Comments 795

Re: PS5 Pro Patch for The Last of Us 2 Remastered Already Available Now

Rich33

@OldGamer999
PSSR has impressed DF, and they have seen it running in person; and just looking at a few shots is enough to know that PSSR is more than 'slightly better' - just take a look at the improvements in the Last of us 2 and FF Rebirth.
We will also likely see improvement in PSSR as we move through the next couple of years as Sony continually improve it.

Current consoles (Pre PS5 Pro) can only use software based upscalers such as FSR, which are not in the same league as Hardware based DLSS or PSSR etc.
DF's take is that PS6 (and next XBox etc) will be very much reliant on hardware based upscaling (in Sonys case PSSR) as GPUs will not continue to see as large an increase in raw power between generations going forwards. We may not even see a big jump moving from PS5 Pro to PS6.

Also, I have a recent Sony TV (4k 120hz HDMI2.1), which has the upscaling tech included - it barely makes a difference when upscaling PS5. If anything turning it up too high tends to over sharpen the image slightly imo.
I can certainly tell a big difference on my TV if I swap between Graphics and performance modes - which i sometimes do out of interest even though i am 100% a 60fps gamer.
The TV upscaler seems to make a much better (and very much appreciated) job when used on poorer inputs / TV type signals such as HD channels.

Re: Like It or Not, This Is Why PS5 Pro Doesn't Have a Disc Drive

Rich33

@Grumblevolcano
Whilst I prefer the option of a drive rather than forcing a drive with the additional cost that would include, I 100 % agree - because of the various legal issues I dont think Sony could now offer a console without the option of a drive. Your comment should have more likes..

Re: PS5 Pro Adds Ray Tracing to Alan Wake 2 in Big Tech Improvement

Rich33

@Futureshark
As someone else replied, you will certainly get the visual fidelity benedits Pro will offer for the 60fps modes. It just depends on how well you can see this on your TV.

My (friendly / unprofessional) advice based on what we have seen and been told so far, would be to check out a few games fidelity/graphics modes and see if you can see a marked difference in the visual quality (ignoring framerate) - ie would this approx fidelity mode image quality be worth it to you once it was running at the performance mode framerate.
Though its not certain for all games, hopefully this should be achievable - I think due to the use of PSSR it could even be exceeded in some cases - I would keep an eye on DF videos as they will go into this on a game by game basis.

Games that run at significantly above 60fps (requiring 120hz VRR) for a significant portion of their run time are not massively common outside of Sony 1st party.
I can only talk from my own tastes which are mostly 3rd person action / adventure titles but there do not seem to be many 3rd party titles like Hogwarts Legacy (which now runs significantly above 60fps for good stretches).
A lot of Sony 1st party titles including insomniac titles, GOWR etc (but not Astro bot or Demon souls), do allow for uncapping their performance modes for 120hz VRR, and some of these manage 80 - 90fps regularly.

Will Pro lead to more uncapped titles - maybe - from rumoured specs (nothing confirmed yet - which I could rant about for a good paragraph or 3 lol), the CPU is 10% faster which could make uncapping more worthwhile (if a game runs at 60fps currently there will already be overhead a lot of the time and a 10% increase may be enough to make uncapping now worthwhile), but will more likely just allow games that struggle on the CPU side reach 60fps better.

On the GPU side we have a much larger increase, and any game with a Pro enhanced mode, that are bottlenecked due to GPU on base PS5 could theoretically run with a much higher framerate (providing an uncap option is given). However, what is more likely (as per Mark Cerny and what we have seen so far) is that they will use this extra GPU to allow struggling games to acheive 60fps, and improve image quality with the aim in targetting Fidelity/graphics mode levels of quality, running at performance mode framerates.

Re: PS5 Pro Adds Ray Tracing to Alan Wake 2 in Big Tech Improvement

Rich33

@get2sammyb

I really appreciate the lists of Pro enhanced games you guys are putting out.
Hopefully the on console market place will add an additional list/section for Pro Enhanced like they do for VR (in addition to the product page label).

DF mentioned in one of their recent videos that they thought Sony had mandated Pro enhanced (performance) modes on all games going forwards (though i dont think they were talking indies) - have you guys heard similar? (My apologies if you have already said this, i do read all your Pro articles).

