Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Deep-Dive Tech Breakdown + PS4 vs PS4 Pro Campaign Mode Tested! | Digital Foundry

[OG_Thrills]

Ok so this is kinda confusing. I expected the 1X to be the showcase but it looks like the PS version was the lead platform. I played the campaign on Pro and didn't know about these issues until this thread.

With the 1X being such a capable machine these results and musings for 1X players are unexpected to say the least.

 

[Deleted member 20297]

Ok so this is kinda confusing. I expected the 1X to be the showcase but it looks like the PS version was the lead platform. I played the campaign on Pro and didn't know about these issues until this thread.

With the 1X being such a capable machine these results and musings for 1X players are unexpected to say the least.

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Yep, that's absolutely right. I mean, it's not the first time that the objectively better hardware runs the same game with worse performance but there is nothing the Pro can do better then the X. I also wonder whether resolution affects fps in this case. Why implement a drs game when you have such a performance in the end? It doesn't make sense in any way to me. Perhaps a patch can fix that.

 

[Deleted member 29939]

Cool. Base PS4 is absolutely fine for me.

 

[disillusion386]

EDIT: woops wrong Modern Warfare thread.

 

[OG_Thrills]

Yep, that's absolutely right. I mean, it's not the first time that the objectively better hardware runs the same game with worse performance but there is nothing the Pro can do better then the X. I also wonder whether resolution affects fps in this case. Why implement a drs game when you have such a performance in the end? It doesn't make sense in any way to me. Perhaps a patch can fix that.

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At one point the NX analysis shows a drop on the XBOX One X to 47 Frames While the Pro remains locked at 60. That's kinda shocking. It looks like they dialed it in for the 1X while making the Pro a priority.

The marketing rights / money must have a lot of sway at Activision's HQ! Jokes aside, I'm really interested as to how this happened.

 

[Cloud-Hidden]

Do we really need an VS video to tell us that COD runs better on the Pro than the base PS4?
rther see how the base PS4 version plays to that of the base Xbox One ECT. If that takes a few weeks more work then that's OK .

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"I'd rather you not make a video at all unless it's what I want to see! If you have to take a few weeks to make the video that I want, that's OK with me."

A fine solipsist, you are.

 

[Yerffej]

Haven't watched the video...but what is up with it running worse on X compared to Pro? I'm always surprised to see a game doing that.

 

[Deleted member 14649]

At one point the NX analysis shows a drop on the XBOX One X to 47 Frames While the Pro remains locked at 60. That's kinda shocking. It looks like they dialed it in for the 1X while making the Pro a priority.

The marketing rights / money must have a lot of sway at Activision's HQ! Jokes aside, I'm really interested as to how this happened.

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It's not really shocking. The Xbox X version has a higher baseline resolution than the PS4 Pro. If they were the same, then the X would perform better.

 

[TaySan]

Does PC have HDR? I didn't see anything in the setting sadly and played it all in SDR D:
Still looked amazing though.

 

[TaySan]

There is no need to be condensing.

Do we really need an VS video to tell us that COD runs better on the Pro than the base PS4?
rther see how the base PS4 version plays to that of the base Xbox One ECT. If that takes a few weeks more work then that's OK .

Grid been out for a couple of weeks rather seen how the game fairs on all console platform's .Not that I see what's so great about the Switch port of a game running on Hardware that's now 19 years old ;)

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DigitalFoundry has a business to run with Youtube at the end of the day and timing is incredibly important with Youtube videos.
They are doing the best they can with the limited time they got.

 

[Secretofmateria]

Can anyone voice an opinion with out the need to see it as an attack ? I see no point in comparing COD running on the Pro to the base , in much the same way I don't see the point in comparing a game running on the one X to a PC Rather when the comparison is done with the game running on the base consoles and the enhanced ones; you get a fair complete picture and it's also great to see the differences

So I would rather have waited for the full complete comparison for COD and GRID. It's just a opinion, sorry ! Yes, I know and can appreciate it's hard work, but other comparison sites have for their videos up . I happen to like DF comparisons the best would like to see their take.

