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Digital Foundry: Anthem technical breakdown

Theorry

Member
[4K] Anthem: Xbox One X E3 Demo - Is it the real deal?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3E5L2sOvNI

Let's bang one nail on the head right away: resolution. Anthem is running at 3840x2160 in this demo, but it does so using checkerboard rendering. Looking through our capture, we noted distinctive artefacting on moving edges, presenting as a faint criss-cross pattern where only half the pixels are shaded. The presentation still looks pin-sharp, even with a compromise that effectively halves native 4K resolution. The technique works for three reasons: firstly, the human eye can't really track precision detail in motion (checkerboarding looks very good on slower motion scenes), secondly 'sample and hold' LCD technology cuts resolved resolution in motion, and finally the tiny pixel pitch on 4K screens makes discerning pixel-level detail extremely difficult any way.

That's the first point - as for frame-rates, we only have a 30fps feed from the Microsoft conference, which rules out accurate performance test. From eye-balling the feed though, we did catch some light stutter right at the very end of the demo - as the Freelancers jump into the light - but again, that could well be an issue in the feed sent out. As things stand, the rest of gameplay unfolds with a stutter-free 30fps cadence, and with v-sync engaged

It's these imperfections that help to make Anthem's E3 2017 showing that much more authentic, more real, and less likely to end in another downgrade drama. A forensic breakdown of Anthem's visual make-up takes little away from the tremendous impact of the game's visuals, nor from the scale and scope of the remarkably rich, massive vertical world the title is built around. The Frostbite engine once again pushes console visuals to new heights, but what we've seen does point to this being feasible on Xbox One X hardware, with compromises you'd expect to get this running on a six teraflop GPU at a 2160p output. On top of this, bearing in mind that Anthem is a multiplatform title, it'll be fascinating to see how this game will scale up to high-end PCs, and down to PS4 Pro, PS4 and of course, Xbox One. Time will tell, but we can't wait to see more.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-anthem-the-real-deal-for-xbox-one
 
Cool, very interested in this but will be getting on the PS4Pro to play with friends so hopefully that version stacks up to the Xbox release.

The explorable parts of the world for this is basically a Destiny-esque shared space, yeah?
 

T.O.P

Banned
That comment section is more cancerous than usual lmao

Game looks insanely good anyway, gonna be a nice showcase once i get the xXboxXx
 

killroy87

Member
Good to know those visuals might actually be possible. If that game ends up looking like that video upon release, I'll be incredibly excited. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty firmly in the "theres no way this doesn't see a downgrade" camp.
 
Kind of figured.

It would take a beast PC to run that in native 4K, esp with all the effects they were showing.

Also likely to be the first thing to get the axe, similar to the witcher downgrade comparisons
 

flkraven

Member
With how good Battlefront and Battlefield 1 look on an Xbox One, I'm not shocked that Anthem can look that good on an X
 
It might be in-engine but there is no way you're moving around a city with that much liveliness and animation, only to transition seamlessly into an incredibly detailed open world.

I've seen this current generation of games, and even the very best looking ones (The Witcher 3, Horizon, etc...) don't come close.
 

Kyoufu

Member
It might be in-engine but there is no way you're moving around a city with that much liveliness and animation, only to transition seamlessly into an incredibly detailed open world.

I've seen this current generation of games, and even the very best looking ones (The Witcher 3, Horizon, etc...) don't come close.

I don't remember the seamless transition from the city into the open world. Wasn't there a suit cutscene to mask loading?
 

MaulerX

Member
This game looks so damn good that I'm actually glad for the checker boarding and all the other little imperfections they found if only to prove it was actually running on the XBOX. Because honestly it would have been chaos if they found it to be actually running on PC. And it being pre-Alpha only means that it can get better. Can't wait.

Oh and that comment section.... My God.... lol
 

Kuro

Member
By the time this comes out I'll upgrade to the newest Nvidia and get that sweet 4k60. I just hope the monitors won't be too expensive.
 

TBiddy

Member
There's that checkerboard word again. Phil's downtalk of the PS4 Pro continues to be funny.

Keep fighting the good fight. Kaz appreciates your efforts.

edit: I've never quite understood the need to analyze games, that are still in development. Much can change from now and until release.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Another Xbox X reveal game which uses Checker board rendering. I can see this becoming a trend going forward, gives companies the '4K' bullet point for marketing with quality that even tech breakdown sources like Digital Foundry appreciate.

Cerny was definitely onto something with all of his checker board rendering presentations last year.
 
Man CBR is awesome but again Phil claiming the PS4 Pro is comparable with the Xbox One S and boasting about the Xbox One X being a true 4K machine consumers are going to expect all if not most titles to run in true 4K. One of things the Pro has been scrutinized on is being a fake 4K machine that needs CBR wizardry to reach 4K. If you already own a Pro I would hold off on upgrading to a Xbox One X while Digital Foundry continues to do gods work.
 
By the time this comes out I'll upgrade to the newest Nvidia and get that sweet 4k60. I just hope the monitors won't be too expensive.

This is where I'm at. 1080 now, 1080Ti still can't do single card 4K60. Idk if Volta is supposed to get there or not, but here's hoping!
 

fritzo

Member
What's the point of this video at this time anyway? Is Digital Foundry bored or something? Wouldn't it make sense to do this when the game is released on all platforms? I don't get it.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
There's that checkerboard word again. Phil's downtalk of the PS4 Pro continues to be funny.

