Digital Foundry Direct Weekly – Details, episodes & analysis

A new Q+A show sees John, Rich and Alex tackle a number of big questions. Is Project Helix a console or PC? What's the difference nowadays anyway? Will Microsoft's "K2" initiative win back users lamenting the Windows experience? Meanwhile, with no games focusing on ray tracing, will rasterised fallbacks decline in quality going forward? All this and much, much more.

00:00 Introduction

00:50 Supporter Q1: When does a console become a PC?

10:27 Supporter Q2: What should we expect from Microsoft’s “K2” plan for Windows?

21:33 Supporter Q3: Will developers stop caring about their raster-only graphics?

34:19 Supporter Q4: What do you think of the Neo Geo AES+?

39:19 Supporter Q5: Why is Intel starting to ignore gaming dGPUs?

44:54 Supporter Q6: Is using frame gen to get to 30fps acceptable?

51:12 Supporter Q7: Do you know what pico means in Chilean Spanish?

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Exploited PS5s can now run Linux - so obviously we had to check it out, running Steam versions of Crimson Desert, Black Myth Wukong and Pragmata on Linux via Steam, stacked up against the actual PS5 versions - with some fascinating results. Meanwhile, Alex talks us through an amazing tech presentation from the developers of Teardown, John impresses us with his new Anbernic RG477M, Tom provides us test data to prove that Oblivion Remastered is indeed still "broken", while Rich and Alex come to terms with the fact that it's time to say goodbye to the Ryzen 5 3600.0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:15 News 1: Linux gaming on PS5 tested! 0:26:31 News 2: Teardown devs highlight voxel ray tracing enhancements0:38:10 News 3: Anbernic retro handheld tested! 0:50:31 News 4: Oblivion Remastered is still broken 0:59:29 News 5: Saying goodbye to the Ryzen 5 3600

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The latest Q+A show kicks off with the news we just missed from the last Direct - Sony raising prices for PlayStation 5. The machine you could buy for $400 in 2020 is now $600, while the disc model hits $650. The team discuss the implications and discuss price comparisons with PC - but are those comparisons relevant? Meanwhile, what could Nintendo do with a potential Ocarina of Time remake? Will Project Helix solve shader compilation stutter and will next-gen consoles use 3D v-cache? All this and more in the show.00:00 Introduction01:33 Supporter Q1: How should we plan for a long cross generation period, in light of PS5 price increases?15:25 Supporter Q2: Is the PS5 Pro still good value compared to a gaming PC?22:56 Supporter Q3: What would you like to see for a remake of Ocarina of Time? 28:47 Supporter Q4: Could Project Helix lead to an end for shader compilation stutter?32:49 Supporter Q5: Should next-gen consoles include 3D V-Cache? And what should we make of the 9950X3D2?39:36 Supporter Q6: Could you split PC coverage up amongst the team?

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There's post PS5 Pro clarity in this week's Direct, with Rich, John and Alex discussing No Man's Sky at 8K resolution (tested!), God of War Ragnarök's patch on PS5 Pro - and the surprise arrival of Death Stranding on Xbox Series X/S. Rich does some performance testing there, leading to fascinating results. Meanwhile, John has a special moment with a new PC monitor, while Alex and Rich prostrate themselves before AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D. And yes, why DIDN'T the team do a full specs breakdown of the PS5 Pro's actual packaging?

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:08 News 1: God of War Ragnarök PS5 Pro patch tested!

0:13:36 News 2: Nintendo confirms Switch 2 backwards compatibility

0:25:27 News 3: Death Stranding lands on Xbox

0:38:11 News 4: No Man’s Sky patched for PS5 Pro

0:47:49 News 5: Sony INZONE M10S impressions

1:05:53 News 6: Sonic Generations can run at 60fps on Switch

1:11:42 Supporter Q1: Will you use the 9800X3D for high-end gaming benchmarks?

1:16:21 Supporter Q2: Will PS6 use 3D V-Cache?

1:17:32 Supporter Q3: Will Alex and John switch to 9800X3D?

