DF Direct Weekly #15: E3 2021 Preview, Nintendo/MS Predictions, Battlefield Reveal, Riiiidge Racer!

The week in gaming news was dominated by Xbox Multi-Platform Game debate, outrage and meltdowns - and we can't quite believe what we were seeing. John, Rich and Alex share their views before moving to other topics: we go hands-on with Helldivers 2, check out the FF7 Rebirth demo and John shares his excitement over Penny's Big Breakaway. Meanwhile, DF Supporters strike gold once again with a range of questions and discussion points. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:52 News 01: Is Microsoft embracing multiplatform gaming? 0:43:52 News 02: Hands-on with Helldivers 2 0:54:41 News 03: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth impressions! 1:05:03 News 04: Penny’s Big Breakaway preview 1:11:42 Supporter Q1: What’s the minimum advisable frame-rate when using frame gen with a controller? 1:17:50 Supporter Q2: Is Nvidia purposefully limiting frame gen to the RTX 4000 series to increase sales? 1:27:18 Supporter Q3: Given that the Series S is the best-selling current-gen Xbox, should we consider it the baseline experience this gen? 1:34:14 Supporter Q4: Has the use of FSR been good or bad for console gaming? 1:43:14 Supporter Q5: Why doesn’t AMD often pioneer new graphics techniques like Nvidia? 1:51:44 Supporter Q6: Can John recommend any 3D Sonic titles? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Feb 20241h 58min

Another big, big episode of DF Direct Weekly as the team share their positive views on Sony's State of Play January 2024 presentation. Meanwhile, John and Rich have been playing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and have much to say about it. The team also tackle the mounting evidence that Switch 2 will ship with an eight-inch LCD. The lack of OLED is a bit disappointing, but more to the point, the sheer size of the screen may have significant ramifications for the design of the overall product. And finally, a happy outcome is revealed for one of John's game preservation worries. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:00 News 01: State of Play reaction: Death Stranding 2 0:17:45 News 01: Stellar Blade, Dragon’s Dogma 2 0:28:50 News 01: Sonic X Shadow Generations, Judas 0:38:21 News 01: Metro Awakening, Until Dawn 0:50:23 News 01: Silent Hill: The Short Message, Silent Hill 2 1:01:48 News 02: Suicide Squad impressions! 1:19:14 News 03: New Switch rumoured to have 8 inch LCD 1:31:02 News 04: GT Sport patched with offline save support 1:37:49 Supporter Q1: How can Epic’s TSR beat DLSS 2? 1:42:00 Supporter Q2: Why does per-pixel motion blur look good, while display sample-and-hold blur looks bad? 1:45:50 Supporter Q3: Will frame generation make VRR obsolete? 1:49:07 Supporter Q4: What speed of hardware adoption should we expect from gamers? 1:54:27 Supporter Q5: Rich, when did you become interested in PC hardware and technology? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Feb 20242h 7min

Hitting its 'maximum break' 147th edition, the DF team reconvene to discuss the charms and the jank of Palworld, Capcom's puzzling DRM strategy and the wonders of Tekken 8. Meanwhile, Alex has been testing AMD's AFMF frame generation technology, John's dug deep into input lag analysis - and Rich is distressed to discover that his Radeon 7 graphics card doesn't work any more. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:54 News 01: What’s up with Palworld? 0:25:45 News 02: Capcom adds Enigma DRM to older games 0:35:31 News 03: AMD releases Fluid Motion Frames tech 0:52:30 News 04: Horizon Forbidden West PC features detailed 1:05:22 News 05: Tekken 8: a superb fighter 1:15:53 News 06: Input lag deep dive 1:32:52 Supporter Q1: What would you recommend spec wise for an upper-midrange PC? 1:37:08 Supporter Q2: Should id Software commercialize their id Tech engine? 1:40:12 Supporter Q3: Is the time of 1080p monitors over? 1:43:55 Supporter Q14 Could Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony develop their own Proton-like translation layers to run games from other platforms? 1:46:55 Supporter Q5: With John’s new Direct background, isn’t he worried about burn-in? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 Jan 20241h 50min

Microsoft's latest Developer_Direct makes the right impression with the DF team this week, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in particular attracting unrestricted praise. Meanwhile, we've got to talk about what's happening with physical media releases on Xbox, there are many questions to answer about the Nvidia RTX 40-series Super refresh and John's not happy about Bulletstorm VR. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:44 News 01: Developer_Direct 2024 reaction: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 0:21:06 News 01: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 0:33:41 News 01: Ara: History Untold 0:39:35 News 01: Visions of Mana 0:46:15 News 01: Avowed 0:54:03 News 02: Hellblade 2 to go physical-only 1:10:49 News 03: Is The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered worthwhile? 1:23:08 News 04: RTX 40 Super series reaction + Q&A 1:45:50 News 05: Bulletstorm VR is a disappointment 1:53:05 Supporter Q1: How much manpower does it take to produce current-gen 60fps patches for consoles? 1:57:32 Supporter Q2: Was 2023 the year of the in-house engine? 2:04:24 Supporter Q3: Will 2024 be the year of Linux gaming? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Jan 20242h 8min