Re: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Web Swings to PC in January 2025

Rich33

@GamingFan4Lyf
Thank you again. Im under no illusion Pro is going to be a miracle machine, but I think a decent image at 60fps as you mentioned should not require a miracle! (But im not sure how often it will happen on base PS5 now).
In the meantime, im reading up / asking questions for PC atm - as I want a genuine alternative / choice when ps6 rolls around.... not just an idle baseless threat if Sony fails to listen to their 75% performance mode research!

Re: PS5 Pro's Proprietary Upscaler PSSR Is Looking Very Promising

Rich33

I watched this last night and was pretty impressed on how far this is along - its no DLSS yet looking at the evidence, although it compares reasonably well, but from this and the other (many) videos DF have produced it blows away the non hardware based upscalers the base PS5 can use.

PSSR will likely be absolutely essential for PS6 - which in terms of raw GPU power wont be anywhere near as far ahead of PS5 Pro as PS5 was from PS4 Pro - well, not unless we want £800+ consoles.

Now it just comes down to adoption of Pro from 3rd Party (as well as obviously 1st party), them feeding back to Sony any limitations in PSSR, and Sonys ability to improve PSSR over the next 4 ish years before PS6.

Re: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Web Swings to PC in January 2025

Rich33

@GamingFan4Lyf
For me, its the opposite - i (we) do our gaming in the living room, via the main TV, and could hide a pretty modest Tower with a tiny bit of effort. But, I dont have room elsewhere to have it set up with a monitor, hence why I suddenly thought after reading your original post something along the lines of 'have they had to go to using a monitor when they moved to PC".

I decided to give Sony 1 more go with Pro (which unlike some people, I have thought looks pretty good really - mainly as I have been watching all the DF videos & via my TV not just a phone).

I dont want to move away from console, for a number of reasons, but they are starting to force my hand with all these sub 60 framerate issues in the last year or so (which give me headaches and make me feel sick). The other side of that being games that run at 60fps but look horrible or like vaseline - I was quite happy in the 1st few years of PS5!
But Sony is at least making it easier by putting all their AAA exclusives on PC!

I also know PC games sometimes launch with stutter issues, but hopefully by 4 years time this might be a bit better.

So, I am 'kicking the can down the road' 4 years until PS6, and the ball is in their court to convince me that 60fps (or more), with decent enough visuals is now their priority (and that they can pull 3rd party in line somehow) as per Mark Cernys presentation (which really was the only useful part of this overly short video as he didnt get time to go into any real detail).

If not, I plan to be ready to move to PC (but in order to make it feel like it was worth it I will definitely be aiming for 90fps+ !)

Re: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Web Swings to PC in January 2025

Rich33

@GamingFan4Lyf @NEStalgia
Ah, thank you.
When I read in your post (GamingFan) about you moving to PC and buying a monitor I thought that my assumption you could simply plug into a TV might be wrong (I had never really asked the question, just assumed) - unfortunately it would really scupper any plans if I needed a monitor.
Thank you again.

Re: Like It or Not, This Is Why PS5 Pro Doesn't Have a Disc Drive

Rich33

@Runex2121
Yeah, i just dont get the arguments.

There is a debate to be had over Physical vs Digital games, and the stats here are interesting.
( I also understand the argument of built-in drives not needing pairing but not being replaceable, but Sony has already decided on the route of non built-in drives long ago with slim).

The basic fact here is that if Pro had included the drive it would have been more expensive. Doing it the way they have just gives you the option to save your money, if you dont want a drive, and spend it now or later if you do.

Enjoy the pro! (All the DF videos keep making me wish it was here sooner!)

Re: Spider-Man 2 Won't Receive Any PS5 Story DLC

Rich33

@Flaming_Kaiser
Yeah, it could easily be that they would have needed to change things here so made it less financially viable.

But I also read somewhere that the hack had put the studio behind significantly overall - which to get back on track meant either significantly pushing back release dates of Wolverine or a venom game (if it exists), or cancelling dlc for SM2.
If the dlc for SM2 was not too far in development, and given the timing of the hack would have pushed it further from launch than they maybe would have liked, maybe this was the thing to go. If so, its a shame for all those that enjoyed the game and wanted more.

Re: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Web Swings to PC in January 2025

Rich33

@GamingFan4Lyf
I was reading one of your posts on this thread, and thought I would ask a question as someone who has bought the pro, but is getting completely hacked off with the situation of framerates in console games and Sonys inability in getting 3rd party devs to stick to a decent 60fps (which given their market dominance in the console space should really be easy for them imo).

