What I really want from Steam more than anything else is DRM-free game downloads. Even if some developers refuse to let their games be sold DRM-free, I think Valve should at least make it so that any game's store page tells you whether or not the game has DRM, and make this information very very prominent - top of the page, large text size!! - and give users the ability to filter out games with DRM when browsing games in the store.
The lighting and materials in Silent Hill f look very fake/inorganic/plasticky/rubbery. Unreal Engine 5 uses the Lambert Diffuse model which is VERY dated and gives everything this very unnatural, "computer generated" look as opposed to engines using newer, more advanced diffuse lighting models such as Oren-Nayar or Burley. Skin in particular looks more like silicone or rubber than it does human skin, and environmental features like stone, wood, etc., are robbed of the visual richness and nuance you see from, say, EA's frostbite engine for example. (Threat Interactive on YouTube has some very good videos on this.)
I also wonder whether baked lighting would've been a good option for a game like Silent Hill f? The environments are pretty tight and linear and are mostly static and there's no day/night transition, right?
It also just looks kinda...clean? Sterile? Artificial or inorganic? The textures are a bit soft and overall there's not a lot of grit or texture to the environments...again it just looks kinda washed out or dull. Don't get me wrong, the setting and art direction are very very appealing, but the technical implementation leaves me feeling VERY dissatisfied. Heck, I honestly think even Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube looked a lot better - sure it objectively had lower polygon counts and such, and personally I do find Silent Hill f's rural Japan setting much more appealing, but RE4 just feels more textured and organic somehow. Like more gritty and raw.
Can you guys do a side-by-side direct capture comparison of the same games running on an original firmware Xbox 360 vs a latest firmware Xbox 360? It'd be super interesting to see if there are any performance and/or visual differences.
Why does this article keep saying things like "perhaps the game's dated Unreal Engine 3 lineage exhibited some kind of performance-reducing or game-crashing behaviour", "Even a mild DLSS touch-up could do wonders for the ten-year-old game's visual character", when the reality is that this "ten-year-old game" for the most part looks substantially better than the overwhelming majority of games coming out today?
Even in docked mode it looks terribly blurry. Based on these comparisons here I really don't think the "tiny" DLSS looks much if any better than the TAA in the other versions. Would it be technically viable to use MSAA or something like that? Would the Switch 2 handle that OK with this game without the devs needing to reduce, say, lighting or texture quality to compensate?
It's awesome how they give you both the emulated PS3 version and PS4 & PS5 versions. A lot of people really hate the visual changes in a lot of remasters (e.g., FINAL FANTASY X, Dark Souls, etc.) so being able to play the original game on newer hardware would be a nice choice to have (and then people who prefer the remaster can still play that and so everyone is happy). A PSP emulator on PS4 & PS5 would be really cool too.
Comments 6
Re: Beyond Steam Machine: Why Valve's New ARM Support Shouldn't Be Overlooked
What I really want from Steam more than anything else is DRM-free game downloads. Even if some developers refuse to let their games be sold DRM-free, I think Valve should at least make it so that any game's store page tells you whether or not the game has DRM, and make this information very very prominent - top of the page, large text size!! - and give users the ability to filter out games with DRM when browsing games in the store.
Re: Digital Foundry's 2025 Graphics of the Year Awards
The lighting and materials in Silent Hill f look very fake/inorganic/plasticky/rubbery. Unreal Engine 5 uses the Lambert Diffuse model which is VERY dated and gives everything this very unnatural, "computer generated" look as opposed to engines using newer, more advanced diffuse lighting models such as Oren-Nayar or Burley. Skin in particular looks more like silicone or rubber than it does human skin, and environmental features like stone, wood, etc., are robbed of the visual richness and nuance you see from, say, EA's frostbite engine for example. (Threat Interactive on YouTube has some very good videos on this.)
I also wonder whether baked lighting would've been a good option for a game like Silent Hill f? The environments are pretty tight and linear and are mostly static and there's no day/night transition, right?
It also just looks kinda...clean? Sterile? Artificial or inorganic? The textures are a bit soft and overall there's not a lot of grit or texture to the environments...again it just looks kinda washed out or dull. Don't get me wrong, the setting and art direction are very very appealing, but the technical implementation leaves me feeling VERY dissatisfied. Heck, I honestly think even Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube looked a lot better - sure it objectively had lower polygon counts and such, and personally I do find Silent Hill f's rural Japan setting much more appealing, but RE4 just feels more textured and organic somehow. Like more gritty and raw.
Re: Xbox 360 20th Anniversary: Unboxing An Untouched Launch Console!
Can you guys do a side-by-side direct capture comparison of the same games running on an original firmware Xbox 360 vs a latest firmware Xbox 360? It'd be super interesting to see if there are any performance and/or visual differences.
Re: What does Batman: Arkham Knight's latest patch do for Switch 2?
Why does this article keep saying things like "perhaps the game's dated Unreal Engine 3 lineage exhibited some kind of performance-reducing or game-crashing behaviour", "Even a mild DLSS touch-up could do wonders for the ten-year-old game's visual character", when the reality is that this "ten-year-old game" for the most part looks substantially better than the overwhelming majority of games coming out today?
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Demo Impresses on Switch 2
Even in docked mode it looks terribly blurry. Based on these comparisons here I really don't think the "tiny" DLSS looks much if any better than the TAA in the other versions. Would it be technically viable to use MSAA or something like that? Would the Switch 2 handle that OK with this game without the devs needing to reduce, say, lighting or texture quality to compensate?
Re: We've Played The First PS3-Emulated Game For PS5
It's awesome how they give you both the emulated PS3 version and PS4 & PS5 versions. A lot of people really hate the visual changes in a lot of remasters (e.g., FINAL FANTASY X, Dark Souls, etc.) so being able to play the original game on newer hardware would be a nice choice to have (and then people who prefer the remaster can still play that and so everyone is happy). A PSP emulator on PS4 & PS5 would be really cool too.