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[Bojji]

I mean, the path tracing lite mod was running on a 3060...do you really think the PS5 Pro is weaker? The 40fps mode is running at 1440p. We just had a game release at 840p uspscaled via PSSR2, and still have decent image quality. I really don't buy the blanket statement its not possible. I think the research and tools to attempt it aren't there yet and along with enough optimization, it can be done.

It can be done, obviously - even on base PS5. But what you have to sacrifice to achieve this?

There are mods that allows to change ray count to 1 (from 2) and reduce light bounce - this allowed AMD and older Nvidia architectures 20-40% speed bump with PT.

Unfortunately that hardware will not nearly be strong enough to make it a default, so it will always be an afterthought or a PR feature, and we`ll have a very long crossgen period anyways.
Even with all the recent ...let`s call them promises.... regarding further optimizations I´m not expecting much from PT on that kind of performance budget.

Yeah, many devs won't use it.

BUT after cross gen, it will be much cheaper just to make games with RTGI lighting/Lumen vs. baking it - and PT could be optional for quality modes (why not?). PS6 Pro will also happen at some point.

 

[Cumulus]

BUT after cross gen, it will be much cheaper just to make games with RTGI lighting/Lumen vs. baking it

For sure. But we`re easily talking ~2032 or so until that crossgen period even starts to fizzle out, unless Sony kidnaps a few AMD and TSMC executives` families and blackmails them to get price reductions on the hardware....or AI collapses overnight.

and PT could be optional for quality modes (why not?). PS6 Pro will also happen at some point.

That´s probably exactly what will happen. No way we`re getting 60fps PT (at least PT that`s not just PT in name) on the leaked hardware with decent IQ in demanding games.

 

[Abysse]

 

[setoman]

?? What? Have you played Wukong? Silent Hill 2?

Not those two, but i have watched 4k ultra youtube videos of them and no i don't mean blurry youtube videos which most 4k gameplay videos are. i mean DF level high bit rate gameplay vid.

And SH2 remake should not be anywhere near top visuals of the gen conversation. all you have to do is compare it to AW2 and resident evil which are its like for like comparison as they are in the same genre. You would see there's a clear old one out.

Wukong has alot more going for it, but i see it the way i see Crimson Desert, A very great looking game, but not top 5 visuals of the gen.

My top five not in any order:

AW2
Resident Evil
Hellblade 2
Avatar
GTA 6

I dont see how anyone can make the case for SH2 and Wukong.

Anyways about 007 pathtracing.... meh

 

[SlimySnake]

135 hours in and this game continues to impress. People talk about games lacking soul, but the art style here and in most of the best looking games this generation is simply gorgeous. It's obvious that these technically accomplished games have great artists who are extremely talented themselves, and pushing visuals that are both technically and aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Gonzito]

135 hours in and this game continues to impress. People talk about games lacking soul, but the art style here and in most of the best looking games this generation is simply gorgeous. It's obvious that these technically accomplished games have great artists who are extremely talented themselves, and pushing visuals that are both technically and aesthetically pleasing.

If anything this game in particular does have SOUL. You recognize this feeling immediately after a few hours of playing and it's probably the reason why the game is so popular

 

[Msamy]

It's really miserable when one of biggest studios on the industry that produce many great looking games every generation to switch and make games like this bullshit, fuck that

 

[SlimySnake]

It's really miserable when one of biggest studios on the industry that produce many great looking games every generation to switch and make games like this bullshit, fuck that

Absolutely disgusting. God i hate purple and that art style.

 

[Cumulus]

It's really miserable when one of biggest studios on the industry that produce many great looking games every generation to switch and make games like this bullshit, fuck that

absolutely

 

[SlimySnake]

Not those two, but i have watched 4k ultra youtube videos of them and no i don't mean blurry youtube videos which most 4k gameplay videos are. i mean DF level high bit rate gameplay vid.

And SH2 remake should not be anywhere near top visuals of the gen conversation. all you have to do is compare it to AW2 and resident evil which are its like for like comparison as they are in the same genre. You would see there's a clear old one out.

Wukong has alot more going for it, but i see it the way i see Crimson Desert, A very great looking game, but not top 5 visuals of the gen.

My top five not in any order:

AW2
Resident Evil
Hellblade 2
Avatar
GTA 6

I dont see how anyone can make the case for SH2 and Wukong.

Anyways about 007 pathtracing.... meh

Bud, stop what you are doing now and go buy Crimson Desert, Wukong, and SH2.


