Does the PS4 Pro have a built in upscaler? Would the same game running on a regular PS4 and a Pro on a 4K TV look better on a Pro because of the built in upscaler on a Pro?
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Digital Foundry: Sonic Mania PS4/XO/Switch Full Analysis
- Thread starter jsnepo
- Start date
Does the PS4 Pro have a built in upscaler? Would the same game running on a regular PS4 and a Pro on a 4K TV look better on a Pro because of the built in upscaler on a Pro?
I have to say that I'm a little surprised that you would say that about the console NSMB titles and especially Yoshi's Woolly World. The level design of those games are absolutely topnotch, and YWW makes brilliant use of its art style in a way that hasn't been seen since, well, Yoshi's Island. Sure, it's an expansion on the work that Good Feel put forth in Kirby's Epic Yarn, but that additional programming power brought it to life in a rather vivid way.
While true, from my viewing distance, upscale blur is absolutely visible with pixel art games. I can see a noticeable difference.
They're odd ones. I would agree they are very well made games but I found them to be somewhat flat, uninspiring experiences. I felt nothing from them. That's on me to a degree but when a game really lands, it leaves a mark. Tropical Freeze and Sonic Mania both offer something that those other titles cannot. Kind of a nebulous thing to describe here but that's how it worked out.
I think part of it has to be music. That's a huge part of a good platform game for me.
ScaryShark
Banned
I goofed getting this on Switch instead of Pro.
Myopic eyes (such as yours) tend to have a more critical eye and see those things more easily.
SinCityAssassin
Member
Just get both. Now you have one in 4K and one in your bed.
Yea, tons. Just got spoiled in the first few minutes. Ah well.
I adore this game but I think I have noticed a couple of very very brief hitches on Xbox one s, nothing that made an impact in just noticing this stuff more being a DF fan.
One was when the first achievement popped and another in a transition the first time I played the boss at the end of act 6.
The stutters were so brief I may have been wrong.
On my 4k TV I noticed what Was referenced with pixels on the pro a while ago then o was setting up my 4k tv by switching windows 10 from 1080 to 4k, you can see the softness in the scaling.
One was when the first achievement popped and another in a transition the first time I played the boss at the end of act 6.
The stutters were so brief I may have been wrong.
On my 4k TV I noticed what Was referenced with pixels on the pro a while ago then o was setting up my 4k tv by switching windows 10 from 1080 to 4k, you can see the softness in the scaling.
Oh yeah, the achievement pop-up stutter is pretty common on Xbox.
Also, you playing on internal or external drive? I've determined that external drives often cause performance issues in games. Sometimes severe (Prey and Yooka Laylee problems were the result of this). I played up through Flying Battery on my Xbox S and tge experience was great.
The problem with Yoshi is really just Artoon/Arzest. You can thank former Sega vets for the worst modern Nintendo platformers.
NSMB series overstayed it's welcome but the Wii and Wii U entries are still quite good. Kirby is consistently solid and underappreciated. Retro's DKC is solid gold, Mario Maker a slavish tribute and Good Feel's games are great. I don't really get the complaints with Nintendo platformers, they still dominate the genre. They always have really.
I have enjoyed almost all of those games. I'm a huge platformer fan.
At the same time, however, I do sort of understand where the DF dude is coming from when saying they left him feeling a bit cold. Sonic Mania has an intangible quality that those other games seem to lack. (Bear in mind I haven't played Retro's DK games, but I have played most recent Mario and Kirby titles).
The only other 2D platformer that leaves me with a similar feeling that Sonic Mania does is Shovel Knight. The stages are just so inventive... and I get the same feeling here, but even more so. Every moment in Sonic Mania is exhilarating. And there was a time in the 90s when that was expected out of big-franchise platformers like Mario and Sonic. They used to be the "big AAA" titles of those years (if you can even use that phrase for 16bit games).
And even though Sonic Mania is a small indie-style release, you can see that there was real effort put into it that most 2D platformers have lacked in recent years.
Again, it's intangible. But there is both soul to this game and set-piece spectacle moments around every turn. And you really can't say the same for any NSMB game. Super Mario Bros 3 had that which is why it was so memorable. But NSMB games are afraid to invent new stuff and they continued to use the SMB3 formula for far too long.
I do also think the music and graphics play a huge part. And everything in Sonic Mania is just so gorgeous.
Did you guys have a kinect hooked up? I'm considering this as the culprit as it is much easier than factory resetting my xbox and praying for the best (although I still might).
I'd be willing to bet that a Switch port would greatly reduce the loading times, if only because carts > discs when it comes to that.
I thought I was the only one. Game looks great, but I do think the rotations are kinda messy. It never bothered me in early Sonic games, but here it really looks like someone took the sprites and simply pivoted them. It was fine back in the 16-bit days and with lower-res sprites (though I never was a fan of sprite rotations on SNES), but here it looks very jarring. Is it some kind of special rotation algorithm or something?
I don't think either of those systems are actually capable of rendering games at 4K. The Xbox One S merely upscales for non-4K Blu-ray playback.
I thought the rotations looked great in the jimquisition video. They look very authentic to that SNES mode 7 style with obvious stair stepping etc.
Link_enfant
Member
I've only played the Switch version docked on my 49" Samsung KS8000 (EU) so far and it already looks amazing and crystal clear, even with the default video filter which slightly blurs the picture.