John, Rich and Alex return for another Weekly, discussing the potential implications of Xbox going multi-platform on selected titles, what we should - and shouldn't - expect from Horizon Forbidden West on PC and John's surprise gaming purchase. Meanwhile, the team explains why Nvidia's G-Sync Pulsar technology is such a big deal - and the announcement of VRR support for GeForce Now seems set to make the best cloud streaming solution even better still. 0:00:58 News 01: Microsoft to go multiplatform on selected games? 0:22:41 News 02: Horizon Forbidden West gets PC trailer 0:40:38 News 03: Nvidia CES announcements 0:55:34 News 04: John’s surprise 1:10:35 Supporter Q1: Why is double-buffer vsync good in some circumstances and bad in others? 1:17:39 Supporter Q2: What are the specs of your editing rigs? 1:24:45 Supporter Q3: Do you think any TV manufacturers will start integrating nearest neighbour scaling? 1:32:47 Supporter Q4: Why is dynamic resolution not often used in PC games? 1:37:35 Supporter Q5: Are GPU makers’ resolution recommendations too conservative? 1:43:13 Supporter Q6: What videos are you excited to make this year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Jan 20241h 53min

The Digital Foundry team re-assemble to kick off 2024 with a look at the excitement surrounding CES, the possibilities of PS5 Pro and Switch 2 this year, the reveal of the MSI Claw, plus all the new surrounding the RTX 40-Series 'Super' Refresh. Meanwhile, John shares his experiences with the potentially disruptive Unreal Engine VR injector, Alex talks about optimised settings and there's already an unhealthy focus on Crysis 4 - even though the chances of actually seeing it in 2024 are vanishingly tiny. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:24 News 01: 2024 Expectations : Upcoming displays 0:18:12 2024 Expectations: Games and gaming hardware 0:51:24 News 02: RTX 40 Super series to be announced 1:12:09 News 03: MSI Claw gaming handheld leaked 1:21:04 News 04: Unreal Engine VR injector released! 1:27:19 Supporter Q1: Has Alex changed his approach to optimized settings as games have gotten more demanding? 1:32:59 Supporter Q2: Could ray traced lighting become a key part of gameplay in current-gen titles? 1:38:26 Supporter Q3: What’s your biggest graphical pet peeve besides stuttering? 1:44:06 Supporter Q4: What are your hopes for Crysis 4? 1:50:47 Supporter Q5: Could CD Projekt Red open source their Red Engine tech? 1:52:48 Supporter Q6: If you could have an incredible version of Crysis 4, or get a 10/10 Turok remake, which would you choose? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Jan 20241h 57min

It's the last edition of DF Direct Weekly for the year that is 2023, and it kicks off with discussion surrounding Insomniac data hack. What sets this 'leak' apart from others that makes media think twice about publishing stories on it? How does it compare in scale to other leaks? It's a tricky one for sure. Meanwhile, rumours are starting to emerge that Xbox may be considering a 2026 release for its next-gen console, but how viable is that in the context of the information that emerged from the FTC leak? Finally, John reveals the results of his GT7 vs Forza Motorsport in-video quiz, while the DF Supporter Program's community awards are unveiled! 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:50 News 01: Insomniac hacked 0:19:27 News 02: Valhalla DLC launches for God of War Ragnarök 0:27:51 News 03: PS5 outsells Xbox Series 3 to 1, next Xbox rumoured for 2026 launch 0:49:10 News 04: John’s Forza Motorsport vs. GT7 poll results! 0:54:09 News 05: DF Community Awards 2023! 1:06:25 Supporter Q1: Will 2024 be the year RT becomes pervasive? 1:09:00 Supporter Q2: How does Resident Evil 4 on Apple Silicon run? 1:11:50 Supporter Q3: When using an IPS panel, how can you reduce IPS glow? 1:21:18 Supporter Q4: Would John consider doing a DF Retro on fur or grass rendering in games? 1:23:40 Supporter Q5: When path tracing becomes more common in games, what will be left to critique visually? 1:28:43 Supporter Q6: What was your favourite Digital Foundry moment of the year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Jan 20241h 40min

As is DF tradition, we round off the year with a look at the team's personal picks for the best game graphics of 2023. Covering off the very best in both PC and console rendering, Alex Battaglia, John Linneman and Oliver Mackenzie share their thoughts on the most impressive visuals of the year, leading to an open debate on which title did it best: Alan Wake 2, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora or Cyberpunk 2077's RT Overdrive? 0:00:00 Overview 0:01:55 Honourable Mentions 0:16:14 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 0:21:28 Final Fantasy 16 0:27:10 Robocop: Rogue City 0:32:56 Resident Evil 4 0:40:33 Hi-Fi Rush 0:45:45 Super Mario Bros. Wonder 0:49:45 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 0:55:50 Cyberpunk 2077 RT Overdrive 1:02:57 Alan Wake 2 1:12:29 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora 1:22:43 Top Three Debate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Dec 20231h 34min