DF videos are better than most in showing games, but these games you have to play to believe. SH2's fog is jaw dropping in itself, but there are some interiors in that game that are right up with if not better than RE9's path tracing. I think analog future posted some stunning screens of the care facility.

 

[winjer]

It's really miserable when one of biggest studios on the industry that produce many great looking games every generation to switch and make games like this bullshit, fuck that

The Horizon games weren't exactly the best at everything, but graphics and design were always top notch.
This game doesn't even have that. What a turd.

 

[BlownUpRich]

Absolutely disgusting. God i hate purple and that art style.

How dare you?! Cartoon = art style, don't you get it?

 

[Bojji]

It's really miserable when one of biggest studios on the industry that produce many great looking games every generation to switch and make games like this bullshit, fuck that

It's 26 seconds long but I was already bored after 5s...

 

[SlimySnake]

It's 26 seconds long but I was already bored after 5s...

i lasted 10 seconds but now im suicidal.

 

[nkill20]

It's really miserable when one of biggest studios on the industry that produce many great looking games every generation to switch and make games like this bullshit, fuck that

This is what the studio wanted to work on, they are exactly where they want to be. Sometimes you need a strong creative force to come in and say 'this is retarded'. Herman is a feak.

 

[Bitstream]

This is what the studio wanted to work on, they are exactly where they want to be. Sometimes you need a strong creative force to come in and say 'this is retarded'. Herman is a feak.

Sonys unrelenting commitment to pumping out shitty looking GAAS games has me questioning if I even need a PS6 next gen.

Once the dust settles and they've finished dumping these games on the shelves, they'd better have more to show for next gen.

 

[Msamy]

This is what the studio wanted to work on, they are exactly where they want to be. Sometimes you need a strong creative force to come in and say 'this is retarded'. Herman is a feak.

The problem is that moron fucker hirman hulst agree with them or even force them on that direction

 

[Msamy]

On UE5 on 2026 on par with witcher 3 graphics

 

[SlimySnake]

This is what the studio wanted to work on, they are exactly where they want to be. Sometimes you need a strong creative force to come in and say 'this is retarded'. Herman is a feak.

The way all these studios bent the knee to Jim Ryan and Herman's GaaS mandate after spending decades singing praises about how Sony just lets them do whatever they want. how Sony's so developer friendly, they never meddle in the creative process. How Sony awards them full autonomy.

Yeah, right. Go fuck yourselves with that glazing. You all got in line, and didnt have the balls to stand up and say no, this is trash. We are not going to waste 5 years on this garbage. Herman literally ran that studio for two decades, he wouldve listened to the remaining leads over at GG. IIRC, the Art director came up with the Horizon pitch Herman agreed to do. And now, that same director wouldnt be listened to?

I dont know. I really dont think these guys stood up to the bosses. It's crazy how everyone from Insomniac to Bluepoint, ND, GG and Bend were developing GaaS games even though herman was out there signing up half a dozen studios to do GaaS. My guess is that they all wanted to make this trash. Either that or they are all cowards.

 

[Bojji]

On UE5 on 2026 on par with witcher 3 graphics

I thought your comment was over the top but after watching it... yeah, it looks not much better than TW3 with RT. It's still good but not anywhere best looking games this gen (or TW4 tech demo).

 

[geary]

The way all these studios bent the knee to Jim Ryan and Herman's GaaS mandate after spending decades singing praises about how Sony just lets them do whatever they want. how Sony's so developer friendly, they never meddle in the creative process. How Sony awards them full autonomy.

Yeah, right. Go fuck yourselves with that glazing. You all got in line, and didnt have the balls to stand up and say no, this is trash. We are not going to waste 5 years on this garbage. Herman literally ran that studio for two decades, he wouldve listened to the remaining leads over at GG. IIRC, the Art director came up with the Horizon pitch Herman agreed to do. And now, that same director wouldnt be listened to?

I dont know. I really dont think these guys stood up to the bosses. It's crazy how everyone from Insomniac to Bluepoint, ND, GG and Bend were developing GaaS games even though herman was out there signing up half a dozen studios to do GaaS. My guess is that they all wanted to make this trash. Either that or they are all cowards.

The blame on Ryan and Hulst only goes so far. I doubt they ever suggested using cartoony graphics for Horizon's live-service, splashes of color for Marathon, or bland character designs aimed at a modern audience in Concord. Studios like Embark with Arc Raiders went for a grounded sci-fi aesthetic, and gamers embraced it as a live service. But instead, we have a big publisher that accepts everything, letting its studios do whatever they want rather than focusing on what the audience would actually accept in the live-service space.

