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Flandy

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,445
So what I've finding is that for the bulk of gameplay the image sits in a very similar range of luminance to SDR content, VERY bright in game objects such as the Sun and explosions seem to peak at approx 700 nits and of course this is seen in lower values in specular highlights.
I've caught a couple of pixels in the centre of particle effects reaching higher values, but these have been super rare.
This is often the way that many UHD 4K discs are mastered, as either the content itself was created with HDR in mind or the HDR master of the disc is deliberately trying not to deviate from the directors SDR vision for the movie.

Blade Runner 2049 is an example of this as well as many older films that have had 4K releases


It may be that later on in the game, when certain other effects such as electricity become more visible, that we see more of these higher values.
On the plus side, the fairly low dynamic range that the main game is using will give a very familiar filmic vibe, which may well be intentional given the type of game it is.
The game also readily outputs near black data, not raising the blacks and tinting them to give them teal movie shadows.

The main issue that this approach will give for some users is that certain common models of HDR TVs are expecting videogame content to be 4000nits, so when presented with content such as this that has significantly lower peak brightness code values, the TV will hold back , reserving it's peak brightness output for high values of data, which of course it never receives, resulting in a dim image.

No game to data to date has produced metadata to stop this happening, however I will check this later too, in case Sony have open up some extra tools in the SDK.
Yes, let's move on. Blocking the user (first time I've used it here and it works well) in question and will continue as usual. Not worth engaging trolls.

Anyways, regarding HDR.

I agree with Boris as well. On the LG C8, I do feel it looks noticeably better in HDR but it's use is still fairly limited. On the older B6, it can appear dim for the reasons he's noted.


Anyway to check what your TV expects the nit value to be? Hoping it looks good on my ks8000
 
Last edited:

inpHilltr8r

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,241
Industry is still moving up the HDR learning curve. Some of the Netflix shows are like when you would waggle a pole into the screen to show of stereoscopic 3d. I have a Sony OLED, and sometimes it actually hurts to look at the screen. I have 0 problems with developers erring on the side of caution.
 

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,680
Anyway to check what your TV expects the nit value to be? Hoping it looks good on my ks8000

I've got the same display, it mostly just treats the output 1:1 and then ignores the highlights beyond a certain point. It shouldn't be an issue for you, however it may be a game where you wish to engage a little bit of dynamic contrast, which will try and expande the output a little further
 

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,680
Industry is still moving up the HDR learning curve. Some of the Netflix shows are like when you would waggle a pole into the screen to show of stereoscopic 3d. I have a Sony OLED, and sometimes it actually hurts to look at the screen. I have 0 problems with developers erring on the side of caution.

One of the insomniac guys is an HDR fiend, they definatey know what they are doing. HDR is essentially an artists tool and I'm sure they have their reasons.
Anyways, it's good to see different approaches
 

Flandy

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,445
I've got the same display, it mostly just treats the output 1:1 and then ignores the highlights beyond a certain point. It shouldn't be an issue for you, however it may be a game where you wish to engage a little bit of dynamic contrast, which will try and expande the output a little further
I have my dynamic contrast set to medium for HDR anyway as I've been told it acts differently than when SDR is playing. I definitely feels it improves the image on HDR while it makes SDR content worse

I'm still using a 1080p display.

Meant to quote Dark1x lol
 

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,680
I have my dynamic contrast set to medium for HDR anyway as I've been told it acts differently than when SDR is playing. I definitely feels it improves the image on HDR while it makes SDR content worse

I think it depends a lot on the content, I left it turned on when I was playing Destiny 2 (after playing the HDR cockup that was Nier) and it almost blew my eyes out of the back of my head. It almost hurt it was so contrasty.
 

Deleted member 4970

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,240
So what I've finding is that for the bulk of gameplay the image sits in a very similar range of luminance to SDR content, VERY bright in game objects such as the Sun and explosions seem to peak at approx 700 nits and of course this is seen in lower values in specular highlights.
I've caught a couple of pixels in the centre of particle effects reaching higher values, but these have been super rare.
This is often the way that many UHD 4K discs are mastered, as either the content itself was created with HDR in mind or the HDR master of the disc is deliberately trying not to deviate from the directors SDR vision for the movie.

Blade Runner 2049 is an example of this as well as many older films that have had 4K releases


It may be that later on in the game, when certain other effects such as electricity become more visible, that we see more of these higher values.
On the plus side, the fairly low dynamic range that the main game is using will give a very familiar filmic vibe, which may well be intentional given the type of game it is.
The game also readily outputs near black data, not raising the blacks and tinting them to give them teal movie shadows.