Im not asking for now, but for 4yrs time when PS6 is launching and i am considering this vs switching to PC.

You mentioned buying a monitor for your new PC when switching from console - how easy and successful is it to plug a decent PC (as you have described upper mid range, with Nvidia GPU) into a decent TV (4k, 120hz, VRR, HDMI 2.1) via an HDMI 2.1 cable.
Is it just plug in and use these days? (I would be hesitant to need any 'additional' mods / software not supplied by Nvidia).
Many thanks.

Re: Spider-Man 2 Won't Receive Any PS5 Story DLC

Rich33

The hate this game gets sometimes feels almost like its politically motivated, but I have no idea where that comes from.

When compared to most games released this generation, this game is technically top of the pile, polished, well produced, and just an all round good game. You dont always need sweeping changes to make a good game, and I certainly didnt think SM2 was a downgrade from SM1.

Was it perfect, No, but I would much prefer spending £70 on a new game in this series every couple of years than on most new games released this gen.

Re: Spider-Man 2 Won't Receive Any PS5 Story DLC

Rich33

@twitchtvpat
You may be right. I seem to remember (buy i may be getting mixed up) a bug in the game that leaked early dlc plans.
But my thought is that maybe the delays they have had due to the hack, which i think were quite substantial, literally caused them to get so far behind that (as they hadnt done much work on it) they cancelled their dlc plans.

Re: Spider-Man 2 Won't Receive Any PS5 Story DLC

Rich33

I thought there were plans in place for a dlc with chapter headings leaked?
I wonder whether the hack put them so far behind, they have had to cancel plans?
Such a shame, I really liked the game - thought it was one of the highlights of this generation, and was hoping to see some dlc.

Re: Poll: Are You Using the PS5's New Welcome Hub?

Rich33

Has anyone else noted on the Storage widget for Internal SSD, once expanded to include detail - on mine the widgets 'Other' storage category has a different gb value than if i go to the main storage page in the options menu (the original from launch) - the widget shows an amount approx 1.5 times the main page if I remember correctly.

@ShogunRok - tagged you in, in case having written the article, this is of any interest.

Re: Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Sounds Like a Ridiculously Good PS5 Upgrade

Rich33

@Mikey856
RE melting eyes - did you by chance see the digital foundry hour long video about Pro a couple of weeks ago? HFW was 1 of the only games they had really decent footage of imo (not their fault), and the pro upgrade looked amazing, even over Youtube (I did watch on my TV though).
What's the word they like to use - "transformative" - easy agree from me.

Re: Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Sounds Like a Ridiculously Good PS5 Upgrade

Rich33

@colonelkilgore
I think im in the same place as you are on this - the 2 GOW games were better imo, but both the original Horizon and its sequel were good games which were well polished.

I see a generally high level of completely undeserved criticism towards a lot of Sony games to be fair (not usually from critics though), but, Horizon does seem to get more than others, which to me only seemed to increase massively when the Burning shores dlc was released....

Re: IO Interactive's Project 007 to Feature a 'Young Bond for Gamers' with a View to a Trilogy

Rich33

@riceNpea
Im not saying there shouldnt be some limits - though you might need to be a bit flexible with a few you have stated (eg high cheekbones) if facial mapping is a thing (its a good idea - i probably wouldnt do it, but if it makes others happy, why not, and it might make getting to an approximation of an actor much easier!).

That said, while i would probably aim for something like SC or RM at a suitable age depending on what we learn going forwards, if someone else really wanted to create a 5' 4" bond etc it wouldnt bother me one little bit - whatever makes them happy.
Though tighter limits might remove some of the issues inherent in creator tools....

Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 PS5 Performance Quietly Improved By Latest Patch, Players Say

Rich33

@Medic_alert
Ive said it many times before, but it really depends on the person - I feel sick and/or get headaches at much less than 60fps, and can see big improvements up to 90fps (then diminishing returns up to 120).
Others genuinely cant really see much above 40fps or dont find 30fps to be a problem at all.

I am a fim believer that Performance modes should be locked 60fps (infrequent minor drops are ok) with the option to uncap if you have 120hz VRR TVs, and everthing should be reduced/tweaked to achieve this; on the other hand graphics modes should be locked 30fps with all the bells and whistles they can add while maintaining 30fps. Everyones happy then, and anything else is just bad design, or poor developers.

