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How Watch_Dogs looks on PS4 [heavy GIFz retrospective]

DieH@rd

Banned
I will not showcase E3 2012 footage here, because that PC demo was created 8 months before even Cerny droped 8GB bomb on 3rd party studios. That demo was clearly running on the beefiest PC imaginable and was only conceptually targeting unannounced nextgen consoles. If you really want to see technical details, Digital Foundry compared E3 2012 PC footage vs E3 2013 PS4 footage. Their conclusions described that PS4 come very close to PC footage, with most obvious downgrade being cheaper solution for AA, less DoF and less environmental effects [cars displacing puddles of water].

Ok, from now on the following gifs are from presentations that were either played live on "PS4" or were shown as "approximation of PS4 hardware".



20. Feb 2013 - PS Meeting - After Nate Fox description of him being hit by police tear gas and Drive Club dev's psychotic passion for car details, we got live presentation of Watch Dogs that run on PC hardware that approximated PS4. Most notable visual quirk was very apparent tearing.

ilkmzj.gif

czklhe.gif


YT - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp76BUmVbnk&hd=1
Gamersyde - http://www.gamersyde.com/news_watch_dogs_commented_gameplay-13926_en.html



June 2013 - E3 2013 - Played live on Sony E3 keynote, Jonathan Blow mentioned that all PS4 demos were running on PS4 hardware [after contraversy with Xbone BF4 demo featuring PC keyboard prompts]
nduinl.gif

mzejes.gif


YT - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEHwaScI6es&hd=1
Gamersyde - http://www.gamersyde.com/news_e3_watch_dogs_gameplay-14174_en.html



September 2013 - 14min Watch Dogs dev commentary - Released on the web. Features popups, lowres shadows, shadow popups and visible aliasing.
i2q1pEh3tXkqA.gif

halljr.gif

joxygm.gif

YT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z3iG2QlJXk&hd=1
Gamersyde - http://www.gamersyde.com/news_14_minutes_of_watch_dogs-14579_en.html


March 2014 - "Downgradeaton" [Story Trailer + B-roll] - Instead of showcasing night time footage with shiny reflective surfaces or sunset scenes with nice wind effects, Ubi devs foolishly showcased many scenes that were set in daytime, with few unfortunate videos that showcased little bare environments and in one case, obviously bad looking scene of car jumping from risen bridge [E3 2012 PC vs this crappy scene] .

dtmaim.gif

mszsww.gif

iAHxbvGbhY0Mz.gif

unmccn.gif

12969743623_93c43a5216_o.gif

faclvx.gif

YT [story trailer] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiW2e1JNGG8&hd=1
YT [b-roll from all presentations, including latest] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypVI_A0nw0c&hd=1
Gamersyde [story trailer] - http://www.gamersyde.com/news_watch_dogs_day_may_27-15089_en.html


Update - 10. March - Watch Dogs PS4 Share trailer for TV and Web. Features PS4 footage of the game.
hokxva.gif

tmdogg.gif

YT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvCUktx9Cuo&hd=1
Gamersyde - sadly no


If we negate that crappy car jumping over bridge video, significant downgrade never happened. Sure PS4 is weaker than PC with 3 GPU cards, but what is presented on PS4 right now is very pretty and very playable. Assets are of very high quality, effects are numerous, city looks very populated with NPCs and cars, and game looks best in nighttime environment.


Discuss.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
I didn't even get involved in the last thread but you're more right there TC. I can't believe the outrage and it starts with the sensational thread title.
 

Zen

Banned
It absolutely looks slightly worse with each new piece of footage, and clearly worse than the original reveal. I think it just hit people how much worse the game has looked for a while, were as prior they were not noticing it as much.

Dat Ubisoft optimization.


Most of it seems to be in overall environment detail, but notably lighting and post processing.
 
The original reveal was simply smoke and mirrors. It was never meant to be an actual demo. For reference, see Far Cry 3 reveal. So i guess it is best if we forget about that now.
 

Skeff

Member
Excellent post OP.

To add I'd also like to say AC4 only truly looks next gen in the forest when it's raining, It's likely the same kind of situation here.
 

Zen

Banned
The original reveal was simply smoke and mirrors. It was never meant to be an actual demo. For reference, see Far Cry 3 reveal. So i guess it is best if we forget about that now.

If it was not intended they should not have implied that it was the real thing.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
Why are we using tiny, heavily compressed GIFs to try to discern IQ?

Should these be viewing on an iPhone for best quality as well?...

I provided Gamersyde links for people who are semi-blind, hostile or are having fun in pointless console wars threads. :)
 
Not to shit on OP or anything but it's kinda useless to compare pre/post "downgrade" with such tiny gifs that have lost details in them.
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
June 2013 - E3 2013 - Played live on Sony E3 keynote, Jonathan Blow mentioned that all PS4 demos were running on PS4 hardware [after contraversy with Xbone BF4 demo featuring PC keyboard prompts]
I'm going to challenge this statement by Jonathan Blow. According to 18-bit CEO (Galak-Z) their E3 demo was running on a laptop and not a PS4.

Edit: Of course by throwing doubt on the veracity of the claim that everything was running on PS4 means that all the outrage about the builds crashing was for naught.

Fun fact: 246.9MB of GIFs.
 
The director said it'd match the E3 video? That water?

That's going to be embarrassing for him.

Embarrassing because the water is too good and won't be matched or the water looks bad and it shouldn't be matched in the first place?

The water was the only thing impressive for me in the E3 2013 vid
 

Concept17

Member
The biggest problem with the new footage, as the OP mentioned, is the daytime lighting. All previous footage was during time when the lighting is more dramatic and things are generally nicer to look at.
 

