Playstation 4

[Daweii]

So finally had a bit of a mess around on the PS4 Pro once I finally got it to work.

I think the vast majority of people getting one expecting insane graphics boosts will be super dissapointed. The system just doesn't have the power to deliver that, but what it does have is the power to deliver better frames rates by and large.

Final Fantasy XV - Judgement Disc demo runs at what feels like close to 60FPS at 1080p on the PS4 Pro while it is capped to 30FPS on the regular PS4. I was disappointed by the demo in "PS4 Pro" mode as it appears to add temporal anti-aliasing which doesn't make a huge difference, but this mode is locked to 30FPS is feels like which isn't ideal. You're better off just playing in regular PS4 mode at the un-capped frame rate that PS4 Pro seems to get. 

Battlefield 1 again improves the visuals a bit. It's not as crisp or as high-fidelity as the same game on PC at High or Ultra settings, which makes me believe "PS4 Pro" mode unlocks textures to something akin to Medium settings? Once more it seems to deploy some kind of temporal anti-aliasing/super sampling solution which is fine but again not super noticeable. Performance seems solid but this was a game that ran solid on regular PS4 and the improvements here aren't major.

I have yet to play the PS4 Pro in 4K mode though as the console doesn't "work" with my TV which is apparently a pretty widespread issue. I got the system to send an image finally by changing HDCP from 2.2 to 1.4, but even after that it was still showing up as 2K (1440p) being the limit for my display which is incorrect. So all of my testing so far has been at 1080p which is how most people will likely experience this console anyway. 

[villarule123]

I got one the day it came out and it's not worth it, at all IMO. I only got one because there was nothing else I wanted for Xmas from my missus 

They should at least be able to perform better on all games without a patch, like a PC does. A massive let down. 

[ender4]

2 hours ago, villarule123 said:

I got one the day it came out and it's not worth it, at all IMO. I only got one because there was nothing else I wanted for Xmas from my missus 

Xmas is still a month and a half away!  

[dubbs]

Has it been confirmed the pro gives you an advantage in multiplayer Bf1? 

Edited November 19, 2016 by dubbs
Typo

[Daweii]

1 hour ago, dubbs said:

Has it been confirmed the pro gives you an advantage in multiplayer Bf1? 

It's in limbo right now. 

4-days ago Eurogamer's Digital Foundry claimed that their testing gave PS4 Pro users a 47% frame rate advantage in scenarios where the engine is under stress.

Since then the 1.04 patch for BF1 has gone live which has seemingly removed any advantage in multiplayer for PS4 Pro users. Performance gains are still there in single player, but Digital Foundry need to do more extensive tests to know for sure.

Personally if DICE or Sony have limited the PS4 Pro version because of an advantage I'm not impressed. I come from a PC background where skill counts for a lot, but also how much money you have is a factor. If someone has a 240Hz monitor and can play at 240FPS they have an advantage over me, but fair play they spent the cash to enjoy the game better than me. So hopefully this is just a messed up patch that wasn't meant to limit PS4 Pro performance cause it's not great form to artificially limit a system. 

[dubbs]

Yeah I was thinking of getting a pro but if things were going to be patched to keep everything on a level playing field it negates one of the points of buying one.

[jjaacckk91]

Isn't everyone having the same experience and being on an equal playing field kind of the point of consoles though?

Yes I'd be pissed if I paid and didn't get better performance, but more so than someone that recently bought a ps4 only to have the pro announced shortly after and is left at a disadvantage, I'm not sure.

Otherwise just limit it to ps4 servers and pro servers.

I don't like the whole interim upgrade situation, I understand it because of vr, but it could fundamentally change the way console gaming works. 

[dubbs]

GF just brought me a Pro for early Xmas present.  in the process of transferred the data from the old ps4 - 17 hours!! 17 bloody hours to complete. 

[PieFacE]

What? 

So DICE have scaled down the PS4 Pro to make it perform the same as the PS4 in multiplayer? 

There would literally be no point for some gamers (like myself) to upgrade if they were not going to see an improvement in multiplayer. Crazy decision, if true.  

[Daweii]

3 hours ago, PieFacE said:

What? 

So DICE have scaled down the PS4 Pro to make it perform the same as the PS4 in multiplayer? 

There would literally be no point for some gamers (like myself) to upgrade if they were not going to see an improvement in multiplayer. Crazy decision, if true.  

Yeah the latest update has scaled back performance during multiplayer in BF1.

I personally think a lot of this was likely mandated by Sony after it was discovered the hardware advantage was there. DICE likely made a deliberate decision to give PS4 Pro players a frame rate advantage. So it is concerning that Sony don't seem to know what their plans are for this system.

[RunRickyRun]

I think they should have actively marketed the better framerates in multiplayer games. It might have been a dick move but it would have sold more consoles. 

 

[PieFacE]

Personally I would have just taken it as a given that you'll get a boost in frame rate/resolution from buying a better console... otherwise, what's the point in upgrading it?  I'd be incredibly pissed off if I bought an upgrade and then wasn't able to actually use it whilst playing online.

If Scorpio is scaled back to perform like an Xbox One online then that would be hilarious. "Most powerful console ever when playing offline"

This has to be some kind of mistake with the patch surely? 

