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Digital Foundry: Assassin's Creed Shadows Gameplay Trailer Breakdown: RT, 30FPS, Virtualised Geometry + More

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?


Ubisoft Forward offered us our first chance to look at actual gameplay from Assassin's Creed Shadows, along with an initial taste of the latest revision of the series engine - presumably a new version of Anvil. Oliver Mackenzie breaks down the trailer, offering thoughts on the technological innovations Ubisoft delivers with the first next-gen only AC title.


00:00 Overview
00:45 Ray Traced Global Illumination
03:19 Shadows and Reflections
05:09 Virtualised Geometry and Destruction
07:04 Performance and Image Quality
09:14 Conclusion
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
- First current gen only AC game
- RTGI supported with proper occlusion
- Shadows can still appear flat with SSAO artifacts, probe based and not per pixel RTGI (similar to Skull and Bones)
- Shadows look similar to previous AC games, not as good as Unreal's VSM (as an example)
- Reflections show SSR, not, RT
- Virtualized Geometry used which makes pop-in difficult to see (minus one example highlighted)
- Small scale destruction noted
- Motion blur is absent during gameplay but seen in cut-scenes
- 30 FPS is uneven in the video, DF thinks this will be fixed in the final game
- Captured footage shows native 2160p, DF thinks it was PC capture
- No visual mode options announced officially so far, so we can't say for sure if it will support 60 FPS on console
- edited the last line, my paraphrasing wasn't fully accurate Overall I think Assassin's Creed Shadows is probably the largest technical leap the series has taken in many years
 
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RagnarokIV

Battlebus imprisoning me \m/ >.< \m/
Best part of the video:

Richard Ledbeater: Yes John, but if there is one fing that is twuly wemarkable, it’s the twansformative use of sound. As soon as gameplay switches to Yasuke the samuwai, we get the twue full fat 4K expewience with masterful hip hop beats. Fwankly, I’ve never seen such effective use of sound since perhaps Legacy Of Kain: Soul Weaver.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Best part of the video:

Richard Ledbeater: Yes John, but if there is one fing that is twuly wemarkable, it’s the twansformative use of sound. As soon as gameplay switches to Yasuke the samuwai, we get the twue full fat 4K expewience with masterful hip hop beats. Fwankly, I’ve never seen such effective use of sound since perhaps Legacy Of Kain: Soul Weaver.

disgusted not safe for work GIF



Come on, man.
 

Bojji

Member
performance mode without RT then?

Could be, Oliver thinks it's probe based RTGI, Jedi survivor had this and didn't look like shit without it (just worse).

On the other hand avatar is 60 fps even with RTGI, but it can drop to very low resolution.

I'm glad we are in era of raytraced lighting now. Thank you Nvidia.

It's great but it also means 30fps for many games on consoles...

I also like dynamic destruction for geometry and foliage, most games are static as fuck.
 
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“Overall, AC Shadows is the largest technical leap the franchise has seen between installments despite some technical rendering problems still seen.”

Really? This must be a joke. Or is this one of those cases where it’s ray traced so it is automatically better even though it’s not visible that it’s better? LOL

AC Unity to AC 4 was undoubtedly a much larger leap. And in that same gen Origins was another leap with its scale. This? Where is the leap?
 
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“Overall, AC Shadows is the largest technical leap the franchise has seen between installments despite some technical rendering problems still seen.”

Really? This must be a joke. Or is this one of those cases where it’s ray traced so it is automatically better even though it’s not visible that it’s better? LOL

AC Unity to AC 4 was undoubtedly a much larger leap. And in that same gen Origins was another leap with its scale. This? Where is the leap?
I think those poor quality uploads from Ubisoft aren’t doing the game any favours, but I’m sure it’ll be a looker once it releases.

i wish it had more RT features like full RT shadows and reflections, but this is a step in the right direction.

I’m curious to see how it’ll stack up against Ghost of Tsushima 2 in terms of visuals but if we’re being honest it’ll probably get stomped.
 
I think those poor quality uploads from Ubisoft aren’t doing the game any favours, but I’m sure it’ll be a looker once it releases.

i wish it had more RT features like full RT shadows and reflections, but this is a step in the right direction.

I’m curious to see how it’ll stack up against Ghost of Tsushima 2 in terms of visuals but if we’re being honest it’ll probably get stomped.
Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t look bad, but it’s just not a leap over Valhalla. I also understand that ray tracing may be a big technical achievement but honestly I don’t care. I want to SEE the leap not know it in my mind while not seeing it.
 

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
This game has some insane detail, yet I think Ghost of Tsushima looks better. Art>Graphic tech

I like both and I feel this one looks way better.

The art direction in both are pretty identical considering the source.
 
Assassin's creed has insane level of density single shot in Assassin's creed shadows has more items than entire ghost of tsushima, ghost of tsushima looks bland compared to Assassin's creed shadows
This game has some insane detail, yet I think Ghost of Tsushima looks better. Art>Graphic tech
 

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
that doesn't make sense

Makes a lot of sense.

The direction in both is inspired from the same sources.

The brush strokes used for effects to mimic sumi ink, ink wash etc appears in both, but that would make sense as they are taking from the same sources.

Jin does the haikus with sumi ink
Yasuke does the writing of calligraphy of kanji with sumi ink

Because they share the source, you will get many of the same directions

Like the in game map having some ink wash looking tone

1x.webp



ghost-of-tsushima-haiku-location-10-1.jpg

Well.. they'l share something like that as they are hitting the same themes from the same country.



Like, see the way they do the death screens when you do a assassination kill

geek-preview-assassins-creed-shadows-7.jpeg




So....yea.


As a illustrator, concept artist etc for over 30 years, I'm telling you they share the same art direction because the source they are pulling from are the same.
Thus the share direction.


