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[Kayant]

More here - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...rne-the-next-gen-souls-youve-been-waiting-for

Yharnham's intricate detailing more than makes up for this. Unlike Dark Souls 2's early Heide's Tower of Flame section, which layers its stone pathways with high resolution but ultimately flat-looking normal maps, Bloodborne is far more ambitious. Each segment of its world benefits from what appears to be tessellation (or costly parallax occlusion mapping), which in conjunction with a displacement map gives the city's rickety brick roads unique juts and divots. For the Hunter's Dream hub, each stone slab surrounding its enclave pops outward in a 3D fashion, giving everything a very organic look.

The results are fantastic, and with strong anisotropic filtering in tow, it places Bloodborne's world among the most detailed seen from the studio. Dark Souls 2 doesn't go entirely without though; its textures are pinpoint-sharp in the PS4 remaster thanks to the use of PC-grade assets, while a new high-dynamic range filter increases their contrast. Instances of tessellation are also spotted in specific spots around Heide's Tower, though Bloodborne uses this trick to an extreme that Dark Souls 2 doesn't match.

Similar to Dark Souls 2, Bloodborne lives up to its resolution promise. A close pixel count shows a true, native 1920x1080 title at work, and save for the pixel crawl on the game's fences and fur shaders, the results are often impressive. However, a heavy chromatic aberration effect is applied to Bloodborne: mimicking the qualities of a low quality lens, the effect applies a distortion to anything from the embers of a bonfire to the chrome flash on a wagon-wheel, and splits light into its constituent colours.

It's fair to say this post-process trick won't be to everyone's tastes. Reportedly using Silicon Studio's Yebis 3 optical effects suite (also seen in Final Fantasy 15) the sheer strength of this filter can distract. At range, it heavily blurs the edges of the screen, and also exaggerates any pixel-crawl evident across tight-knit cobblestones and fences. This side-effect is the game's only real visual shortcoming, as the rest of the game - between the dynamic lighting and the sharp texture-work of Yharnham's streets - looks exceptional.

Yharnham's intricate detailing more than makes up for this. Unlike Dark Souls 2's early Heide's Tower of Flame section, which layers its stone pathways with high resolution but ultimately flat-looking normal maps, Bloodborne is far more ambitious. Each segment of its world benefits from what appears to be tessellation (or costly parallax occlusion mapping), which in conjunction with a displacement map gives the city's rickety brick roads unique juts and divots. For the Hunter's Dream hub, each stone slab surrounding its enclave pops outward in a 3D fashion, giving everything a very organic look.

Bloodborne's enemy models take a leap in quality too. Even the most basic townsfolk feature fur shaders, an evident boost in polygon count, plus cloth physics. Dark Souls 2's minion designs are basic by contrast, tending towards armour-clad knights that keep its RAM footprint low, better suiting its cross-gen status. In an interview with From Software staff, programmer Jun Ito says, "up until now we've worked in worlds that feature a lot of armour." However, he goes on to describes how PS4 unlocked new options for Bloodborne, where the team "spent a lot of CPU power, [especially] on simulating fabric."

Right off the bat, we're looking at a performance read-out at between 20-30fps when tackling early areas in multiplayer. This is despite the game unfolding at a mostly locked 30fps in our offline tests (albeit with frame-pacing issues). However, inviting up to two fellow hunters to tackle the same section produces lengthy, stuttering stretches of play at 20fps, with our lowest reading hitting 16fps. It's not pleasant, and clearly its netcode tips the scales too far for From Software's PS4 engine. And again, solo play in the exact same areas is entirely unaffected.

Due to Bloodborne's more offensive combat style, such drops inevitably punish players to a greater extent. As opposed to raising the shield in Dark Souls 2, the emphasis is on precise dodges and committed counter-strikes, meaning a sudden nose-dive in frame-rate impacts the crucial interface between player and game. The cause isn't always obvious either; one moment it's apparent that a huddle of hunters prompts a 20fps spell, but in the next, the exact same scene runs at a solid 30fps. All told, it's an area that's in serious need of addressing via a future patch.

