CamHostage
Member
That has nothing to do with the PS5 or XSX specs. Every game is held back by last gen versions... Matrix, Avatar and other UE5 engine demos show what you can accomplish by targeting PS5 and XSX specs.
I mean, kind of? But not really?
Matrix shows what you can accomplish by throwing 30GB of pure asset data (without much gameplay or rich media,) at a relatively modest section of playable area with a heavy reliance on repeatable objects, rendered using a bleeding-edge engine featuring technology that is as of now is not yet approved as ready for consumer production releases.
Eventually, Nanite will be formalized and we can talk about a clear dividing line established between past-gen and next-gen. (That is, assuming Nanite won't be able reach down below PS5/XS levels; UE5 projects can be run on machines in the vicinity of PS4/One, albeit at unplayable framerates, but actually supporting lesser platforms probably just will never be worth the complications for Epic for practical purposes.) UE5 Early Access does some amazing stuff (even in the hands of kitbashing amateurs,) and it'll surely be a leader in demonstrating new levels of power from these new consoles and emerging PC standards or even future mobile devices, but that's still out in the future.
For now, though, it's not much about what you're targeting that's getting games "held up". This is a common narrative, as if developers are lazy or publishers are greedy for not going "full-next-gen". The reality is, if Spider-Man Miles Morales had targeted only PS5 instead of cross-gen, it still would not have looked like Matrix Awakens. (Its next-gen-exclusive sibling R&C Rift Apart is staggeringly next-gen with its instant-loading levels only possible on a console like PS5, but otherwise a lot of core Insomniac technology was shared between the two projects, one next-gen and one cross-gen.) The tech to enable a greater leap still is being worked out. UE5 and a number of other technologies that will take "full advantage" of the next-generation were not ready for prime-time, at launch or even today. And so, with just what developers are familiar with working with currently, there's only so much you can accomplish by targeting PS5 and XSX specs that can't also be scaled down to PS4 and XO specs.
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