Tomb Raider next gen explanations

Driftwood
Tuesday, January 21, 2014 | 10:50 AM
38 comments

Developer Diary PS4 Xbox One

You obviously all know that Tomb Raider is coming to next gen consoles next week with a bunch of improvements to make it the best version to date. The following video details all the new effects which have been added, including Tress FX, but you should be aware that, although both versions will run in 1080p, they will be limited to a 30 fps framerate. It's not a big surprise though, considering that even with a good rig, Tress FX made it quite difficult to reach steady 60 fps on PC. We should have gameplay videos to share with you soon.
Update 2: Apparently, the PS4 version will run at an average of 60 fps, which means the framerate isn't locked. X1 will run at 30 fps.

Screenshots

Téléchargement

Next gen making of

ebola9717

Commented on 2014-01-21 12:45:41

It's crap like this that makes me wish that console games had graphics options. I would turn off Tress FX in a second if it meant I could play at 60 fps.

Do they really think having individual strands of hair is worth halving the framerate? You'll notice her hair for maybe the first few minutes. But you'll notice the framerate for the whole game.

In reply to

Tiz

Commented on 2014-01-21 12:51:36

"...and hair that no matter how dirty Lara gets looks as if it was washed 20 minutes ago."

In reply to

KORNdog

Commented on 2014-01-21 13:24:40 In reply to Tiz

Posted by Tiz

"...and hair that no matter how dirty Lara gets looks as if it was washed 20 minutes ago."

if you have particularly oily, lank and greasy hair, sure.

In reply to

jmd749

Commented on 2014-01-21 13:33:57 In reply to Tiz

Posted by Tiz

"...and hair that no matter how dirty Lara gets looks as if it was washed 20 minutes ago."

agreed. I did find that disappointing to not see her hair get wet and stick together realistically. and when she's upsided down only her ponytail falls with gravity. But then again the tech is new, give it some time, Naughty Dog will show them how it's done. :P

In reply to

hustyparmen

Commented on 2014-01-21 14:47:26

obviously there will be ZERO difference between 2 TFLOPS PS4 and 1,42 TFLOPS Xbox cause Square enix made Tomb Raider closely with MS.. Even if they could make it 60fps on PS4 just like NFS rivals - they wouldn't do it.

In reply to

digi_matrix

Commented on 2014-01-21 14:55:14

And yet Alice Madness Returns has better hair physics, with no hits on framerate. And also a much better game, an actual 3D action-platformer while no matter how pretty this Tomb Raider will be, it'll still be the bland Uncharted clone when you play.

In reply to

gigantor21

Commented on 2014-01-21 15:57:23 In reply to Tiz

Posted by Tiz

"...and hair that no matter how dirty Lara gets looks as if it was washed 20 minutes ago."

Seriously. The changes they made to everything else with her model look amazing, so seeing her wiry invincible hair (with Final Fantasy style unbreakable bangs) makes for a jarring visual image. I was hoping that they'd at least allow it to get wet or dirty if they're charging $60 for a visual upgrade.

In reply to

Loakum

Commented on 2014-01-21 16:50:54

Look...Lara is wearing a tank top and when she gets out of cold water, I don't see any pokies. That don't seem like realistic skin reactions to me!

In reply to

Phaethon360

Commented on 2014-01-21 17:17:56 In reply to Loakum

Posted by Loakum

Look...Lara is wearing a tank top and when she gets out of cold water, I don't see any pokies. That don't seem like realistic skin reactions to me!

Man ain't wrong.

In reply to

GrimThorne

Commented on 2014-01-21 17:21:03 In reply to ebola9717

Posted by ebola9717

Do they really think having individual strands of hair is worth halving the framerate?

Don't be so turned off by these early games, devs WILL get it right as we move forward.