Bloodborne PS4 Multiplayer Gameplay Frame-Rate Test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBAugV34Xwo&ab_channel=DigitalFoundry

Bloodborne PS4 Gameplay Frame-Rate Test (Part 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v28IUHY3NfI&ab_channel=DigitalFoundry

 

[hurr]

16fps? Are You shitting me? Thats even worse than AC Uniity lol

 

[Noobcraft]

I hope the performance patch actually addresses some of these. Drops to 16 fps during co-op is pretty bad.

 

[Durante]

It seems like "tesselation" has become a word used for "polygonal detail". Doesn't make much sense but there you have it.

 

[Collateral22]

Only drops I've noticed were in Old Yharnam near the gunner and once in hemwick lane coming up to a draw gate. It felt like it froze with a buzz for a split second and then came back, I believe it's the frame pacing.

 

[NoMoreTrolls]

Yup, offline works pretty well but it drops like a motherfucker online, especially with a total of 3 people.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

16fps? Are You shitting me? Thats even worse than AC Uniity lol

The whole article is full of praise for the tech and you decide to focus on the negative aspect in the first post?

jenniferlawrenceok.gif

The frame rate is solid 30 fps (minus frame pacing) in single player and that is what matters for the most of us. FPS drops in MP are a bummer but not a deal breaker, and they can probably patch it though along with the frame pacing issues.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Yup, offline works pretty well but it drops like a motherfucker online, especially with a total of 3 people.

Yep .

 

[Derpyduck]

Don't include online play if you're not going to do it competently.

The whole article is full of praise for the tech and you decide to focus on the negative aspect in the first post?

Yeah, how dare he focus on the biggest issue mentioned in the piece. /s

 

[dark10x]

Hmm, wonder what multiplayer is doing that would cause such dips?

 

[mike4001_]

And now let Bloodborne alone and give us the full Borderlands Tech Review

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Played one mp game, ran bad. But the single player is actually pretty smooth, frame pacing issue aside.

why is te multiplayer so bad performance wise?

 

[Windom Earle]

Even without online the game straight up pauses for the fraction of a second in some areas (Old Yarnham, Forbidden Woods). On top of that some rare audio glitches, loading, frame time and general fps issues.

Takes me out of the immersion and is unworthy of the amazing work the artists did on this game.

DS2 PC was so polished compared to this, especially the online portion. Really sad, especially for an exclusive title. Such ridiculous loading with 8GB of fast memory? FROM pls.

 

[OfficerZap]

They've got a patch hitting soon. Will DF update their analysis to match?

 

[brobban]

It seems like "tesselation" has become a word used for "polygonal detail". Doesn't make much sense but there you have it.

It's what it is, dividing surfaces into more polygons, alowing for more detail through geometry instad of normal/parallax occlusion maps.

 

[BigDug13]

They've got a patch hitting soon. Will DF update their analysis to match?

No. Companies need to ship their games in the state they want them reviewed in. "Wait for the patch before judgement" shouldn't be a thing.

 

[FranXico]

Hmm, wonder what multiplayer is doing that would cause such dips?

Inefficient net code?

 

[Gattsu25]

Don't include online play if you're not going to do it competently.



Yeah, how dare he focus on the biggest issue mentioned in the piece. /s

I know, it's almost like the OP read the full article and posted a particularly high point along with a low point.

 

[CadetMahoney]

That loading time and framerate improvement will be a great help.

 

[skyfinch]

16 fps? Are you shitting me? How's that even playable?

 

[Backfoggen]

It seems like "tesselation" has become a word used for "polygonal detail". Doesn't make much sense but there you have it.

It seemed like just high poly environments to me too. I love the look. Imo this is favorable over tessellation and POM.

