PlayStation 5 - Next gen is expensive

[MikeF]

2 hours ago, sbrandon111 said:

Yes, absolutely worth that. 

 

19 minutes ago, Fully Aspel said:

Yeah, 100%. The amount of content it already has is amazing and it’s getting free updates, with even more stages and game modes. Grab a discounted wallet top up off Shopto or CDkeys and you can get it for around £20.

 

Downloaded, ready to have a look at tomorrow

[HarryBizzle]

Well, I’ve been playing since about 7PM, and after feeling slightly underwhelmed after my initial time with it earlier today, I think this might be the most convincing console launch of all time for me. The hardware feels new and next gen, but more importantly, the games feel next gen, too. Miles Morales looks phenomenal, the loading is basically non-existent, and ray tracing really adds something to how cinematic the world feels. When I turn it off, I definitely notice the difference as I swing through the city. The fact that the console has the power to run it flawlessly in either mode is impressive, too. The PS4 never really impressed me with its power. In fact, it disappointed me from the get go, as it was less powerful than my years old PC.

 

And Astrobot - I’ve done Cooling Springs and SSD Speedway now. The former was largely spoiled in all the preview stuff, but the latter was absolutely magical and has reminded me just how much Playstation has been a part of my life over the years. I had a huge smile on my face throughout - there’s humour, nostalgia for old hardware - some of which I forgot existed, and seeing games I played as a kid being acted out by the bots is just wonderful. As for the controller, I’m used to the feedback now and find it less distracting. I think the triggers are brilliant. The rest of the HD rumble stuff is fine but nothing revolutionary.

 

Then I loaded up Infamous First Light, which runs at a solid 60fps in the unlocked mode. And lastly, I loaded up Resogun, the first game I ever played on my PS4. 

 

So yeah, it feels next gen, it feels powerful and the games are already bloody marvelous.

 

[StephenM]

41 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

Well, I’ve been playing since about 7PM, and after feeling slightly underwhelmed after my initial time with it earlier today, I think this might be the most convincing console launch of all time for me. The hardware feels new and next gen, but more importantly, the games feel next gen, too. Miles Morales looks phenomenal, the loading is basically non-existent, and ray tracing really adds something to how cinematic the world feels. When I turn it off, I definitely notice the difference as I swing through the city. The fact that the console has the power to run it flawlessly in either mode is impressive, too. The PS4 never really impressed me with its power. In fact, it disappointed me from the get go, as it was less powerful than my years old PC.

 

And Astrobot - I’ve done Cooling Springs and SSD Speedway now. The former was largely spoiled in all the preview stuff, but the latter was absolutely magical and has reminded me just how much Playstation has been a part of my life over the years. I had a huge smile on my face throughout - there’s humour, nostalgia for old hardware - some of which I forgot existed, and seeing games I played as a kid being acted out by the bots is just wonderful. As for the controller, I’m used to the feedback now and find it less distracting. I think the triggers are brilliant. The rest of the HD rumble stuff is fine but nothing revolutionary.

 

Then I loaded up Infamous First Light, which runs at a solid 60fps in the unlocked mode. And lastly, I loaded up Resogun, the first game I ever played on my PS4. 

 

So yeah, it feels next gen, it feels powerful and the games are already bloody marvelous.

 

Love the in depth report! I’ve dabbled with a few things but also spent ages messing around with the settings and just getting a feel it all. 
 

Funnily enough, I quickly fired up Miles Morales to get my graphical wow moment - I’m in a part where the snow is particularly grey and wasn’t impressed much. 
 

But, for the first time ever, I switched to 60FPS mode and OH GOD I UNDERSTAND FINALLY. I still think I’d prefer visual flair, but it felt so smooth. I think being able to switch across with very minimal load made it easier for me to spot what the fuss was about. 
 

My camera adaptor also arrived today so figuring out whether it’s time to decommission the pro. Realistically, I’ll probably hold fire until whatever issues are going on with external drives are patched, though. 

[Quexex]

Played the opening section of Miles Morales this evening... My word, I mean I've seen the whole thing streamed in 4K on my huge TV... But in real life ... My word!

