Digital Foundry Direct Weekly Digital Foundry

With the first of the summer games events done and dusted, it's down to Rich, Oliver and John to shift through the games of the Sony showcase, bemoan trailergeddon, regale Marvel's Spider-Man 2 with praise then to discuss the merits of the Project Q streaming handheld. Meanwhile, the lack of a physical release for Alan Wake 2 upsets John - and Rich makes him talk about Marathon.

00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:15 News 01: Sony showcase recap!
00:40:02 News 02: Alan Wake 2 impresses, but why is it digital-only?
00:52:06 News 03: “Project Q” streaming handheld revealed
01:05:45 Supporter Q1: Nvidia’s server GPUs seem in heavy demand, so might the company shift resources away from gaming?
01:14:09 Supporter Q2: What’s the best way to measure and communicate the concept of frame-time stability?
01:23:44 Supporter Q3: Isn’t the 4060 Ti a lot more impressive when you bring DLSS 3 into the picture?
01:27:10 Supporter Q4: Could John make a video on running modern games on consumer grade CRT displays?
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This week on the show, Alex gets to grips with the latest patch for Jedi Survivor, testing to see whether the game's profound tech issues have been resolved. Meanwhile, the team discusses Nvidia's RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti announcements, while John has much to say about the poor state of day one console launches. Meanwhile, the buzz surrounding mid-gen console refreshes continues - but do we actually need them?

00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:52 News 01: Jedi Survivor PC performance update!
00:17:04 News 02: RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti GPUs announced
00:48:20 News 03: Contemporary gaming in difficult territory?
01:00:48 Supporter Q1: Is there really a need for enhanced consoles when we have so few proper current-gen games?
01:07:17 Supporter Q2: Do you think games like The Callisto Protocol or Jedi Survivor would benefit from a 40fps mode?
01:12:32 Supporter Q3: Any thoughts on the UE5-powered Layers of Fear demo on PC?
01:16:51 Supporter Q4: Has Rich got any new thoughts on how to approach CPU video reviews?
01:25:32 Supporter Q5: Has the workflow for capturing and producing HDR gaming videos improved over the past few years?
01:32:25 Supporter Q6: John’s room tour. When?
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One of the biggest - if not the biggest - games of 2023 launched this week. Nintendo's Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has recently a massively positive reaction. John discusses his review and shares more thoughts on the game, while digging more deeply into the eternal question - is it too big for Switch? Meanwhile, Rich drops in from time off to share his impressions with the Asus ROG Ally and A Plague Tale: Requiem gets a 60fps patch... but what does it actually do?

00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:04 News 01: Tears of the Kingdom launches!
00:26:05 News 02: Sharp producing next-gen Switch LCD?
00:34:49 News 03: ASUS ROG Ally reviews drop + our impressions
00:50:20 News 04: A Plague Tale: Requiem gets 60fps patch
00:56:36 News 05: John gets a new CRT!
01:02:53 Supporter Q1: With low sales and poor software support, where does the PS VR2 go from here?
01:07:36 Supporter Q2: Could DF revisit some of the recent troubled PC ports and see how they run now after patches?
01:11:23 Supporter Q3: Why does DLSS 3 produce a smoother experience in games with high CPU load?
01:15:47 Supporter Q4: Developers like to blame specific PC configurations for user issues. Could DF emphasize that PC performance issues are often common to all configurations?
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DF Direct Weekly returns after a seismic week in gaming, with Oliver, John and Alex discussing the crisis state of PC gaming 'in the here and now', raking over the coals of the deeply disappointing Redfall release, while we had to take a look at Man of Medan on Switch, which targets a cinematic 24fps. Meanwhile, John clues us in on the latest Analogue Pocket firmware update.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:58 News 01: PC gaming in crisis
00:24:12 News 02: Redfall reaction and follow-up
00:54:38 News 03: Man of Medan hits Switch at 24fps!
01:01:11 News 04: Analogue Pocket gets big firmware update
01:04:46 Supporter Q1: If a game developer is under the influence when implementing RTGI, could that be “baked” lighting?
01:05:37 Supporter Q2: Need for Speed (2015) still looks great today. What are some other early last-gen games that still look fantastic?
01:10:29 Supporter Q3: Could you tell the difference between DLSS 3 and regular rendering at high frame-rates?
01:14:05 Supporter Q4: Can we have an award ceremony for the worst PC ports of the year?
01:16:08 Supporter Q5: What are the possible incentives for publishers to release games in a decent state?
01:18:53 Supporter Q6: I’m worried that FF16, Starfield, and Zelda will release in a poor state. How can we make companies more aware of game issues?
01:22:47 Supporter Q7: Are Jedi Survivor’s image quality issues related to using an older version of FSR 2?
01:28:33 Supporter Q8: Do you prefer a higher resolution with less detail, or a lower resolution with more detail?
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This week the team discuss the arrival of Star Wars Jedi Survivor, share first impressions after EA delayed sending review code, then move onto 'The Power of the Cloud' seemingly blocking Microsoft's Activision acquisition. Rich shares a conversation he had with the Xbox Sustainability Team on improving in-game efficiency, while benchmarks finally emerge on the impressive looking Asus ROG Ally handheld.

00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:45 News 01: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor impressions!
00:23:57 News 02: Microsoft Activision purchase hits roadblock
00:34:30 News 03: Microsoft pushes for Xbox energy sustainability
00:48:21 News 04: ASUS ROG Ally chips benchmarked
00:55:50 Supporter Q1: If RT becomes a big rendering focus, could future GPUs regress in rasterization performance?
01:00:36 Supporter Q2: Are 8GB GPUs DOOMED to muddy textures on PC?
01:07:33 Supporter Q3: How did Don feel about his first video?
01:11:15 Supporter Q4: Will you make a GTA V retro time capsule video when the title hits its 10th anniversary later this year?
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This week, Rich is joined by Alex and Oliver to discuss a range of topics, including the Unrecord footage that's gone 'viral', the launch of the first Unreal Engine 5.1 title outside of Fortnite to use Lumen and Nanite, and the arrival of the Horizon Burning Shores DLC - which looks amazing. Meanwhile, discover why Digital Foundry won't be doing another office tour and learn about Rich's 'cone of respectability'. It's all here in this 68 minute show!
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:45 News 01: Unrecord footage revealed
00:09:28 News 02: Immortals of Aveum showcases UE5 features
00:19:12 News 03: Horizon Burning Shores launches!
00:26:36 News 04: ASUS ROG Ally specs leak
00:34:48 News 05: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. shown with path tracing
00:41:35 Supporter Q1: Could Cyberpunk on PS5/Series X run the RT Overdrive mode?
00:49:01 Supporter Q2: If AMD sold APUs with much more graphics power, would they sell well?
00:55:21 Supporter Q3: Does “going gold” really matter anymore for modern games?
01:01:00 Supporter Q4: Would RTX Remix work with emulated games?
01:02:40 Supporter Q5: When will we get another Digital Foundry office tour?

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