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Digital Foundry Rage 2 analysis.

Tokyo_Funk

Tokyo_Funk

Banned
Dec 10, 2018
10,053


Analysis of the PS4 base and pro, Xbox One and X. Is 1080p worth it for 60fps?

- Open world
- Volumetric lighting
- Dynamic shadows
- Physically based textures
- Night Day cycle
- Secondary light bounce
- High quality per pixel motion blur (Disable option)
- Screen space reflections
- Chromatic Aberration can be turned off
- One loading screen, seamless except on death
- All versions look visually similar, more lights on Pro/X
- Some pop in
- No HDR

PS4- 1080p. 30fps. Locked. Unable to find dips
PS4 Pro 1080p 60fps with some dips, towns dip and tear.
Xbox One - 900p with a soft image (TAA) 30fps, very stable, tiny dips.
Xbox One X - 1080p 60fps, some dips and tearing.
 
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Railgun

Railgun

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,148
Australia
X and Pro having parity is so incredibly disappointing, it's really not good enough. Why is that ~40% of extra power not being properly utilised especially when it's stuck at 1080p.
 
RevengeTaken

RevengeTaken

Banned
Aug 12, 2018
1,711
All versions don't look extremely similar john, this is night and day difference between pro and vanilla:
ubkz_gh.png
 

Dark1x

Digital Foundry
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
3,530
RevengeTaken said:
All versions don't look extremely similar john, this is night and day difference between pro and vanilla:
ubkz_gh.png
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Keep watching. I specifically mention this. The extra shadow casting lights only show up in very select areas but yes, it's a big difference during the intro

Railgun said:
We clearly have very different ideas of "fine" the game is 1080p, and if it does run better to any kind of significant degree it's not really shown in the analysis.
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Parity never bothered me.

In this case, I think the game looks great in both cases and I'm happy with that. That said, based on what I'm seeing on PC, it seems to be very sensitive to resolution - even a 2080ti can't do 4K60 right now without cuts. I suspect pushing the resolution up on X would have introduced more performance related issues making it not worthwhile. The fact that it still dips at 1080p around the Eden center suggests that there isn't THAT much headroom.
 
Eggiem

Eggiem

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,777
''Some'' pop in? Did they patch it? It looked terrible in the ACG review video.

(Cant watch the DF vid ATM, sorry)
 

Phantom88

Banned
Jan 7, 2018
726
Railgun said:
X and Pro having parity is so incredibly disappointing, it's really not good enough. Why is that ~40% of extra power not being properly utilised especially when it's stuck at 1080p.
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The video already shows dips from 60. Who knows how many instances there are during the entire game. That means the whole power in the X isnt enough even like this, at 1080p
 
illamap

illamap

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
466
From the clips shown in the video, Rage still looks pretty good too, I am mean sure it is completely static, but it is quite good looking title last gen at 60fps.
 

Dark1x

Digital Foundry
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
3,530
Eggiem said:
''Some'' pop in? Did they patch it? It looked terrible in the ACG review video.

(Cant watch the DF vid ATM, sorry)
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There's definitely pop-in but so what? It's not that bad.

To be honest, the reactions to Rage 2 are exactly the reason why so many developers prioritize resolution and visual quality over frame-rate. This is why 60fps is uncommon in larger games, I think.
 
Spaltazar

Spaltazar

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
2,105
Its a shame that megatextures never really panned out. the unique look of each individual still image in the original RAGE is still a sight to behold that has many modern games beat. now ofc in motion and close up its another story ...

let me illustrate an example. rage might be the best looking game in screenshots done from a distance, because all of this looks like crap close up and is completely static, as john pointed out in the video :P
D6p876nXkAMIStV.jpg
 
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ClarkusDarkus

ClarkusDarkus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,724
No HDR is disappointing, Game looks like it would be perfect to have it implemented. Wonder if RT is going to be like this going forward next gen where it's either not used or used badly.

I can deal with minor frame drops, But i literally can't stand screen tear, That's the worst culprit for me.
 
EvilBoris

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,683
Dark1x said:
There's definitely pop-in but so what? It's not that bad.

To be honest, the reactions to Rage 2 are exactly the reason why so many developers prioritize resolution and visual quality over frame-rate. This is why 60fps is uncommon in larger games, I think.
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It's a very interesting reaction, especially when you consider this is "extra" beyond the base game on the OG machines.