1:22:15 Supporter Q4: Why is Game Boost falling short of the promised 45% increase to PS5 Pro raster performance?

1:29:21 Supporter Q5: Would AI frame extrapolation make native frame-rate unimportant?

1:32:30 Supporter Q6: What do you want out of a Steam Deck 2?

1:38:32 Supporter Q7: Why didn’t you spend more time analyzing the PS5 Pro box?

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Rich Leadbetter, John Linneman and Oliver Mackenzie combine their impressions and tests to deliver the Digital Foundry verdict on the PlayStation 5 Pro. How does the console improve PS5 and PS4 games? How good is PSSR based on testing across a range of games? And what of the enhanced RT features? Everything you need to know is right here.

0:00:00 Overview

0:01:00 Hardware impressions

0:05:44 8K support and display options

0:12:34 PS4 image quality enhancement

0:17:36 Game boost - Elden Ring and GPU bound games

0:32:01 Game boost - CPU bound games

0:35:57 Ray tracing upgrades

0:42:29 PSSR testing

0:58:02 Power consumption

1:05:16 Overall impressions - is PS5 Pro worth the money?

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Even though most of the team are concentrating on PS5 Pro content, we still managed to find the time for another episode of DF Direct Weekly. Tom joins Rich and John to discuss the death of Concord and the shuttering of Firewalk Studios, Indiana Jones and Mario & Luigi: Brothership, while Alex joins the fray later to talk Star Citizen, Squadron 42 and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered on PC. Meanwhile, in his spare time, John's been testing out a couple of alleged 'disaster remasters'...

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:13 News 1: Concord developer shuttered, game not coming back

0:18:16 News 2: Indiana Jones previewed!

0:31:56 News 3: Mario & Luigi: Brothership evaluated

0:42:47 News 4: Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered analyzed on PC

0:55:00 News 5: Shadows of the Damned is a ‘disaster remaster’

1:05:32 News 6: Alex’s Star Citizen update

1:21:01 Supporter Q1: Do you still think mid-gen enhanced consoles are unnecessary?

1:28:29 Supporter Q2: Will PS5 Pro owners typically own 120Hz VRR panels?

1:34:43 Supporter Q3: Could the Series X support a form of ML-based upscaling?

1:37:23 Supporter Q4: Why did Call of Duty abandon ray tracing?

1:40:57 Supporter Q5: Why has checkerboard rendering disappeared from most modern games?

1:43:33 Supporter Q6: What has John contributed to the upcoming EGM Compendium?

1:47:02 Supporter Q7: Will Capcom adopt a more PC-centric approach in the future?

1:51:45 Supporter Q8: Will Nintendo pioneer revolutionary uses of RT on Switch 2?

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Another bumper Direct sees John, Rich and Oliver discuss Shawn Layden's call for a reset on game development practises and his comments on the console/teraflop war being over. Remedy's impressive roster of upgrades for Alan Wake 2 on PS5 Pro come into focus, while the team can't help but wonder if Guerrilla Games' most recent comments really do spell the end for the Killzone franchise. John shares first impressions on Sonic x Shadow Generations, while Oliver REALLY wants to tell you all about Wayfinder on the PlayStation 5.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:04 News 1: Former Sony exec says console race has plateaued

0:22:43 News 2: Alan Wake 2 PS5 Pro previewed!

0:32:47 News 3: Guerrilla Games is done with Killzone

0:43:53 News 4: Wayfinder tested on PS5!

0:55:01 News 5: Sonic X Shadow Generations tested

1:06:28 News 6: Ragnarök PC performance improved

1:13:18 News 7: Silent Hill 2 PC patch decreases stutter

1:20:42 Supporter Q1: Could the next Xbox be a hybrid with a GPU in the dock?

1:26:37 Supporter Q2: Is the games industry becoming more risk-averse?

1:33:34 Supporter Q3 Is John still using his Meta Quest 3?

1:40:16 Supporter Q4: Does Guerrilla’s new image treatment solution stem from Death Stranding 2?

1:46:23 Supporter Q5: Has John played any modern game consoles on CRTs with the RetroTINK 4K?

