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DF : Hands-on with Rise of the Tomb Raider

F

foxbeldin

Member
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-hands-on-with-rise-of-the-tomb-raider

The real standout point is her expressional range, with her eyes gazing realistically into the distance with a nice parallax effect helping to provide real depth. As the wind blows across the valley, we also see updated version of TressFX that deftly handles her hair as it whips around behind her. Even her mountaineering tools bounce around realistically as she runs - an effect first seen in Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.

Stepping back a moment and looking at the broader picture, image quality is based on a full 1080p presentation - something confirmed by game director Brian Horton for the E3 demo at least - but there are some points that compromise the quality of the overall presentation.
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Throughout the latest demo, there are visible edges that appear lower in resolution than the rest of the image. These manifest in the form of thick, pixelated edges along a wide variety of surfaces, such as crates and cement structures. It doesn't seem as if the resolution is actually reduced, as single pixel-width edges remain visible throughout the image, but the issue is puzzling nonetheless. Perhaps a post-processing artefact of some sort?
Click to expand...

Also, while we aren't able to include cut-scene footage in our analysis, it should be noted that these sequences give the appearance of operating at a resolution lower than 1080p - not unlike the Xbox One version of Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.
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A relatively low level of anisotropic filtering is used, leaving many surfaces looking rather blurry at normal gameplay angles. This issue manifests primarily when exploring building interiors with lots of flat surfaces. Regular readers will know that this seems to be a really common issue on a great many current-gen titles and certainly isn't restricted to Rise of the Tomb Raider, or indeed Xbox One.
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This is combined with a sub-optimal post-process anti-aliasing solution that produces plenty of shimmering and sub-pixel break-up. The frozen wilderness is a challenging scenario here, thanks in part to the simulation of ice frozen on tree branches that shimmers throughout the demo. More positively, we really like the implementation of motion blur used in Rise of the Tomb Raider.
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On the other hand, ambient occlusion and shadows are handled extremely well in the new game. An in-house SSAO implementation, called broad temporal ambient obscurance provides quality on par or better than HBAO with a lower performance cost. Shadow quality is also excellent throughout without any noticeable artefacts detracting from the presentation. Rise of the Tomb Raider also makes use asynchronous compute to produce some impressive volumetric effects.
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As far as frame-rate is concerned, this is an area where there is still work to do. Crystal Dynamics is targeting 30 frames per second with Rise of the Tomb Raider, and while overall performance is pretty close to the target, there are areas where frame-rate dips beneath, revealing tearing via an adaptive v-sync solution. When render times slip over budget, we see torn frames introduced along the upper portion of the image.
Click to expand...

much more at the link, please read the entire article.
 
G

Garrett Hawke

Member
So a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. I'm sure they'll be able to tighten it up for launch. I was hoping DF would talk about the water though, in some scenes it looks phenomenal and then in others it looks like the usual alpha based water effects.
 
B

BruceLeeRoy

Banned
More of a polishing of what they achieved with the DE version than a visual benchmark. Pretty disappointing but hitting 1080p on X1 was likely no easy feat. The lighting is the most noticeable thing to me. It looks ripped straight out of the previous gen version.
 
G

Gurish

Member
Sounds pretty rough visually and that was my impression based on most videos as well, maybe they should have gone with 900P? or maybe it's the cross-gen roots? don't really know but it's not too impressive.
 
C

CosmicGroinPull

Member
I thought exclusive games are able to make the best use of their target hardware? Coz of the resources saved from not making other versions? No? Ok. LOL.
 
V

Vuze

Member
CosmicGroinPull said:
I thought exclusive games are able to make the best use of their target hardware? Coz of the resources saved from not making other versions? No? Ok. LOL.
Click to expand...
Implying that the game isn't currently being developed for PC and ps4.

But yeah, sounds like a mixed bag but I guess performance won't be an issue on PC and maybe they'll offer some extra effects to crank up visual fidelity. TR13 PC version was pretty damn amazing, so I'm optimistic. Can't wait to play the game regardless!
 
