A recent poll shows that 20% of developers are currently developing PS4 games, 18% of developers are currently developing Xbox One games, 4% of developers are developing WII U games, a small percentage of developers are currently developing games for last gen consoles and handhelds, and most developers are developing for either PC or Mobile.
RKGK/Rakugaki is an action platformer about a team of graffiti artists fighting against an autocratic corporation in Cap City.
TSA writes: "A roguelike deskbuilder full of stylish vim and vigour, Zet Zillions has a lot going for it, but can it challenge the genre's best?"
The Digital Foundry verdict on the technology of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.
Such a good looking game, best graphics this gen so far
" When the camera zooms in for a close-up, the level of detail is such that it left me guessing whether I was looking at real-time graphics or a pre-rendered cutscene. Thankfully, with Photo Mode being available at any time, you can easily confirm that they are, in fact, real-time.Of course, it's really the animation you experience while playing that impressed me the most. The expressions visible while engaged in combat or simply exploring really help bring the characters to life. "
As a story-focused game, characters and character rendering play a significant role in the presentation. However, while the pre-release media largely focused on Senua herself, Hellblade 2 features a surprisingly large number of other humans. It's without doubt one of the games defining visual features - the character rendering in Hellblade 2 sets new standards, delivering sequences that, at times, almost resemble actual filmed scenes with real actors. This is one of the first examples of a game that stands up against the promise of the UE5 demo The Matrix Awakens. The scenes feel very natural and realistic in a way that manages to somewhat sidestep the uncanny valley almost completely.
Incredible graphics..this is finally next gen graphics. It’s an experience more than a game. You can fault it or accept it and embrace what it gives you. It’s like Sony 1886.
(Summary)
- Takes advantage of everything UE5 offers
- Final game 'lives up to the lofty expectations' of the 2019 reveal
- Character rendering sets new standards and nearly resembles movie sequences with actual actors
- Leverages Unreal's Meta Human 5 to bypass the uncanny valley feel
- DF were left guessing whether some cut-scenes were in-game or real life footage (photo mode shows they're all real time)
- Character detail and how light / specular etc reflect on it praised
- A lot of the visual make up is tied to the post-process effects
- No option to disable things like CA, DoF etc but it's all suitable to the games presentation
- Soft filmic image quality and wider FoV praised
Resolution and Visuals:
- DRS 1296 to 1440p (w/ black bars 964 to 1070p). Series S will be covered in separate video
- 'Not sure if adding more pixels would make a difference to the filmic quality'
UE5 Features:
- Lumen is used extensively for direct and in-direct lighting, a lot of real time changes and shadows etc all update accordingly
- 'Phenomenal stuff'
- Lumen does a better job than traditional real time lighting system for indirectly lit areas like under ramps etc
- Lumen reflections used in combination with SSR for water bodies. Some water bodies can show SSR artifacts when moving camera
- 'Anyone looking at the game in motion will be impressed even if they do not understand the technical reasons'
- Unreal's fog is used effectively, fog lights up with light sources and runs at high quality
- Water effects and waves are praised. ' Absolutely stunning'
- Nanite is extensively used and eliminates visible pop-in even during scene transitions
- Minimal repetition or tiling, uses photo-grammatory
- Some assets like tree branches can show low resolution when zoomed in with photo mode, however
- Fine shadow detail is retained even when zooming extremely in thanks to Unreal's Virtual Shadow Maps
- Shadow quality is not always perfect and can show cracks in some instances but very consistent by and large
- Not the first UE5 game to use all these features, but by and far the best looking game to do so.
Performance:
- 30 FPS but the performance is locked and never dropped in John's testing on Series X
- DF tested the game on their Series X - similar - PC to see how much performance could be gained over 30
- 4K with DRS, they were able to stay locked at 30 FPS on High
- DRS 1440p with 60 FPS target sees game play at high 50s with more drops in cut-scenes
- DF thinks based on this test, SX can do 60 FPS with a more aggressive DRS target
- However, PC version can show massive frame time stutters that the Xbox version does not in the same areas
- DF summary: 60 FPS is theoretically possible, but for a stable 60 they might need to drop settings a lot
Audio
- Headphones are needed for Binaural audio effect that the game uses extensively
- DF thinks it is 'incredibly engaging'
Trailer Comparison:
- They compare the Giant fight trailer with the same area in the final game
- Final game has lesser lens distortion and difference in how the flame is lit
- The flames felt more 'fluid' in the demo versus the final game, otherwise no difference in the segment noted
- DF thinks Ninja Theory 'reached their goal'
- Praise the polish, presentation etc.
If they achieved this level of quality their first time using UE5... I can't wait to see what their next game is going to look like.
Remember the trailer release and ppl didn't think it was insane footage cause it looked too good
It's the first-party studios that will really drive next-gen games development. Multiplatform devs will still be limited to the lowest common denominator console. Even though devs are pushing higher resolution and frame rate on the PS4, when it comes to true next gen gaming experiences, it will be the first party studios that matter the most.
I think Sony has 12 1st part studios to MS's 21
Microsoft Studios
First Party (21)
United States
343 Industries – Halo series
Connected Experiences – Untitled Project – Design Large scale multiplayer title and help other first party studios
Good Science Studio – Kinect Adventures, Kinect Fun Labs
Kids and Lifestyle Entertainment – Untitled Project
Microsoft Studios – Los Angeles – Untitled Project
Microsoft Studios – Mobile Gaming – ilomilo
Microsoft Studios – Redmond Publishing – Overseeing and co-developing multiple projects in conjunction with third party development studios
Platform Next Studios – Untitled Project
Playful Learning – Untitled Project
Skybox Sports – Untitled Project
Turn 10 Studios – Forza Motorsport series
Twisted Pixel Games – The Gunstringer, LocoCycle
Xbox Live Productions – South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!,South Park: Tenorman's Revenge, Avatar Kinect
Europe
Lionhead Studios – Fable series, Black & White series,Unannounced MMO-like New IP
Lift London – Multiple Cloud Based gaming projects
Rare Ltd. – Banjo-Kazooie series, Viva Piñata, Perfect Dark series,Kinect Sports series
Soho Productions – Kinect Sesame Street TV
Press Play – Untitled Project[24]
Canada
BigPark – Joy Ride series, Kinect Sports: Season Two
Black Tusk Studios – Untitled Project
Microsoft Studios Victoria – Untitled Project
Third Party (67)
@ StarElite, my bad, 20 studios
Does the Wii U's 4% include the indie developers, too?
I find it hard to believe that OVER a hundred and twenty indies, and growing, were included into figuring a mere 4%...
Oh well, there's still a lot of quality titles coming, so I'm happy whatever the percentage.^_^
That 2% will change when Titanfall releases they will stop developing and start playing.
1) I doubt the validity of this GDC poll. There is no failsafe
2) Lets assume it is true. 1% for the 3DS is just pathetic. It speaks that the developers are more interested than pumping that mobile dollar than putting it on a system with real controls.