Do you think there is a particular reason that this is enforced in such a way, are there Particular things that are very intensive which means that fidelity at double the resolution wasn't chosen over double the framerate? I appreciate things aren't necessarily linear in regards to how they scale.

I was disappointed by the lack of HDR support, I'm convinced it was listed on this store fronts as having it at one point.
Perhaps they haven't got the in house experience there yet to make it the experience it should be. Just Cause 4's setup was really poor for the end user . Not sure if that was a different team
 
Eggiem

Eggiem

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,777
Dark1x said:
There's definitely pop-in but so what? It's not that bad.

To be honest, the reactions to Rage 2 are exactly the reason why so many developers prioritize resolution and visual quality over frame-rate. This is why 60fps is uncommon in larger games, I think.
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Unfortunately this affects high end PC as well.
 
Dphex

Dphex

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,811
Cologne, Germany
Dark1x said:
There's definitely pop-in but so what? It's not that bad.

To be honest, the reactions to Rage 2 are exactly the reason why so many developers prioritize resolution and visual quality over frame-rate. This is why 60fps is uncommon in larger games, I think.
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eh, the Pop in is atrocious when driving/flying around, the whole foliage and scrap on the ground is popping in. textures and IQ are also blurry and just bad for 2019. the game looks plain awful on the Pro.
 
OP
OP
Tokyo_Funk

Tokyo_Funk

Banned
Dec 10, 2018
10,053
Spaltazar said:
Its a shame that megatextures never really panned out. the unique look of each individual still image in the original RAGE is still a sight to behold that has many modern games beat. now ofc in motion and close up its another story ...
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Megatextures is still a plausible concept in regards to future texture compression/fetching, but I feel like the consoles and even PCs at the time could not do it justice. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar is tried in the future when video ram is much higher and faster.
 

Dark1x

Digital Foundry
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
3,530
Dphex said:
eh, the Pop in is atrocious when driving/flying around, the whole foliage and scrap on the ground is popping in. textures and IQ are also blurry and just bad for 2019. the game looks plain awful on the Pro.
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I could not possibly disagree more. The texture work is generally solid and the IQ is very clean though.
 
germuso

germuso

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
675
It´s weird that you can blow a head but the blood doesn´t stain on the floor.

60 frames are awesome, and the game looks fun.
 
-PXG-

-PXG-

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,186
NJ
Dark1x said:
There's definitely pop-in but so what? It's not that bad.

To be honest, the reactions to Rage 2 are exactly the reason why so many developers prioritize resolution and visual quality over frame-rate. This is why 60fps is uncommon in larger games, I think.
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Yep.

People have been clamoring for performance over visuals, we finally get it, and yet folks complain.

I've been playing Rage 2 on PS4 Pro and love the game more and more with every time I sit down with it. Yeah, it's a bit blurry, especially since I have a 55" 4K display, but it's worth it for the smooth performance. You're right in that it definitely enhances combat fluidity. I Iove HDR but I'm not too upset about it's absence here. The game already shows a fantastic use of color and the lighting is superb.

Anyway, excellent video, as always. I definitely recommend giving Rage 2 a chance, even more so if you have a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X. It's not ground breaking or revolutionary. It's not trying to be some life altering experience. However, it's a very well put together game. It's rock solid and a combination of a lot of good ideas and executed fairly well.
 
ThereAreFourNaan

ThereAreFourNaan

Member
Nov 8, 2017
13,109
Dark1x said:
I could not possibly disagree more. The texture work is generally solid and the IQ is very clean though.
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It's certainly beautiful. The IQ isn't quite industry leading but pretty good. Like, by my eye it's softer than Doom running at the same resolution on my PC (1440p with nothing dynamic) and also slightly less good at clearing up aliasing, but it's certainly way better than what we were getting crossgen in 2013-14 on idTech5.

One frustrating thing on the PC side is that I can't stop the open world stutters. Running R7 2700 @ 3.95GHz all core, 16GB 3000mhz dual channel memory, RTX 2080, it's getting 70-80fps in the open world but with nasty microstutters. Seems like the performance in the open world on X1X/PS4P is quite a bit more consistent, even though the res and framerate are lower.
 

Deleted member 25042

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,077
The pop in is very distracting imo even on a high end PC.

Not a fan of the TAA implementation either.
I like TAA generally and will happily trade a bit if a sharpness for a more stable image but it's just too soft here.
There's a pretty big difference in clarity using only FXAA in comparison. But more aliasing..
 
xtib81

xtib81

Member
Mar 10, 2019
1,890
Man, that pop-in. I just can"t, it's so aggressive, it's impossible not to see it.
 
