Topic: PS4pro | OT

@Tasuki: Yea, I'll try another game, but I was hoping someone else would be able to reproduce the issue if the had the game and a pro.... just to be sure its not me.

@Mega-Gazz: I don't think it's you honestly or your system, with so many reports. I have had that happen to me a few times with my launch day PS4 in fact (hasnt for awhile, knock on wood). Which leads me to think it's something in the OS that needs to be patched by Sony.

So I played Knack with the kids for 2 hours, system shut down fine. So at this point I'll conclude its really an issue with DOOM, or perhaps DOOM and other games. I Posted on the US support forums

Copied from a comment I made about Patch 4.06:-
'What I also want to see is an update for the PS4 Pro. With this update, I want to see the option to run the console at the PS4 level if I want. I also want to decide if I want to run it in the full Pro mode with Pro enhanced games too.

However and most importantly, I want a PS4+ option - an option that just switches off half the GPU but retains the clock speed of the CPU and the other half of the GPU. That way we can play games with unlocked frame rates and/or dynamic scaling and hopefully see an improved performance over the base PS4 version. IF these games (and any others) don't 'work' as expected, then we can always select the 'PS4' option.

By having these 3 options, it gives us gamers the choice in how we want to play our games. I know a lot of games would benefit from the increased clock speed without needing a patch but we also have the option to play at base PS4 levels too if for some reason a game doesn't run properly. We would have the opportunity to play some games at 'standard' or Pro enhanced and could use this to see how much of an upgrade the Pro actually offers. We could decide whether we want 1800p nearly 60fps OR 1080/60 in Last of Us (for example) instead of only having Pro options.

Of course these Pro enhanced games shouldn't have lower frame rates anyway so that shouldn't be a reason to run in PS4 mode. It should only be used to compare the upgrades or to run the games without patches that won't work properly in PS4+ mode.

The Pro currently only benefits less than 5% of games and a PS4+ option could see a number of games benefit without needing a patch. Obviously it won't see these run above their 'capped' level but should see them run at (or much closer to) these capped levels consistently. Sony could say something like 'use this at your own discretion as some games may not run as well (or at all)' for example...'

Funnily enough Digital Foundry talked about this in

Although they talk about unlocking the whole power rather than just keeping the 'clockspeed' when shutting off half the GPU as I have. It also mentions the ability of the PS2 being able to run PS1 games at a 'enhanced' level at the users own risk. As I said I would be happier if they gave us a PS4+ mode with no down-clocking than the situation we have now. If that really isn't possible (don't see why not though - its not as if the CPU/GPU can't run at these levels as they do in the full Pro mode) then at least give us the option to try the full power of the Pro on games at our own discretion.

Well I splurged on a Pro and a new TV, after all said and done it's been an expensive upgrade but one I'm ultimately happy with, even if the benefits are not drastic. Granted I only have 2 games that take advantage of the upgrade (Skyrim and R&C) but they both look better than ever. Hopefully in 6 months the benefit will be even greater!

I really think it will. Once developers figure out the best way to use the new tech the Pro will really shine.

Glass half empty: in 6-12 months base PS4 will start to suffer bad frame rates and reduced lighting effects

This is basically why I bought a Pro now - I knew that I would eventually get it b4 the ps5, so I may as well get it now and enjoy the benefits longer.

Here is a perfect example of why I got the pro from digital foundry:

• The PC version doesn't have a strong governing body ensuring quality (aka cert), so it often ends up having issues.
• The base PS4 version suffers from frame rate drops down to 20fps for no good reason, but the developers don't need to address it because people who really care will upgrade to the pro
• the pro runs at 30fps/1080p with occasionally issues only... (or 1440p/30 on 4k tvs)

So basically the pro is the only acceptable performance... already... and it just barely came out. Mark my words, this trend will get worse unless Sony really pushes developers to not be lazy about the base ps4.

@Mega-Gazz: It's just one game that was in development long before the Pro came out. Can't really suggest that the base PS4 version was gimped in favour of the Pro in this instance, the developers wouldn't even have had access to it until more recently. My bet is the PS4 version was always going to perform like that.

Lets see where we're at in 6-12 months before worrying about it.

@kyleforrester87: I am not suggesting they intentionally and explicitly set out to ignore the base ps4, but their performance is sub-par on the base model and barely at par on the pro. This is the easier thing to do than actually optimize the performance, so it will happen more.

@Mega-Gazz: The Xbox 1 existing helps, though, as developers will need to get there games running well on that console. If they do that, the performance should be comparable on the standard PS4 as these two systems are fairly similar. Anyway, still nothing to worry about yet IMO, there have always been games released in shady condition on PS4 - Evil Within comes to mind, another Bethesda published game.

