Digital Foundry Direct Weekly Digital Foundry

Another big DF Direct Weekly sees John, Rich and Alex discussing PS5 Pro release date uncertainties, the unprecedented support from Hello Games on No Man's Sky and the alarming stories surrounding stability issues on Intel's 13th and 14th Generation Core processors. Alex has much to share in terms of Unreal Engine and GPUOpen presentations, while John gets to play some Death Game Hotel with none other than Swery.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:24 News 01: Will PS5 Pro release in 2024?
0:11:59 News 02: No Man’s Sky updated with new visual features
0:20:12 News 03: Intel CPU stability issues may run deep
0:34:54 News 04: GPUOpen tech presentations with Alex!
0:48:58 News 05: John’s next project: PlayStation vs. Saturn
0:57:48 News 06: Can #StutterStruggle be overcome in Unreal Engine?
1:09:56 News 07: Gears of War Ultimate Edition suffers poor performance on PC
1:17:58 News 08: Playing Death Game Hotel with SWERY!
1:25:05 Supporter Q1: What would you like to see in a hypothetical DirectX 13?
1:30:20 Supporter Q2: Could a new Nvidia Shield device enhance game streaming with local processing?
1:36:58 Supporter Q3: Are large decreases in frame-rates still impactful when targeting high FPS?
1:45:54 Supporter Q4: What should we expect from the mooted handheld Xbox?
1:53:15 Supporter Q5: Is releasing a game as an early access title a good idea?
1:58:01 Supporter Q6: Will Switch 2 devs make use of the console’s hardware decompression functionality?
2:01:47 Supporter Q7: Have any pivotal decisions altered your gaming destinies?
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As we begin to approach the tail-end of the Nintendo Switch era, Oliver Mackenzie and John Linneman get together to discuss their personal selection of the most technically impressive games of the generation - absolute marvels bearing in mind that the core hardware is based on a 2015 Nvidia mobile chipset. In this first video, the emphasis is on first party exclusives published by Nintendo - but there's plenty to come from third parties too in a later video. There are some amazing games here, and a surprise contender at the top slot.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:41 Fast RMX
0:05:53 Metroid Prime Remastered
0:11:01 Super Mario Bros. Wonder
0:16:14 The Touryst
0:22:22 Xenoblade Chronicles 3
0:28:02 Super Mario RPG
0:32:40 Paper Mario: The Origami King
0:36:40 Metroid Dread
0:41:08 Super Mario Odyssey
0:45:49 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
0:51:40 Luigi’s Mansion 3
1:02:13 Runners up
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In this week's Direct, Microsoft says you don't need an Xbox to play Xbox - but if they're talking about streaming on a Fire Stick 4K, we'd beg to differ. Meanwhile, Alex talks about a 1.4GHz CPU overclock for the OG Xbox and shares his thoughts on the new Black Myth: Wukong full RT assets and benchmarks. Oliver tests out Ace Combat 7 on Switch, while Rich checks out frame generation on the First Descendant - in 30fps fidelity mode, 40fps balanced mode and 60fps performance mode. How high does frame-rate get - and are the lower fps modes a write-off?


0:00:00 Introduction
0:00:54 News 01: Microsoft says you don’t need an Xbox to play Xbox
0:24:31 News 02: Game Pass prices increased
0:38:36 News 03: New Black Myth: Wukong PC details revealed
0:53:26 News 04: Original Xbox gets 1.4 GHz CPU upgrade
1:01:34 News 05: The First Descendant frame gen tested!
1:13:21 News 06: Ace Combat 7 tested on Switch
1:19:41 Supporter Q1: Which Windows-based PC handheld would you recommend most?
1:25:36 Supporter Q2: Will you be doing more 3 person game playing videos?
1:29:44 Supporter Q3: What old unused Nintendo IP would you like to see again?
1:34:45 Supporter Q4: If Microsoft got Windows working seamlessly on ARM, what would that mean for their products?
1:43:27 Supporter Q5: Do you think Valve will give Steam Machines another shot?
1:49:21 Supporter Q6: Why is Intel’s XeSS so much better than AMD’s FSR?
1:59:01 Supporter Q7: Will Unreal Engine traversal stutter be fixed for the new Witcher game?
2:02:08 Supporter Q8: Could the PS Portal be updated or hacked to be a substantially more useful device?
2:06:25 Supporter Q9: John asks: how is the recording session going?

