Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

The onslaught of new gaming and technical stories continues, making for another BIG episode of DF Direct Weekly. John, Rich and Alex discuss the big games at the Sony State of Play and Nintendo Direct, before looking into the promised upgrades to Starfield - which look a lot like a direct response to John and Alex's review critiques. Meanwhile, Rich examines the new Immortals of Aveum patch, while there's a general sense of excitement about the line-up of triple-A games coming to the latest iPhone 15 Pro and Max.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:35 News 01: Sony September State of Play

0:37:42 News 02: September Nintendo Direct

0:49:58 News 03: Starfield post-release update plans detailed!

0:55:03 News 04: Horizon Forbidden West to hit PC?

0:59:04 News 05: Immortals of Aveum patched, developer cuts staff

1:07:16 News 06: iPhone 15 Pro gets ray tracing support, big budget games

1:15:16 Supporter Q1: With compromised releases like Jedi: Survivor, don’t publishers realize they are leaving sales on the table? And will Respawn disable some of the game’s problematic screen-space reflections?

1:23:21 Supporter Q2: Are the higher-end versions of a given graphics card worth it?

1:27:30 Supporter Q3: Which GPU of the past gave you the feeling that it was a quality product?

1:31:22 Supporter Q4: Is it possible that the Switch 2 could exceed the RT abilities of current-gen consoles?

1:34:25 Supporter Q5: Now that the PS5 Pro rumours have firmed up, do you think the console is worthwhile?

1:41:11 Supporter Q6: What is something happening in gaming right now that makes you happy?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A packed week of news as John, Rich and Oliver discuss the shock Switch 2 tech demo leaks - what should we expect from the system in the wake of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Matrix Awakens leaks? Meanwhile, John's excited about Daytona 2's upcoming arrival via emulation, while Oliver shares initial impressions on the new Star Wars Jedi: Survivor patch that improves the 60fps performance mode. Rich shares RX 7800 XT impressions, while it quickly emerges that corrective lenses are the unsung heroes of the whole Digital Foundry enterprise.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:00:42 News 01: Next-gen Switch demoed with BOTW, Matrix Awakens

0:23:30 News 02: Daytona USA 2 re-release incoming!

0:32:51 News 03: Paid, DRM-laden DLSS 3 Starfield mod cracked

0:40:40 News 04: Jedi: Survivor patch improves performance mode

0:52:19 News 05: AMD releases RX 7700 XT, RX 7800 XT GPUs

1:14:20 News 06: Interviewer asks: why didn’t Todd Howard optimize Starfield on PC?

1:21:58 Supporter Q1: Will the Switch successor rely on the same cartridges as Switch 1?

1:26:03 Supporter Q2: Will Nintendo do “next-gen” patches for existing Switch games?

1:29:38 Supporter Q3: Do you think Nintendo could use a discrete dock-only GPU for the new Switch?

1:33:28 Supporter Q4: Why hasn’t Bethesda switched to Id Tech for all their games?

1:37:86 Supporter Q5: Have you considered reporting GPU wattage when benchmarking PC games?

1:40:29 Supporter Q6: Are corrective lenses the unsung heroes of Digital Foundry?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a DF Direct Starfield special, Rich, John and Oliver share their impressions of the game, answer a ton of supporter questions and offer up some impressions on the PC version. And we also attempt to tackle the biggest question of them all: is a 60fps performance mode possible on Xbox Series X? To answer that, we use the actual Xbox Series X CPU via the AMD 4800S Desktop Kit, paired with a GPU that's a close match for the PS5's. From there, we unlocked frame-rate and examine the characteristics of Starfield and what options are open to the developer.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:00 Why is Starfield 30fps on consoles?

0:05:12 How would Starfield run unlocked? Frankenstein console tested!

0:12:37 Could Starfield hit 60fps on consoles?

0:22:01 Ways to increase contrast and improve HDR

0:28:38 Adding DLSS support through modding

0:38:09 Supporter Q1: What are your thoughts on the upgrades to the Creation Engine? What are some areas for improvement?

0:46:51 Supporter Q2: Is this Bethesda’s most bug-free game? What’s the weirdest bug you’ve seen so far?

0:54:21 Supporter Q3: Does the procedurally generated content fit in with the rest of the game?

1:01:50 Supporter Q4: What’s the difference between Bethesda’s real-time global illumination and ray-traced global illumination?

1:04:01 Supporter Q5: Does Starfield benefit from console exclusivity?