 

[coachmcguirk91]

Absolutely disgusting. God i hate purple and that art style.

I am ok with the graphical look of the game for the most part, but I agree, why purple? Every game that uses it seems doomed. Concord, Suicide Squad, Dragon Age. It is crazy how 3 of the biggest bombs this generation, maybe 4 with Horizon, all use it. What is happening at these studios?

 

[SlimySnake]

On UE5 on 2026 on par with witcher 3 graphics

Art direction in general is weak. We've seen similar mid tier UE5 games like Expedition 33 and Mafia look way better than this despite similar fidelity.

that said, the game looks awesome. they seem to have put in a lot of effort into storytelling, mocap is great, and it is giving me legit witcher 3 vibes. Combat seems promising too. Despite the last gen visuals, the trailer sold me on the game. This year is going to be one of the best ever for video games.

 

[Luipadre]

Dawnwalker story trailer looked pretty awesome, gameplay still jank af. Not sure if 4 months will be enough to polish this game, but i really liked what i saw otherwise. Hopefully they wont rush this out just because of GTA

 

[SlimySnake]

I am ok with the graphical look of the game for the most part, but I agree, why purple? Every game that uses it seems doomed. Concord, Suicide Squad, Dragon Age. It is crazy how 3 of the biggest bombs this generation, maybe 4 with Horizon, all use it. What is happening at these studios?

Purple is a big LGBT color. The art director at Obsidian was like Im adding more purple to everything just to trigger Elon.

It's just what it is. The entertainment business attracts art majors, and artists are generally more free and open about their sexuality. This mean they are overrepresented in these industries which were previously dominated by nerds who were into coding, but eventually needed real artists to come in and help them create their vision. those artists are clearly incredibly talented as we've seen in the horizon single player games, but art is a form of self expression and this is just how they express themselves.

like nkill20 said, you need a strong leadership to come in and say no to bad ideas like this. But we've also seen artists revolt against those leaders since they outnumber them. The ratchet directors were literally being yelled at by some artist who didnt want to make Rivet sexy. He tore off a portrait of ratchet off the wall, and slammed it on the conference room table to make a point. And he was not fired immediately. What did end up happening was that rivet barely got any feminine features and there was no romance between her and ratchet. so he won.

Edit: I think they just need to do what hollywood did. Everyone is hollywood is gay. The best actors are still closeted because they know their audience. Gaming artists need to realize that the audience does not care to see manly looking women. They dont like the color purple. Marlon Brando fucked anything that moved. Richard Pryor's wife was like these guys fucked like bunnies. I dont think i ever saw Marlon Brando make a movie about an interracial homosexual couple just going at it all day.

 

[Luipadre]

Also this is the one of the most non UE5 looking UE5 game which is good in my book

 

[coachmcguirk91]

Purple is a big LGBT color. The art director at Obsidian was like Im adding more purple to everything just to trigger Elon.

It's just what it is. The entertainment business attracts art majors, and artists are generally more free and open about their sexuality. This mean they are overrepresented in these industries which were previously dominated by nerds who were into coding, but eventually needed real artists to come in and help them create their vision. those artists are clearly incredibly talented as we've seen in the horizon single player games, but art is a form of self expression and this is just how they express themselves.

like nkill20 said, you need a strong leadership to come in and say no to bad ideas like this. But we've also seen artists revolt against those leaders since they outnumber them. The ratchet directors were literally being yelled at by some artist who didnt want to make Rivet sexy. He tore off a portrait of ratchet off the wall, and slammed it on the conference room table to make a point. And he was not fired immediately. What did end up happening was that rivet barely got any feminine features and there was no romance between her and ratchet. so he won.

Who do they think are buying games, lol? If they want to add nuanced or subtle LGBTQ things in a game, whatever, but just bluntly shoving this eye sore of a color on its players is nonsensical

Between that and the obese pirate woman who looks like she lost a leg due to diabetes, this game has no chance. The actual gameplay looks decent. Animations are crazy good. Feels like such waste

 

[SlimySnake]

Who do they think are buying games, lol? If they want to add nuanced or subtle LGBTQ things in a game, whatever, but just bluntly shoving this eye sore of a color on its players is nonsensical

Between that and the obese pirate woman who looks like she lost a leg due to diabetes, this game has no chance. The actual gameplay looks decent. Animations are crazy good. Feels like such waste

well, the problem is that the main audience for games nowadays are millenials and gen z. They identify as LGBT more than you might think. ive seen numbers as high as 30%. So if an exec is asking questions, they might see these numbers and say, ok a little purple cant hurt.

sony was touting some numbers showing how 45% of ps gamers are female. We all know thats bullshit (i dont know a single woman who owns a ps), but sony has their numbers and they believe them. hence the ridiculously high number of female led games being produced by them.