In reply to

gonzax

Commented on 2014-01-21 17:30:05

I don't give a damn about hair enhancements or any of those improvements they made. The game was fantastic the first time but honestly, full price again for a slightly upgraded version? come on, what a ripp-off. That's why consoles will never be retrocompatible again, to seel the same stuff twice or thrice. Pathetic!

In reply to

GriftGFX

Commented on 2014-01-21 17:45:37 In reply to GrimThorne

Posted by digi_matrix

Shhh.... it's definitive. They remodeled her face.

Posted by GrimThorne

Don't be so turned off by these early games, devs WILL get it right as we move forward.

Things are going to get crazy when they activate the dGPU.

Posted by gonzax

That's why consoles will never be retrocompatible again, to seel the same stuff twice or thrice. Pathetic!

You should laugh in the face at a direct-download "console" future.

In reply to

pez_Q

Commented on 2014-01-21 17:49:00

Look, it's fine that they are releasing this on new platforms, it a great game for sure, but the asking price is the real problem here: No way im gonna pay a full price for a game thats a year old. Sharper textures, few lighting tricks and a couple of shaking arrows in a quiver aint enough.

I mean just the fact that they have to release these pathetic 4 minute trailers about how the equipment is moving around realistically is embarassing enough...Jees, Square-Enix, do the right thing and release this for 29,99 €. It will sell a lot more!

In reply to

GriftGFX

Commented on 2014-01-21 17:49:57

Not just a year old, but a better version has been available several times for $5.

In reply to

amerakindesi

Commented on 2014-01-21 18:14:20

They shouldnt have to convince you of the graphical improvements. Your eyes should do just fine. Id never spend 60$ on a simple remake when the perfectly fine 360/ps3 version is only 10$.

In reply to

MrWhite

Commented on 2014-01-21 18:41:56

It's these sort of minor improvements that devs like to shout about, the reason being is because they are relatively new to online rendering and that excites them. To everyone else, it's nothing but an incremental improvement. Minor improvement they may be, but they are a resource hog. Realistic, individual strands of hair in games is one of the most difficult things to do, and the trade-off isn't worth it, otherwise we would have seen it on a regular basis on previous gen when it was still entirely possible. It's not even that realistic looking anyway, unless having what looks like plastic bin liner cut into fine strips, and not nearly enough of them, looks like real hair. It's OK, but not worth the trade off in performance yet.

So, essentially they've justified putting this game up for sale again at the full price for a high res texture pack, some nice but ultimately unnecessary dynamic hair, a couple of extra particles that have been turned up in the presets of the game, and some fake sub surface scattering. And this somehow equals next gen? Not to mention the retopo of Lara herself. Why? Because they can? Great. So this is basically a mod that anyone with knowledge of doing so in the PC community can produce (See Skyrim for that) at the full price again. That shouldn't be legal.

In reply to

So, essentially they've justified putting this game up for sale again at the full price for a high res texture pack, some nice but ultimately unnecessary dynamic hair, a couple of extra particles that have been turned up in the presets of the game, and some fake sub surface scattering. And this somehow equals next gen? Not to mention the retopo of Lara herself. Why? Because they can? Great. So this is basically a mod that anyone with knowledge of doing so in the PC community can produce (See Skyrim for that) at the full price again. That shouldn't be legal.

Boardy

Commented on 2014-01-21 19:07:17

Enhanced Version. But runs at 30 fps.

I dont think so. I'll stick with PC.

In reply to

GunsnSwords

Commented on 2014-01-21 20:43:42 In reply to Boardy

Posted by hustyparmen

The XB1 is 1.42 with GPU/CPU clocks adjusted, PS4 is 1.84 Tflops.

Posted by Boardy

Enhanced Version. But runs at 30 fps.

I dont think so. I'll stick with PC.

yup, Plus you get MODs on PC too in the meanwhile.

I still think The Enhanced Version will eventually hit PC, i mean The WII-U version of Deus EX Director's cut came to pc despite "exclusivity rights".

