me.

PS4 dev kits by the looks of things. He was certainly using a PS4 controller. And given that other Ubi games were demoed on PS4 dev kits (AC BF, Watch Dogs etc), it makes sense that Division would too.
 
Kind of disappointing to hear this, but not terribly surprising. The original video appeared to be incredibly immersive based on what was going on in the environment around the character, and it looks like most of that is what's getting trimmed back.

As others have said, I'm sure the PC version will be just as gimped as the PS4/XB1 versions. My question is what the differences will be. With the new consoles being as powerful as they are, and the usual fun with PC ports, I don't imagine it will be as huge as people are wanting. The game is probably already running at 1080p, so only those with super-high-res monitors will see any benefit there (my monitor is only 1080p anyway). Texture resolution will probably be the same. And with everything going on graphically, I imagine only the most powerful graphics cards will be able to push close to the almighty 60fps. My point being that, for most people, the console version will probably end up being the better one for a while, until PC power pushes further ahead. I have a PC that can probably do it, but I'll want to see a demo or something that I can play myself to get a feel for looks and performance.
 
The GTX 680 will be nearly two years old by the time the PS4 launches, man. We aren't talking about a Titan here.

GTX680 is still much more than average gamer has. IT is still powerful and expensive card. % of people using it or similar cards powerwise is still small.
 
Fact is, people can drool over the power of 2 Titans in SLI, the TFLOPS and everything, but games will still be made primarily with consoles in mind because they sell a ten times more copies on PS4 and XBone.

Those boasting over their uber, 4,5 Teraflop PC's, have fun playing upscaled versions of games that were designed with 1,5 TFLOPs in mind!
 
Fact is, people can drool over the power of 2 Titans in SLI, the TFLOPS and everything, but games will still be made primarily with consoles in mind because they sell a ten times more copies on PS4 and XBone.

Those boasting over their uber, 4,5 Teraflop PC's, have fun playing upscaled versions of games that were designed with 1,5 TFLOPs in mind!

You sound salty.
 
Fact is, people can drool over the power of 2 Titans in SLI, the TFLOPS and everything, but games will still be made primarily with consoles in mind because they sell a ten times more copies on PS4 and XBone.

Those boasting over their uber, 4,5 Teraflop PC's, have fun playing upscaled versions of games that were designed with 1,5 TFLOPs in mind!


Tbh, those with uber PCs should be bloody happy the consoles are moving on, so they can finally get some engines that play to their strengths, rather than just running low end engines at high res/framerate/AA
 
Tbh, those with uber PCs should be bloody happy the consoles are moving on, so they can finally get some engines that play to their strengths, rather than just running low end engines at high res/framerate/AA

Good point!

Also I hope that the spare power won't be neccessarly spent on higher resolution, more AA or sky-high frame-rate, but on advanced pyhsics and simulation. I want APEX turbulence to be a standard for smoke and water simulation. (even if it's lower res)

For me, those kinds of effects give the game a "next-gen" look.
 
GTX680 is still much more than average gamer has. IT is still powerful and expensive card. % of people using it or similar cards powerwise is still small.

It was the most powerful single GPU card for a long time. It is still a high end card

ghst said it best:

people really need to reign in their ideas of what a gtx 680 represents. it's not some $1000 behemoth. a few months into the PS4's lifecycle it will already be considered decidedly mid-range.

this is the first generation where anyone who has built a mid range gaming PC in the last 3-4 years can pay less than the price of a new console to achieve far beyond next gen performance.
 
A GTX 680 pushes nearly twice the TFlops and still costs more than the entire PS4.

See:

this is the first generation where anyone who has built a mid range gaming PC in the last 3-4 years can pay less than the price of a new console to achieve far beyond next gen performance.

Most people here who consider themselves PC gamers really only need a new GPU anyways, and maybe some more ram (which is pretty cheap). So your implication is rather shortsighted.

Take me for example. I have a 5870 1GB, 8GB DDR3, and an i7 960 OC'd to 3.8 Ghz. My CPU should carry me through the majority of next gen, I shouldn't have any need to up my ram either. So all that leaves is my GPU, which still kills most games at high resolutions and framerates, yet is clearly faltering in comparison to the new cards on the block. I'll probably need to replace it within the next 2 years to stay competitive, and it alone.