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you're not owed anything. If it bothers you that much go make your own frame rate comparison video between consoles

 

[Deleted member 20297]

It's not really shocking. The Xbox X version has a higher baseline resolution than the PS4 Pro. If they were the same, then the X would perform better.

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If that's the case then you have to wonder why they chose such a high baseline for the drs. It just doesn't make sense in any way.

 

[Deleted member 14649]

If that's the case then you have to wonder why they chose such a high baseline for the drs. It just doesn't make sense in any way.

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Yeah. It would have made more sense to give us a performance or quality option. I'm only playing the campaign on the X, but it looks stunning and I've only noticed the occasional stutter or screen tear. I'm presuming multiplayer is where it tanks more?

 

[Kemono]

Dark1x

Thank you for your (and your colleagues of course) hard work. I enjoy your videos very much.

I have a question about the way digital foundry talks about the pro PS4 version in this video. The worst fps are shown at 13:51 min and it goes down to 55. Alex says it could be a problem for the pro to manage the alpha effects. That's fine but his wording sounds (at least to me) as if the game i slowing down to sub 30 fps or something and not measly 5 fps at the worst. He's talking about the game running a lot better if there aren't many explosions on the screen and you're just shooting. If the worst is a 5 fps drop how is the rest of the game running a lot better?

And at 15.21 min Tom is saying to make sure we got the hardware to handle this game (he says ideally a Pro or a PC). The base game is running fantastic for the stunning graphics. I have a pro but most people still game on the base systems. I'm all for high settings and locked fps but please don't forget the majority on base systems. There's no need to not even recommend this game to them if they're not on pro or pc.

Thanks again for your otherwise fantastic work.

 

[Dark1x]

Dark1x

Thank you for your (and your colleagues of course) hard work. I enjoy your videos very much.

I have a question about the way digital foundry talks about the pro PS4 version in this video. The worst fps are shown at 13:51 min and it goes down to 55. Alex says it could be a problem for the pro to manage the alpha effects. That's fine but his wording sounds (at least to me) as if the game i slowing down to sub 30 fps or something and not measly 5 fps at the worst. He's talking about the game running a lot better if there aren't many explosions on the screen and you're just shooting. If the worst is a 5 fps drop how is the rest of the game running a lot better?

And at 15.21 min Tom is saying to make sure we got the hardware to handle this game (he says ideally a Pro or a PC). The base game is running fantastic for the stunning graphics. I have a pro but most people still game on the base systems. I'm all for high settings and locked fps but please don't forget the majority on base systems. There's no need to not even recommend this game to them if they're not on pro or pc.

Thanks again for your otherwise fantastic work.

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Well, this isn't a scripted video so they're just saying what comes to mind. Also, Alex probably just had to go off his own experience - we're all in different cities so he used Discord for recording - Tom was the editor so what you see in the video won't line up with what is being said. It's a conversation that is later edited.

 

[SeriousGoku]

Playing it on a base PS4 and its blowing my mind how good it looks.

Call me crazy but I think its the best looking game of the gen.

 

[Kemono]

Well, this isn't a scripted video so they're just saying what comes to mind. Also, Alex probably just had to go off his own experience - we're all in different cities so he used Discord for recording - Tom was the editor so what you see in the video won't line up with what is being said. It's a conversation that is later edited.

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Oh ok. That explains why it feels somewhat random from time to time.

Maybe just try to sprinkle a little bit of love for the base systems into your ending recommendations (if the base version isn't a giant piece of shit of course...).

Thanks.

 

[P A Z]

DF is a channel for people who do care about frame rate drops, and outside of the PS4 Pro version of this game, the other consoles spend sustained stretches under 60fps. That sucks. If you don't care about such stuff and don't like it being called out, maybe you shouldn't watch their videos?


