The Art Style and Graphics Discussion

[Tyaren]

The Last Guardian is a beautiful game. It's tech feels a little outdated (you clearly notice the PS3 roots), but the beautiful art direction as well as the incredibly life-like creature Trico make more than up for that. On PS4 Pro the game does not feature downsampling on HDTVs for some very strange reason. :/ At least the framerate is a rock solid 30fps at all time in comparison to the sometimes juddery performance on the standard PS4. Here's some screens that I took:

 

[ShinobiGuy]

Yes! Last Guardian is amazing. I had a few days to myself just before New years last year and played through this in 3 days. It was a great experience. Haunting visuals, great story. I loved it so much!

 

[Tyaren]

So I beat the game... Phew!

Spoiler

I am so glad there was actually a happy end.
I nearly didn't even play the game, because I assumed they would make it super heart-wrenching come hell or high water. (Well, heart-wrenching it was enough times in between.) I also didn't want to spoiler myself before, so I had to take a leap of fate to play it anyway.

What a hauntingly beautiful game! It was also often frustrating, but most of the time just beautiful. A true master piece and surely one of my all time faves.
Especially frustrating was the camera, the sluggish control of the boy and some puzzles that were not just difficult but imo nearly impossible to guess.
Trico on the other hand wasn't nearly as stubborn and useless as people make him out to be. He always did what I asked him to do. It took one or two minutes sometimes, but eventually he did it. The real problem was me not always realizing what I wanted Trico to do to progress.
Trico, who is so incredibly life-like and lovable, the desolate beauty of the ruined architecture, the intriguing lore and the overall haunting atmosphere was what really made the game.

Spoiler

As I already mentioned, I'm really glad they didn't ruin it with a super tragic ending, just for the sake of it.

I also do have to revise my initial statement about the game's tech a little. Yeah, there might be some models and textures that survived the game's PS3 days, but there is also a lot of stuff that just wouldn't have been possible on older hardware. Trico's AI, his amazing model, the immense scope and some breathtaking set pieces I can't really imagine on PS3.
Here's a few more pics that I took:

 

[Jadeinchains]

Wow those screenshots look really good, I especially like that one with Trico at the end of the hall with the light on his face. It helps that Trico is just adorable in general too!

 

[Tyaren]

Wow those screenshots look really good, I especially like that one with Trico at the end of the hall with the light on his face. It helps that Trico is just adorable in general too!

Thanks!
Lol, unfortunately I was incredibly tough on poor Trico to get him in the right light and position. Trico really has a mind of his own and he does what he wants. Getting a decent picture is tough and often took me lotsa attempts. I sometimes literally ran back and forth a corridor for half a dozen times for a picture idea, lol.

Here a little bonus:

 

[Tyaren]

Great news for PS4 Pro owners! In a new "Boost Mode" Sony will remove the lock that so far blocked older, unpatched games from accessing the full potential of the console to run at higher framerates like the Xbone S for example does.

You will be able to turn that feature on or off and it will come with the next firmware update.
This will be a total gamechanger for a couple of games that so far struggled to hold at least 30fps.

@ShinobiGuy, @CyberEvil

 

[Chapstick]

Playing dragon age inquisition in a better framerate... *starts saving up*

 

[KasumiLover]

Does this mean Dragon Quest heroes and DOA5LR would benefit too?? I'm also lowkey hoping they'll announce at the winter brawl that the big news is that they'll do a graphic update for pro and better frame rate with universal ass physics, more curvature and muscle ♡0♡

 

[Tyaren]

Does this mean Dragon Quest heroes and DOA5LR would benefit too?? I'm also lowkey hoping they'll announce at the winter brawl that the big news is that they'll do a graphic update for pro and better frame rate with universal ass physics, more curvature and muscle ♡0♡

DOA5LR already runs at a locked 60fps. There frankly isn't anything to improve in that regard.
Funny that DOAX3 got a 4K Pro patch and LR so far didn't. You clearly see where TN's priorities lie. XD
I just looked up Dragon Quest Heroes' framerate and it seems to be a perfect candidate for improvements. It's aimed to run in 60fps but in reality its very unstable and fluctuates between 50fps-60fps. With the extra power of the Pro it should be able to run at a locked 60fps with no problems.

