It's a decent bonus all round, and no-one really misses out. The other perk is that 1080p screen users get the residual benefits of super-sampling - plus broader draw distance settings depending on which mode you use. Overall, we'd strongly recommend playing with quality mode selected to get the best image out of PS4 Pro. On top of that, both quality and resolutions modes also improves ambient occlusion too over other consoles, making it a win-win all-round. It's a higher level of detail setting that, in practice, has little penalty in the way its dynamic resolution works too. Trees, mountains, houses - everything is rendered from a far greater range. OK, it doesn't add that 4K texture pack, but it does massively minimise the pop-in you see on other consoles, and also via Pro's resolution mode. But on top of that you get a vastly better-looking game thanks to improved draw distances on geometry and shadows. That 1620p figure is the typical output here - a big leap over the native 1080p used on base PS4. The twist is that PS4 Pro's quality mode offers a very similar range in its dynamic resolution setup, and brings additional benefits. On balance, the game still pushes a satisfying image to a 4K set - especially with its HDR support added to the mix - and the resolution averages in between the two numbers for the most part, at 1620p. That's with resolution mode selected too, and surprisingly the lower bound goes to 1512p during intensive siege missions. However, even testing this on less demanding scenes, we've yet to see Shadow of War truly hit 2160p - in fact, staring at the sky on PS4 Pro only gets the machine to a maximum of 1830p. This adjusts the number of pixels pushed by the machine per frame, based on rendering load, and the target would ideally be a full 3840x2160 - as was possible in the original. Watch on YouTube Here's the Digital Foundry breakdown on Shadow of War for console, with PS4 Pro stacked up against the base consoles.īoth modes both use a dynamic framebuffer. It's a feature that worked well in the original, and it makes a return here - and the difference between the two is stark. It explains its absence on all console versions - at least, until we see Xbox One X's support.įrom the start then, there's a sense we're not getting a complete 4K package on PS4 Pro - but to what extent does it matter? Well, in common with its predecessor, Shadow of War offers two options to cater for the PS4 Pro crowd: a toggle to prioritise either native resolution or visual quality. Tellingly, the minimum requirement for 4K textures is a 8GB card like the GTX 1070, or R9 390 - each with a high level of VRAM that goes beyond the usable memory available on PS4 Pro. It's a VRAM intensive option, but one that bumps up texture resolution across the board - giving crisper, more detailed surfaces that better fit a 4K output. On PC meanwhile, there's also a 15GB 4K textures pack on offer, which brings a more exciting upgrade to the actual, in-game visuals. Sadly, this is where PS4 Pro's support for 4K assets ends - it's just the cinematics that get a boost and nothing else. Just go to the PSN store, download, and make sure it's installed in the add-ons section. This is available to PS4 Pro users too - and well worth downloading if you're playing on an ultra HDTV. That comes in in the form of a 4K cinematics pack - a 25GB download that replaces all pre-rendered cutscenes with higher resolution movie files. Essentially, PC users running at 4K need to download two add-ons to get the most out of the game. Even so, the PC version is worth mentioning, in showing how Monolith handles 4K support. The truth is, Microsoft hosted an event a few days ago where we could go hands-on with the X version, and tackling that - and indeed the PC game - is our next port of call, but for now, the available consoles are our focus. Ahead of the Shadow of War's Xbox One X support, PS4 Pro inevitably comes out on top on the console front - but with only a month to go, is the bar set high enough on Sony's 'supercharged' console? Having checked out PS4, Xbox One, and PS4 Pro renditions this week, it's clear there's a pecking order to which looks and runs best. In three years, it takes us from the Lithtech engine to the new Firebird Engine - upgraded code that now supports larger-scale battles, and an expanded Nemesis system. Monolith Productions returns with the follow-up to 2014's superb sleeper hit, Shadow of Mordor, with the ambitious Shadow of War.
0 kommentar(er)