Maybe you should start your own YouTube channel to analyze this stuff. Since you know how to do it the right way I'm sure you'll be really successful at it. For now it would be cool if you stop you're whining in this thread.

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That user is well in their rights to call out the use of hyperbolic language DF use in the video.

DF call the base PS4 version a "nightmare scenario" which is utter nonsense, even by console standards. A nightmare scenario would see the performance making the game literally unplayable. The performance in Control I think is fair to call a nightmare scenario, dropping down to single digits. MW on base PS4 is generally 50-60fps with momentary drops to the high 40's. It's far from unplayable and in no way a nightmare scenario.

Look at the post directly after yours, it contains an image showing bigger frame drops for the base XB1 version than the base PS4 version suffers from. DF even say in the video that they expect the base XB1 version to perform worse. So there is potentially something worse than a "nightmare scenario"???

No-one's disputing the results, no-one's saying MW is perfect on base PS4 or that it couldn't be better, just saying hey maybe DF could pick and choose their words better.

 

[ghostcrew]

Game looks absolutely stunning. Great work as usual DF gang! Your hard work is appreciated.

 

[Dark1x]

That user is well in their rights to call out the use of hyperbolic language DF use in the video.

DF call the base PS4 version a "nightmare scenario" which is utter nonsense, even by console standards. A nightmare scenario would see the performance making the game literally unplayable. The performance in Control I think is fair to call a nightmare scenario, dropping down to single digits. MW on base PS4 is generally 50-60fps with momentary drops to the high 40's. It's far from unplayable and in no way a nightmare scenario.

Look at the post directly after yours, it contains an image showing bigger frame drops for the base XB1 version than the base PS4 version suffers from. DF even say in the video that they expect the base XB1 version to perform worse. So there is potentially something worse than a "nightmare scenario"???

No-one's disputing the results, no-one's saying MW is perfect on base PS4 or that it couldn't be better, just saying hey maybe DF could pick and choose their words better.

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Yeah, I wouldn't describe it that way at all BUT, again, worth keeping in mind these types of videos are totally off-script so the words are not always carefully selected. I know this from experience.

 

[P A Z]

Yeah, I wouldn't describe it that way at all BUT, again, worth keeping in mind these types of videos are totally off-script so the words are not always carefully selected. I know this from experience.

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Thanks for replying Dark.

Aside from that one thing, I really enjoyed the video. And I've no issue with the use of such phrases when truly warranted, again see something like Control on base consoles, just thought it was a bit much this time and hope you'll be a bit more careful in future.

 

[trugc]

Dark1x
Any detailed info about those debugging footage? Are they using cluster/triangle level GPU culling here? Some objects don't disappear immediately after being occluded.
Looks like IW does get some new particle rendering tech as well. Lots of heavy overdraw in the scene but they still managed to keep framerate at a steady level.

 

[TaySan]

I'm glad Digital Foundry focuses on more stuff than just the performance comparisons. The tech behind the games are so much more interesting and doesn't breed unhealthy platform warring.

 

[ShadowFox08]

No need for the language or the silly insult .I See little point in comparing a game running on the PS4 to one running on the PS4 Pro in the same way Isee little point in comparing a PC game to one running on the ONE X it's a given the PRO and PC versions are going to be better . It's more interesting when consoles versions are compared to each other IMO

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If I had a PS4 or PS4 Pro, I would be really interested in seeing the performance differences between the two. Just because you find it boring, doesn't mean others do.Technically they are two different consoles and I'm sure many would be interested how they increase the performance with the extra gpu and ram on Pro.

They already explained they will do the other versions later

 

[vivftp]

Don't think I'll be picking this game up, but I just wanted to voice my appreciation to Digital Foundry for these great videos. I look forward to your content going into next gen. 😃

 

[Dark1x]

Thanks for replying Dark.