I'm 95% sure I will be on the pro train come Christmas. Santa 🎅 I love you.

@themcnoisy: I'm happy with my PS Pro (Seriously, R&C just looks amazing) but I'm not convinced it's crucial at the moment. I guess I do recommend getting one, but don't expect to be blown away, especially if you are staying on a 1080p set. Not trying to take the shine off your Christmas present, just that it could be worth waiting or picking one up with a 4K HDR enabled TV as well, if you can

P.S god damn does R&C look good :/

How's the new DS4 compared to the original version?

@kyleforrester87: Actually in a round about way having limited games which take advantage of pro is an advantage to me. I have second son (unplayed bar the first 5 minutes), ff15 on the way and will pick GT sport up day 1 so I'm hopeful it will be good for those games. I'm happy with limited games, as at least I will have a target bunch of games to play through and buy. I almost bought a 4k tv yesterday but will wait until next year and do some research first, probably picking one up in January. The 1 tb HDD will help as I'm sure you've found and faster load times which have been reported are a huge bonus. But I know what you mean, its not like loading ridge racer for the first time, or playing super monkey ball on the cube. But hey, its the world we live in, yesterday is nowhere - bring on the future!

@Mega-Gazz: In most cases, the games on PS4 don't run perfectly anyway. Dishonoured 2 runs better on the PS4 than it does on the XB1 so this shows that the 'Pro' was not necessarily the priority. The fact the Pro has more processing power (although the CPU and Memory bandwidth have not been increased anywhere near as much as the CPU) is why we can see an improved gaming experience on the Pro.

Dishonoured 2 though can't run smoothly at 1080/60 on a high end GPU designed for 4k so that shows that performance on a PS4 (or XB1) with under 2tflops of performance was never going to be easy. So many games are releasing with unlocked frame rates and dynamic scaling on these 3yr old consoles because they cannot run at a consistent level through out. Most struggle to deliver a locked 1080/30 and even 900/60. We have seen Fog cripple frame rates in the Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 for example. If they released now and ran a lot more consistently and with the fog too, would you accuse the developers of favouring the Pro?

We do have the Xbox One version to see how developers are focusing their attention. If the XB1 version runs better or even like for like, we can then say that developers haven't put as much effort in. But at the moment, it seems that the standard PS4 version is running as expected with the Pro version offering an upgrade as it was designed to do. I know some Pro versions actually seem rushed as they only offer a 'flat' resolution bump with little regard to the impact on frame rate (Last of Us 60fps mode, Skyrim 4k) as these actually run worse than the base version.

@themcnoisy: Again I agree with @kyleforrester87 as the Pro at the moment is quite underwhelming overall. The few games (less than 5%) that it actually benefits are hit and miss too - some add a lot to the game, some quite little and some actually take away from the experience - less stability. For the majority of games though, this is still just a PS4 - Not a PS4+ or even a Pro bur a bog standard PS4! The ones that work well though do show the potential this has and what the future can bring. I have no doubt that with the new releases in particular, we will be getting a 'Pro' experience.

@BAMozzy: Stop putting me off. I'm excited man, tell me how great it is. Dont wee on my cornflakes. Lol.

Hope things are good with you bro, will have to get a game on with you sometime again. I'm getting TF2 for Xmas too and I know the likes of @kyroki and @quintumply are grabbing it too with @hego already owning it. We could use a teammate post Xmas! That goes for you too @kyleforrester87 that ff15 co-op was actually designed just for us.

@themcnoisy: Haha, no - I reckon it is certainly worth getting one as a longer term investment, just temper your expectations a little on Christmas morning is all. It's like getting an iPhone upgrade, once your data is all transferred you are basically looking at your old phone again with a few cool improvements I'd hate to see you on here moaning about it on Boxing Day haha. And yeah hopefully we'll get some gaming in over Christmas, might try TF2.

@themcnoisy: Certainly not trying to put you off - just saying you aren't missing out a great deal at the moment. Unless you are playing those 'few' games that do benefit, then its no different really from your current set-up. You may save a few seconds here and there on loading times but for the most part, its no different from a standard PS4.

Come the new year though, with games like Horizon, Mass Effect, RE7 etc all with Pro enhancements, the chances are you will get more from it. Setting it all up and jumping into Rocket League isn't going to be any different from playing on the base PS4.

TF2 is a game that does benefit visually - although I do think some textures are not as high as the resolution increase needed - On a 1080p TV, it must look sharper as the game uses dynamic scaling and rarely hits 1080p on the base version. I believe it runs very well on the base PS4 so frame rates aren't improved - its still a good game though and worth getting - even though I do think its not as good as some reviews seem to make it out to be. Still look forward to teaming up and kicking some proverbial in the MP with you and other PushSquare Forumites though...