1:50:32 Supporter Q6: How will you cope with covering so many PS5 Pro enhanced games?

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It's all very Xbox-heavy this week, as Austin Evans reveals that the latest Xbox consoles have finally transitioned to 6nm silicon. There's plenty of reaction to Microsoft's Xbox Partner Showcase, including the reveal of FBC: Firebreak, while John gets very excited about the new Analogue 3D - an FPGA-powered N64 clone with cutting-edge video and overclock features. The team 'pour one out' for the cancelled Halo battle royale - and Nightdive has done it again with Killing Time: Resurrected.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:00:59 News 1: New Series X has 6nm SoC, revised internals

0:18:08 News 2: Xbox Partner Showcase reveals new games

0:38:36 News 3: Analogue 3D announced!

0:49:38 News 4: Halo battle royale game was cancelled

0:59:18 News 5: Tomb Raider 4-6 remasters announced

1:10:58 News 6: 3GB GDDR7 memory modules announced

1:17:16 News 7: Killing Time: Resurrected released

1:27:34 Supporter Q1: Will PS5 Pro have an expanded VRR range? When will we see the Ultra Boost Mode? And can it unlock frame-rates without developer intervention?

1:34:54 Supporter Q2: What type of CRT tube does John prefer?

1:38:40 Supporter Q3: What would need to change for an Nvidia powered Xbox or PlayStation to happen?

1:44:45 Supporter Q4: Could PS6 skip PS4 backwards compatibility?

1:48:53 Supporter Q5: What do you think of the ModRetro Chromatic?

1:52:16 Supporter Q6: How should we view AI-powered visual modifications to games?

2:01:20 Supporter Q7: Does AMD regret the 5800X3D?

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In a rather jovial DF Direct, John returns from Japan having played PS5 Pro and visited a big bunch of developers, there's curiosity around Nintendo Alarmo and mysterious online tests it has in the offing, there's much anticipation for Alien Isolation 2 and some degree of confusion surrounding Intel's Arrow Lake-S CPU line-up.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:00:56 News 1: Red Dead Redemption announced for PC

0:13:56 News 2: Nintendo announces alarm clock, mysterious online playtest

0:26:17 News 3: Alien Isolation 2 announced

0:35:32 News 4: John’s PS5 Pro impressions

0:47:34 News 5: Diablo 4 is getting PS5 Pro enhancements

0:53:37 News 6: Intel Arrow Lake processors revealed

1:12:43 News 7: John Japan trip recap!

1:26:44 Supporter Q1: How powerful will the rumoured PS6 be?

1:34:03 Supporter Q2: What should we make of the rumoured God of War collection?

1:39:39 Supporter Q3: Will the RTX 5080 be priced at $1200 USD or above?

1:44:58 Supporter Q4: Thoughts on the new version of Lollipop Chainsaw?

1:52:53 Supporter Q5: What wishes would you have for a remaster of Assassin’s Creed Unity?

1:57:46 Supporter Q6: Is John building a CRT museum?

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October 11th 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the GeForce 256, the original Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). With cutting edge technologies like hardware-accelerated transformation and lighting (T&L), combined with what was - for the time - brutal performance, GeForce 256 was a game-changer.

In this DF Direct special hosted by Alex Battaglia, we bring together Nvidia staff to discuss why this product was so important. On the panel, we have:

John Montrym, Chief Architect

John Spitzer, VP of Developer and Performance Technologies

Nick Stam, Director of Technical Marketing - and Editor-in-Chief of PC Mag in 1999

Jacob Freeman, GeForce Evangelist

00:00 Overview and introductions

06:44 What does GeForce 256 mean to you? What has its impact been?

12:23 GeForce 256 feature uptake

15:00 Hardware transform and lighting and its importance

17:56 GeForce 256 development milestones

20:40 GeForce 256’s initial impact on games

24:43 Reactions to GeForce 256

30:33 Environment mapping

35:01 Reviewing the GeForce 256

39:33 What the GeForce 256 meant beyond gaming

41:16 The GeForce 256’s lasting legacy

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