Playing dragon age inquisition in a better framerate... *starts saving up*

Wait, it's already a cross gen game and should run perfect on PS4. Is the framerate still unstable?

 

[KasumiLover]

I wish I worked at TN studios, with my input, the body models, physics, hair and everything would be exactly the way everyone wants it. XD I'd add more sweat, update the DOA4 hair models and use those aside from Kasumi's ponytail, and I would get to work carving and making the bodies way hotter, and I'd rig body physics based on body type and personal preference.

 

[Tyaren]

I wish I worked at TN studios, with my input, the body models, physics, hair and everything would be exactly the way everyone wants it. XD I'd add more sweat, update the DOA4 hair models and use those aside from Kasumi's ponytail, and I would get to work carving and making the bodies way hotter, and I'd rig body physics based on body type and personal preference.

I am very glad you don't work at TN studios.

 

[Juihau]

DOA5LR already runs at a locked 60fps.

Except the intros and win/lose poses, for specificity's sake. I think those are locked at 30 or so.

everything would be exactly the way everyone wants it

Thinking this is even possible was already a mistake in itself.

 

[Chapstick]

Wait, it's already a cross gen game and should run perfect on PS4. Is the framerate still unstable?

It's a stable 30fps during gameplay but I want it smoother ):< In the beginning of the game cutscenes outside have an unstable framerate tho. I'm not sure if it's just the beginning or if I got used to it by the middle to end but I don't remember them being bad.

Edit- I do remember one instance where the framerate drops during gameplay but it's the last optional dragon who calls in a crapload of dragonlings and as the bodies start to pile up the framerate takes a big hit. I only remember that being a problem my first playthrough though and killing it a second time I had no issue

 

[Tyaren]

Alright, people who are part of the firmware patch testing, report some pretty good results for PS4 Pro's new Boost Mode:
There is for example hardly any stutter anymore in The Witcher 3's swamp lands, which are one of the most demanding areas in the entire game.

Normal mode:

Boost Mode:

Hardly any framedrops anymore.

Rainbow Six Siege now runs at up to 110fps(!!!):

 

[Project Bokuho]

I am very glad you don't work at TN studios.

Me too lol

 

[KasumiLover]

Me too lol

Ok, expect a MAJOR BURN in 3 days.

 

[Project Bokuho]

Ok, expect a MAJOR BURN in 3 days.

I can't wait.

 

[ShinobiGuy]

I wasn't even looking for a reason to replay witcher. Man I miss Geralt.

 

[Tyaren]

Update on the new Boost Mode of PS4 Pro since many have already been using it for dozens of games:

So far basically all games seem to profit from that mode. It does not only boost the framerate significantly but it also reduces screen tearing, loading times and it helps dynamic resolution games to mostly hold 1080p. Texture streaming (textures loading too slowly) seems to also have improved in games that had problems with it.
Some games with confirmed improvements (source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1340529):
- Assassins Creed Unity (infamous for its bad framerate) runs a lot smoother now
- Just Cause 3 (infamous for being almost unplayable) runs a lot smoother now
- GTAV runs now butter smooth even in the city
- Rainbow Six Siege runs at a higher uncapped framerate
- Yakuza 0 runs at a higher uncapped framerate, hardly any screen tearing anymore
- Dark Souls 3 runs smoother, animations of enemies in the distance run smoother too
- Bloodborne runs smoother
- Until Dawn runs smoother
- Fallout 4 runs smoother
- Dying Light runs smoother
- The Witcher 3 runs smoother, the new in Blood and Wine introduced menu isn't laggy anymore, faster load times
- Final Fantasy XIV runs smoother
- Battle Field 4 runs smoother
- Batman Arkham Knight has hardly any screen tearing anymore

I'm going to stop here. Basically every game now runs better. In the Neogaf link above are lots of videos to be found if you are interested to see it for yourself.

Sony finally releasing the full potential of the Pro for every game is imo a complete game changer. I guess many will now want one after all. They likely didn't do it from the beginning since it could have lead to unforeseen problems (that's why you also still can turn it off, just in case) and it needed more testing. Fortunately there seem to be no problems and just improvements so far though.

 

[Project Bokuho]

Still not going to get it when I already have a PS4 lol