New Horizon Forbidden West Update Adds 40fps Mode, VRR Support

This is awesome. I need a new TV 😩

Definitely a game worth waiting for the inevitable Definitive Edition with all the bug fixes (and an upcoming DLC?).

Now I only need an new TV...

I finished HFW a month or so ago and haven’t been back in since. This is the second update since then, so I’ll be sure to pop back and mop up some side quests to see the improvements for myself. Just wish my 4K TV supported VRR and 120Hz.

Can't wait for inevitable Digital Foundry analysis of 40Hz mode. I loved this in Rift Apart, best way to play if your TV support's it.

Playing smoothly above 60fps an open world game looking this good is really exceeding my expectations on the new gen.

@Gloamin I guess so. Not sure if it remains exactly the same settings as the 4K/30 mode but it should be very very close. Looking forward to more in depth analysis.
Furthermore I’m curious how much headroom the game has in the 60 fps VRR Mode. Not able to see the exact framerate on my Lg E9.

Game feels very very smooth in the 60 fps mode. The 40 fps mode feels great, too. Hard to decide which way to play. Already impressed again how much better 40 Fps feels compared to 30 Fps.

@lexveem I agree. Since the updated AA solution for the Performance mode the game is really a fantastic showcase for the ps5 - it’s a cross gen game but it’s a blast on ps5.

Pretty sure when I was looking for a new tv 15 months ago the 1 I finally purchased was 60Hz only, the VRR ones were too expensive, so not sure what if anything this would do for me - still don't have the game yet. We do have R&C so I suppose I can go mess around with that. Can't recall what I played it on.🤷

One thing I can't figure out is how 40Hz works. I've always assumed 60Hz TVs showed 30 FPS frames twice and 60 FPS once. 40 is an odd number when 45 is right there in the middle. Maybe when I wake up a little more.

Man, I really hope the devs start getting their s*** together and start shipping games with all the modes. I'm tired of being punished for buying games on launch at full price...

"a new "Balanced" visual mode from the options that runs the PS5, PS4 exclusive at 40 frames-per-second."

Does that mean that the PS4 (Pro possibly) can run it at 40fps? If not, a bit of a word tidy up would help.

@rjejr the more modern TVs like oleds are 120hz displays. So when the game has a 40 fps mode it’s totally fine for these displays.

@sanderson72 where did you read this? Guerilla listed it as a ps5 only feature.

@rjejr That's why I was just about to buy a 4K TV and then held off with all this 120Hz talk. A lot of the new ones (including the updated model of the 43" LG that I was looking at) now seem to support 120Hz.

@Reeneman I was just questioning Push Square's wording - sounded like there was a 40Hz mode on the "PS5, PS4 exclusive". The top part of my post is a direct lift from the above text and sometimes Pu5h5quare have to be asked a direct question with regards to the old stager.
I don't understand why it needs a balanced mode? Isn't the PS5 grunty enough to shove 4K@60Hz on a tarted up PS4 game?

It’ll be nice to have if/when they release a DLC. Not going back to a game I finished months ago just for an update.

@sanderson72 Good spot, I've edited that bit to make it more clear.

@sanderson72 uff. Yes it’s a cross gen game but have you seen those visuals on the ps5? It’s really stunning in my opinion, especially since the improved 60 fps mode.
They call the 40 fps mode „balanced“ that’s right but we don’t know which, or if any, graphical differences between the 40 fps and the 30 fps there are.
I would believe for now that the settings are mostly the same between both.

Take care with the smaller size TVs. These sites of 48 inches are sometime lacking the 120 fps/ VRR features. Better double check this before buying.

@Reeneman Personally, I thought the visuals on the Pro looked pretty darn good.
Also, the 'Ready Brek' glow (sorry, 'Hero Lighting') option around Aloy on the PS5 screens I saw looked, well...crap.

@sanderson72 the game is looking great on all the available platforms, even the base ps4.
It’s the ongoing discussion - for sure as a ps5 only title it most likely would look a bit better but I absolutely won’t complain about it. I think it’s beautiful on ps5, really impressed so far.

Hero lightning does look a bit off in some cases that’s true but that’s not a specific ps5 issue.

