Link.
More at the link.
We first went hands-on with the PC version of Destiny 2 at E3 earlier this year, and it was immediately apparent that this wasn't just a mere port or conversion, but instead a thoughtful, considered approach to the platform with all of the unique features and opportunities it represents. Back then, we mentioned to Bungie that we'd really like to go deeper on the game, the technology added to the firm's multiplatform engine, as well as learning more about the approach to bringing the game to PC. Four months later, Bungie's senior technical artist Nate Hawbaker has flown over from Seattle, joining us in the Digital Foundry office.
What's immediately clear is the passion and the knowledge Hawbaker has both for the Destiny series and the PC version of the new game - and he's a Bungie veteran, having worked on the Halo franchise too. By his own admission, he has a passion for talking about graphics, and the visit was a particular treat for us. We love to put together our analysis articles, but fundamentally we are limited by what we see. We're outsiders assessing a final output, but for one day, a massive triple-A title became much more of an open book for us, with Nate Hawbaker answering any and every question we had about the game and the technology behind it.
An hour or so into the discussion, we came to the conclusion that we really needed to get some of this stuff on the record, and what's on this page is an edited version of an hour-long chat we had about the game. We learned about the major architectural advantages that Bungie added to its multi-platform engine, we talk in-depth about the PC version and its exclusive features, like HDR. And we get the lowdown on the quality settings, what they actually do and how much of an impact on performance you'll get by adjusting them.
We also talk a lot about scalability. Yes, there's a fair amount of discussion about scaling up on extreme PC hardware, but the mark of a truly optimal PC version is how it runs on lower-end kit. It turns out that Bungie and partner studio Vicarious Visions did a lot of work there too. After Hawbaker returned to Seattle, we couldn't help but wonder - how low can you go with Destiny 2 on PC? There's fleeting discussion within the interview here about whether the game can run on Intel integrated graphics, but we actually put it to the test, getting a playable experience on the Pentium G4560's HD 610 graphics and the UHD 630 in the Core i5 8400. Oh, and we also tested Destiny 2 on an ultrabook - and it works. The extent to which it works is something you can find out for yourself by watching the video further down the page.
In the meantime, sit back and enjoy one of the largest and in-depth tech interviews we've carried out for some time.
More at the link.