Maybe it'll be in the form of a huge patch or something because the PC version is 98% of the next gen version.

In reply to

Cream

Commented on 2014-01-21 20:58:30

I don't know I think there are some nice effects going on there. The physics on the axe etc. look great, and isn't in the P.C. version. I have an i7 clocked 3.6gig and an ATi 6990, SSD and 6 gig of ram. Runs at about 55 fps with dips to around 30 fps. So if they can get next gen doing a solid 30fps I'd say it was a job well done.

In reply to

hustyparmen

Commented on 2014-01-21 21:03:26 In reply to GunsnSwords

no xbox is now overclocked 1.30 TFLOPS + CPU 102 gflops = 1.42 TFLOPS / PS4 1.84 TFLOPS+ CPU 102 GFLOPS = 1.96 TFLOPS

In reply to

Seth

Commented on 2014-01-21 22:26:25 In reply to Boardy

Posted by Boardy

Enhanced Version. But runs at 30 fps.

I dont think so. I'll stick with PC.

I find funny the fact they still can't bother to work a bit and achieve these 60fps. But hey, we got realistic hair, you know that is more important.

Still disappointed with what direction they choose to take with that game. Last thing i wanted was another overrated Uncharted experience.

In reply to

GunsnSwords

Commented on 2014-01-21 22:46:30 In reply to hustyparmen

Posted by hustyparmen

no xbox is now overclocked 1.30 TFLOPS + CPU 102 gflops = 1.42 TFLOPS / PS4 1.84 TFLOPS+ CPU 102 GFLOPS = 1.96 TFLOPS

It's been a while since i last checked but if you insist.

-----------------------

It's good that the next gen gets a port of this game but technically all I can see is developers just cashing in for more profits. $60 for this? The next gen will only be good for exclusives, because multiplats are just too expensive.

The PC version is dirt cheap. I must say, with the amount money wasted on new games you could build your own monster PC. plus you can get access to a much larger selection of games not even ported over to the next gen consoles.

In reply to

amerakindesi

Commented on 2014-01-22 05:33:48 In reply to GunsnSwords

Cut the crap. Don't nobody wanna hear your pc fanboy talk. It's been said a milli...no billion times. PC is not cheaper to build than buying a console. Apples & oranges actually.

Is there a chance the developers took most the pc code and reshaped it for x1/ps4? I remember tomb raider didn't sell as well as they projected so maybe they only care to bump their numbers a bit making the 60$ price tag and this whole "definitive edition" thing make sense after all from their standpoint.

Also, most of us are waiting till March anyways for the next big thing, this may push over the weak few into buying it again due to next-gen thirst.

In reply to

GunsnSwords

Commented on 2014-01-22 08:30:19 In reply to amerakindesi

Posted by amerakindesi

PC is not cheaper to build than buying a console.

The hardware isn't but the games are cheaper, much cheaper. and you don't have to re-buy them. console games can be overpriced.

$50 extra for a nose and mouth job on just one character's face? come on.

Posted by amerakindesi

Also, most of us are waiting till March anyways for the next big thing, this may push over the weak few into buying it again due to next-gen thirst.

again, a good reason why investing in a pc is a better idea. no need to wait, PC has a plentiful selection of games to keep you busy for years. And it keeps growing.

In reply to

THEundying27

Commented on 2014-01-22 10:20:41 In reply to Seth

Realisticly, a good amount of pc gamers can't achieve a solid 60 either. 40-50 maybe and even dips to the dreaded 30fps that you guys cry over. I watched someone playing tomb raider with a gtx670(isn't this suppose to be an awesome expensive card) and not once maintained a solid 60. He was averaging 40-50. So to expect developers to achieve a solid 60 on consoles is laughable and makes you look like a dummy. The master race is superior based on an extra 15-20 frames? Lame argument. That's like saying I'm better than you because my car gets 29mpg when yours only gets 25mpg.

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