The main issue that this approach will give for some users is that certain common models of HDR TVs are expecting videogame content to be 4000nits, so when presented with content such as this that has significantly lower peak brightness code values, the TV will hold back , reserving it's peak brightness output for high values of data, which of course it never receives, resulting in a dim image.

No game to data to date has produced metadata to stop this happening, however I will check this later too, in case Sony have open up some extra tools in the SDK.

Thanks for the writeup! I suppose it's a slight disappointment, but then again, with the game looking as good as it does already, I can appreciate them at least shaking things up if it means sticking to their artists vision! Some kind of HDR is better than none at all of course (as long as it isn't botched like Nier's)!
 

Xeontech

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,059
Do you always insult anyone who posts anything that you don't like?
I mean, I'm not the one who said there's no performance difference between a potentially 4k parallax corrected cubemap versus a generic 128 cubemap.

If only you took your own advice.
EatCrow.gif~c200

I know it's hard, but it's time to sit down and swallow your food.

John, your too kind in the number of responses to this goof.
 

chaosaeon

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,116
Lol people one by one counting the number of explosions like the sesame street guy in part of an old E3 video as a way to judge the technical achievement of the full game. I'ma count the number of explosions in that Detroit demo btw.

I suggest anyone having doubts to check out the era photography thread because it looks fantastic.
 

TheZodiacAge

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,068
Lol people one by one counting the number of explosions like the sesame street guy in part of an old E3 video as a way to judge the technical achievement of the full game. I'ma count the number of explosions in that Detroit demo btw.

I suggest anyone having doubts to check out the era photography thread because it looks fantastic.

Trying to find something to stop the tears.
I mean his agenda is clear when claiming Forza is the best looking game ever while GoW isn't even close.
You will more than likely find him under some TimDog Tweets or something like that claiming their "time will come"
 

inpHilltr8r

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,241
One of the insomniac guys is an HDR fiend, they definatey know what they are doing. HDR is essentially an artists tool and I'm sure they have their reasons.
We still only have a handful of HDR capable displays at our studio, so the content is authored and lit on normal displays, and then there's a HDR pass at the end. Would not be surprised if the same is true at Insomniac. Or at least, was true for the majority of production. Hopefully the price of HDR reference quality monitors will come down far enough to use in the entire pipeline soon. When that happens, I'm sure HDR will become second nature for all concerned.

Personally I'm using a consumer grade LCD because it supports stereoscopic, and that was important the last time my kit got upgraded.
 

aspiring

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,545
I just want to say i appreciate the work John and DF put in. Its a shame what happens such as with Shenmue, and i even remember reading some comments in regards to Sonic Mania. Just let them go and do not stress about people, your work is fantastic.
 

Buddeh

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
793
Thank you for the hard work Dark1x. I found the analysis very interesting and fair.
Have you ever reviewed a game? I'd love to read or watch your work.

I hope the mods will be a little stricter about the blatant kind of trolling going on in this thread. It's so painfully obvious, so why let it continue?
 

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,680
We still only have a handful of HDR capable displays at our studio, so the content is authored and lit on normal displays, and then there's a HDR pass at the end. Would not be surprised if the same is true at Insomniac. Or at least, was true for the majority of production. Hopefully the price of HDR reference quality monitors will come down far enough to use in the entire pipeline soon. When that happens, I'm sure HDR will become second nature for all concerned.

Personally I'm using a consumer grade LCD because it supports stereoscopic, and that was important the last time my kit got upgraded.

Yeah, I'd assumed this is the case, maybe Sony got hold of a Sony BVM-X300 for them.
I mean, is that the kind of thing a studio might actually lease or hire for a period of time? They are like 30k


I have a sneaking suspcision that a couple of studios have put out games where the HDR pass (as you describe it) has been done on a consumer grade TV which has been doing it's own processing.
God of War and Forza Horizon 3 are 2 examples of the image just looking weird because of that.
 

Iwao

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,781
Do you always insult anyone who posts anything that you don't like?
I mean, I'm not the one who said there's no performance difference between a potentially 4k parallax corrected cubemap versus a generic 128 cubemap.

If only you took your own advice.
You are armchair. John is a professional.

From what I've read, he pointed out that he thinks you don't know what you're talking about. As someone who does what he does professionally, and not senselessly on a message board, I think he has grounds to make that sort of claim. How is what he said an insult, not rather a reality check?
 

Lukemia SL

Member
Jan 30, 2018
9,384
It's still baffling how one person can ruin a thread and we somehow let it happen every single time...

I think this is the one time I don't mind because it's funny to read.