Aside from that one thing, I really enjoyed the video. And I've no issue with the use of such phrases when truly warranted, again see something like Control on base consoles, just thought it was a bit much this time and hope you'll be a bit more careful in future.

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Oh I wasn't even in this video but I agree.

 

[Dictator]

That user is well in their rights to call out the use of hyperbolic language DF use in the video.

DF call the base PS4 version a "nightmare scenario" which is utter nonsense, even by console standards. A n

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I like my games to be smooth.

That said, I grew up with a ZX Spectrum, so when I see frame rates like this described as a "horror scenario" it makes me laugh. The hyperbole around this stuff - partly thanks to these kind of comparison videos - is ridiculous.

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You know that area where it drops to 40 fps on standard PS4? That is what I mean by nightmare scenario - not the general performance.

I mean nightmare scenario as in "a nightmare scenario for the system it is running on" as it is hard to run, not because it runs like a nightmare :(

It is via the magic of editing that it happens to sound like something else.

 

[Pretendo Switch]

40fps would give me nightmares...

Good video. I know there have been performance and resolution differences reported between the X and Pro. I look forward to the DF showdown there.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

At one point the NX analysis shows a drop on the XBOX One X to 47 Frames While the Pro remains locked at 60. That's kinda shocking. It looks like they dialed it in for the 1X while making the Pro a priority.

The marketing rights / money must have a lot of sway at Activision's HQ! Jokes aside, I'm really interested as to how this happened.

Click to shrink...

Are there average FPS/1%/0.1% figures anywhere? If the drop is just for a short burst of time with a huge explosion, I wouldn't call that too much of a big deal. If it consistently happens, then they just didn't tune dynamic resolution good enough on the X.

 

[calibos]

This game on the X running in the mid 50s constantly with bigger drops and pretty bad screen tearing at times while the Pro enjoys a steadier frame rate is a joke. The game also shuts my X down after a couple matches of ground war or randomly after 15 - 30 minutes of play.

I usually don't go calling devs lazy or anything, but this feels shady as hell to me this time around...maybe because of the marketing and Spec Ops survival being moneyhatted. The X is clearly a better machine, why the hell is this game optimized so poorly for it?

close to refunding again.

 

[Deleted member 14649]

This game on the X running in the mid 50s constantly with bigger drops and pretty bad screen tearing at times while the Pro enjoys a steadier frame rate is a joke. The game also shuts my X down after a couple matches of ground war or randomly after 15 - 30 minutes of play.

I usually don't go calling devs lazy or anything, but this feels shady as hell to me this time around...maybe because of the marketing and Spec Ops survival being moneyhatted. The X is clearly a better machine, why the hell is this game optimized so poorly for it?

close to refunding again.

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Again, it isn't that difficult to understand. The X version is running at a higher resolution than the PS4 Pro dynamically. Higher resolutions mean less stable frame rates. It's not a conspiracy theory or some great mystery.

 

[veterangamerUK]

I like my games to be smooth.

That said, I grew up with a ZX Spectrum, so when I see frame rates like this described as a "horror scenario" it makes me laugh. The hyperbole around this stuff - partly thanks to these kind of comparison videos - is ridiculous.

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Grew up with the Spectrum too, so yes the nitpicking nowadays about extra pixels and "awful" frame rate is hilarious

 

[RingRang]

Again, it isn't that difficult to understand. The X version is running at a higher resolution than the PS4 Pro dynamically. Higher resolutions mean less stable frame rates. It's not a conspiracy theory or some great mystery.

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It is when you realize the developers chose that higher resolution and the X is more powerful. If it's dropping frames at that resolution you lower the resolution til it doesn't drop frames.

Grew up with the Spectrum too, so yes the nitpicking nowadays about extra pixels and "awful" frame rate is hilarious

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Standards change and these videos are for people who care about game performance.