 

[ReplacementPelican]

16fps? Are You shitting me? Thats even worse than AC Uniity lol

I knew I'd have fun looking at people's posting history in this thread, amazing.

 

[ChasingComets]

16fps? Are You shitting me? Thats even worse than AC Uniity lol

I'm not going to defend Bloodborne on this, but you forget that unlike Bloodborne, the rest of Unity was a broken mess of a game.

 

[AmyS]

I'll be playing Bloodborne for the first time later next week. Hopefully by then the patch that addresses performance and load times will be out, or at worst, right around the corner.

 

[Respawn]

Ambitious indeed. Fix the damn FR From. Love you.

 

[entremet]

Wouldn't be a console Souls type game without frame drops!

 

[Windom Earle]

I am not an expert on this, but BB indeed seems to use tessellation for many surfaces. It is not POM and using geometry for some of that stuff seems very excessive.

 

[bj00rn_]

The frame rate is solid 30 fps (minus frame pacing) in single player

Not really, there are several dips to 22-26 fps in the video linked to in the OP. I'm not saying it's a huge deal, I'm just saying it certainly isn't solid 30.

 

[nib95]

So basically multiplayer runs poorly, Eg Dark Souls PS3 esque. Though single player runs much better, but suffers from frame pacing issues?

 

[Inuhanyou]

I only play alone, so it makes sense i've had no issues so far outside of framepacing and loading screens. Hopefully a patch addresses multi performance though.

They should compare Demon's Souls single player and Bloodborne single player, they are both relatively stable, and i want to see which one is most stable

 

[Windom Earle]

So basically multiplayer runs poorly, Eg Dark Souls PS3 esque. Though single player runs much better, but suffers from frame pacing issues?

SP is constant judder with less frame drops, but they are severe in some areas as well.

 

[jon bones]

I knew I'd have fun looking at people's posting history in this thread, amazing.

it's hilarious every time

 

[Derpyduck]

That loading time and framerate improvement will be a great help.

Have they actually said they're doing both? Did they also mention fixing the constant frame pacing issue? That bothers me more than load times since it actually affects the game.

 

[SmartWaffles]

Inefficient net code?

I can't imagine why net code would affect fps.

 

[hurr]

I'm not going to defend Bloodborne on this, but you forget that unlike Bloodborne, the rest of Unity was a broken mess of a game.

I knew I'd have fun looking at people's posting history in this thread, amazing.

I'm talking about FPS:

regarding Unity:

the frequent dips to 25fps on Xbox One are jarring enough, but it remains truly remarkable that the PS4 game should drop just as often to 20fps

Source: http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=934414

And 20fps > 16fps. Also, Unity is on 3 platforms. Bloodbourne only on 1 platform.
Its an exclusive title, which even got delayed.. and it didn't help. that's pathetic.

 

[Noobcraft]

So basically multiplayer runs poorly, Eg Dark Souls PS3 esque. Though single player runs much better, but suffers from frame pacing issues?

Frame pacing and occasional drops. Single player video in OP hit 22 fps for a few seconds. Old Yharnam is really bad for frame rate.

 

[FranXico]

I can't imagine why net code would affect fps.

It shouldn't, but badly written net code can mess up anything in a game.

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

That loading time and framerate improvement will be a great help.

I'm not usually too excited by patches, but I really hope they do this and release it in a timely manner.

 

[i-Lo]

And so it was a wise choice for me to defer playthrough till mid-April. Thank you slow based amazon canada and finals for this intervention.

 

[VGA222]

It's what it is, dividing surfaces into more polygons, alowing for more detail through geometry instad of normal/parallax occlusion maps.

How do you tell the difference between a tessellated surface and a surface that just has additional polygons protruding from it?

 

[DarkLordMalik]

Not really, there are several dips to 22-26 fps in the video linked to in the OP. I'm not saying it's a huge deal, I'm just saying it certainly isn't solid 30.

I haven't exactly seen the full video, was just talking about my experience. No idea if there are issues later in the game. I am still quite early in the game.