 

[nkill20]

Sonys unrelenting commitment to pumping out shitty looking GAAS games has me questioning if I even need a PS6 next gen.

Once the dust settles and they've finished dumping these games on the shelves, they'd better have more to show for next gen.

I have already decided I won't get one initially, unless it comes out in 28.

 

[coachmcguirk91]

well, the problem is that the main audience for games nowadays are millenials and gen z. They identify as LGBT more than you might think. ive seen numbers as high as 30%. So if an exec is asking questions, they might see these numbers and say, ok a little purple cant hurt.

sony was touting some numbers showing how 45% of ps gamers are female. We all know thats bullshit (i dont know a single woman who owns a ps), but sony has their numbers and they believe them. hence the ridiculously high number of female led games being produced by them.

The average age of gamers is late 20's to mid 30's. Unbelievably stupid to placate to that audience

On UE5 on 2026 on par with witcher 3 graphics

Another mid looking open zone/world UE5 game. I know this is a smaller AAA game, but I remember being told that UE5 will look great across all spectrums of video game development

 

[archangelmorph]

The average age of gamers is late 20's to mid 30's. Unbelievably stupid to placate to that audience

Another mid looking open zone/world UE5 game. I know this is a smaller AAA game, but I remember being told that UE5 will look great across all spectrums of video game development

There's only so much polish and optimisation work a small team can do, given the opportunity cost of investing time in that stuff vs creating more game content.

I'm glad they scoped the game appropriately, committed to their creative vision and delivered a visual standard that's more than acceptable.

I hope the game itself is amazing.

Hope it sells gangbusters, they can then scale up and then commit a larger workforce to the sequel to compete at the scale their previous company CD Projekt Red is operating at.

More CDPR tier devs doing more of these quality games simultaneously is a fucking AWESOME thing IMHO and needs to be supported.


EDIT:

On a separate note... Wow:

 

[CGNoire]

135 hours in and this game continues to impress. People talk about games lacking soul, but the art style here and in most of the best looking games this generation is simply gorgeous. It's obvious that these technically accomplished games have great artists who are extremely talented themselves, and pushing visuals that are both technically and aesthetically pleasing.

I personally find the color grading horrendous in it.
First gams ill ever say "Needs" a reshade pass.

 

[SlimySnake]

I personally find the color grading horrendous in it.
First gams ill ever say "Needs" a reshade pass.

I could be using reshade to correct those yellowish greens but honestly i like it. it gives the game a colorful look that helps it stand out from other games like avatar and ac shadows.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

"Compiling shaders"

 

[coachmcguirk91]

I personally find the color grading horrendous in it.
First gams ill ever say "Needs" a reshade pass.

CD is a weird mix between trying to be too realistic while at the same time almost anime. It's a turn off for me. Contrast is bizarre

 

[CGNoire]

I could be using reshade to correct those yellowish greens but honestly i like it. it gives the game a colorful look that helps it stand out from other games like avatar and ac shadows.

For me its not the yellowish greens its the fact that it looks to have zero cinematic lens. Like a plain jane phone photograph.

 

[SABRE220]

It can be done, obviously - even on base PS5. But what you have to sacrifice to achieve this?

There are mods that allows to change ray count to 1 (from 2) and reduce light bounce - this allowed AMD and older Nvidia architectures 20-40% speed bump with PT.



Yeah, many devs won't use it.

BUT after cross gen, it will be much cheaper just to make games with RTGI lighting/Lumen vs. baking it - and PT could be optional for quality modes (why not?). PS6 Pro will also happen at some point.

On the ps5 its nigh impossible because youd have to drop the res to ridiculous levels, and the lack of reconstruction tech would leave no headroom or fallback to save image quality.