F

foxbeldin

Member
CosmicGroinPull said:
I thought exclusive games are able to make the best use of their target hardware? Coz of the resources saved from not making other versions? No? Ok. LOL.
Click to expand...

It's not exclusive, and it's not related to ressources, but to building a render engine around a single platform, which is not the case here.
 
T

Tratorn

Member
Since they probably don't fix some of the problems for the XB1 release, they hopefully at least use some more time to polish the other versions to make up for the wait.
 
T

thuway

Member
I know GAF wants to judge the game based on footage presented here, but my personal opinion is different.

I played the game at PAX. The game is absolutely gorgeous in motion. I had just got done playing the Uncharted Remaster, and when I came to Tomb Raider, it was a huge leap.

That being said, they did take shortcuts. For example, the shadows were like a PC Equivalent to low, some of the textures looked like a little blurry, and AA was definetely needed- especially in the wider scenes. With all that said, it still looked pretty damn incredible, and by far- is the best looking game on the Xbox One.

The only people who would really nitpick are PC guys- but the majority of console gamers will just stand in awe. It's a really a beauty.
 
C

[Call-Me-G]

Banned
An analysis from a video from a build of a not released game... What's the point? DF is becoming one of the most influencial game website in the internet, and they don't deserve it at all... This site should be banned, just as VGCh**tz and D***shockers.
 
K

Kezen

Banned
Looks solid, sometimes really awe-inspiring, but inconsistencies cannot be avoided on a project of that scale.

I like their snow deformation tessellation, reminds me of Assassin's Creed III which featured tessellated snow on PC and Batman Arkham Origins which is still the best snow I've seen in a game.
http://international.download.nvidia.com/geforce-com/international/comparisons/batman-arkham-origins/batman-arkham-origins-nvidia-hbao-plus-comparison-1.html

Expecting great things for the PC version regarding graphical improvements (and God knows there is room for that), I hope AMD are once again partnering with whoever handles the port.
They did a phenomenal job with Nixxes on Tomb Raider 2013.
 
A

Angelus Errare

Banned
[Call-Me-G];179810632 said:
An analysis from a video from a build of a not released game... What's the point? DF is becoming one of the most influencial game website in the internet, and they don't deserve it at all... This site should be banned, just as VGCh**tz and D***shockers.
Click to expand...

take-a-deep-breath-sherlock-calm-down.gif
 
G

Ghost Slayer

Member
[Call-Me-G];179810632 said:
An analysis from a video from a build of a not released game... What's the point? DF is becoming one of the most influencial game website in the internet, and they don't deserve it at all... This site should be banned, just as VGCh**tz and D***shockers.
Click to expand...

lol what? Are you serious? 0_0
 
F

foxbeldin

Member
[Call-Me-G];179810632 said:
An analysis from a video from a build of a not released game... What's the point? DF is becoming one of the most influencial game website in the internet, and they don't deserve it at all... This site should be banned, just as VGCh**tz and D***shockers.
Click to expand...

Asking to ban a site is a banable offense, but not for said site.
 
O

Oneself

Member
It looks good honestly, nothing groundbreaking but very solid. I'll be getting the PS4 version anyways so I guess it might look a little better there.
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
[Call-Me-G];179810632 said:
An analysis from a video from a build of a not released game... What's the point? DF is becoming one of the most influencial game website in the internet, and they don't deserve it at all... This site should be banned, just as VGCh**tz and D***shockers.
Click to expand...

It allows us to see how the game is shaping up. Nothing wrong with information. If you base your purchase around a preview then you are not too smart (not referring to you specifically).
 
psychotron

psychotron

Member
I may hold off on this until the PS4 version is out. A year of development time on a more powerful machine should make a difference. Then again, as the release date approaches I'll probably give in to hype and buy it anyway, lol.
 
V

VGA222

Banned
What's with the 16.7ms frames in the frame time chart? I've never seen a game that uses adaptive vsync that has frame pacing issues. Is it tearing at the top of the frame lasting less than a whole row?