Edited November 22, 2016 by PieFacE

[Daweii]

2 hours ago, PieFacE said:

If Scorpio is scaled back to perform like an Xbox One online then that would be hilarious. "Most powerful console ever when playing offline"

Scorpio won't be scaled back I can say that with a fair bit of confidence.

The Xbox One S was slightly overclocked and in games like Project CARS those on Xbox One S are running that game at 60FPS. Those on the standard three year old Xbox One are getting 50FPS in the same game. Microsoft understand the whole PC mentality of gaining advantage through merely having better hardware, I don't see them scaling back Scorpio unless there is legitimate reason for it. 

Now there are legitimate reasons for scaling performance back;

• The game may break when ran at vastly higher frame rates depending how it was coded and designed.
• Some games tie the physics engine to the frame rate so faster frame rate breaks the game.
• Some games with an unlocked frame rate cause GPU overheating when running at excessive frame rates.

Those are reasons to scale back and some games may need this as Scorpio is 4x more powerful than Xbox One it's a huge upgrade. I mean this thing is practically 2x more powerful than PS4 Pro. That said if history has shown anything Microsoft won't scale anything. They let the Xbox One improve Xbox 360 games which offers advantage online against a kid playing on an Xbox 360 still. Not to mention the aforementioned Xbox One S which also isn't scaled back in any game it runs better. 

[villa4europe]

PSX 2016 was a quiet one...

Last of us part 2

uncharted the lost legacy (DLC starring Chloe)

marvel vs capcom

guerilla working on death stranding which had another mental trailer in the week

free game released called let it die

parapa the rapper, wipeout, loco roco coming to ps4

loads of indie stuff, VR and Japanese games announced

new trailers for NI no kuni, RE, horizon but surprisingly nothing on that zombie game from e3

all with some ridiculous American crowd noises like "playstation nation" 

[lapal_fan]

Played and completed a game called "tower of monsters" today.  it was a free one on ps plus. 

I only put it on for 10 mins and ended up playing it until i completed it 4.5 hours later.

Its a simple platforming game about climbing a friggin' huge tower.  the whole game is set as a dvd commentry on an old 1960s action b movie, the director is talking about the "scenes" and how they were put together using stop motion monsters and stuff - it's really funny and a nice homage to dvd commentaries and old movies.  

The ending is also very cool and fun, something I've not seen before.

So, if you're a fan of king king, land of the lost, the fly, old fashioned robots, nice little puzzles, a nifty unlock system (or your name is @designer1)  then i strongly suggest giving it a go whilst it's free.

9.5/10 laps seal of approval  

[Straggler]

I''m looking for local co op games for my kids.  It seems that the choices are really rather limited.  They don't do shooters particularly and are a bit young for the more realistic racing games.  I was hoping for something like micro machines for them, but that hasn't been around since PS3.  they already have Trials Fusion and a bunch of lego games, I just want something to freshen up the portfolio to prevent them playing the same old thing time after time.  (they also have minecraft which they enjoy).  Any advice most welcome and if it can manage 4 players all the better

 

thanks

[Designer1]

1 hour ago, Straggler said:

I''m looking for local co op games for my kids.  It seems that the choices are really rather limited.  They don't do shooters particularly and are a bit young for the more realistic racing games.  I was hoping for something like micro machines for them, but that hasn't been around since PS3.  they already have Trials Fusion and a bunch of lego games, I just want something to freshen up the portfolio to prevent them playing the same old thing time after time.  (they also have minecraft which they enjoy).  Any advice most welcome and if it can manage 4 players all the better

 

thanks

Terraria is great fun. Kind of a 2d minecraft and the co-op works really well on console.

[Dodgyknees]

1 hour ago, Straggler said:

I''m looking for local co op games for my kids.  It seems that the choices are really rather limited.  They don't do shooters particularly and are a bit young for the more realistic racing games.  I was hoping for something like micro machines for them, but that hasn't been around since PS3.  they already have Trials Fusion and a bunch of lego games, I just want something to freshen up the portfolio to prevent them playing the same old thing time after time.  (they also have minecraft which they enjoy).  Any advice most welcome and if it can manage 4 players all the better

 

thanks

 

[Stevo985]

The state of local multiplayer gaming is quite sad really.

I remember when my mate got his PS4. He got it with 4 games, all of them had multiplayer, so I went over to have a bit of a gaming session, but only one of them had local multiplayer.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Stevo985

[Daweii]

4 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

The state of local multiplayer gaming is quite sad really.

I remember when my mate got his PS4. He got it with 4 games, all of them had multiplayer, so I went over to have a bit of a gaming session, but only one of them had local multiplayer.

It's one of those features that over the years developers have seen isn't utilised enough. 

These consoles and games provided they are connected to the internet are sending back so much user data. They know what you're clicking on when you play a game. They know how long you spend in single player over multiplayer. They know what modes you choose and the difficulty you play at. All of this is gathered, analysed and governs how they make games in the future. 

Now we are 3 years into this generation and had 11 years of the previous generation. That is 14 years of always connected, always online consoles where developers have been harvesting player usage data. It doesn't surprise me that mid/late PS2 and early 360/PS3 are the last times where split screen/local multiplayer were common place. Over time they have seen that even in games that offered the local multiplayer option it was rarely ever touched.