You are armchair. John is a professional.

From what I've read, he pointed out that he thinks you don't know what you're talking about. As someone who does what he does professionally, and not senselessly on a message board, I think he has grounds to make that sort of claim. How is what he said an insult, not rather a reality check?

Hey if someone on John's level told me I didn't know what I was talking about when i really thought that I did and also thought I was onto something... I too would feel insulted.
 

Iwao

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,781
Hey if someone on John's level told me I didn't know what I was talking about when i really thought that I did and also thought I was onto something... I too would feel insulted.
Feeling insulted is a perspective, that doesn't definitively make what was said, an insult. How you filter what was said and how you go on to deal with it, is a choice. This guy doesn't really want a discussion though. He wants to perpetuate nonsense in every Digital Foundry thread and hope that it leads to something bigger and revelatory enough for the downgrade bandwagon to pick up speed again. Reality is though, that he's tried it on similarly with with other Sony exclusives and it has been rightfully dismissed as the crazy talk that it is. There are no lessons to be learned with this character.
 

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
Feeling insulted is a perspective, that doesn't definitively make what was said, an insult. How you filter what was said and how you go on to deal with it, is a choice. This guy doesn't really want a discussion though. He wants to perpetuate nonsense in every Digital Foundry thread and hope that it leads to something bigger and revelatory enough for the downgrade bandwagon to pick up speed again. Reality is though, that he's tried it on similarly with with other Sony exclusives and it has been rightfully dismissed as the nonsense that it is. There are no lessons to be learned with this character.

I hate to pile in, but he's also proven time and time and again that his knowledge on these things is extremely skewed and born of ignorance, and essentially exists only to critique the visuals of certain PlayStation exclusives.

For example, he'll criticise a wooden handle in God of War for not being the correct wood material or not looking right in sunlight; "in comparison that type of wood doesn't look exactly like that in sunlight. it almost looks like its glowing", and then use some random Internet image of a completely different type of wood to prove his point, not even realising there are countless different types of wood, such as Jacobean, Hickory, Oak, Burl etc, with an almost unlimited number of variations of these woods, with each and every cut being unique in grain, colour etc. On top of that, most axe handles are colour dyed and/or varnished too, which further mixes things up. All of these factors just make his claim to know exactly what that specific type of wood should or shouldn't look like, frankly ridiculous and laughable. And there's been many examples like this.

Hell we're all still waiting for this Unreal demo he promised he'd make that would match Detroit's graphics quality. If I remember correctly, he said it'd take him like 24 hours, yet here we are roughly 2 months later and still nothing. Just disingenuous.
 

Lukemia SL

Member
Jan 30, 2018
9,384
Feeling insulted is a perspective, that doesn't definitively make what was said, an insult. How you filter what was said and how you go on to deal with it, is a choice. This guy doesn't really want a discussion though. He wants to perpetuate nonsense in every Digital Foundry thread and hope that it leads to something bigger and revelatory enough for the downgrade bandwagon to pick up speed again. Reality is though, that he's tried it on similarly with with other Sony exclusives and it has been rightfully dismissed as the crazy talk that it is. There are no lessons to be learned with this character.

His schtick is well noted among those of us who frequent threads on Sony's exclusive games, but man you hit nails on the head. Nib95 too.

Let's move on and enjoy this marvellous game that I can now play.

OMG it haS QTE autocomplete hell yes.
 

Elysiums

Banned
Dec 19, 2017
476
For those not familiar with Iamthatium's posts...


https://www.resetera.com/posts/7081848/


https://www.resetera.com/posts/7089353/


https://www.resetera.com/posts/7083317/


https://www.resetera.com/posts/7085166/


P.S still waiting for that Detroit quality Unreal engine demo he said he could and would easily do...like...months ago lol.

Some people here are really something.. is funny how many of this have their post history private.. game is BONKERS and tomorrow is the big day
 

HereticGrin

Member
Feb 16, 2018
385

Elysiums

Banned
Dec 19, 2017
476
44513705491_1dc159a5c6_o.png


A little example of how this game looks.. DF is right on everything this game was for sure upgraded
 

HereticGrin

Member
Feb 16, 2018
385

~Fake

User requested permanent ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,966
Hey Dark1x , any chances of a downloaded DF video courtesy of your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman?

I really need to trade my un40ju6000g.
 

1.21Gigawatts

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,278
Munich
This literally looks like the Spider-Man game pretty much every Spidey fan has dreamt of as a kid.
Who could've thought that when we actually reach that visual fidelity of our imaginations, people would talk about puddle locations.
After 2 hours with the game all this nonsense just seems more surreal.
 

benzy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,259
Best looking open world city I've seen. Looks unreal. The detail density, lighting, and amount of life and npcs is fantastic.