 

 

[Billy Brown]

7 hours ago, HarryBizzle said:

Do you have to manually tell it to start copying from a game disc? Because I put Miles Morales in and it just sat there doing nothing until I did that.

Some people are suggesting that manually hitting 'copy' from disc-based games is somehow the cause of some people's installed games eventually disappearing. If you insert the disc and wait, it should eventually start installing automatically. It did take a while for me, though.

[HarryBizzle]

8 minutes ago, StephenM said:

Love the in depth report! I’ve dabbled with a few things but also spent ages messing around with the settings and just getting a feel it all. 
 

Funnily enough, I quickly fired up Miles Morales to get my graphical wow moment - I’m in a part where the snow is particularly grey and wasn’t impressed much. 
 

But, for the first time ever, I switched to 60FPS mode and OH GOD I UNDERSTAND FINALLY. I still think I’d prefer visual flair, but it felt so smooth. I think being able to switch across with very minimal load made it easier for me to spot what the fuss was about. 
 

My camera adaptor also arrived today so figuring out whether it’s time to decommission the pro. Realistically, I’ll probably hold fire until whatever issues are going on with external drives are patched, though. 

Yeah, I wasn’t initially all that impressed with Miles but once it gets going, it really starts to impress. 
 

The 60fps is impressive, but I prefer the overall look of it at 30fps with the motion blur and RT. 

[CrichStand]

39 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

Well, I’ve been playing since about 7PM, and after feeling slightly underwhelmed after my initial time with it earlier today, I think this might be the most convincing console launch of all time for me. The hardware feels new and next gen, but more importantly, the games feel next gen, too. Miles Morales looks phenomenal, the loading is basically non-existent, and ray tracing really adds something to how cinematic the world feels. When I turn it off, I definitely notice the difference as I swing through the city. The fact that the console has the power to run it flawlessly in either mode is impressive, too. The PS4 never really impressed me with its power. In fact, it disappointed me from the get go, as it was less powerful than my years old PC.

 

And Astrobot - I’ve done Cooling Springs and SSD Speedway now. The former was largely spoiled in all the preview stuff, but the latter was absolutely magical and has reminded me just how much Playstation has been a part of my life over the years. I had a huge smile on my face throughout - there’s humour, nostalgia for old hardware - some of which I forgot existed, and seeing games I played as a kid being acted out by the bots is just wonderful. As for the controller, I’m used to the feedback now and find it less distracting. I think the triggers are brilliant. The rest of the HD rumble stuff is fine but nothing revolutionary.

 

Then I loaded up Infamous First Light, which runs at a solid 60fps in the unlocked mode. And lastly, I loaded up Resogun, the first game I ever played on my PS4. 

 

So yeah, it feels next gen, it feels powerful and the games are already bloody marvelous.

 

Definitely agree with most of that, although I find the haptics on the pad to be phenomenal and the console has blown me away right from the start.

 

I feel like the jump from PS4 to PS5 is probably the biggest jump since 16bit to 32bit.....
 

Gone from playing in 1080p on a base PS4 to playing in 4K which looks absolutely incredible!

 

The graphics, even on the launch games are absolutely stunning and running at 60fps (about fucking time). Demon’s Souls in particular has a solidity and level of detail that is just out of this world. Jaw dropping!

 

Gone from standard stereo audio on normal headphones to 3D audio. Again, Demon’s Souls! It sounds absolutely stunning! Fireballs and arrows whizzing past your head, dragons sweeping down from above you, enemies creeping up behind you. The 3D audio is so, soooooo good!

 

A controller that manages to innovate to the same extent as the Wii remote. Only here, that innovation applies to all games, right across the board, not just waggle fests. The controller has set a new standard. It IS the new standard. It’s that good.

 

Backwards compatibility that has made my old PS4 games almost look next gen. Ghost of Tsushima in particular looks sexy as fuck and plays beautifully. Every single PS4 game I’ve tried so far, looks and plays considerably better than it ever did before.

