PS5 or Xbox Series X ?

quokula

Sometimes when reading Digital Foundry I'm reminded of a thing James May used to always say on Top Gear, that the Nurburgring has ruined performance cars, because manufacturers have gotten into the habit of optimising their cars to beat eachother for laptimes there for bragging rights, but it doesn't translate into something that's actually good to drive on real roads.

I get the same impression with Digital Foundry at times, going through a checklist of ray tracing being enabled, output resolutions and framerates, with no consideration for what makes games fun, or even what makes them look good in terms of the quality of the raw art assets. Also, more recently, like Nurburgring, putting a disproportionate focus on conditions that will never be experienced by 99% customers in real life, by using TVs and Monitors with silly refresh rates that practically nobody in the real world will own.

It's fine that that's their niche and there is certainly a place for that niche, just like it's fine for enthusiasts to race around the Nurburgring, but there seems to be a bit too much focus in the rest of the games press and the community at large in recent times to turn to Digital Foundry for guidance and take the kind of tasting they do with pixel counters to identify things the human eye can't as a gold standard, when really it doesn't matter all that much, especially nowadays when every console is very capable.

Nintendo have long since left that kind of thing behind. You get the impression Sony are doing similar with their upcoming console, while still producing pretty current hardware, they've been increasingly focussing on things like loading times and haptic feedback that really have the potential to enhance the user experience far more than the difference between 1440p and 1600p or 60Hz and 120Hz.

Retr0gamer

I don't think Digital Foundry pretend to look at anything else really.

DMC5 is also a known quantity and they've given their opinions on it before so all that matters is performance between the two consoles. They will usually also give a spiel at the end of their review about how good the game looks, feels and plays so it's not all about performance. They did call out Ace Combat 7 as the best game of last year so get things very right :P

Anyway framerates are very important to how a game plays and how fun it is.

heebusjeebus

quokula wrote: »

Sometimes when reading Digital Foundry I'm reminded of a thing James May used to always say on Top Gear, that the Nurburgring has ruined performance cars, because manufacturers have gotten into the habit of optimising their cars to beat eachother for laptimes there for bragging rights, but it doesn't translate into something that's actually good to drive on real roads.

I get the same impression with Digital Foundry at times, going through a checklist of ray tracing being enabled, output resolutions and framerates, with no consideration for what makes games fun, or even what makes them look good in terms of the quality of the raw art assets. Also, more recently, like Nurburgring, putting a disproportionate focus on conditions that will never be experienced by 99% customers in real life, by using TVs and Monitors with silly refresh rates that practically nobody in the real world will own.

It's fine that that's their niche and there is certainly a place for that niche, just like it's fine for enthusiasts to race around the Nurburgring, but there seems to be a bit too much focus in the rest of the games press and the community at large in recent times to turn to Digital Foundry for guidance and take the kind of tasting they do with pixel counters to identify things the human eye can't as a gold standard, when really it doesn't matter all that much, especially nowadays when every console is very capable.

Nintendo have long since left that kind of thing behind. You get the impression Sony are doing similar with their upcoming console, while still producing pretty current hardware, they've been increasingly focussing on things like loading times and haptic feedback that really have the potential to enhance the user experience far more than the difference between 1440p and 1600p or 60Hz and 120Hz.

I'd agree with you but you can tell with Digital Foundry over the last few years that pixel counting has taken the backseat to framerate and that's a good thing. Give me a locked 60fps @1080p over 30fps @ 4k.
Locked and smooth framerates offer more to me than extra pixels because it helps with the feel of a game.

Jordan 199

Retr0gamer wrote: »

They did call out Ace Combat 7 as the best game of last year so get things very right :P

Here we go again

Retr0gamer

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Here we go again

It's me and John Linneman against you. Fight me :pac:

I wonder if Ace Combat runs better in XBox or PS5?

I have a lot of time for Digital Foundry because I think their analyses are at least part of the reason why framerates were so good for the majority of this generation.

I think back to the PS3 and in hindsight it really was awful how many games - at all stages in the generation - were spluttering around at 20-something and/or with screen tearing. Most games on base PS4 were rock solid until relatively recently. Late gen games always start to suffer as devs start asking too much.

I think pixel-counting is pretty much done, it's already very hard what with checkerboard and dynamic res and all that. It's going to be near impossible with variable rate shading, and whatever other tricks devs come up with. The native res is just not going to be useful as a metric of image quality/sharpness any more, they will have to move to something else. Maybe if they can get frame-for-frame captures from both consoles they can use SSIM or something like that to compare relative detail.

CatInABox

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's me and John Linneman against you. Fight me :pac:

I wonder if Ace Combat runs better in XBox or PS5?

Downloaded it last night actually, will take a look at it at some stage.

Retr0gamer

CatInABox wrote: »

Downloaded it last night actually, will take a look at it at some stage.

One tip before you start, play with the advanced flight controls. They are more complex to get used to but make for a far better game once you get the hang of them and give you way more movement options. It's a totally different game from playing it with the dumbed down controls which kind of spoil it.

Hey_Listen

Retr0gamer wrote: »

But it will never had a Gamecube handle.

but you can use the series X as a gamecube stand ...