C5eYe7Y.gif
 

Halbrand

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,615
Is the HDR bad as in it just looks dimmer than it could be or the colours are more limited?

Because in Assassin's Creed Origins the HDR/SDR difference was absolutely massive with just the difference in the amount of colours alone, the SDR visuals looked like a cartoon in comparison.
 

chaosaeon

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,116
Lol the IGN video is making rounds on facebook and the ignorance of regular people is pretty crazy. Saw some people saying the game "got Divisioned", and people thinking DoF is actually a blurry picture because they can't see the focal point thanks to cropping the videos. Smh.
 

Planet

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,358
Then tell me so i can leave and never come back.

SCNR, this was just too fitting. XD

Dark1x one quote from the insomniac interview makes my neck hair stand up:
If you've got a PS4 Pro attached to a 4k TV, this is going to be a beautiful way to show it off.

On a base PS4 or when connected to a 1080p display, the internal representation is 1920×1080 to perfectly match the TV's expected input
I'm not sure if you covered this, but I'm quite sure jstevenson told us the game does supersampling by itself. Haven't found the time to play yet. Someone please tell me this game of all games doesn't force me to enable the system switch for supersampling! :(
 

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,717
What is a little bit disappointing and what hasn't been addressed yet is that the game apparently uses different character models during gameplay and cutscenes/menus/selfie camera mode.
I noticed it first on the Spider-Punk costume where the model quality discrepancy is very noticable.
This is how the model looks in cutscenes/menus/selfie camera mode:

29591708907_07f8196012_o.png


This is how it looks during gameplay and in photomode (outside selfie mode). Polygon edges are clearly visible (head outline, shoulders, buttons, hands...) and the web lines on the face are partly incomplete:

29591708337_2fbe70fea0_o.png


44527553411_ac371a2a36_o.png


30657829268_ddc2d6b327_o.png


The same discrepancy of gameplay and cutscene models applies to other costumes except the classic Spiderman suit that players start the game with. It seems to be both in gameplay and cutscenes of great quality.
It's unfortunate the quality loss even affects the new white spider spidersuit of the game. There are visible polygon edges (knee) and crude texturing (white parts on the heels):

43618643255_f4f91ab997_o.png


42718824240_43e0bce6e4_o.png
 
Last edited:

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,680
What is a little bit disappointing and what hasn't been addressed yet is that the game apparently uses different character models during gameplay and cutscenes/menus/selfie camera mode.
I noticed it first on the Spider-Punk costume where the model quality discrepancy is very noticable.
This is how the model looks in cutscenes/menus/selfie camera mode:

29591708907_07f8196012_o.png


This is how it looks during gameplay and in photomode (outside selfie mode). Polygon edges are clearly visible (head outline, shoulders, buttons, hands...) and the web lines on the face are partly incomplete:

29591708337_2fbe70fea0_o.png


44527553411_ac371a2a36_o.png


30657829268_ddc2d6b327_o.png


The same discrepancy of gameplay and cutscene models applies to other costumes except the classic Spiderman suit that players start the game with. It seems to be both in gameplay and cutscenes of great quality.
It's unfortunate the quality loss even affects the new white spider suit of the game, visible polygon edges (knee) and crude texturing (white parts on the heels):

42718824240_43e0bce6e4_o.png


43618643255_f4f91ab997_o.png

It's all part of the smoke and mirrors of modern gaming. I'm suprised they let it through like that
 

Deleted member 22585

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,519
EU
So I guess #puddlegate was real after all. The rest had been upgraded though, and the game looks pretty good overall. Nice IQ on my PS4 Pro, especially for an open world game.
 

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,717
It's all part of the smoke and mirrors of modern gaming. I'm suprised they let it through like that

Recent Sony AAA exclusives managed to keep the character model quality in gameplay just as high as in cutscenes, for example Detroit, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Horizon Zero Dawn etc.

In Spider-Man's case it is especially disappointing to me, because in trailers and promotion screens I have been marveling (no pun intended) at the perfectly modelled spidersuits, now in reality they are in part quite crudely modelled.
Weird however that the classic spidersuit, that players are going to ditch soon at the beginning of the game, actually is of the highest model quality and shows few if none discrepancies in gameplay and cutscenes.
 