You're fine.
Huh. Did a factory reset and it was fine...
https://account.xbox.com/en-US/game...hux&scid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
https://account.xbox.com/en-US/game...hux&scid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
Jaded Alyx
Member
You poor soul.
To be fair, they took the heat for that backlash, SEGA America especially took notice and that's around the time Aaron came back, that was when attitudes started to change and they took a gamble on letting Taxman do a port of Sonic CD, which is how we got here today.Yeah, screw Nintendo! Sega would never do something like screw over the fans & shut down an anticipated fan game to one of their franchises.
Nintendo on the other have not.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Thing about Nintendo is that they dont necessarily need them. They be making games all the time. When the last sega game that released???
Shin-Ra
Junior Member
For 1080p output, pixel art games:
If you have a Panasonic UHD TV look for a '1080p pixel by 4pixels' option for nearest neighbour scaling.
On Sony UHD TV's try the 'Graphics' picture mode for 1080p to 2160p nearest neighbour scaling.
If the game doesn't support appropriately scaled 2160p output, set the console to 1080p temporarily to take advantage of the above.
Sonic may additionally take advantage of 4K with higher precision CRT filters but the DF video only played in 1080p for me.
If you have a Panasonic UHD TV look for a '1080p pixel by 4pixels' option for nearest neighbour scaling.
On Sony UHD TV's try the 'Graphics' picture mode for 1080p to 2160p nearest neighbour scaling.
If the game doesn't support appropriately scaled 2160p output, set the console to 1080p temporarily to take advantage of the above.
Sonic may additionally take advantage of 4K with higher precision CRT filters but the DF video only played in 1080p for me.
Yautja_Warrior
Member
Love the Switch version, it looks great on the handheld screen. It would be great if they iron out those small issues on the 3D bonus stages but it's nothing major.
I did the Russian eshop trick, from the other thread, to get it for £9.33, so I might buy it on PS4 Pro too, for the 4k mode and because the game is awesome and deserves the support.
I did the Russian eshop trick, from the other thread, to get it for £9.33, so I might buy it on PS4 Pro too, for the 4k mode and because the game is awesome and deserves the support.
pretty done
Member
Should I just do this for my entire Switch input on my X800D? Or is it only good for pixel games
The Hermit
Member
I completely agree with this paragraph.
Sonic Mania is the best 2D platformer since TF, and I also think music has a huge part in it.
They (or at least base PS4) can't output 4k@60 due to an outdated HDMI port. Max it could do is 4k@30
Shin-Ra
Junior Member
I would for the cleaner unmodified image on all 1080p inputs, yes.
Ah well that explains it.
I wonder if supersampling like PS3 did for Okami HD would have done anything to the image quality.
John says the PS4Pro outputs at 4K. But obviously outputting only means going to the TV which the XB1S also does, what about the native internal rendering of the pixels?
Don't get so offended at a playful jibe. Man...tribalism.
In this instance Sega did the right thing to everyone's benefit.
Yeah, screw Nintendo! Sega would never do something like screw over the fans & shut down an anticipated fan game to one of their franchises.
Don't get so offended at a playful jibe. Man...tribalism.
In this instance Sega did the right thing to everyone's benefit.
OrbitalBeard
Member
With all due respect to Sega, they're in a completely different position than Nintendo is. It took them two decades of dragging Sonic's name through the mud before we got Sonic Mania. Nintendo isn't really in the same spot with any of their IP, including Metroid.
It would obviously still be great to see Nintendo embrace their fanbase a bit more though.
Dictator93
Member
It also could be chroma sub sampled!
Wonko_C
Member
But even the base PS4 can do HDR. Doesn't that need HDMI 2.0 output to work too? Or that's needed only for 4K?
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
At 1080p HDMI 1.4 has enough bandwidth for HDR but it can't handle HDR and 4k.
GametimeUK
Member
That doesn't mean it's technically out on Vita. The game not being out on vita is the correct answer to the question. The term "out on vita" pretty much means "released on vita"... not "playable on vita via remote play".
Sorry to be that guy, but let's not spread misinformation.
I think I'm going to buy this.... like right now .... on PS4.
Great video from John right there as always. I loved the blink and you'll miss it cameo from a certain other series near the end too. In that particular titles case I bet the fan made version will end up substantially better than the expensive looking official game too .....
Great video from John right there as always. I loved the blink and you'll miss it cameo from a certain other series near the end too. In that particular titles case I bet the fan made version will end up substantially better than the expensive looking official game too .....
thatJohann
Member
Not sure I want this anymore, but if I do get it, it's gonna be on PS4 Pro (and not Switch).
If you don't want it due to a few tiny issues then you should know the Devs are working on it, and honestly compared to majority of other games, these issues are incredibly tiny.
The game is awesome. Doesn't matter what platform you get it on. It'd definitely well made and you should pick it up if you like Sonic games.
thatJohann
Member
I'm sure issues will get fixed. I'm just debating if I can get into Sonic games again. or if I wll get tired quickly.
Yes, ...but you have to unlock them, it's like the good old days or something, you earn additional game modes and abilities by playing the game, it's weird. The Ultimate unlock is a debug like mode where you can spawn monitors, etc, and go crazy exploring the levels or setting things up.