PlayStation 4 Console Thread

[Mr Cochese]

That pad looks like a huge improvement, providing they have done something about the stupid thumbstick deadzones. Welcome back, Sony.

[Uzi]

Little comparison of the controller with a 360 controller, they look to have a very similar form factor as has been said already (well done Sony). Looking forward to using it.

I think the new UI looks great, and agree on what a lot have said on Knack, would be better showcasing the likes of Killzone.

That pad looks so good now. YES

[Dudley]

I think our brains fill in the gaps and our memories of games are nicer than the reality. A good example is Zelda:OoT where people said the 3DS version looks like how they remember, and not the horrible reality of the N64 version.

I agree, I said the same about Sleeping Dogs, it looks like I remember Shenmue looking.

Shenmue does not look like that.

[Kryptonian]

New dashboard shots. Feel free to copy or move to the OP, mods.

Done, I hope mushashi doesn't mind...

[Smitty]

Also going back to 'the games look the same', Dragon's Dogma says hi

Absolutely, and that video you posted in the DD thread demonstrates that it's clearly mostly in-engine. It's going to look fantastic.

Forgetting the fact we haven't seen much of Infamous yet besides a teaser trailer and a man with a thousand-yard stare, it's very clear from what we have seen that it looks effortlessly better than Infamous 2 from a visual standpoint. Trust me, I'm playing Infamous 2 right now.

I've noticed this weird trend of people watching these videos and claiming they "don't look any different". They were doing it on the borderline unlistenable Eurogamer podcast after the event. Are these people thick or just a bit blind?

Not to mention the fact that these are actually running in 1080p now rather than murky bleary upscaled sub 720p, or that they're built on devkits with less than a quarter of the total video memory available in the final unit...

You can see from the lighting and particles in the Infamous trailer that it's going to look great, it was confirmed it was just using a cinematic camera. Also re the podcast, I think people are just in the mood for a bit of doom at the moment.

[Smitty]

Something like Watch Dogs is massively more impressive because you can look over the city and think "I can actually go there". Open world games are why I look forward to new consoles so much.

Except Watch Dogs is coming out on every platform. I think it's a very poor example to use.

[BarryL85]

You can see from the lighting and particles in the Infamous trailer that it's going to look great, it was confirmed it was just using a cinematic camera.

If you take a game like Gran Turismo i'm almost 100% positive when you watch a replay vs ingame the cars have more polygon count thus look better - would this cinematic camera cause anything like this to happen with Infamous though?

[Harsin]

I look forward to playing the next Gran Turismo in 2023.

[Dudley]

They claimed merely "Cinematic camera angles" so if everyone is telling the truth, no.

[squirtle]

If you take a game like Gran Turismo i'm almost 100% positive when you watch a replay vs ingame the cars have more polygon count thus look better - would this cinematic camera cause anything like this to happen with Infamous though?

Yes. Capcom use different fidelity of models on their console games. If you read the digital foundry stuff on Resident Evil 5, they talk about having the highest res assets for the in engine cutscenes, then another level below that for in game close ups or something and then the standard level of detail for the models when the game is running. I imagine next gen will be no different, but I would expect even the standard in game models to be higher than the highest level in present games, if you see what I mean.

[Hitcher]

I look forward to playing the next Gran Turismo in 2023.

That's how long the update will take to download!

[Clipper]

The next GT? you mean the one after that surely

http://www.eurogamer...6-is-a-ps3-game

basically Sony saying GT6 is a PS3 game... bizarre if true given Polyphony Digital's track record with long development times

GT7 for PS5 maybe

[SMD]

Is it bizarre though? GT5 took so long because they didn't expect so much work to bump up the engine - hence the 'Premium' cars. I'd be surprised if they made a new engine for GT6.

[robdood]

Yes. Capcom use different fidelity of models on their console games. If you read the digital foundry stuff on Resident Evil 5, they talk about having the highest res assets for the in engine cutscenes, then another level below that for in game close ups or something and then the standard level of detail for the models when the game is running. I imagine next gen will be no different, but I would expect even the standard in game models to be higher than the highest level in present games, if you see what I mean.

Higher than the current highest level? Hmm I doubt it. Not for lack of grunt, but practically its pointless. You won't see the details. May as well use the power for something else tbh.

[NecroMorrius]

Thing is, there's so much you can improve just by bumping up the texture quality and AA a bit, forgetting polycounts for a moment. Even the simple fact of next-gen bringing proper 1080p native to consoles is a big deal.

[Jammy]

Thing is, there's so much you can improve just by bumping up the texture quality and AA a bit, forgetting polycounts for a moment. Even the simple fact of next-gen bringing proper 1080p native to consoles is a big deal.

Yeah - I suppose a rock solid 60fps is also extremely likely with the extra grunt. I'm mildly surprised that 3D hasn't been mentioned a bit more in general. I know this gen has supported it on some titles, but that's something the PS4 and 720 should be able to do with a minimum perfomance hit, if any. Is 3D conversion possible just using the GPU or would it require coding in-game ?

