DF vs. Child of Light: PS4/PC def. ed.

DriedMangoes

We The North 🦖🍁
Sep 12, 2013
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PC/PS4 called definitive edition due to consistency and stability.

Last-gen consoles have more stable framerate than X1 although running at native 720p and X1 running supersampled, DF inquires whether native 1080p would be more suitable.

X1's FPS drops not occasional, so doesn't deter that much from the experience.

PS3/PS4 are cross-buy so if you bought on PS4, you get it free on the PS3 which is awesome.

Personal note, is the X1's blacks still crushed? I thought they fixed it in an update.

A picture to explain what I'm talking about. The blacks are crushed on the MS consoles so you miss some fine details.

ibevrCARqToleE.png


http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-child-of-light-face-off

The topic of resolution is particularly interesting where PS4 and Xbox One are concerned. Child of Light provides us with a crisp 1080p presentation, but some evidence suggests that elements of the presentation are derived from rendering at a much higher resolution and then down-sampling - a process known as super-sampling. The lack of long straight edges makes pixel counting difficult, but our analysis throws up two separate numbers for horizontal resolution - 2304 and 2112 were both extracted from the same scene - while vertical resolution is consistent at 1440. This isn't entirely confirmed, then - it may well be the case that a form of multi-sampling is in effect, but the edge-smoothing is quite unlike any other form of MSAA we've seen before. You can peer at the effects on all six platforms by checking out our expansive comparison gallery.

For the most part the same high standards are also in place on the Xbox One release, but there are moments where the engine falters, resulting in brief drops in smoothness and some mild - but noticeable - stuttering. The relative rarity of these inconsistencies mean they have no adverse impact on gameplay throughout most of the experience - at worse we looking at drops down to around the 52fps mark, but usually the impact on performance is much smaller and often goes by undetected when immersed in exploring the beautiful watercolour world on offer.

That said, seeing frame-rate drops in a 2D title is rather disappointing and not something we'd expect to see on modern hardware with plenty of pixel-pushing power behind it. Assuming the super-sampling theory is correct, we do wonder whether sticking with native 1080p may have been a preferable solution overall on Xbox One.

The last-generation versions put in a slightly more stable performance compared to the Xbox One where frame-rates are concerned, although all three platforms narrowly miss out on a solid 60fps update by one or two frames from time to time. Due to the small nature of these drops the impact on gameplay is non-existent, and for the most part they go by undetected.



On the whole Child of Light is a well-crafted experience across all platforms, although it's clear that the current-generation console and PC releases are the most satisfying to play due to the way the higher-resolution visuals more faithfully replicating fine lines and intricate detail in the stylish artwork. Running solidly at 60fps, the PS4 game is the definitive console version, and it's also Cross Buy too, so you get the PS3 game at no extra cost - a pretty nice bonus even if the experience isn't quite as good on a graphical level.
Overall, this is a fascinating game with a unique charm that manages to work its magic across all platforms, but for stability and consistency the PS4 version gets the nod on console, while the PC version is certainly worthy of consideration if you don't own Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo hardware.
 
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Wow. Supersampling is such a waste of processing power.
 
I think this may the first legitimate case of lazy developer so far in this generation.

I mean really? A 2D game with framerate issues?
 
Sad.

Xb1 struggling on a 2D game.
WTF?

Also Supersampling is always the best form of AA if you have the hardware to handle it.
I do it all the time on my rig. In a 2D game though it shouldn't be that demanding. In effect it is doubling the amount of pixels drawn in the game during each frame.
 
Sad.

Xb1 struggling on a 2D game.
WTF?

Also Supersampling is always the best form of AA if you have the hardware to handle it.
I do it all the time on my rig. In a 2D game though it shouldn't be that demanding. In effect it is doubling the amount of pixels drawn in the game during each frame.

I've read somewhere that supersampling is actually less GPU-intensive than AA. Also, why would you need AA for 2D images? :txbconfused:
 
I've read somewhere that supersampling is actually less GPU-intensive than AA. Also, why would you need AA for 2D images? :txbconfused:

What is going on here is pretty much OGSSAA : Ordered Grid SuperSampling AntiAliasing. Basically taking an image (in this case a fairly simple 2D game and rendering it at a much higher resolution hence doubling the pixels, and then downsampling it to the native res of whatever it is being outputted to.
It is pretty GPU intensive but like most forms of high quality AA it is also dependent upon the game that is being downsampled. For instance if you tried this with BF4 the PS4 and XB1 would barely hit 10fps. Usually games with complex shaders and other things like tessellation require alot more GPU muscle to be downsampled.

As for why they would do this for a 2D game is beyond me. The upside is that OGSSAA effectively eliminates ANY form of jaggies. This is as opposed to some other forms of AA that only target particular areas of an individual pixel then smooth everything out (resulting in a much worse image.)
 
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It really all depends, MSAA is really GPU intensive if being used on a deferred rendering engine ala Frostbite or CryEngine 2/3
 
It really all depends, MSAA is really GPU intensive if being used on a deferred rendering engine ala Frostbite or CryEngine 2/3

Yeah....and on that point they could've just had all versions hit 1080p and implemented some form of alternative AA and BOOM. Done.

Everybody is happy and the method of AA implementation is not as taxing.
I love Child of Light but lets be honest here the game isn't pushing the boundaries of modern graphics.
 
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I heard it was the next-gen hair that did it.
 
Agreed, only if the hardware can't handle it though.
Even if the hardware can handle it. The amount of processing power required is pure insanity and has no real visual benefit, even for a hybrid 2D/3D engine like this.
 
I think this may the first legitimate case of lazy developer so far in this generation.

I mean really? A 2D game with framerate issues?
I am fairly sure they did not spend too much time optimizing X1, but you could also said the same for PS4 for that matter. But when you even need to optimize the hardware to run a 2D game (with some simple 3Ds characters) then something is not right. Only question is, what is wrong?

For the sake of X1, I hope they accidentally ran some serious background apps, hence the frame rate drop.
 
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I've read somewhere that supersampling is actually less GPU-intensive than AA. Also, why would you need AA for 2D images? :txbconfused:
2D images also have aliasing effect, in fact, it could be worse. (unless the background is static & a single picture)
 
So basically in a nutshell there is evidence of the game running at 1440p on PS4/Xb1 (which is essentially 2XSSAA for the consoles) and the Xb1 is having a harder time of it.
 
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I am not sure why they did not use SMAA, it's pretty much right now the holy grail of PP AA solutions, and basically has no performance hit.
 
Even if the hardware can handle it. The amount of processing power required is pure insanity and has no real visual benefit, even for a hybrid 2D/3D engine like this.

Depends on the game:
I don't play DOTA2 and these aren't my pics but you can tell a difference is there.

lycanmqu3o.png




lyacn29cu26.png
 
Depends on the game:
I don't play DOTA2 and these aren't my pics but you can tell a difference is there.

lycanmqu3o.png




lyacn29cu26.png
I think I was mistakenly thinking about Ubersampling earlier when I read supersampling. Those results look actually decent.
 
Is this thread a joke? No? The industry is a sad place right now.
 
At worse 52fps compared to 60fps for xb1?

Must be a really slow news week.
 
Game is beautiful no matter where you play it. UbiArt engine is really impressive.