@Gloamin I tested the new patch during my launch break today haha. It’s really hard to decide which mode too choose. 40 fps playing really good and again I’m impressed how much better this is compared to 30fps, while the performance mode (seems to be 60-80 fps) is sooo smooth but has the small upscaling issues in some areas but they are very very minor.

Ratchet and Clank completely sold me on this (40fps) graphics mode. Hopefully it becomes a standard inclusion for Sony’s first party output.

@Gloamin @rjejr Leave it to Sony to come up with a "balanced" standard for their new games that happens to require brand new, top of the line state of the art TVs....... there's corporate synergy for you!

@rjejr I like how the answer to "VRR 120 tvs are expensive during a spiraling recession so I bought a normal 60hz one" on the forum seems to be "well modern expensive premium TVs have the new standard so you should buy them" Sometimes I think everyone on forums is rich.

Great! Now Digital Foundry can finally shut up about VRR support 😒

@Gloamin True, but Sony's the only one I've seen really making a thing out of 40hz, and they do have quite the history of pushing their TVs with their halo products.... I can't help but be skeptical. Everyone else is pushing for 60Hz, or trying to push past 60Hz.....as long as they put attention into making 60hz as good as it can be it won't matter, I'd rather play at 60 anyway, but I can see them kind of phoning 60 in and making 40 their premier. The only thing missing from past attempts is having a snazzy brand name around their 40Hz mode that makes it seem like you need a Bravia for it. "This game plays best with TrueMotiON(TM) Fluidity Engine(TM) available on select Bravia displays."

So tempted to pick up a new TV but it always feels like as soon as I get one some new feature will be announced that I wish I'd held out for. Bah.

@Gloamin Yeah, 40 and >60 requires a 120+ TV, but any game focusing on >60 still benefits 60.

I'm more thinking around the fact they might put less focus or attention on the 60fps modes when they know they can rely on their high end TVs to make 40 premium. EG. leave HFWs performance mode in the crummy state it was in when it launched (I haven't played it yet, but I've seen the difference of pre and post-patch.)

Personally I think 60 is the sweet spot still, so I'm not fussed over 40. I just don't want them to get lazy on quality of 60hz modes and focus on 40 as a standard because it is synergistic with their internal objectives.

The Ford doesn't matter, it'll be dead in 6 years anyway....

I've yet to try 40fps mode on any games. By the time the features get added (Ratchet & Clank, HFW) I'm already done with the games. Mabey a few years from now when I decide to re-visit some of these games, I'll get to see what 40fps is about...

@AFCC easy solution would be not to buy games at launch. I don't think I've bought a single game at launch in the last 10 years. You might even save a bit of money

@NEStalgia "Sometimes I think everyone on forums is rich."

being in debt > being rich
You don't have to pay taxes on debt. 😎 (And before you say interest, that's what 0% offers are for.)

@Gloamin Thanks, see other replies - I'm going in order. Still haven't tried R&C. Looked at the PS5 settings, most are off by default for my 60Hz TV.

@sanderson72 I held off for like 3 years, waiting for my 12 year old 52" 1080p TV to die, but it never did, use it now for the PS4, but I convinced my wife we needed 4k for the PS5, then covid and a bunch of movies came out on HBO I wanted to watch, and the most important TV feature to me is size, so 75", which comes at a cost, which limited the other features we could afford. A problem w/ waiting is there's ALWAYS another new feature or spec - HDMI, HDR, VRR - always, but there isn't always more money. 🤑

@Reeneman 40/120 makes sense I suppose, if 1/3 makes sense. It does make more sense than 45, that's for sure. But 30, 60, 90, 120 makes the most sense to me, 40 I think is still a bit of a weird "we did the best we can number". Why not just say variable rate 30-60 (VRR), did we really need 40? 🤷‍♂️

Thanks for the reply though, I like it and it does make sense, the rest is just me math rambling. 😁

@rjejr for VRR on the ps5 you need at least 48 fps. Everything underneath is out of the supported VRR window and will cause stutter. Devs can implement their own Low frame rate compensation (LFC) (insomniac did this for example), in this case even fps under 48 are ok for a VRR mode.

You can find a lot of good explanations around this topic on YouTube. For example check out the channel „Gaming Tech“. There you will get a really good explanation around this whole topic.