To be honest I'm not that bothered by 3D as I don't have a telly that supports it at the mo, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who would expect it with the upcoming gen consoles.

[NecroMorrius]

I don't think 60fps being more common is very likely at all, 30fps will continue to be the standard for the majority of console games. But, with any luck they'll start rendering at 1080p, as is the case with Killzone. I imagine they'll drop back to 720 once they decide they want to free up more power to smoosh in a few more effects and they can't really sell "it's actual 1080p this time, not that fake 1080p we fooled you with last gen" as a feature without looking like arseholes

[NecroMorrius]

4K movie downloads coming to PS4.

100GB file sizes.

Speaking with The Verge in a video interview, Sony Electronics President and COO Phil Molyneux laid down some details about PS4′s capability for 4K movies and pictures. 4K games still aren’t supported unfortunately.

Molyneux said, some movie downloads would hit “100 gigabytes and plus”, and that broadband speed and bandwidth will be looked at and tackled in due course. The idea of downloading a film over a few days isn’t appealing, but it’s good to know that Sony is considering its options.

He added that these are, “challenges that we have to work through… we’ve got some very good ideas that will make that a comfortable consumer experience.”

Would you use the 4K service if you got your hands on a compatible telly? Let us know below.

Meanwhile, we’ve got the first official shots of the PS4 user interface. Check them out here.

Thanks IGN.

[Spacehost]

I don't think 60fps being more common is very likely at all, 30fps will continue to be the standard for the majority of console games. But, with any luck they'll start rendering at 1080p, as is the case with Killzone. I imagine they'll drop back to 720 once they decide they want to free up more power to smoosh in a few more effects and they can't really sell "it's actual 1080p this time, not that fake 1080p we fooled you with last gen" as a feature without looking like arseholes

To be honest I could easily live with 720p60 over 1080p30, as could many other people, purely because I've had to move down to smaller TV that's far enough away for it not to matter (protip- I could barely see the difference between 1080p and 720p on my old TV anyway because the couch was on the other side of the room). It's not like I'm on PC mashing my face against the display while slapping my flippers at a keyboard.

[rubberducker]

From the HPA Tech Retreat:

Sony's 84-inch 4K screen.

Note that the best way to truly experience 4K on a middling-large screen like this is with your nose almost pressed to the glass.

[SMD]

Scott's mum.

[K]

I can’t help but think there’s not a massive demand for watching films that take several days to download, on wall-size TVs, in a higher resolution than a cinema screen.

[squirtle]

I can’t help but think there’s not a massive demand for watching films that take several days to download, on wall-size TVs, in a higher resolution than a cinema screen.

I don't know. I do like to plan my impulse viewing four days in advance, so, all things being equal, I should be ok.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I don't know about you lot, but I'm really stoked for the 4K remastered version of Commando!

[DocG]

(protip- I could barely see the difference between 1080p and 720p on my old TV anyway because the couch was on the other side of the room).

1280x720 on a 40" screen at 7ft is 77% of "retina" resolution, defined as the level at which someone with 20/20 vision can't see the pixels any more. On a 32" TV at 7.5 feet, that figure jumps to 104% -- in other words, at that size and distance, there's very little perceptible difference between 720p and any higher resolution.

I wonder how significant 60 fps is in terms of attracting console gamers. Some franchises -- CoD and Forza, famously -- have (mostly) stuck to 60 fps, despite the technical challenges; I'd imagine the dev teams must think it brings them some competitive advantage or they wouldn't bother.

[NecroMorrius]

To be honest I could easily live with 720p60 over 1080p30, as could many other people, purely because I've had to move down to smaller TV that's far enough away for it not to matter (protip- I could barely see the difference between 1080p and 720p on my old TV anyway because the couch was on the other side of the room). It's not like I'm on PC mashing my face against the display while slapping my flippers at a keyboard.

You end up with living with 720p24-30 like you did this gen, as they fight to outdo each other in the "making games which look good in screenshots or on TV ads at 24fps" stakes, probably.

Is there anybody in the world with a 4K TV yet?

Kanye West probably has one, with his $120k gold plated Tivo box connected with composite cables.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I sit three feet from a 46" screen, I need those pixels Goddammit. I'd rather have 1080p/30 fps than 720p/60 fps.

[DocG]

I don't know. I do like to plan my impulse viewing four days in advance, so, all things being equal, I should be ok.

I'm lucky; I have pretty decent ADSL (11 meg). So I'll only need to ponder what film I want to watch on Friday night as part of my breakfast routine on Thursday.

4K is going to flop like 3D did, IMO. No-one cares, and no-one has any reason to care.

[squirtle]

I'm lucky; I have pretty decent ADSL (11 meg). So I'll only need to ponder what film I want to watch on Friday night as part of my breakfast routine on Thursday.

4K is going to flop like 3D did, IMO. No-one cares, and no-one has any reason to care.

11meg!? Pfft! I downgraded to 30meg recently.

[Liquid Myth]

Are they doing 4K projectors? Stick it on the windowsill, blare it across the street, cause a minor traffic incident, whoop.