Anyway, nice video. ROTR only seems to need to improve the frame rate and aliasing a little bit to be a strong title.
 
S

stryke

Member
Looks decent but there is some weird shit happening here

ckLz4Om.jpg


Like it's obvious everything is 1080p except that edge of the beam :S
 
J

JumPeRJumPzZ

Banned
Oneself said:
It looks good honestly, I'll be getting the PS4 version anyways so I guess it might look a little better there.
Click to expand...

Now i have to say this, it really irks me.

Whats up with every TR thread and some people popping up and saying "i will wait till next year" or "Day 365"

Is it really necessary to say that in every Rise of TR thread? We get it.
 
O

OdysseusVA

Banned
[Call-Me-G said:
;179810632]An analysis from a video from a build of a not released game... What's the point? DF is becoming one of the most influencial game website in the internet, and they don't deserve it at all... This site should be banned, just as VGCh**tz and D***shockers.
Click to expand...

Are you lost, friend?
 
F

foxbeldin

Member
JumPeRJumPzZ said:
Now i have to say this, it really irks me.

Whats up with every TR thread and some people popping up and saying "i will wait till next year" or "Day 365"

Is it really necessary to say that in every Rise of TR thread? We get it.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's not the same person each time.
 
J

Javin98

Banned
This article doesn't sound very positive towards the game's technical achievements, it seems. But some of the issues mentioned do sound pretty bad. Frame drops can still be rectified, but I highly doubt the level of AF will improve significantly this close to release. Perhaps via a patch? Also, I'm surprised that this game apparently doesn't use PBR. Most games today do and benefit greatly from it. However, I am intrigued by the AO method used, which apparently matches or even exceeds HBAO. I hope we see more custom AO solutions for consoles this gen.
 
L

Loudninja

Member
JumPeRJumPzZ said:
Now i have to say this, it really irks me.

Whats up with every TR thread and some people popping up and saying "i will wait till next year" or "Day 365"

Is it really necessary to say that in every Rise of TR thread? We get it.
Click to expand...
Those people are interested in the game but they will wait for other confirmed versions whats the problem?
 
F

FeenixRising

Banned
JumPeRJumPzZ said:
Now i have to say this, it really irks me.

Whats up with every TR thread and some people popping up and saying "i will wait till next year" or "Day 365"

Is it really necessary to say that in every Rise of TR thread? We get it.
Click to expand...

They don't have or plan on getting an Xbox One, so they'll wait a year for the PS4 version perhaps? It's not like they can get it on Day 1...
 
G

Ghost Slayer

Member
JumPeRJumPzZ said:
Now i have to say this, it really irks me.

Whats up with every TR thread and some people popping up and saying "i will wait till next year" or "Day 365"

Is it really necessary to say that in every Rise of TR thread? We get it.
Click to expand...

It's not different than "Day 1", "Blackout until release date". People just posted what they thought.
 
F

FunkyDealer

Banned
I'm sure it'll look good, but I really want to see better AF implemented in time for launch. It has a significant effect on the "experienced resolution". Also, if the Post-AA is really rough, wouldn't it be better to leave it off?

Hmm, it'll be interesting to see with my own eyes, that's for sure.
 
X

x-Lundz-x

Member
SenjutsuSage said:
It's so funny seeing posts only focus on the negatives and ignoring all the positives. :)
Click to expand...

Rise of the TombRaider thread, 100 out of 100 times this will happen on GAF. Pretty pathetic actually. It's all good the game will still do great and we will keep getting more entries in this amazing series and some on GAF can continue to be salty. The world will keep on spinning etc.. :)
 
C

Cereal Enthusiast

Banned
[Call-Me-G];179811379 said:
I went a little too far... But I'm not fond at all of "judging" the visual quality of a videogame from a video of a build.
Click to expand...

One month away from the release, I don't expect the game to change dramatically. Maybe they'll fixe the framerate issues.
 
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