 

Load times that have gone from 3mins.......to 3secs! Stuff loads that quickly that I can now whack a game on and have a go at a TT on WRC9 or Astro Bot or even attempt a trophy, even if I’ve only got the TV to myself for a few minutes.
 

The new trophy system with the game cards.......so much better than last gen. Pick one.....BOOM.......right into the game. Top stuff!

 

Basically this is an absolute beast of a console, with the potential to be the GOAT. If the PS5 is pumping out Demon’s Souls and Astro Bot day one........just imagine what’s to come over the next few years!!! Bring it on!!!

 

 

 

 

[teddymeow]

I've *finally* managed to get the thing to output in Dolby Digital surround.

 

I thought eArc was supposed to be a cool, new feature for AV equipment? The last thing I did (after a reset of everything as I thought it could be a weird glitch) was turn of eArc and "pop" the banner on the LG C9 went from saying PCM to Dolby Audio.

 

Clown shoes.

 

Also, does anybody else's right trigger make a "boop" noise in Miles Morales when you go to shoot a web? Just before the adaptive trigger bites and he shoots the web? It isn't controller audio as I switched that off to test.

[Thor]

5 minutes ago, teddymeow said:

I've *finally* managed to get the thing to output in Dolby Digital surround.

 

I thought eArc was supposed to be a cool, new feature for AV equipment? The last thing I did (after a reset of everything as I thought it could be a weird glitch) was turn of eArc and "pop" the banner on the LG C9 went from saying PCM to Dolby Audio.

 

Clown shoes.

Is that with the rear speakers? I thought LPCM was the favoured option as that outputs 7.1 surround.

[Shimmyhill]

7 minutes ago, teddymeow said:

I've *finally* managed to get the thing to output in Dolby Digital surround.

 

I thought eArc was supposed to be a cool, new feature for AV equipment? The last thing I did (after a reset of everything as I thought it could be a weird glitch) was turn of eArc and "pop" the banner on the LG C9 went from saying PCM to Dolby Audio.

 

Clown shoes.

Dolby digital?

 

If it was LPCM before you want that

[teddymeow]

4 minutes ago, Thor said:

Is that with the rear speakers? I thought LPCM was the favoured option as that outputs 7.1 surround.

 

No rears sadly 

[teddymeow]

3 minutes ago, Shimmyhill said:

Dolby digital?

 

If it was LPCM before you want that

 

Do I? It sound quieter and less "full" than the Dolby.

[Thor]

1 minute ago, teddymeow said:

 

No rears sadly 

No rears for me either, in which case why are you jumping through hoops to get Dolby Digital? Or is this for UHD playback?

[teddymeow]

I find it sounds better.

 

Maybe I'm imaging things...

[Thor]

I dunno, you've got me wondering now.

[Shimmyhill]

LPCM is lossless audio, Dolby Digital is lossy and pretty crap by today’s standards, I don’t think the PS5 has the better Dolby / DTS standards?

[teddymeow]

When using Dolby (with eArc disabled) I can hear more pronounced directionality in Astro and Spidey.

 

With eArc on, no matter what option I choose on the PS5 or TV, the TV shows that it is outputting PCM and it sounds a bit flat.

 

 

[Steven]

14 hours ago, StephenM said:

Well, that Astrobot really is something. 
 

 

I've had fairly limited time but managed to sit down and kill the first boss in DS and do some levelling up and managed a world on this. These two games alone would make it Sony's best launch lineup and I haven't even thought about MM (but it actually sounds pretty good as well). They really have got a couple of absolute stonkers here, though. They ooze care and attention on every level.

[MansizeRooster]

Am I right in saying that the only way to put this in rest mode is to press the PS button, navigate to the power menu in that wee sub-menu at the bottom of the screen, then select rest mode?

 

I miss the quick menu the PS4 had from a long press on the PS button. Although thinking about it, it's technically less button presses to get there with PS5. I suppose it's just a case of muscle memory making it seem easier by comparison.

