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Digital Foundry: Face-Off: EA Sports UFC

E

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-ea-sports-ufc-face-off

It's clear that that both versions of UFC still operate using 1600x900 framebuffers in combination with multi-sampling anti-aliasing. As we saw in the demo code, 4x MSAA is present on PS4, reduced to 2x MSAA on the Xbox One, giving Sony's system a tangible increase in overall image quality even if the difference is fairly subtle a lot of the time. A closer look at the edges on Xbox One also reveals some inconsistent transparent pixels around characters and scenery, suggesting a rougher, less refined scaling implementation. This leads to the game looking slightly fuzzier, although when viewing the action from a few feet away on our 32-inch HDTV these artefacts are pretty well concealed by post-processing effects.
Click to expand...

As we saw in the demo, the PS4 version is more refined where these effects are concerned, with higher-precision object blur and better-quality shadow filtering on Sony's console. Motion blur is a touch heavier on the PS4, as is the use of ambient occlusion, providing a slightly greater amount of depth across character faces than the Xbox One version.
Click to expand...

Across different arenas using various combatants, we still see some minor frame-rate drops on PS4 and a few regularly torn frames (limited to the top 10 per cent of the screen, so mostly unnoticeable). The situation has little impact on how the game plays, but the dropped frames do lead to some short but noticeable stutters during both gameplay and cut-scenes on Sony's system. The Xbox One game delivers a clean 30fps presentation without these mild inconsistencies, which makes the experience feel a little more refined where performance is concerned.
Click to expand...

EA's next-gen only UFC title can be considered a success overall, even if the revelatory jump in fidelity we saw in the last-gen Fight Night series isn't replicated here. Similar to Fight Night Champion, the use of a 30fps frame-rate and liberal use of post-processing creates a more intense and almost cinematic feel that works well. However, with all that extra power on tap in the new consoles we can't help wonder whether GPU resources should have been deployed on a 60fps gameplay experience rather than the post-processed, smoother look here. TV shows are generally shot on film at 24fps, while sport is presented via video at 60Hz. We applaud the developer's approach to fidelity, but perhaps a higher frame-rate would have made for better gameplay and would have been a closer match for the sport's presentation in real life.
Click to expand...

In the multi-platform stakes the PS4 game benefits from superior effects work and better image quality, giving this version a slightly more refined look. Performance is a little more solid on Xbox One, but the pros and cons for each version have minimal impact in terms of the impact on gameplay. Overall, the PS4 version of UFC nudges ahead but it must be said that the experience is virtually interchangeable across both consoles. With that in mind, if the bulk of your competition lies with Xbox One owners online we have no hesitation in recommending that version too.
Click to expand...

Punch me in the face if old.
 
J

Jack cw

Member
Looking at the comparison pictures on the site the Alaising on the xbone is pretty noticable and motion blur, bokeh etc. are far superior on PS4. Too bad this game has such shitty controls.
 
I

Impeccable

Member
VE3TRO said:
Frame rate has been terrible for me. Nearly every fight it drops. Look at 12 seconds in this webm. Like this all the time.

http://webm.zone/i/1oQ.webm
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm on PS4 and usually at the beginning of fights it struggles for a second or two - but it's really, really noticable. Sometimes in the middle of the fight (rarely) but it's a big drop.

Not sure what's going on - and it's annoying.
 
R

Rixa

Member
Impeccable said:
Yeah, I'm on PS4 and usually at the beginning of fights it struggles for a second or two - but it's really, really noticable. Something in the middle of the fight (rarely) but it's a big drop.

Not sure what's going on - and it's annoying.
Click to expand...

Huh. Some annoying stuff those freezes. Hopefully they patch it.
 
E

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
Impeccable said:
Yeah, I'm on PS4 and usually at the beginning of fights it struggles for a second or two - but it's really, really noticable. Something in the middle of the fight (rarely) but it's a big drop.

Not sure what's going on - and it's annoying.
Click to expand...

Are these lags also occurring during offline play?
 
I

Impeccable

Member
ElTorro said:
Are these lags also occurring during offline play?
Click to expand...

I primarily play off line, I'm assuming the lag at the beginning of the fights is due to me skipping all the pre-fight stuff or something. Online is actually pretty great like 95% of the time regarding lag and stuff.

The mid-fight drops seem to happen when the AI and I randomly throw a flurry of punches and kicks. It's not often but it happens enough to annoy me.
 
S

Seanspeed

Banned
Jack cw said:
Looking at the comparison pictures on the site the Alaising on the xbone is pretty noticable
Click to expand...
Its even worse in motion. Reposting this from the last thread, just to show how extreme the difference is. Keep in mind this was recorded from Youtube footage, so while overall image quality isn't representative, it still illustrates the differences in aliasing:

PS4


XB1
 
L

Lemmy

Banned
30fps? lmao, why?

Don't see anything there that would make 60fps so hard to achieve... even on console.
 
G

Gurish

Member
This game is a technical failure imo, for 30 FPS it really doesn't look good enough, and having frame drops in a game that runs at 900P with 2 characters on screen at 30 FPS? that's just laughable.
 
P

ps3ud0

Member
Who were the devs for this? EA Canada? Just so I know to avoid their work in the future. Its not a well made game and I really don't get some of their decisions...
Gurish said:
This game is a technical failure imo, for 30 FPS it really doesn't look good enough, and having frame drops in a game that runs at 900P with 2 characters on screen at 30 FPS? that's just laughable.
Click to expand...
Agreed

ps3ud0 8)
 
D

dragonelite

Member
Lemmy said:
30fps? lmao, why?

Don't see anything there that would make 60fps so hard to achieve... even on console.
Click to expand...