I'm talking about FPS:

regarding Unity:



Source: http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=934414

And 20fps > 16fps. Also, Unity is on 3 platforms. Bloodbourne only on 1 platform.
Its an exclusive title, which even got delayed.. and it didn't help. that's pathetic.

Your post history and then your sudden avatar change? What's going on here?

 

[Windom Earle]

I'm talking about FPS:

regarding Unity:



Source: http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=934414

And 20fps > 16fps. Also, Unity is on 3 platforms. Bloodbourne only on 1 platform.
Its an exclusive title, which even got delayed.. and it didn't help. that's pathetic.

Ehh, I am betting avg fps for Bloodborne is MUCH highter than Unity. But it is kind of a moot point before they fix the frame pacing issues.
Not saying that the performance is good, but please do not compare this game to Ubicrap.

 

[IcyEyes]

16fps? Are You shitting me? Thats even worse than AC Uniity lol

First post (again) didn't nail it.
Yes, they are shitting on you, sorry.

Anyway, looks like they need to improve the MP component since the dips are pretty bad sometimes and really ruin the whole experience.
The SP runs pretty smooth and this game is pretty good tech wise.

 

[R_Deckard]

It seems like "tesselation" has become a word used for "polygonal detail". Doesn't make much sense but there you have it.

Well er..no it is "Tessellation" that is being used in the game as this "adds more detail" through polygons.

I think we just have many a PC gamer clinging to the "but it can only be done on PC" which is incorrect.

 

[Derpyduck]

Frame pacing issues aside, the game struggles to maintain a solid framerate in single player on numerous predictable occasions. It's so bad in Old Yarnham at times that I learned the exact moments that I needed to start my attack earlier than usual to make up for the predictable hitch in framerate that was coming. So saying, "It's a solid 30" is false. But it's nowhere near as bad as some areas in old games.

I haven't exactly seen the full video, was just talking about my experience. No idea if there are issues later in the game. I am still quite early in the game.

Framerate isn't "solid 30" early in the game. And the audio/pause issues mentioned happen early in the game as well.

 

[def sim]

Other than helping a buddy every now and then, I try to avoid multiplayer as much as possible. It runs terribly, period. I hope it's fixed so I can help people like I used to in DkS2 on PC.

 

[nib95]

SP is constant judder with less frame drops, but they are severe in some areas as well.

I don't really notice frame pacing on my plasma for whatever reason, so it shouldn't bother me. Actual frame rate drops in to the 25's and under however are more noticeable and sluggish.

 

[Curufinwe]

Even without online the game straight up pauses for the fraction of a second in some areas (Old Yarnham, Forbidden Woods). On top of that some rare audio glitches, loading, frame time and general fps issues.

Takes me out of the immersion and is unworthy of the amazing work the artists did on this game.

DS2 PC was so polished compared to this, especially the online portion. Really sad, especially for an exclusive title. Such ridiculous loading with 8GB of fast memory? FROM pls.

The data is being loaded into the RAM from a slow hard drive.

 

[Sami+]

I'm talking about FPS:

regarding Unity:



Source: http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=934414

And 20fps > 16fps. Also, Unity is on 3 platforms. Bloodbourne only on 1 platform.
Its an exclusive title, which even got delayed.. and it didn't help. that's pathetic.

Your numbers are funny. Big drops during multiplayer are bad, but worse than a game that's al over the place even in single player? Lol.

 

[FranXico]

Frame pacing issues aside, the game struggles to maintain a solid framerate in single player on numerous predictable occasions. It's so bad in Old Yarnham at times that I learned the exact moments that I needed to start my attack earlier than usual to make up for the predictable hitch in framerate that was coming. So saying, "It's a solid 30" is false. But it's nowhere near as bad as some areas in old games.

I think it's safe to say that ever since Demon's Souls, From Software have had trouble optimizing framerate in their games.

The Bloodborne results are not really that surprising, if we're honest.