On the PS5 Pro, it could target 900p~ish res and get pssr2 to deliver surprisingly good image quality compared to 1080p with taa as shown by pragmata, and in doing so would gain the most transformative upgrade possible and would allow you to experience the game near its damn peak. I would take that drop in resolution every damn day if I got the option to experience that level of fidelity. Yes, and that's why I referenced the mod; it's an optimization that brings downgrades that are hard to notice while bringing headroom to make path tracing possible on mid/low-end hardware, and compared to the mod, the official devs could do better. Just saying path tracing is not possible and the sacrifices would be extreme, full stop, and equating it to the Xbox Minecraft demo would be a bit disingenuous.

 

[BlownUpRich]

They put:
1. Death Stranding 2.
2. Crimson Desert.
3. Horizon Forbidden West.

Obviously Crimson Desert is the best here without a doubt!

I'm scared of posting this, SlimySnake might burst a blood vessel or two.

 

[Bojji]

On the ps5 its nigh impossible because youd have to drop the res to ridiculous levels, and the lack of reconstruction tech would leave no headroom or fallback to save image quality.

On the PS5 Pro, it could target 900p~ish res and get pssr2 to deliver surprisingly good image quality compared to 1080p with taa as shown by pragmata, and in doing so would gain the most transformative upgrade possible and would allow you to experience the game near its damn peak. I would take that drop in resolution every damn day if I got the option to experience that level of fidelity. Yes, and that's why I referenced the mod; it's an optimization that brings downgrades that are hard to notice while bringing headroom to make path tracing possible on mid/low-end hardware, and compared to the mod, the official devs could do better. Just saying path tracing is not possible and the sacrifices would be extreme, full stop, and equating it to the Xbox Minecraft demo would be a bit disingenuous.

If we see some announcement of PT on Pro outside of tech demo - then we could talk about this stuff seriously. And Cyberpunk is very expensive with PT, in fact PT got more expensive since launch because they upgraded quality of it.

This is 9060XT running PT and FRAME GEN with 4k output - 1440p internal

So half of that are real frames - ~12FPS

You could probably double that going to 1080p or below base res. But 9060XT is stronger GPU than PS5 Pro.

If this gen was longer then maybe we will see someone doing that, but with PS6 launch in 2027 or early 2028, I doubt devs will bother.

 

[GymWolf]

Dawnwalker story trailer looked pretty awesome, gameplay still jank af. Not sure if 4 months will be enough to polish this game, but i really liked what i saw otherwise. Hopefully they wont rush this out just because of GTA

Yep story trailer was good, gameplay trailer wasa bit shit, combat in particular.

And the recommended specs are hilarious aswell.

 

[GymWolf]

Also this is the one of the most non UE5 looking UE5 game which is good in my book

You should play more ue5 game if you think they all look the same.

Looking like a w3 dlc in 2026 is not a feature...

 

[Rheon]

The Dawnwalker game isn't the most graphically ambitious game out there, but I'm fine with that tbh.

It looks good.

 

[Exentryk]

I hope they can improve/speed up the combat animations. That last animation is a joke.

 

[GymWolf]

I hope they can improve/speed up the combat animations. That last animation is a joke.

The finishers also look weirdly accelerated and weightless.

 

[Luipadre]

Man Saros looks absolutely stunning. The videos dont do it justice. Playing it on a 4K oled with HDR is really something. Also the day 1 update improved the graphics and performance on the pro. I played 6+ hours so far and i had 0 frame drops. The amount of particle effects on screen sometimes is truly unreal and it looks so crisp. PSSR2 is amazing

 

[Luipadre]

Reached the 5th boss... yeah man this is nextgen

 

[Pharaoh 117]

I hope they can improve/speed up the combat animations. That last animation is a joke.

It looks weightless exactly like TW3's combat. It's really incredible how overall it really resembles TW3 despite running on a different engine, which shows how the devs not engine dictates how a game look and feel.

 

[SlimySnake]

Reached the 5th boss... yeah man this is nextgen

 

[SlimySnake]

The Dawnwalker game isn't the most graphically ambitious game out there, but I'm fine with that tbh.

It looks good.

yeah, its a new studio. Not everyone can ace it on their first try. I think too many new studios put in way too many resources on graphics and not enough on gameplay systems. Get the gameplay and storytelling down, and then you can always improve the graphics for the sequel hopefully with more money and more time.

i dont like some of the art style choices that make it look bland, but thats ok. not every game needs to look hella pretty. Now if the game is a success and the sequel still ships with these graphics then i might have an issue with it.

 

[Luipadre]

Im not spoiling anything, especially not bosses. Also it looks much better in motion