Yautja_Warrior

Yautja_Warrior

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,702
United Kingdom
Hopefully games like this will get enhancements for next gen consoles, so we can play them at 60fps with a nice resolution boost and maybe improvements to graphical settings too (like less pop in)
 
xtib81

xtib81

Member
Mar 10, 2019
1,890
Dark1x said:
There's definitely pop-in but so what? It's not that bad.

To be honest, the reactions to Rage 2 are exactly the reason why so many developers prioritize resolution and visual quality over frame-rate. This is why 60fps is uncommon in larger games, I think.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's not that bad ? Whaaaat ? When you're driving, all the vegeration and shadows pop in right ahead of you. How is this "not that bad"?
 
Leo-Tyrant

Leo-Tyrant

Member
Jan 14, 2019
5,089
San Jose, Costa Rica
-PXG- said:
Yep.

People have been clamoring for performance over visuals, we finally get it, and yet folks complain.

I've been playing Rage 2 on PS4 Pro and love the game more and more with every time I sit down with it. Yeah, it's a bit blurry, especially since I have a 55" 4K display, but it's worth it for the smooth performance. You're right in that it definitely enhances combat fluidity. I Iove HDR but I'm not too upset about it's absence here. The game already shows a fantastic use of color and the lighting is superb.

Anyway, excellent video, as always. I definitely recommend giving Rage 2 a chance, even more so if you have a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X. It's not ground breaking or revolutionary. It's not trying to be some life altering experience. However, it's a very well put together game. It's rock solid and a combination of a lot of good ideas and executed fairly well.
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My reply considers my own opinions on this matter and will only focus on the following 3 aspects (I'm not discussing the quality of the game itself)
  1. Gives 60fps in enhanced consoles = Good
  2. Doesn't have HDR (the biggest increase in perceived IQ for me in years) = Bad
  3. Has very aggressive pop-in (breaks the immersion, heavily impacts the image consistency, looks broken, etc) = Very Bad
One good thing out of those 3 doesn't make the other 2 go away. I expect HDR and the least amount of pop-in feasible in current technology from a AAA, why would I ignore those faults?
 
Nooblet

Nooblet

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,632
So predictable
eKEhR70.png


There is only ONE 60FPS open world game this gen apart from Rage 2 and that game was cross gen. There is a reason for that. The blur is due to TAA more than 1080P resolution.
Pop ins happen in every game are are more noticeable the faster you can traverse in the game.
 
Nooblet

Nooblet

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,632
Frox said:
Excuse me?

It's beyond terrible.

If anyone played something like The Witcher 3 with foliage visibility range set to medium or low, it's pretty similar to that.
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You can never travel as fast in Witcher 3 or RDR2 as fast as you do while driving in Rage.
Compare the pop ins to how it feels during on foot sections in Rage 2 to those games.
 
Kyuuji

Kyuuji

The Favonius Fox
Member
Nov 8, 2017
32,148
Can't agree with the overall IQ but definitely nothing there to stop a good time in my experience so far. Fun game!
 
R.T Straker

R.T Straker

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,715
Nooblet said:
You can never travel as fast in Witcher 3 as fast as you do while driving in Rage.
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What does that have to do with anything? I used that as an example because it's super distracing in both cases.

It's just as noticeable when you're speeding with roach and stuff just loads as you go. Unlike Rage 2, TW3 actually has a dedicated setting for this which pretty much fixes it.
 

Deleted member 4970

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,240
Pop-in will always exist in these types of games

They should just implement an option to remove all ground detail and see if people prefer to have that instead lol

More on topic: Super impressed with the performance

RAGE 2 is a technical marvel to me on these machines similar to Red Dead Redemption 2

RAGE 2 is the pure gameplay showcase and Rec Dead Redemption 2 is the visuals showcase

Both exceed the expectations of the enhanced systems imo
 
Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Banned
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
HighspeedRefleX said:
I don't know, for me they'll start to feel old between the 8th and 10th anniversary just based on how long they've been out. Hardware power is another topic. A pro is worth it for those who don't plan on getting a year 1 or 2 PS5
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Rage 2 at 30fps just looks old and dated.
The game suits 60fps really well.
Consoles feel old to me when they fail to deliver on the vision of the game.
 
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