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Digital Foundry Tech Analysis: Titanfall

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Read the full article here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-titanfall-tech-analysis

[...] Respawn Entertainment comes from the shadows with its debut sci-fi first-person shooter, Titanfall. Described as a multiplayer-only experience for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC, the team builds on a well-established pedigree in console FPS design by working from a "60fps first" template - adding frills only where it fits around that core ideal.
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Titanfall will be using Source Engine:
Advantages of using the engine also include strong support for networked play, low latency controls owing to a streamlined rendering pipeline, compatibility with multi-core setups, and excellent optimisation for x86 platforms.
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Curiously, the biggest deciding factor in going with Valve's tech now has little bearing on its development. During an interview with Polygon, Respawn software engineer Richard Baker says the original reason the team went with the Source engine had much to do with wanting "an engine that would work with PS3, because that's the riskiest platform in current-gen". The call came following the high quality delivery of Portal 2 on PS3 back in 2011, but with next-gen platforms looming large, the project quickly jumped ship to Xbox One.
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On dedicated servers, the cloud and AI:
The use of the Xbox One's dedicated servers suits this single-meets-multiplayer design nicely. In theory, it means all AI actions are better synchronised for each player in a party, rather than having every interaction pass through a host and thus incur lag for the client majority.

However, the actual benefits of Xbox One's cloud computing remain uncertain. The promise is that AI and physics calculations are handled remotely, from the 300,000 servers set up by Microsoft's cloud service, Azure. News that a 360 version is also in the works by a different, as-yet unnamed studio, raises many questions as to how such exclusive next-gen features will work for older tech - if it all - and whether the PC version matches up in this sense as well.
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Looking for practical evidence of it during the demo, the AI element is accounted for by the many CPU players, whose decisions can feasibly be determined by a remote, host machine. On the other hand, physics-based interactions are kept to such a bare minimum in Titanfall that it's not clear where any external influence comes into effect. The demo shows a largely static level by design, with no procedural damage to the environment in the manner of Battlefield 4 or The Division, nor rag-doll physics - everything is set in stone, and not even the grass or trees animate. Even so, the chosen level speaks volumes about Respawn's art direction, eschewing the deep brown and green hues of its Modern Warfare titles for something with a broader, more colourful palette.
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60 FPS, 1080p?
In the pursuit of 60fps, something has to give way though - and it usually comes to light when looking too closely. It's the uncanny facial animations during NPC briefings, the rough-looking textures on Titan interiors and billboards, and what seem like scaling artifacts that betray either Titanfall's early development status, or its commitment to being about gameplay first, appearances second. The jaggies are a curious point in particular; even judged by the high quality feed we have availability direct from the Microsoft E3 conference there's more sub-pixel shimmering and rough edges than any other game on show, which suggests this may not be a full-blown 1080p title in its current state. From what Respawn has announced so far, the 60fps bullet-point is proudly announced, but it remains tight-lipped on what native resolution is intended for the final game.
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Little is held back in the realm of effects work either. To our count, there's full-screen motion blur, lens flares, plus high grade alpha for sparks, smoke plumes trailing behind rockets, and no restraints on particles spraying from ruined Titan foes - though again, physics-based action seems minimal outside of crumbling machinery.
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When it comes to that crucial point of performance, Respawn is true to its word in delivering a bridled 60hz response during its E3 demonstration. Not a single frame is repeated over the four minute stretch, producing a monotone reading at the head of the frames-per-second axis. Having double-checked many thousands of these frames by eye after the automated pass, we can confirm that it runs with v-sync engaged at full-blast 60fps regardless of the intensity during battle.
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However, it remains unconfirmed whether what we're seeing is running on bona fide Xbox One hardware, or if the Xbox controller prompts seen on-screen are simply a show of gamepad support for the PC version
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Come Titanfall's Spring 2014 launch, the ideal point of entry for many will be on PC - and pleasingly, you won't require Windows 8 to run it. Bearing in mind a long working history with Valve's immensely scalable Source engine, there should be strong compatibility with a range of PC hardware. Having the game play out over two co-existing scales is sure to be a meticulous balancing act for Respawn though, and the chaotic backdrops and foreground effects lead us to wonder in what cut-down state the Xbox 360 port will launch. For the Xbox One version, however, we're much more assured everything will remain intact. However, we'll have to see whether the flawless performance metrics seen here match up to the real deal nearer release.
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Lots of quotes omitted, so check out the full article including 60 FPS footage available at Eurogamer.net