TyrantII

Member
2013 "PS4" E3 Demo:
image_watch_dogs-22463-2527_0017.jpg


image_watch_dogs-22463-2527_0018.jpg


March "PS4" 2014 trailer:

XveFPVS.jpg


1rMUvWi.jpg



GIFs are fun, but a terrible measure of IQ. Hell, I feel dirty using quick and easy jpg's above (but its what Ubi uses for media, so good enough).
 
Game still looks good to me. As long as the final release pulls off smooth visuals that have great atmosphere, and the city looks dense and not sparse, I'll be happy.
 
Excellent post OP.

To add I'd also like to say AC4 only truly looks next gen in the forest when it's raining, It's likely the same kind of situation here.
It's a sad thing though because ac4 was just a last gen upgrade.
Watch dogs was pimped as next gen first.
 
This is all very deliberate on Ubisofts part.

Reveal the game with CG to get the consumers hyped and create a vision in their mind of what this game looks and plays like.

Over time reduce the quality in stages until you have the actual gameplay but done so in a way that resembles the initial trailer, leaving the consumer believing it still looks like its original form.

People buying the game in May probably still believe that car accident in the reveal is possible and the woman crying in despair still exists in the game, fluid animation and all.
 

tengiants

Member
PS4 is looking pretty damn good. If I end up getting this I'll be playing on PC but that PS4 version looks great still.
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
Serious question: Aren't .gifs a pretty awful way of making legitimate comparisons?
Depends what you want to compare. If you want to for example analyze texture filtering then it's bad.
If you want to compare for example geometric complexity and active actors on screen then it's fine.
 
Hopefully all of this will teach them and maybe other devs/publishers to not show off footage that isn't indicative of the final product in future. The game still looks decent and if we had never seen that very first initial trailer at E3 2012 then none of this "Degradeaton" stuff would be happening

But this has caused a lot of negativity towards them lately and I hope it's something people learn from. Gamers too
 

nynt9

Member
Thanks for bringing some reason into this ridiculous hyperbole fest. I can't believe some of the comments people were making in that other thread, like "it legitimately looks like goldeneye 64"
 

TyrantII

Member
Serious question: Aren't .gifs a pretty awful way of making legitimate comparisons?

Not just awful, but terrible. Downresing a 1080/720 image or video to 320 is going to make it look nice and sharp and hide a ton of problems in the full resolution image.
 

DinHerio

Banned
So much hope for the PC version.
Dreams and hopes are shattering apart and crashing to the ground.~

I really do hope that it's going to be okay. Because I love the game setting and I love Chicago. I was there one month and want to visit it again in Watch Dogs, please Ubisoft, make it worth!
 
This is all very deliberate on Ubisofts part.

Reveal the game with CG to get the consumers hyped and create a vision in their mind of what this game looks and plays like.

Over time reduce the quality in stages until you have the actual gameplay but done so in a way that resembles the initial trailer, leaving the consumer believing it still looks like its original form.

People buying the game in May probably still believe that car accident in the reveal is possible and the woman crying in despair still exists in the game, fluid animation and all.

Are we sure it's not? I really hope that kind of stuff remains in the game, even if visuals aren't quite as robust as the initial reveal. Adds a lot to the mood and atmosphere.
 

tengiants

Member
This is all very deliberate on Ubisofts part.

Reveal the game with CG to get the consumers hyped and create a vision in their mind of what this game looks and plays like.

Over time reduce the quality in stages until you have the actual gameplay but done so in a way that resembles the initial trailer, leaving the consumer believing it still looks like its original form.

People buying the game in May probably still believe that car accident in the reveal is possible and the woman crying in despair still exists in the game, fluid animation and all.

I sincerely doubt it's deliberate. The game wasn't even done when those trailers came out. Technically, how are they going to give a precise look on ps4 hardware more than a year before the game came out, before the game is even finished? Were the PS4 specs even finalized yet?
 

StuBurns

Banned
Embarrassing because the water is too good and won't be matched or the water looks bad and it shouldn't be matched in the first place?

The water was the only thing impressive for me in the E3 2013 vid
Embarrassed because it's such an easily objectified quality. Something like world reflections and light sources you can kind of write off based on taste to a degree, but if the water simulation is notable reduced, it's a lot easier for everyone to see.
 
This is all very deliberate on Ubisofts part.

Reveal the game with CG to get the consumers hyped and create a vision in their mind of what this game looks and plays like.

Over time reduce the quality in stages until you have the actual gameplay but done so in a way that resembles the initial trailer, leaving the consumer believing it still looks like its original form.

People buying the game in May probably still believe that car accident in the reveal is possible and the woman crying in despair still exists in the game, fluid animation and all.

I think the initial footage was more a "proof of concept" type showing that they hoped to achieve based on their info and resources at the time.

As time went on they probably realised they couldn't get it to THAT level and scaled it back
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
I sincerely doubt it's deliberate. The game wasn't even done when those trailers came out. Technically, how are they going to give a precise look on ps4 hardware more than a year before the game came out, before the game is even finished? Were the PS4 specs even finalized yet?
What has not changed since the very first leaks was the graphics power of the PS4 (raw teraflops)
What has changed were variables around that.
 
Meh, looks fine to me.

- Cross gen game
- Launch window
- It's Ubisoft

No doubt we'll start getting games that look like the reveal but not anytime soon, especially from Ubi. As long as the damn thing is fun to play which is my only worry.
 

tengiants

Member
What has not changed since the very first leaks was the graphics power of the PS4 (raw teraflops)
What has changed were variables around that.

That's not nearly enough information to make any sort of prediction on how the game will run.

Not to mention not all features have even been thought of yet, let alone not implemented in the games code. How are they going to predict that? Cloud processing by xboxes?
 
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