The idea with 40 Fps is different and not really has something to do with VRR. The idea is to run a fixed 40 fps to run the game with its highest fidelity, as far as possible. 40 compared to 30 Fps sounds not much but it already plays a lot smoother. 40 fps feeling pretty good.
90 fps would be an option as well for 120 hz screens, but it’s not really a topic currently.

@rjejr Still have to pay taxes on the money you get to pay down the debt...... There's no fooling uncle sam, unless you're running for office.

@rjejr 40 fps mode is literally the middle ground between 30 and 60, not based on number of frames per second (fps), but by time a single frame is presented to your eye (which is a more important metric in this case).
It translates into responsiveness being also exactly in the middle, if that makes sense.
So, although it seems like a small step up, it's truly balanced between two other modes.

@NEStalgia You pay taxes on the money you get, whether you spend it on a big screen tv or rent or $5/day Starbucks, nothing to do w/ anything. Being poor and spending the money on a big screen TV that let's you have 0% interest for 12 or 24 months actually means you are making money b/c inflation and the 24% interest you'd otherwise be paying on a store CC. So it makes sense to be poor. Especially if you are putting a couple of kids through college. Of course then you are poor ether way.🤑

@Cikajovazmaj @Reeneman I appreciate the help you 2, but you're reminding me why I game on console rather than PC, only now consoles are PCs so I need to start gaming on my phone. Or play board games, that Animal Crossing New Horizon's Monopoly was on sale cheap. 😂

@rjejr it’s all fine, don’t worry. These features are more technical gimmicks and/or a cherry on the cake. You don’t need Robinie anything about it. Gaming without those features or not knowing about all of its details is still perfectly fine.

@Reeneman Thanks. I did decide not to check it out on Ratchet & Clank b/c I realized I didn't care that much. I will test it out whenever I get around to getting Horizon but the tv I got has to last me until the PS7 launches and it doesn't do much.

@rjejr "Debt is saving money because inflation"

Your wife may have been able to use that on you, but it doesn't mean that'll work on me 😜

With tv tech, the funny thing is this stuff is mostly console stuff because all the panel tech goes into TV's because that's the bigger market by far. For PCs, monitors are usually years behind tvs, if ever. And worse pricing. 60hz, lcd, no HDMI 2.2, no vrr other than Nvidia/AMD proprietary versions is really most of the monitor world. 120 or even more exists but it's usually cheap, terrible tn panels for the eSports crowd that cares about frames but not image quality. So pc isn't even worried about this stuff and won't be for years.

I actually game on monitors even on console. I'm too blind to see a 70" screen across the room Ps has issues with odd resolution monitors which are usually the high fps ones. Xb handles it. Switch doesn't.

@jrt87 also recently got a C1. Bloody good TV.

I have literally being waiting for this 40FPS mode. It was a total game changer in Ratchet and Clank.

@rjejr Yeah, I was all for going for a 60Hz 4K LG TV but then everyone seemed to be banging on about 120Hz.
The updated version of the LG TV model as the one I was looking at (4k 60Hz = £320) is now about £1000 if you want full HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz....

@sanderson72 Yeah I'm old, when I have company I expect them to say "wow, thats a big tv, nice" not "what HDMI port do you have on there?". 😁

I went all those years w/o 4k, I'll survive the rest of my life with 60Hz, but the knowledge of missing out is always there. I mean OLED is beautiful but I can't spend $2k on a tv, I just can't. PS5 was $500 last year, that ain't cheap.

@NEStalgia That's Interesting about monitors vs tvs. I was thinking about all the PC jargon but you're right, tv's have way more going on than monitors. I don't PC game enough to care. Both my kids bought Peggle 1 & 2 last night on Steam, that's how we roll. 👍

I can confirm this mode makes o big difference. I hated playing in performance mode because of low quality but couldn't play in fidelity since game was unplayable for me in 30 fps. Now, sometimes it drops to 40 fps which you can feel but it's perfectly playable at this level and most of the time game runs better and looks amazing all the time. This being said I play on LG OLED with 120 hz and full HDMI 2.1 support, don't know how much improvement it would be without this.

@RicebinBernacky I get spoiled even when I buy day one lol