1:06:58 Final thoughts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After last week's get-together, the DF Team are back in their boxes, talking Starfield reviews, how Larian and Microsoft resolved the Baldur's Gate 3 Xbox impasse and the unfortunate closure of Volition. John's excited about Sonic Superstars and Armored Core 6, while Rich and Alex decide that there needs to be an intervention and some level of expectation management when it comes to FSR 3 frame generation's deployment on the consoles. All this and more in this special 'go on lads!' edition of DF Direct Weekly.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:14 News 01: Starfield: reviews and reactions

0:44:09 News 02: Baldur’s Gate 3 to hit Xbox this year, without Series S split-screen

0:49:45 News 03: PSA: FSR 3 won’t fix console performance

1:00:39 News 04: Volition closes after 30 years

1:08:30 News 05: Sonic Superstars impressions!

1:12:52 News 06: Armored Core 6 is good on PC

1:20:49 Supporter Q1: Did you see Switch 2 at Gamescom? And do you think the Switch 2 in portable mode could run Switch 1 software with docked mode settings?

1:25:15 Supporter Q2: Do you think running games designed for CRTs at super high resolutions makes sense?

1:29:49 Supporter Q3: Should DF give medals for technically accomplished games?

1:35:14 Supporter Q4: What games would you like to see remastered by Nightdive Studios?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Rich, John and Alex meeting up together at Gamescom for the first time since 2019, this one is a very different, very special DF Direct Weekly. The team discuss Starfield at Gamescom and their meeting with Phil Spencer and Todd Howard, before ploughing on into their reaction to the FSR and AMD Fluid Motion Frames demonstration they saw at the show. Meanwhile, Nvidia takes things to the next level with DLSS 3.5 ray reconstruction, there's reaction to the latest PlayStation Portal disclosures, STALKER 2 hands-on and much, much more.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:00:45 News 01: Gamescom Starfield impressions!

0:12:06 News 02: AMD shows off FSR 3

0:27:54 News 03: AMD demos Fluid Motion Frames

0:36:54 News 04: DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction revealed

0:56:12 News 05: PlayStation Portal named, detailed

1:00:09 News 06: MGS Collection targets 1080p, 720p

1:06:31 News 07: STALKER 2 demoed at Gamescom

1:14:24 News 08: New Nightdive remasters unveiled

1:23:51 Supporter Q1: What are the benefits for DF to go to Gamescom? What does a typical Gamescom day look like?

1:30:10 Supporter Q2: Could XeSS be viable on current-gen console hardware?

1:31:11 Supporter Q3: How do you feel about your various signature phrases?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another big DF Direct Weekly 'drops' as John, Rich and Alex look forward to visiting Gamescom 2023, a range of big Intel news is discussed and new information emerges on Immortals of Aveum in the wake of a extensive tech interview. Meanwhile, the mooted demise of the Xbox 360 store is lamented, while John raves about Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - a 'spiritual successor' to Jet Set Radio.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:20 News 01: Gamescom: what to expect!

00:19:07 News 02: Intel update: Arc DX11 driver, PresentMon Benchmarking

00:39:28 News 03: Xbox 360 store shutting down

00:51:35 News 04: Immortals of Aveum tech interview

01:00:52 News 05: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk launches

01:08:36 Should we expect most UE5 titles to struggle with performance? And are upsampling technologies just a crutch in lieu of optimization?

01:23:40 Are you pleased or dissatisfied that the rumoured RTX 4090 Ti may not be getting a release?

01:27:26 Could path tracing be beneficial or highly stylized games?

01:31:25 The end of the year will be loaded with titles, so how are you planning to keep up?

01:35:55 There’s a wide price difference between Microsoft’s Xbox storage cards and regular SSDs. Should Microsoft try to lower their prices?

01:40:03 Would moving gaming towards a single platform be beneficial for the industry?

01:44:54 What are the best phrases to use for a Digital Foundry drinking game?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest DF Direct Weekly, John, Rich and Alex discuss the controversy surrounding the Red Dead Redemption conversions, Mark Cerny gets in touch to reveal more about PlayStation 5's Dolby Atmos support, a brace of leaks look set to confirm a new PlayStation 5 model with detachable optical drive - but it's not looking particularly slim. Meanwhile, RDNA4 rumours are discussed, while John shares impressions on the Quake 2 Remaster and new 4K retro scaler, RetroTink 4K.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:36 News 01: Red Dead Redemption ports announced

00:20:04 News 02: Mark Cerny on PS5 Dolby Atmos

00:34:00 News 03: Revised PS5 model appears in apparent leaks

00:48:53 News 04: RDNA 4 to skip high-end GPUs?

01:11:35 News 05: Sony starts testing PS5 cloud streaming

01:20:16 News 06: Quake 2 remaster released!

01:30:56 News 07: RetroTink 4K: John’s impressions

01:42:41 Supporter Q1: Has John recovered from Sonic 2006 yet?

01:47:27 Supporter Q2: With limited competition and a lucrative server market, will Nvidia GPUs become a worse gaming value in the future?