[wretcherd]

43 minutes ago, Fully Aspel said:

Again, Demon’s Souls! It sounds absolutely stunning! Fireballs and arrows whizzing past your head, dragons sweeping down from above you, enemies creeping up behind you. The 3D audio is so, soooooo good!

The sound in Demon's is a bit too good in places. 

[Thor]

24 minutes ago, teddymeow said:

With eArc on, no matter what option I choose on the PS5 or TV, the TV shows that it is outputting PCM and it sounds a bit flat.

PCM or LPCM?

[teddymeow]

5 minutes ago, Thor said:

PCM or LPCM?

 

PCM. I've been round in circles.

 

Set PS5 to Linear PCM, TV says PCM whether eArc is on or not.

 

With eArc off I can change to Dolby and DTS and it shows the change.

[Triple A]

52 minutes ago, Steven said:

 

I've had fairly limited time but managed to sit down and kill the first boss in DS and do some levelling up and managed a worldl on this. These two games alone would make it Sony's best launch lineup and I haven't even thought about MM (but it actually sounds pretty good as well). They really have got a couple of absolute stonkers here, though. They ooze care and attention on every level.

Don’t sleep on Sackboy either, it’s great!

Then there’s the Plus collection stuff that gets a nice performance jump too. I feel a bit spoiled for what to play - really great launch lineup.

[gospvg]

10 hours ago, StephenM said:

Well, that Astrobot really is something. 
 

Taking a break from it to do some admin: is there a way to transfer other user accounts over from PS4? I had ones set up for the kids but not PS+. 

Are they registered on PlayStation with an email/login? If yes you can use same QR code method from the mobile app to log them in, this is what I did for my kids.

[gospvg]

6 hours ago, MansizeRooster said:

Am I right in saying that the only way to put this in rest mode is to press the PS button, navigate to the power menu in that wee sub-menu at the bottom of the screen, then select rest mode?

 

I miss the quick menu the PS4 had from a long press on the PS button. Although thinking about it, it's technically less button presses to get there with PS5. I suppose it's just a case of muscle memory making it seem easier by comparison.

Yeah the OS needs some quality of life improvement in areas, I also miss that quick power menu, folders uploading PS4 saves to the cloud direct from the options menu on a game.

[HarryBizzle]

The UI is certainly bonkers. It feels like a mishmash of the game bar, the three top right icons and then the quick menu. Each of these things feels really poorly integrated with one another and I’m baffled by the decision making. I think I went to the store and then realised I had to scroll back to the top and then all the way over to the top right to use the universal search. 
 

Not being able to hold the PS button to turn it off is another head scratcher.
 

The Xbox Guide menu is far superior and can get you to where you want to be in the system within seconds. Hopefully they’ll sort the PS5 one out, but it feels like it needs a lot of work. 

[bobontheway]

I can’t believe that the “copying” part of update/patch installs is still a thing  I’ve been amazed at the speed of the loading times with the SSD and then was disappointed to have to sit through 5 minutes of copying to install a patch that took 10 seconds to download.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2020/11/21/why-does-the-ps5-still-have-the-dreaded-copying-phase/

 

[MansizeRooster]

Being able to launch right into a save game via the activity cards in seconds is astounding. One change I'd probably make is to make launching into your current save the default action, instead of launching to the game's title screen.

[Eighthours]

16 minutes ago, bobontheway said:

I can’t believe that the “copying” part of update/patch installs is still a thing  I’ve been amazed at the speed of the loading times with the SSD and then was disappointed to have to sit through 5 minutes of copying to install a patch that took 10 seconds to download.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2020/11/21/why-does-the-ps5-still-have-the-dreaded-copying-phase/

 

 

It is indeed rather rubbish. Hopefully this is just a temporary thing - I’m sure the UI came in very hot.

[Majora]

1 hour ago, MansizeRooster said:

Being able to launch right into a save game via the activity cards in seconds is astounding. One change I'd probably make is to make launching into your current save the default action, instead of launching to the game's title screen.

 

None of the games I have (Astrobot, Demon's Souls, Sackboy) support this. It's all just options to launch a particular level which isn't usually what I want. Which games support loading a save game directly from the activity cards?