 

[Maturin]

Grew up with the Spectrum too, so yes the nitpicking nowadays about extra pixels and "awful" frame rate is hilarious

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Glitchy framerates are annoying. But the number of times something is called "unplayable" when it clearly isn't.

 

[Prototype Viktor]

Ok so this is kinda confusing. I expected the 1X to be the showcase but it looks like the PS version was the lead platform. I played the campaign on Pro and didn't know about these issues until this thread.

With the 1X being such a capable machine these results and musings for 1X players are unexpected to say the least.

Click to shrink...

ps version has been the lead platform for a bit just like the marketing

 

[Tezza]

I really hope to break away from people just wanting raw FPS and resolution numbers, though, as I don't think it's usually interesting and it brings out horrible console wars mentality in people which sucks..

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Ironic that, as much as I like DF videos, DF inflamed this stupid FPS/Resolution console wars. DF got a lot of early coverage due to Pro vs Xbox X and you exploited that, not by your content but how you positioned each console against each other.

So when you do a video like this (pro vs base) you will get the internet complaining, because they don't have their console war content to fight about. I can see the content changing at DF, to be more informative and not who has the biggest resolution dick, it will take time for everyone else to change expectations also.

Keep up the good work, I know the team works hard

 

[XboxCowdry]

you're not owed anything. If it bothers you that much go make your own frame rate comparison video between consoles

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Didn't I say I was "Owned" anything?. One can't be allowed to give any seemingly 'negative' feedback in a DF thread.
"So for that reason I'm out"

 

[calibos]

Again, it isn't that difficult to understand. The X version is running at a higher resolution than the PS4 Pro dynamically. Higher resolutions mean less stable frame rates. It's not a conspiracy theory or some great mystery.

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I completely understand that it isn't a mystery. I understand that running at a higher res can cost performance. My comment is more like "Why make that choice in a game that requires a stable, smooth framerate?" You have a machine that is capable of running the game smoother. If it was running well with a few 1 or 2 frame drops and NOT shutting down consoles I would be more understanding, but the this is just bullshit.

When I am in the main MP menu, the game is pushing my X to sound like a jet engine. Why the hell would the main menu be putting heavy load on the GPU or CPU? So much so that it is eventually overheating.

 

[RivalGT]

The X needs to be running at a lower resolution, this seems similar to the titan fall 2 situation, when the 1st x patch was running the game worse than the PS4 Pro. The last IW cod game also ran a lot worse on the X infinite warfare, so they do have some history of not being able to get performance where it should be at on that system.

 

[Deleted member 14649]

I completely understand that it isn't a mystery. I understand that running at a higher res can cost performance. My comment is more like "Why make that choice in a game that requires a stable, smooth framerate?" You have a machine that is capable of running the game smoother. If it was running well with a few 1 or 2 frame drops and NOT shutting down consoles I would be more understanding, but the this is just bullshit.

When I am in the main MP menu, the game is pushing my X to sound like a jet engine. Why the hell would the main menu be putting heavy load on the GPU or CPU? So much so that it is eventually overheating.

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You are right. I'd rather see a resolution reduction, but I had no real problems with the campaign as it is. The multiplayer is where the bulk of the issues are with the X version I think.

 

[RingRang]

I completely understand that it isn't a mystery. I understand that running at a higher res can cost performance. My comment is more like "Why make that choice in a game that requires a stable, smooth framerate?" You have a machine that is capable of running the game smoother. If it was running well with a few 1 or 2 frame drops and NOT shutting down consoles I would be more understanding, but the this is just bullshit.

When I am in the main MP menu, the game is pushing my X to sound like a jet engine. Why the hell would the main menu be putting heavy load on the GPU or CPU? So much so that it is eventually overheating.

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I'm pretty sure they're doing something stupid in the menus like letting them run at a uncapped framerate, making the chips run very hot, because this exact same thing happens on my PS4 Pro. The fans don't spin up too much during game play, but the menus sure do, which makes absolutely no sense.