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In the new DF Direct, the team discuss the growing importance of VRR in console gaming - but are we reaching the point where it's becoming essential for good performance? Meanwhile, Rich has some positive things to say about Microsoft's Auto SR upscaling technology, John has much to share on the new Crazy Taxi, and there are some interesting discussion points raised in a recent Mark Cerny interview. Meanwhile, what on Earth is going on with the latest Elden Ring patch notes?

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:04 News 01: Has VRR become a crutch for good performance?
0:20:00 News 02: Auto SR impressions!
0:37:26 News 03: New Crazy Taxi is open world, massively multiplayer
0:47:43 News 04: Mark Cerny dishes on PS5 architecture, games
1:03:22 News 05: Sony killing off recordable disc production
1:11:19 News 06: Elden Ring patch notes suggest odd performance fix
1:19:43 News 07: OutRun steeply discounted on Nintendo eShop
1:29:16 Supporter Q1: When do you think we’ll hear more about the PS5 Pro?
1:36:55 Supporter Q2: Could DF provide technical context to Eurogamer or IGN game reviews?
1:47:42 Supporter Q3: Why does the PS5 only support VRR over HDMI 2.1?
1:54:15 Supporter Q4: Why do many developers only offer software Lumen in their UE5 games?
1:56:40 Supporter Q5: Whatever happened to SLI and CrossFire?
2:02:23 Supporter Q6: How should console versions of games expose graphical options?
2:06:17 Supporter Q7: Is there a place for cinematic trailers?
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In the latest DF Direct Weekly, we take a very early first look at FSR 3.1's improved spatial upscaling, which 'dropped' just prior to recording. The team discuss Capcom's reveal of a NEW Dead Rising remaster/remake, while we have first impressions on a potentially game-changing patch for Dragon's Dogma 2. And just why is PlayStation 5 so technically competitive with Xbox Series X, despite having less horsepower? It's been a mystery for years, but we may finally have some answers.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:02:00 News 01: FSR 3.1 tested!
0:10:56 News 02: Dead Rising remake in development
0:22:55 News 03: Dragon’s Dogma 2 patched
0:30:12 News 04: Project Keystone details revealed
0:38:16 News 05: Forza Horizon 4 to be delisted
0:49:38 News 06: SGSSAA appears in new game
0:58:46 News 07: Unity 50Hz physics issue returns
1:07:55 Supporter Q1: Why haven’t more reviewers noted the issues with Elden Ring? And is it really fair to pile so much technical criticism on From Software?
1:27:03 Supporter Q2: What should our expectations be for a potential PS3 emulator on PS5?
1:36:05 Supporter Q3: Why is the Series X still sometimes outperformed by the PS5 in cross-platform games?
1:45:54 Supporter Q4: Could something like Auto SR be implemented on consoles for backwards compatible games?
1:50:00 Supporter Q5: Why do low settings in games look a lot better than they used to?
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Some practical tests in this week's episode of DF Direct as Rich examines the modded performance modes cropping up for the Xbox Series S version of Starfield - while his £2,000 investment in a Surface Laptop with Snapdragon X Elite translates into some truly awful gaming. Meanwhile, John's been checking out the new PlayStation 2 and PSP emulators for PS5, while Alex isn't particularly happy about Game Pass versions of PC games missing DLSS and other upscaler support.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:22 Starfield Series S high frame-rate mods tested!
0:09:26 PS2 and PSP emulation on PS5 analyzed
0:24:58 Snapdragon X Elite gaming performance disappoints
0:44:34 Still Wakes The Deep ships without FSR, DLSS, XeSS on Game Pass
0:54:17 LRG3 showcase features re-releases, remasters
1:05:04 How can I age as gracefully as the Switch?
1:13:55 Would you still recommend the Steam Deck over the new ROG Ally X?
1:16:46 Could the PS5 last 8 or 9 years as Sony’s flagship console platform?
1:23:25 Do you think a 1080p screen could be too much for a next-gen Switch?
1:28:46 Do you think any unannounced first party games will be released around launch for Switch 2?
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