Kralamoonard
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Frame Rate Test
Just Cause 3 PS4 vs Xbox One Frame-Rate Test
Just Cause 3 PS4/Xbox One vs Budget PC Frame-Rate Test
Just Cause 3 PC 'Very High' vs PS4 Graphics Comparison
Graphical Comparisons And Technical Analysis
Just Cause 3 PS4 vs Xbox One Graphics Comparison
Read The Full Article For More Info
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-just-cause-3-face-off
...but to summarise:
In terms of console basics, PlayStation 4 produces a native 1080p image, while Xbox One brings a 900p framebuffer to the table, with both using a post-process solution for anti-aliasing very much akin to the FXAA option on PC. The PS4 game more closely matches up to PC in terms of raw pixel sharpness, but the anti-aliasing options available on PC are a key point of difference. Coverage is decent on console, although long edges and distant objects fall to pixel-popping artefacts. Xbox One fares a little worse here due to the drop in resolution, but for the most part there isn't too much in it between the two. Texture details appear slightly more smoothed over in still scenes, but the game's use of camera blur in motion helps to even out the presentation to the point where the drop in resolution is often barely perceivable during gameplay.
For those wanting a lightweight anti-aliasing solution, FXAA is also available on the PC version delivering similar results to PS4. However, it's also possible to achieve more refined levels of image quality via use of SMAA. Basic SMAA provides smoother imagery than on consoles with better coverage across the usual sub-pixel objects and on foliage. A T2x variant of SMAA is also available which adds a temporal component that helps to tackles additional jaggies. However, the effect doesn't appear to be implemented properly - it adds a small amount of ghosting in motion that some may find distracting. Again, this looks like a bug that perhaps should have been addressed pre-launch
On consoles, Avalanche carefully selects which elements to scale back on. Assets and settings are seemingly taken from a range of PC presets, with the developer adjusting the level of graphical quality in order to strike a balance between raw detail and performance. For example, texture quality on PS4 and Xbox One seems to match the very high setting on PC (though there's little difference between high and very high), LOD factor is a curious one, often aligning closely with PC's low setting, while shadows closely resemble those running on high on the PC game.
All in all, the console versions of Just Cause 3 hold up rather well compared to the maxed out PC version in terms of the game's complete visual feature set. Draw distances are impressive across all three platforms, and it's a surprise to see PS4 and Xbox One rendering out tiny trees and pylons at the same distances as the PC game. Granted, some objects are rendering with lower quality LODs, but all the main elements are present on screen, and this goes a long way to hiding the differences outside of like-for-like screen comparison. Aside from the resolution difference, both consoles mostly appear like-for-like in other areas. On occasion we see assets streaming in faster on one platform than the other - and vice-versa - but the core art and effects work are basically a match, and it should be stated that the PC version isn't averse to some streaming glitches either, even running from SSD.
That said, moving up to very high on PC provides some improvements. Shadows appear sharper and more defined and LOD transitions occur a little more quickly, resulting in a few elements of scenery using higher quality assets from further away than on console. Ramping up anisotropic filtering sees texture details resolve more clearly across oblique angles both on near field and distance surfaces (though the effect isn't quite as good as it should be - using the GPU control panel option may produce better results). By comparison, consoles operate with at something in the region of 2x to 4x AF leading to blurrier artwork in similar scenes. PC owners also get a mild heat haze effect deployed near the horizon, which slightly blurs and distorts objects within its radius - a form of atmospheric rendering, if you will. It's subtle, but very effective.
In other areas motion blur, depth of field, ambient occlusion lighting, and the use of global illumination are identical across all three formats - though the latter feature is bugged on PC, and can produce an off-putting strobe effect. SSAO is responsible in creating the indirect shadowing on all three formats, with the effect creating some soft halos around Rico when he moves past close-range scenery.
The global illumination technique deployed in Just Cause 3 is particularly interesting though, with Avalanche Studios carefully applying the effect in moderation so that the GPU isn't overburdened in rendering multiple light bounces across the entire environment. The effect is only activated in close proximity to Rico, with scenery in the distance featuring a simpler lighting model. This allows for extra depth to areas immediately close to the player - where such details will be noticed - without incurring a game breaking performance hit.