01:54:48 Supporter Q3: Why are PC game frame-rate limiters often so poor?

02:04:38 Supporter Q4: Could older 3D games prove unsuitable for ray tracing upgrades?

02:11:40 Supporter Q5: Given that DLSS 3 works best at high frame-rates, might it prove unsuitable for a hypothetical Switch 2?

02:15:47 Supporter Q6: Rich is in the credits for Panzer Dragoon Saga! Is anyone else at DF in a game’s credits?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's DF Direct Weekly, the team discuss EA's announcement of a last-gen version of Star Wars Jedi Survivor, wondering how this new development fits in with the fact that the current-gen versions still need work. Meanwhile, an amazing-looking path-traced version of Skyrim is trailered - and the RT upgrade could work on all DX9+ games. John shares his thoughts on PS5's beta firmware Dolby Atmos support, while Rich reveals the results of a new PS5 exploit - showing Gravity Rush PS4 Pro running at 60fps for the first game. Finally, news of The Last Hope's departure from the Switch eShop causes all manner of amusement.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:56 News 01: Jedi: Survivor coming to last-gen consoles

00:21:17 News 02: Skyrim modded with path-traced lighting

00:29:29 News 03: PS5 exploit allows modded PS4 games to run

00:39:58 News 04: Beta PS5 firmware features Dolby Atmos support

00:48:36 News 05: Switch 2 to launch in 2H 2024?

00:56:57 News 06: The Last Hope removed from Nintendo eShop

01:05:28 Supporter Q1: Doesn’t targeting 8K with a hypothetical PS5 Pro benefit 4K displays through downsampling?

01:10:49 Supporter Q2: What could the PS5 Pro’s rumoured AI acceleration enhancements mean?

01:18:12 Supporter Q3: Mark Cerny suggested that the PS5 could load in high quality assets as the player moved the camera viewport. Will this actually be implemented?

01:21:27 Supporter Q4: Is it time for Microsoft to let developers skip certain features on Series S?

01:28:39 Supporter Q5: With Sony aggressively discounting the PS5, are they trying to bury Microsoft’s ninth-gen console hopes?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A clean sweep of Sony news stories this week, as John, Oliver and Rich react to the alleged PlayStation 5 Pro specs and discuss the apparent debut of the Project Q handheld device in the flesh in the least flattering manner possible. At the same time, Sony is slashing the price on PS5 consoles... so could a new, replacement model be arriving soon? After that, there's more footage from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart running off a launch PlayStation 4 hard drive. Plus: are GPU teraflop metrics now essentially useless?

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:50 News 01: PS5 Pro detailed in new rumours

00:29:08 News 02: Big PS5 summer discounts: what could they mean?

00:37:48 News 03: Project Q handheld potentially leaked

00:46:09 News 04: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart vs PS4 HDD!

00:59:13 Supporter Q1: Why don’t developers include an uncapped mode in games, for the benefit of more powerful future consoles?

01:03:58 Supporter Q2: Are teraflop figures for GPU hardware pointless nowadays?

01:08:53 Supporter Q3: Could Rich be given the high-end PC version in system comparison videos for once?

01:10:49 Supporter Q4: Oliver operates in a totally different timezone to everyone else at DF. Is this ever helpful?

01:12:26 Supporter Q5: What are the benefits of playing on original hardware if the console can be emulated very effectively?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's DF Direct, John, Rich and Alex share their thoughts on the latest Spider-Man 2 trailer and its accompanying custom PS5, sort (likely) facts from the fiction surrounding the upcoming Switch 2, and lament the total lack of review coverage for the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB. Meanwhile, there's clarification on the Dolphin emulator's no-show on Steam and discussion on the lack of a Saturn mini retro console - and the end of the mini console phase in general. And did you know that Digital Foundry is actually 18 years old?

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:58 News 01: Spider-Man 2 story trailer released

00:20:48 News 02: Beware fake Switch 2 leaks!

00:35:09 News 03: RTX 4060 Ti 16GB launched

00:44:31 News 04: Sega Saturn mini console unlikely?

00:50:15 News 05: Dolphin emulator skipping Steam

00:58:01 Supporter Q1: Have you considered benchmarking CoD on Steam Deck to gauge whether it is “too big for Switch”?

01:00:49 Supporter Q2: Should Sony include a wired option for their streaming-based Project Q handheld?

01:03:13 Supporter Q3: Could Intel break into the console market?

01:08:12 Supporter Q4: What Japan-only Sega Saturn games would you recommend for someone who can’t speak Japanese?

01:13:58 Supporter Q5: What piece of old gaming media would you like to see re-released in higher quality?

01:21:25 Supporter Q6: Digital Foundry is 18 years old! How do you feel about DF after all these years?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.