It's the smart choice. I was worried MS would push too hard for 'true' 4k. Checkerboarding is an efficient use of the available power to provide great image quality and leave enough performance to add more detail and effects to the scene
 

gamz

Member
I'm impressed as hell if DF says it's running on a X.

I can't imagine what it'll look like next year.
 
I might be the minority. But personally i think d rather 1080p 60fps over 4k and 30fps.

And im curious to see how much the games appearance is gonna change closer we get to release.
 

JeffG

Member
I know it makes for fun internet discussion about marketing pieces of plastic.

But the technology is cool.

There is a finite amount of GPU processing available and if you can get 90+ % of the quality native resolution and can free up a ton of GPU resources to create eye candy. This is good.

I don't understand why companies do not use it more..
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
What's the point of this video at this time anyway? Is Digital Foundry bored or something? Wouldn't it make sense to do this when the game is released on all platforms? I don't get it.

huh ?

This is Digital Foundry's bread and butter .. breaking down new game/tech reveals and hardware capability. I think you're in the wrong topic if you're going to criticize these things.
 

OryoN

Member
I personally don't care about native vs checkerboard 4K drama. In fact, I believe that whenever there's an opportunity to achieve a certain visual effect or performance enhancement for as few resources as possible, then that's the way forward. This is how to realtime 3D has always advanced. To use so much more resources for almost no discernable visual difference(in the case of native 4K) sounds like a step backward as far as realtime rendering techniques go.

However, Microsoft played way too much into this whole "True 4K machine" hype, so if it bites them in the a$$ - whether or not their own games run natively - I wouldn't feel sorry.
 

Orca

Member
There's that checkerboard word again. Phil's downtalk of the PS4 Pro continues to be funny.

Another Xbox X reveal game which uses Checker board rendering. I can see this becoming a trend going forward, gives companies the '4K' bullet point for marketing with quality that even tech breakdown sources like Digital Foundry appreciate.

Cerny was definitely onto something with all of his checker board rendering presentations last year.

Man CBR is awesome but again Phil claiming the PS4 Pro is comparable with the Xbox One S and boasting about the Xbox One X being a true 4K machine consumers are going to expect all if not most titles to run in true 4K. One of things the Pro has been scrutinized on is being a fake 4K machine that needs CBR wizardry to reach 4K. If you already own a Pro I would hold off on upgrading to a Xbox One X while Digital Foundry continues to do gods work.

I see everyone has their talking points in order.
 

TBiddy

Member
huh ?

This is Digital Foundry's bread and butter .. breaking down new game/tech reveals and hardware capability. I think you're in the wrong topic if you're going to criticize these things.

Doing an analysis on a game more than a year from release is not "the bread and butter" of DF.
 

R aka Bon

Member
Wow This game had the best showing of every other game that was shown, it blew me away. The environments and the possibilities for storytelling are immense, and imagining these consoles running a game like that is just surreal.
 
You read the op?

Halo 2 was running in real time on the original XBOX in the infamous E3 demo. The fact that the GPU can render the demo in real time doesn't matter much if everything is scripted and the game systems are not in place. More so in an online open world game.
The beginning part is a cutscene, and the intro of the big monster is also a scripted event. Once every game system is in place, we'll see if they can keep all the visual bells and whistles, and if the animation of those enemies remains that good.
 

fritzo

Member
huh ?

This is Digital Foundry's bread and butter .. breaking down new game/tech reveals and hardware capability. I think you're in the wrong topic if you're going to criticize these things.

I understand that. I subscribe to their feed. It just seems premature. I'd love to see their breakdown when the game releases.
 
I care about end result not methods.

I'm certainly interested in the tech from a curiosity angle. But honestly whether checkerboard, native, whatever doesn't matter to me when the result is as gorgeous as this.
 
Can someone put in simple words how it is possible to have 3840x2160 in this demo but also using checkerboard rendering?
As I understand it, checkboard is used when no real 4K is used. Does this means that the demo is 4K but dynamic? I mean, it targets 4K but sometimes (in the most demanding bits) it lowers the reder output and uses checkboarding?
For a game more than a year ahead of us: this looks impressive as hell
 
This has some extremely impressive visuals. Would need more details on the game/gameplay, but more than likely we have a new hit on our hands. 2018 stacked, gonna be a good contender for 2017's insane output
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I see everyone has their talking points in order.

Hey, I'm a Pro owner. More Xbox X games using checker board rendering is only beneficial for me, it means I can expect similar implementations in my Pro versions of these games.

If there was no Xbox X, there's no guarantee how the Pro upgrades might have turned out. We've seen a bunch of companies just half ass some enhancements over 1080p and call it a day.

This is good for everyone.

Doing an analysis on a game more than a year from release is not "the bread and butter" of DF.

Maybe not literally, but the whole point of DF is technological information, be it tech, hardwares, new game reveals etc. This is E3 content, I don't understand why some users get so offended at articles/videos of games in development. This is us getting an insight into the current tech powering the game, ain't nothing wrong with that.
 

emalord

Member
Truly interested in the final product, I would consider a capped 1080/30 on my base Ps4 a win-win scenario (with no further downgrades)
Hope they can make it happen
 
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