Edit #1
On the Engine choice by a Respawn Employee on GAF:
DKo5 said:
For those expecting "normal" Source engine - don't. Those super smart coders (like Calen in this thread!) have re-written a massive amount of the codebase. The renderer is completely new (multi-threaded, DX11, 64bit, etc.), along with all the sound code, netcode, input code, etc. There's a lot of cores on the Xbox One, and the coders are actively working on utilizing them as much as possible.
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I really want this on PS4 to be my go-to shooter. I love the emphasis on low latency controls, there's nothing like it.
 
This all screams cross-gen port.

Lots of compromises to get 60 fps and rumour of it being below 1080p is pretty disappointing considering it's already not doing anything hugely advanced graphically.

Those things can be fixed on PC, but the lack of physics use and environment destruction can't.
 
LabouredSubterfuge said:
Lots of compromises to get 60 fps and rumour of it being below 1080p is pretty disappointing considering it's already not doing anything hugely advanced graphically.
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Network connection intensive games require a lot of compromises. The problem for a game like Titanfall are never the graphics, but maintaining all the remote operations efficiently.

With the "infinite power" of "the cloud" comes infinite responsibility.
 
However, the actual benefits of Xbox One's cloud computing remain uncertain.
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As expected, I wouldnt be surprised if this is the same conclusion for all clowd-enabled titles.

Come Titanfall's Spring 2014 launch, the ideal point of entry for many will be on PC
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End of story.
 
Dedicated servers are always better than using gamers own consoles in effect as servers as well . I wish next gen will continue to do this. One of the biggest reasons I dont like multiplayer games this gen, lag..
 
However, the actual benefits of Xbox One's cloud computing remain uncertain
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o9w7fu9iusmx.jpg
 
FranXico said:
Network connection intensive games require a lot of compromises. The problem for a game like Titanfall are never the graphics, but maintaining all the remote operations efficiently.

With the "infinite power" of "the cloud" comes infinite responsibility.
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surely the network connectivity has a threshold though, and as long as you achieve that you should be able to layer on the graphics etc? and having dedicated servers will help remove some load from the console
 
Titanfall is clearly not pushing the state-of-the-art in graphic/animation or sound. It's a high resolution CoD with mechs/titans. For the type of gameplay Respawn is promising, focusing on 60fps rather than graphics/animation/sound seems like the correct tradeoff, given how well Titanfall was received by the press. There is still plenty of time for more optimization work as the game is still many months from shipping.
 
Source is a good engine!

Game looks good and locked 60fps is awesome.

However now that BF4 is 60fps too + destruction I donno. Titanfall is still impressive though
 
Disappointing about the aliasing, resolution, and effects.


Hopefully they add in some more physics interactions and hit 1080p native before launch. They certainly have time.
 
Liha said:
I hope the PC version will be better than the xbone version.
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Pro's and cons...


If they get the Xbox One version running at 1080p and maintain the 60fps by launch, then the Xbox One version will be the one to get, because of the servers...

If they don't, PC version will have the advantage.


That is providing you want to play the PC version at 1080p and not some larger resolution display.
 
Source has not been very good for anything but stylized graphics since about 2004.

I still think it was a bad engine choice.
 
Imagine if they were using the Frostbite engine instead... My god...

Buildings crumbling everywhere. Map would be flat in less than a minute, lol.
 