From a core graphical perspective, both consoles hand in a decent presentation, with PS4 taking a small lead in terms of raw pixel sharpness and clarity. However, things appear shakier when looking at performance, where both machines struggle in action-heavy scenes where the engine really lets rip with an array of alpha-based effects and physics powered environmental destruction. Both consoles target a 30fps update and adaptive v-sync is used to help reduce latency and stutter by allowing for tearing to appear at the top of the screen - in short, in common with many recent titles, Just Cause 3 has a certain elasticity to its render budget.
Large explosions and heavy deployment of alpha transparencies clearly have a tangible impact on performance across both consoles, with sub-30fps metrics rolling out when the engine is put under stress in intense firefights. CPU-driven physics also seem to be a bottleneck in some scenarios.
We ran the performance video above earlier in the week and were looking to follow up with a more stringent stress test, but based on our results, it actually requires just one screenshot to illustrate the major concern we have with the game, and it's a particular issue on Xbox One. PlayStation 4 drops frames and we see dips from the 33ms render time target, dropping down to 50ms and even 66ms on occasion. This is far from ideal. But take a look at Xbox One - not only are we nowhere near the 33ms target, drops to 66ms and even 83ms are apparent.
Of the two versions, it's clearly the PlayStation 4 release that is preferable. The resolution increase is welcome, if not exactly a major boon during gameplay, but it's the less impacted performance level that sees it take point. You won't escape the frame-time latency issues in the thick of the action, but at least the worst excesses are blunted, to a certain extent. It's going to be really hard for Avalanche to comprehensively address this specific issue, but it's clear that optimisation should be a priority there for any future update. On top of that, the developer really needs to address the loading time issues. Here we found another PS4 advantage - anything up to a minute faster than the Xbox One version, though curiously restarting after a checkpoint saw load times virtually equalise between the two platforms.
TLR
- Runs a native 1080p display on PS4, whereas runs at 900p on Xbox One.
- Dips on both consoles below 30fps.
- Xbox One sees more frequent drops than PS4.
- Xbox One's dips seems to be related to streaming issues.
- Both deploy a 2-4x AF texture filtering method.
- Loading times not ideal on either consoles, but still a bit faster on PS4.
- There's a bit of screent tearing as both consoles use an adaptive V-Sync solution.
- Blur, depth of field, ambient occlusion lighting, and the use of global illumination are identical across all three formats including draw distances and high shadows matching PC's high settings.
- PC's ultra means shadows appear sharper and more defined and LOD transitions occur a little more quickly, resulting in a few elements of scenery using higher quality assets from further away than on console and with higher AF implementation.
- PC also gets a mild heat haze effect deployed near the horizon, which slightly blurs and distorts objects within its radius - a form of atmospheric rendering which is subtle, but very effective.
Personal Thoughts
On a technical level, it is incredibly disappointing to see some frame rate issues considering how well Avalanche's last effort, Just Cause 2 was really well optimized for consoles, both regarding how amazing it looked (and it still holds up well, particularly the sea + lighting) and how stable the performance was (from what I can remember so bear in mind it maybe rose tinted glasses etc).
I guess we'll have to wait for patches, but that is what makes the situation even more puzzling considering it went gold over a month, so they had a lot of time to patch it in time for day one. I know it's not the main Avalanche team doing the game, and its their first effort on new hardware and all, but things like loading issues HAVE to be sorted out; it's just not acceptable. Perhaps the new Havok middleware solution for the destruction didn't go as planned and caused more stress on the engine than originally thought.
Don't get me wrong, the game does look impressive at time, and the draw distances are something to behold, I just feel it falls shorts in many areas where its predecessor didn't,; the loading times are its biggest hindrance and the frame rate does leave a lot to be desired. Digital Foundry perfectly echo my thoughts when they say: "It's just somewhat frustrating that the launch code just feels like it's not quite ready for show-time. Hopefully, the console versions will get the extra round of optimization they really need, while the various instabilities in the PC version will be addressed since Just Cause 3 can still be brilliantly entertaining - at its heart, it's perhaps the most fun, exciting open world game of the generation."
[EDIT] Hey guys, just a warning: please keep off derailing the thread by mentioning NX Gamer and turning it into a pissing contest/sh*tposting against him or Digital Foundry as they both do great work and provide us with excellent content.
Also, bear in mind he didn't actually test the PS4 version, so people claiming it "isn't as bad as he made it out to be", have to understand that he was testing the XB1 version. Thanks. [/EDIT]