This is a build that features tech that is nearing on 4 years old (will be by the time the new consoles release), and really all I need to throw in it is a GPU that is around the cost of the PS4 and 360. Then I'll be set for the rest of the gen with a GPU that should outperform next gen hardware by quite a wide margain.

So, what is my incentive to purchase a console now?
 
Exclusives?

If this current running gen is anything to go by there won't be enough exclusives on any one platform that doesn't have a Nintendo logo on it to warrant such a high barrier of entry. Then you start adding in a forced yearly fee to play games online, and yeah I can't see how the odd ball exclusive every now and then can justify the barrier of entry.

I mean yeah if I had loads of cash to throw away, sure I'd love to purchase all systems to play all the games that come out. As is though, I just don't see the point considering how homogenized the shared libraries of all three HD platforms are now.
 
If this current running gen is anything to go by there won't be enough exclusives on any one platform that doesn't have a Nintendo logo on it to warrant such a high barrier of entry. Then you start adding in a forced yearly fee to play games online, and yeah I can't see how the odd ball exclusive every now and then can justify the barrier of entry.

I mean yeah if I had loads of cash to throw away, sure I'd love to purchase all systems to play all the games that come out. As is though, I just don't see the point considering how homogenized the shared libraries of all three HD platforms are now.

Good point. I just thought I'd throw that in there. lol.
 
ghst said it the way that suits your point of view..

I see no way toucan describe the 680 as decidedly mid-range. That is laughable. It is still a high end card

the 770 is essentially lowering the cost of a 680 to $400 and bumping the performance just a bit

next year with a new architecture and process node it'll be even cheaper
 
Seems pretty clear to me as to why they're doing these features on work in progress games, and that's to see how the finished games stacks up once it is released. A point of comparison. Their God of War 3 demo/retail features are a good example.
 
Seems pretty clear to me as to why they're doing these features on work in progress games, and that's to see how the finished games stacks up once it is released. A point of comparison. Their God of War 3 demo/retail features are a good example.

Perhaps they should have titled it like that in some way, like adding "so far" at the end.
 
If this current running gen is anything to go by there won't be enough exclusives on any one platform that doesn't have a Nintendo logo on it to warrant such a high barrier of entry. Then you start adding in a forced yearly fee to play games online, and yeah I can't see how the odd ball exclusive every now and then can justify the barrier of entry.

I mean yeah if I had loads of cash to throw away, sure I'd love to purchase all systems to play all the games that come out. As is though, I just don't see the point considering how homogenized the shared libraries of all three HD platforms are now.

Maybe there won't be many exclusives between PS4 and Xbone but there seem to be a number of high profile titles are not coming to PC.

Destiny, Final Fantasy XV, Metal Gear Solid V, The Division, Kingdom Hearts 3, and those are the only ones we've heard about since E3. Then there is Rockstar who sort of doesn't give a shit about PC.

Plenty of reasons to buy a console. Making the choice the between the two is a different conversation though.
 
While I wouldn't say overwhelms (mainly due to limited VRAM) a GTX 760, which is around $250, easily outperforms a PS4. The VRAM shouldn't be an issue for a couple of years, by which time we'll get Titan level performance for under $300.
I was asking for a $200 GPU which supposedly overwhelms the PS4....
 
Maybe there won't be many exclusives between PS4 and Xbone but there seem to be a number of high profile titles are not coming to PC.

Destiny, Final Fantasy XV, Metal Gear Solid V, The Division, Kingdom Hearts 3, and those are the only ones we've heard about since E3. Then there is Rockstar who sort of doesn't give a shit about PC.

Plenty of reasons to buy a console. Making the choice the between the two is a different conversation though.

i'd bet a lot that destiny and the division are both coming out on pc, and we've heard talk about pc ports of mgs v and ff xv too
 
Wait.. So the gpu in the PS4 is around the same power as a 7850? Thats whats sitting in my new 6 core pc. Didnt know that. I sorta have a PS4 sitting right infront of me then? Pretty cool if true.
 
Ubisoft are notorious for lying in their E3 demos. The PC version will not look anything like it. Just look at what they did with Far Cry 3.
 
We suspect that detail and performance
levels will be reduced, and that the
underlying AI and other computationally
intensive subsystems may be simplified to
accommodate the ambitious design on much
weaker 360, PS3 and Wii U hardware
This is what really pissed me off. FUCK this gen needs to die already.
 
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