Edge

A King's Landing
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,012
Celle, Germany
You sure now it's not a bug? Cause so far I also thought it is, cause other models look amazing, for anyone not looking into the OT, this is what I wrote there, every pic without selfie mode:


"Man, the pre order DLCs indeed look like absolute shit in comparison to any ingame suit. I don't know if it's because of the "unlocked with pre order code bug" or if they look like that in general. I mean, look at that, 2 of the normal costumes in the game:

9LeX0ac.png


5cIyzJx.png


7QO5vbB.png


Z8U4f3L.png

dBgDzez.png


F'N breathtaking, right? Now look at this garbage:

BYDq1UT.png


0SPeYuO.png


vbGzS0h.png


pvR1lpa.png


That's a fucking difference."
 

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,717
You sure now it's not a bug? Cause so far I also thought it is, cause other models look amazing, for anyone not looking into the OT, this is what I wrote there, every pic without selfie mode.

It's weird that they actually have the models in higher quality in the game but don't use them for gameplay, when other models stay high quality in gameplay. That apparently isn't the problem. Yeah, maybe it is a bug...
Apart from visibly lower polygon count and slightly less sharp textures than other suits they imo don't look that bad. I think that spider logo on the one suit is supposed to look as if it was quickly and carelessy airbrushed on. That's why it is a little blurred and slanted. Only this one looks imo pretty bad:


Do you have an image of it during a cutcsene or selfie mode?
 

Deleted member 22585

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,519
EU
One thing the video didn't mention is the self shadowing, if that's even a term. I'm in the lab for the first time and the dithering in Peter's face is pretty damn rough.

Georgeous game otherwise, great talent at Insomniac.
 

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,680
What is a little bit disappointing and what hasn't been addressed yet is that the game apparently uses different character models during gameplay and cutscenes/menus/selfie camera mode.
I noticed it first on the Spider-Punk costume where the model quality discrepancy is very noticable.
This is how the model looks in cutscenes/menus/selfie camera mode:

29591708907_07f8196012_o.png


This is how it looks during gameplay and in photomode (outside selfie mode). Polygon edges are clearly visible (head outline, shoulders, buttons, hands...) and the web lines on the face are partly incomplete:

29591708337_2fbe70fea0_o.png


44527553411_ac371a2a36_o.png


30657829268_ddc2d6b327_o.png


The same discrepancy of gameplay and cutscene models applies to other costumes except the classic Spiderman suit that players start the game with. It seems to be both in gameplay and cutscenes of great quality.
It's unfortunate the quality loss even affects the new white spider spidersuit of the game. There are visible polygon edges (knee) and crude texturing (white parts on the heels):

43618643255_f4f91ab997_o.png


42718824240_43e0bce6e4_o.png

I think it might be a bug, I was just admiring his feet and how they didn't look like yours. I switched suits and back again and then they were the same
 
Last edited:

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,717
So maybe it's an LOD bug that prevents the game from loading a higher quality model in-game when the camera is nearer or when you activate photomode? Because in selfie mode it switches to the higher quality models.
 

Edge

A King's Landing
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,012
Celle, Germany
It's weird that they actually have the models in higher quality in the game but don't use them for gameplay, when other models stay high quality in gameplay. That apparently isn't the problem. Yeah, maybe it is a bug...
Apart from visibly lower polygon count and slightly less sharp textures than other suits they imo don't look that bad. I think that spider logo on the one suit is supposed to look as if it was quickly and carelessy airbrushed on. That's why it is a little blurred and slanted. Only this one looks imo pretty bad:



Do you have an image of it during a cutcsene or selfie mode?


No no, you seemed to misinterpret my postings. The black suit and the hoodie suit look fucking amazing, even in this zoom level, just the DLC suits look like garbage. And yes, sorry if that's a bit exaggerating for some of you but these textures on the Iron suit, holy fuck, that's some low res stuff there, look at this pic on 100%. Also, don't like the dirty look of it.


In selfie mode? Yes, it looks better. Photos in a few minutes.

I think it might be a bug, I was just admiring his feet and how they didn't look like yours. I switched suits and back again and then they were the same

Pics? it's hard to believe, I installed it completely new with a save from yesterday and it still had these low poly shoes.
 

Deleted member 37739

User requested account closure
Banned
Jan 8, 2018
908
I worked all weekend on this shit and bumped up against the maximum allowable capture on review embargo day. You have zero idea what you're talking about. You're doing the same thing as pre-release - you look at something, see it's different without understanding anything about it, and start mouthing off. I'd have been happy to discuss this if you hadn't been a jerk about it. What is the point of acting that way? I wish I could just do retro videos exclusively to avoid all this garbage.

I freaking love the DF Retro stuff... can't believe how much I've learnt about the history of video game development just by watching through them. Keep up the good work, man, your stuff is stellar.