Even given that this certainly did not have among the best graphics of stuff shown at E3, I'm kind of amazed that it's running in Source. I wonder how heavily chopped it is?
 
BigTnaples said:
If they get the Xbox One version running at 1080p and maintain the 60fps by launch, then the Xbox One version will be the one to get, because of the servers...
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So how is that supposed to work in places like Australia?

I keep hearing about how amazing these dedicated servers all over the world will be... But that kind of ignores that not all the parts of the world actually have a cloud server.
 
I was enthralled by this game because it had the same appeal as generic PC games have always had on me. Can't wait to play it.
 
Digital Foundry said:
On the other hand, physics-based interactions are kept to such a bare minimum in Titanfall that it's not clear where any external influence comes into effect. The demo shows a largely static level by design, with no procedural damage to the environment in the manner of Battlefield 4 or The Division, nor rag-doll physics - everything is set in stone, and not even the grass or trees animate.
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By "physics" they don't seem to refer to things like destruction or object animations but to traditional dedicated server stuff like the synchronization of bullet impact points and player positions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZy3VIVqAY4 (1:12)
 
It's an aged engine that's not only not next gen, it's not even high end by current gen standards. It will essentially be a no frills up resed version of what we have now. Doesn't mean the game won't be fun, but graphically it's going to be left behind.
 
In the pursuit of 60fps, something has to give way though - and it usually comes to light when looking too closely. It's the uncanny facial animations during NPC briefings
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It's a picture-in-picture feed coming straight from your nightmares.

ib06ThRncf98KB.gif
 
I bet the PC'ers are happy they're getting a sort of next gen shooter that will feature fast movement, wall running and jumping. Hopefully the development on the XbOne means that it'll be a step above any game currently on PC as well.
 
Rashid said:
I really want this on PS4 to be my go-to shooter. I love the emphasis on low latency controls, there's nothing like it.
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The way these guys do things I think they'll get bigger and do it themselves or higher it out for 2. Which will probably drop 2016. These guys were always on a two year cycle. Your best hope is a port by someone else in 2015 of this game.
 
ibq7NXrOSDo3lJ.gif


This is what I mean by PC'ers loving it. Reminds me of earlier shooters that were fast paced with a lot of movement.

ibnrkBQ1PtgSGX.gif
 
nib95 said:
It's an aged engine that's not only not next gen, it's not even high end by current gen standards. It will essentially be a no frills up resed version of what we have now. Doesn't mean the game won't be fun, but graphically it's going to be left behind.
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It looks better than Hawken on my PC, that's good enough for me.
 
Sidetrack:
I'll tell you one thing, they aren't wrong about Portal 2 for PS3. I've got a beef PC but I picked it up for PS3 cause it had a free steam code (win win!) the PS3 Portal 2 port was nothing short of fucking incredible.

Butter smooth, looked lovely. Ended up finishing it on both. Fuck I love that game
 
nib95 said:
It's an aged engine that's not only not next gen, it's not even high end by current gen standards. It will essentially be a no frills up resed version of what we have now. Doesn't mean the game won't be fun, but graphically it's going to be left behind.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I actually wish for a competitive game with less graphical spectacle. Many games have become so overloaded with effects that you can have a hard time locating and focusing on targets.
 
Erasus said:
Source is a good engine!

Game looks good and locked 60fps is awesome.

However now that BF4 is 60fps too + destruction I donno. Titanfall is still impressive though
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I don't know how much money you want to spend, but I will buy BF4 in November, play it some months and then switch to Titanfall as my go-to shooter, probably.
 
artist said:
End of story.
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Isn't that the same for all next gen titles with PC versions? If you're willing to invest in your PC, that will always be the best-looking version.

However, for a multiplayer-focused game like this, I'd argue that the version to get will be the one your friends are getting. Small graphical flourishes will never trump playing with your friends.
 
Can't they use the cloud to give you a single player experience with bots?
 
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