Re: IO Interactive's Project 007 to Feature a 'Young Bond for Gamers' with a View to a Trilogy

Rich33

@riceNpea
I would imagine that a lot of 'Bond fans' haven't read even 1 of the books - I know I haven't, but I have watched all the movies.
If the book description matters to you, you could design based on this.
Others will consider the 'correct' bond appearance to be the actor they grew up watching, or like best in the role, and as said there have been a few now...
And if others want to design a bond not based on any book or film, thats their choice, its not hurting me.
Same with age - just go with whatever fits the story in your opinion - they have only said 'young' so far - maybe they will leave it to interpretation or maybe they will give an age later.

If a creator is what they are planning (maybe it is, maybe not - Im only going on what their wording was) it allows everyone to design based on what Bond they want, be it book, actor, or neither.

We dont even know what decade the game will be based in - modern films base themselves in present day, which im sure would make bond a pretty decent age if you stuck rigidly to the birthdate in the books.

Re: IO Interactive's Project 007 to Feature a 'Young Bond for Gamers' with a View to a Trilogy

Rich33

@riceNpea
Why is it a terrible idea - the character has now been played by a number of different people that all look very different.
The idea is a younger bond, so if they simply add a creator you can create a younger version of any of the actors of your choosing (I doubt they want to pay for all those likenesses), or fit more to descriptions in the books if you are into the book canon, or if you wish design a look of your own - everyone wins, and nobody loses.

Re: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Showcases the Problem with Sony's Games on PS5 Pro

Rich33

@SuntannedDuck2
Its true of course that insomniac are incredibly good at optimisation, which as you say includes not going over the top on things - eg the RT reflections are very cleverly very low base res, upscaled in clever ways (DF spent a lot of time explaining how they did it at the time).
However, they just seem able to get SO much more out of PS5 than anyone else - although other 1st party devs also get far more than most 3rd party devs, insomniac just seems top of the pile.
I remember listening to an interview where they explained that their engine tends to max out both CPU and GPU at the same rate/time
In terms of modes, they normally do the following now i think:
Performance - uncapped fps for 120hz VRR
Performance - capped 60fps
Quality - 40fps for 120hz screens only
Quality - 30fps
(I think im right - i dont ever use quality modes. The 60fps & 30fps allow for very slightly higher base res than their counterparts).

Anyone who thought that a patch for Rift apart was going to show off the Pro, was always going to be disappointed.
SM2 may be a different case, but only at times - whilst still keeping above 60fps, the framerate and base resolution clearly dipped in some areas of the game, particularly when the city starts to get remoddled near the end of the game.

Re: Like Clockwork, Lies of P Will Be Enhanced on PS5 Pro

Rich33

@McTwist
Its no where near as 'finickety' as other similar titles, although its still a good idea to make sure you search everywhere & do all 'requests' asap as they can become unavailable with progress, but thats fairly normal with this genre.

There is a trick with the 'Lies' playthrough (which should really be 'human' or 'compassion' playthrough) for the best ending. NB a lot of the guides are actually incorrect on 1 or more of the choices.
Save before each conversation (I cant remember if cloud back up is needed) and you will get a message about feeling or your heart if you have picked correctly. Also listen to all records when you get them.

Re: Like Clockwork, Lies of P Will Be Enhanced on PS5 Pro

Rich33

A real gem of a game (thought they easily rivalled some FS games with this one), and already one of the best performance modes technically of a 3rd party game in recent years.

As well as improved image, would like to see the Pro include uncapped framerate in 120hz (using VRR).

Re: PS5 Pro Makes Quality, Performance Modes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard Better Than Ever

Rich33

@Andy22385
Yes, quite agree that games going forwards are far more likely to use the new hardware better than patched older games - though a big part of me was also thinking that based on the last year or so I dread to think what state performance modes on base PS5 will be in after Pro launches now that devs have the "opt out clause" of "Those that care about performance modes will have bought Pro".

I am also grateful for the excuse to go back and replay a few of my 'pro enhanced' favourites though....

Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trophies Want You to Do Everything on PS5

Rich33

@BIG3
I was fine with the merlin trials as they were mostly short & enjoyable, but i know what you mean.
I just couldnt be bothered with getting all the way to the map chamber with all 4 houses just for a trophy! (It may have made a difference if other than that 1 quest, there had been more 'house' changes).
I am certainly of the belief that all trophies should be gainable in 1 100% run through.