Playstation 5: Thread 01

[Team Andromeda]

Why would Microsoft design the Series X to massively reduce the biggest bottlenecks in consoles and then not use those features because a few PC gamers are still using hard drives?

Because Sony fans say so and so it must be true

[teddymeow]

Why would Microsoft design the Series X to massively reduce the biggest bottlenecks in consoles and then not use those features because a few PC gamers are still using hard drives?

Not just PC. Xbox One users too.

There might be improvements in load times and LOD but how can you fully take advantage of a stupidly powerful piece of kit knowing that whatever you make needs to run on it's 7 year old little brother?

[CMcK]

Not just PC. Xbox One users too.

There might be improvements in load times and LOD but how can you fully take advantage of a stupidly powerful piece of kit knowing that whatever you make needs to run on it's 7 year old little brother?

The Series X version will be the lead platform and get the full attention it deserves. Some poor sods will have to strip that back until it can work on Xbox One.
Did Sega sit down to make Sonic and worry about how the Master System version would look?

[teddymeow]

The Series X version will be the lead platform and get the full attention it deserves. Some poor sods will have to strip that back until it can work on Xbox One.
Did Sega sit down to make Sonic and worry about how the Master System version would look?

But that was a port which came out after requiring a whole new team.

Does Smart Delivery mean that games will take longer to develop so Microsoft can guarantee compatibility will all Xboxes? If so will games increase in price to cover the increase in Dev costs?

I find it genuinely interesting how it's going to work. I actually hope that Sony do similar but they've had such success with remasters that it probably won't happen.

[fishbowlhead]

Why would Microsoft design the Series X to massively reduce the biggest bottlenecks in consoles and then not use those features because a few PC gamers are still using hard drives?

Not just a few, most pc’s still don’t have ssd’s, then you have W10 that will create a huge bottle neck even with fast ssd’s in place as it wont have the dedicated hardware to pull the info around like PS5 can.

Obviously everyone else will catch up, only a matter if time, now someone has done it eventually it will be the norm.

[Neon Ignition]

That's exactly the issue, Forza Horizon 5 won't be the same as Forza Horizon 2 on Xbox 360. It'll be the exact same game running on both generations rather than two seperate versions meaning that whilst the Series X version will run the best it will have to have been designed out of the gate to work to the bottlenecks of the original Xbox One as well. Come a few years in when we get Forza Horizon 6 Microsoft might abandon their support of XBO generation machines and then fully utilise the power of Series X hardware but by then it'll be too late to impress. It makes sense though if you see MS's focus being on Game Pass running on as much as possible - basically them not planning on Xbox consoles being a big part of the future of the brand.

[fishbowlhead]

Yep MS have painted themselves into a corner on that front.

Its the type of thing you have to make the jump i to eventually, may as well be sooner than later and avoid exactly the situation MS are going to be in for years now supporting the old hardware but with new games.

[CMcK]

What do you guys think that the next generation systems will bring to games that the present generation can’t. I’m (always) optimistic at the start of a new generation that we will see something genuinely new but has it ever really transpired?
I’m thinking the new CPUs will bring us better AI and physics calculations and of course the SSDs will bring us more detailed environments. The new GPU features will give us more detail and better lighting / shadows. But I’m not sure if anything will lead us to a gameplay revolution.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Let's pretend you are bungie and you have in front of you the new Xbox dev kit. You sit with a huge team and all come to the idea that the new Halo will be huge open world, taking advantage of no loading times and high textures. Its the vision you always wanted to achieve.
Then you get a call from MS telling you it has to work on the Xbone and on PC.
Do you scale it back?
Do you create two versions?
Do you hope that people buy new SSD?

[Neon Ignition]

I'm mostly hopeful for physics and what that could mean even with existing games. I had such high hopes for Battlefield after BF4 and still can't believe how staggering the retreat that series made was from the jumping point it could have used. We should have been aiming towards things like realistic physics in a tactical building collapse (rather than scripted or chunks of wall) but instead got a bad version of COD in empty fields.

[Team Andromeda]

But that was a port which came out after requiring a whole new team.

So you mean to say Battlefield 3 on the PC was held back by the PS3 and 360 versions. Never mind there were night and day difference between the versions for graphics and online function. I gather DICE handle all versions too?

[CMcK]

Let's pretend you are bungie and you have in front of you the new Xbox dev kit. You sit with a huge team and all come to the idea that the new Halo will be huge open world, taking advantage of no loading times and high textures. Its the vision you always wanted to achieve.
Then you get a call from MS telling you it has to work on the Xbone and on PC.
Do you scale it back?
Do you create two versions?
Do you hope that people buy new SSD?

I would expect them to go all out on the Series X version and leave some poor third party developer to figure out the Xbox One version. Cut the frame rate, resolution, texture quality, no ray tracing, long loading screens and probably loading during levels as with existing Halo games. There’s unlikely to game any real gameplay revolution in a FPS.

[Team Andromeda]

I would expect them to go all out on the Series X version and leave some poor third party developer to figure out the Xbox One version. .

You mean like how most games are handled and ported down to the consoles?

I'm sure Doom Eternal was held back because it needs to work on the Switch

[Cassius_Smoke]

I would expect them to go all out on the Series X version and leave some poor third party developer to figure out the Xbox One version. Cut the frame rate, resolution, texture quality, no ray tracing, long loading screens and probably loading during levels as with existing Halo games. There’s unlikely to game any real gameplay revolution in a FPS.

Thing is, this isn't just a 'no loading screens' thing. It's rapid streaming of assets direct off the SSD. It's something that PCs and the Xbox one can't do.
Do you program the next halo to do that, or do you continue using multiple assets and Ram loading? If you develop the game for SSD assets streaming, then it can't work on the Xbone because it can't do it and the game doesn't have the multiple assets to fudge it.

[CMcK]

A Xbox One version would have to operate like games do at present with caching the (far lower quality and thus size) assets into RAM. If Microsoft hamper next generation development efforts for cross generations support then they are idiots.