Maybe the game is CPU constrained remember they do kinda simulate muscle contraction and retraction if im not mistaken. And don't forget the current gen CPU aren't monster CPU.
 
cripterion

cripterion

Member
Lots of framerate drops during fights and intros on PS4. Gameface doesn't work. Online can be fun against the right people...

Regret buying it full price.
 
Shin-Ra

Shin-Ra

Junior Member
still operate using 1600x900 framebuffers
Click to expand...
iE7UlsFY9AwUb.gif


A closer look at the edges on Xbox One also reveals some inconsistent transparent pixels around characters and scenery, suggesting a rougher, less refined scaling implementation.
Click to expand...
Assuming the scaler judgement is correct, software or GPU scaler?
 
C

CozMick

Banned
plagiarize said:
because they only occasionally make mistakes, and because they give us valid raw data we can judge for ourselves.
Click to expand...

Occasionally is a bit lenient dont you think?

Has there been a face off since this current gen began that they didn't miss an obvious mistake?

They're borderline "lens of truth" in my eyes.
 
Autofokus

Autofokus

Member
Impeccable said:
I primarily play off line, I'm assuming the lag at the beginning of the fights is due to me skipping all the pre-fight stuff or something. Online is actually pretty great like 95% of the time regarding lag and stuff.

The mid-fight drops seem to happen when the AI and I randomly throw a flurry of punches and kicks. It's not often but it happens enough to annoy me.
Click to expand...

Never played Fight Night games? They had some weird random lag/frame drops out of nothing and the game went slow-mo for 1-3 seconds - happened nearly every round.

Across different arenas using various combatants, we still see some minor frame-rate drops on PS4 and a few regularly torn frames (limited to the top 10 per cent of the screen, so mostly unnoticeable). The situation has little impact on how the game plays, but the dropped frames do lead to some short but noticeable stutters during both gameplay and cut-scenes on Sony's system. The Xbox One game delivers a clean 30fps presentation without these mild inconsistencies, which makes the experience feel a little more refined where performance is concerned.
Click to expand...
They really need to stop referring to overscan. Even my first 1080 LCD TV which I bought back in 2008 had an 1:1 Pixelmapping option.
 
E

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
Autofokus said:
They really need to stop referring to overscan. Even my first 1080 LCD TV which I bought back in 2008 had an 1:1 Pixelmapping option.
Click to expand...

I am probably just ignorant, but why has overscan ever been a relevant issue for displays with fixed pixel grids?
 
Autofokus

Autofokus

Member
ElTorro said:
I am probably just ignorant, but why has overscan ever been a relevant issue for displays with fixed pixel grids?
Click to expand...

Probably because TV signal garbage (around the borders) is still a thing - overscan was used as a work-around for the old tube problem (no tube of even the same model is exactly the same). But the latest sets (1-2 years old) mostly default to 1:1 mapping with the option to overscan.

It's basically totally irrelevant for games, bringing it up anno 2014 is even more ridiculous.
 
A

antitrop

Member
The decision to go with 30fps for a sports game is pretty baffling.

I don't even care about the 900p if they're using 4x MSAA and some nice motion blur.
 
H

Hypron

Member
Autofokus said:
Never played Fight Night games? They had some weird random lag/frame drops out of nothing and the game went slow-mo for 1-3 seconds - happened nearly every round.


They really need to stop referring to overscan. Even my first 1080 LCD TV which I bought back in 2008 had an 1:1 Pixelmapping option.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is 2014 ffs.
 
M

mangochutney

Member
antitrop said:
I think the top 10% of the screen tearing part.
Click to expand...
They're just saying that's where the tearing is occurring though, aren't they? As in it isn't tearing half way down the screen, right your eyes are focusing, so you probably won't notice it.

Not, you won't notice it because your TV has chopped it off.
 
E

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
There is nothing wrong with the 32" TV. As others already suggested, they probably have it right in front of them on their desk, which makes sense when you are "counting pixels".
 
L

Lalalandia

Member
ElTorro said:
I am probably just ignorant, but why has overscan ever been a relevant issue for displays with fixed pixel grids?
Click to expand...

Bizarrely it is. I'm 'that guy' who will play with your tv settings if I see they're borked and I've been shocked at how many sets do not have 1:1 display (aka Just Scan, Full Frame, or one of a 1/2 dozen others). Even those that do default to overscan rather than 1:1 which boggles my mind but there you go. Most folks have no idea how any of the menus on their tv work which is why devs still have to do the 'move these lines to the edge of your tv' test as the tv manufacturers have an almost random approach to how much of the screen is lost to overscan.
 
F

foxbeldin

Member
This game has great looking models and all but it's optimisation is an embarassment.

Come on.. 900p 30fps in a very closed environmment and it still drops frames.
 
N

notBald

Member
Lalalandia said:
Bizarrely it is. I'm 'that guy' who will play with your tv settings if I see they're borked and I've been shocked at how many sets do not have 1:1 display (aka Just Scan, Full Frame, or one of a 1/2 dozen others).
Click to expand...

My grandpa's TV has no 1:1 setting and a ton of overscan. I had to force SD mode so that subtitles wouldn't be cut off. And this on a fairly expensive telly.

Not that he notice the difference between SD and HD.
 
C

CTLance

Member
That looks pretty rough if you ask me, but I'm no sports game fan, so things that would annoy me are probably trivial background noise for a serious player. Still, those fps hiccups/pauses, that kind of graphical fidelity with sub-HD at 30 fps with only two guys and a barren ring on screen, the motionblur-o-rama where everything just gets smudged to hell... brrr. I couldn't stomach that, I think.
 
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