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/random_turns_out_the_xbox_series_x_doubles_up_as_a_perfect_gamecube_display_stand

Jordan 199

Looking at the Series X, I have to say it is the nicest looking Xbox I have ever had.

johnny_ultimate

Console designs fall into one of two categories:

1. Nintendo GameCube
2. Consoles that are uglier than the Nintendo GameCube

The Raging Bile Duct

I think it's design has aged in the same way that the design of the candy coloured iMac G3s has. I prefer the design of the original NES.

Turquoise Hexagon Sun

I got a Series X. I love it. It looks great, its silent. It's my first time having a console at launch too.

Installed GTA IV from disc. Took about 5mins! RDR (2010) took a little longer but under 10mins. GTA IV takes about 3 or 4 seconds to load! Running at 60fps.






Splinter Cell: Blacklist looks pretty good for 360 game. Installed that off my 360 disc but pretty sure it was enchanced for One X.


Forza Horizon 4 looking really nice! The reflections on the car and the halation around the lights is beautiful.

Gally79

Got my Series X today. It‘s like an additional Radiator in the room, I won’t be using the heating much this winter.

skerry

Gally79 wrote: »

Got my Series X today. It‘s like an additional Radiator in the room, I won’t be using the heating much this winter.

What game are you running. I'm playing Gears 5 here and not noticing anything excessive heat wise.

Gally79

skerry wrote: »

What game are you running. I'm playing Gears 5 here and not noticing anything excessive heat wise.

Assassins Creed Valhalla. I am also downloading another game at the same time.

Gally79

Gally79 wrote: »

Got my Series X today. It‘s like an additional Radiator in the room, I won’t be using the heating much this winter.

Had you a one X prior or even a mid/high end gaming pc? Those run hot too under load and if you are new to them it can seem like you need a fire extinguisher to hand

Also do not run them in an enclosed space such as a tight fitting cabinet.

EDIT: My partner used to joke she could dry the kids hair on the One X on bath night lol

Jordan 199

Deleted User wrote: »

EDIT: My partner used to joke she could dry the kids hair on the One X on bath night lol

I must put marshmallows where the vent is at the back of the One X. Toasted and squishy marshmallows.

CastorTroy

I did see a picture of someone floating a ping pong ball above the Series X.

Gally79

I disabled every possible energy saving setting and downloaded quite a number of games over night. My bedroom was nice warm and cosy.

skerry

Sekiro looks splendid on Series X. Runs so smooth. Wasnt too far into it when I dropped it a few months back though and I've completely forgotten how to play so might have to start again.

Great to see the improvements on last gens games with unlocked frame caps. I think PS5 players should see the same too, its a very noticeable difference

Welcome to our (PC) world. :pac::pac:

skerry

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Welcome to our (PC) world. :pac::pac:

Yeah, I've been listening to you lot blabbing on about frame rates and 60 fps for a long time now but you can really tell the difference. I think I'd struggle playing some of these games at <30 fps now after playing this buttery smoothness.

skerry

skerry wrote: »

Yeah, I've been listening to you lot blabbing on about frame rates and 60 fps for a long time now but you can really tell the difference. I think I'd struggle playing some of these games at <30 fps now after playing this buttery smoothness.

Looking forward to eventually getting a PS5 myself.

Chris_Heilong

RasTa wrote: »

They are all on eBay now.



I even have this coming this week and it doesn't need any AA's

Just plug in a USB cable if it troubles you, that is what I do on the PC, never need to recharge or change batteries.

CatInABox

CastorTroy wrote: »

I did see a picture of someone floating a ping pong ball above the Series X.

Fake, like all the other videos with the smoke coming out. Sad really, as while I'd have no interest in blowing smoke into my console (or any other electronic device, the savages), I'd make sure there was always a ping pong ball hanging out on top, looks deadly.

Retr0gamer

skerry wrote: »

Yeah, I've been listening to you lot blabbing on about frame rates and 60 fps for a long time now but you can really tell the difference. I think I'd struggle playing some of these games at <30 fps now after playing this buttery smoothness.

The sweet smell of vindication. All those years of hearing how 30 FPS was 'more cinematic' are over :cool:

wes

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The sweet smell of vindication. All those years of hearing how 30 FPS was 'more cinematic' are over :cool:

For this generation it will be people debating between 60 fps and no ray tracing, and 30 fps and ray tracing instead .

Joking aside, its good that a lot of game are including an option for people to choose between 60 fps and 30 fps with ray tracing.

Retr0gamer

wes wrote: »

For this generation it will be people debating between 60 fps and no ray tracing, and 30 fps and ray tracing instead .

Joking aside, its good that a lot of game are including an option for people to choose between 60 fps and 30 fps with ray tracing.

I've noticed in the last generation consoles are becoming more and more complex for users and more and more like PC gaming. Consoles are becoming more complex to set up and use while PC accessibility and usability has grown and they've never been easier to use. They'll probably meet eventually and be indistinguishable.

And now console games have graphics options

johnny_ultimate

It’s always the hope for a new console gen, but we’ve finally hit the point where developers are committed to providing 60 FPS - at least as an option. Definitely a good thing. Very interested to see if it carries through when the more complex, dedicated next-gen game start dropping.

And then let the 120 FPS arms race commence. Maybe by PS7 they’ll get there! (I’d have put an Xbox reference in there too, but I’m not foolish enough to try to guess the naming conventions of future Xbox machines! Xbox Series Ω?)