Ghost did not invent Kanji, they did not invent black and white notan, they did not invent sumi ink or any of that shit lol

So from what I can see as an artist, they are both using directions from established Japanese concepts, thus will share many of the same if not most of the same directions, which isn't really shocking tbh.


M Masterofchapter I agree. I love Ghost and I agree, but in their defense, its a last gen title and I'm sure they will look at a lot of what Shadows is doing to help them along development goals for Ghost 2. Density with crowds, seasons, better stealth stuff etc. If anything, this helps Ghost 2 and the whole industry.

ChorizoPicozo ChorizoPicozo Its hard to say. We don't know if they are using new tech for Ghost 2, maybe they got a larger team or help for other teams to assist or something. Either way, I hope this helps Sucker Punch do much better with Ghost 2
 
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Its hard to say. We don't know if they are using new tech for Ghost 2, maybe they got a larger team or help for other teams to assist or something. Either way, I hope this helps Sucker Punch do much better with Ghost 2
...I'm thinking about the amount of people required to make these ass creds games. the biggest Sony games are indie games compared to these Ass Creeds ones.
 

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
...I'm thinking about the amount of people required to make these ass creds games. the biggest Sony games are indie games compared to these Ass Creeds ones.

True, but I don't know how much that team has increased or who else would be supporting Sucker Punch to get Ghost 2 out the door. Would it be the size of the teams that support AC? Not likely, but with how well Ghost Of Tsushima sold, its likely Sony would ok more support for Ghost 2 if need be.

So...who knows really.
 
Game doesn't look better if at all than Valhalla to warrant being 30fps. Will be giving this a miss anyway if it's anywhere near as bad as Valhalla for bloat but solidified now.
 

Fess

Member
Wait, it’s uneven 30fps and they think it’s PC capture??
How demanding is this game??
I haven’t played a game in 30fps on PC since, well, it’s never happened.
 
Game doesn't look better if at all than Valhalla to warrant being 30fps. Will be giving this a miss anyway if it's anywhere near as bad as Valhalla for bloat but solidified now.
Looks better than Valhalla, NextGen means not only graphics npc density, the insane objects in the world, the highly detailed world geometry, wait for you to actually get to play in pc it's going to look insane
 
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Looks better than Valhalla, NextGen means not only graphics npc density, the insane objects in the world, the highly detailed world geometry, weight for you to actually play in pc it's going to look insane
Means nothing to me when it's all lost turning the camera in 30fps. In stills it might look better side by side but Valhalla will look better in gameplay because it's 60fps.
 

Killer8

Member
Every engine needs to implement virtualized geometry. Its ability to get rid of virtually all pop-in is the greatest thing since TAA banished jaggies (yeah, I said it you bitches).
 

Kerotan

Member
If this doesn't have 60 or 40fps mode on ps5 pro I'll wait for the PS6. Still have Odyssey, Valhalla and Mirage to do and considering I just finished Origins I'm in no rush.
 

Fbh

Member
The visuals, mechanics and world don't look nearly impressive enough to justify this running at 30fps on consoles.
Then again I was already not interested, and this is just another reason to skip the game
 

RedC

Member
Well there is no confirmed performance mode yet, so looks like it'll only have one mode. Outside of Naughty Dog I can't think of a studio that does a smooth feeling 30fps experience.
I thought Hell Blade 2 was a smooth 30fps experience, but it wasn't an open world with less action and a more linear, walking simulator, and simple puzzles.
 
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rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Well there is no confirmed performance mode yet, so looks like it'll only have one mode. Outside of Naughty Dog I can't think of a studio that does a smooth feeling 30fps experience.
What part of "weight for you to actually play in pc it's going to look insane" was not clear?
 

proandrad

Member
I like both and I feel this one looks way better.

The art direction in both are pretty identical considering the source.
I strongly disagree about the art in Ghost of Tsushima. While the game’s use of colors and lighting to depict scenes may be unrealistic, it looks stunning. To be honest most of Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t appear realistic at all but that art style is doing some heavy lifting. On the other hand, Assassin’s Creed Shadows seems to prioritize hyper-detailed fidelity with textures and lighting, which, in my opinion, can sometimes look really good but mostly boring.
 

Xtib81

Member
Every engine needs to implement virtualized geometry. Its ability to get rid of virtually all pop-in is the greatest thing since TAA banished jaggies (yeah, I said it you bitches).
There's pop in in the gameplay demo though.
 
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SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
“Overall, AC Shadows is the largest technical leap the franchise has seen between installments despite some technical rendering problems still seen.”

Really? This must be a joke. Or is this one of those cases where it’s ray traced so it is automatically better even though it’s not visible that it’s better? LOL

AC Unity to AC 4 was undoubtedly a much larger leap. And in that same gen Origins was another leap with its scale. This? Where is the leap?
That’s not what he said. He said largest leap in many years. He then goes on to criticize it for not being as good as Massive’s games and unreal engine 5 games.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
No 60fps option on console?

We don't know yet.

That’s not what he said. He said largest leap in many years. He then goes on to criticize it for not being as good as Massive’s games and unreal engine 5 games.

You're right, the direct quote is:

Overall I think Assassin's Creed Shadows is probably the largest technical leap the series has taken in many years
 
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Skifi28

Member
They might as well remove the RT and give us 60fps instead considering how underwhelming it is.

What part of "weight for you to actually play in pc it's going to look insane" was not clear?
We all know you love playing at 30fps and with a controller, stop trying to hide it.
 
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EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
To be honest most of Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t appear realistic at all

Sure but, seems like that is the direction they are going with the game as clearly it wasn't some anime looking game so...

I have no clue what you are talking about and please show examples of what you are talking about instead wild claims or something.

ghost-of-tsushima-1-5.jpg


ghost-of-tsushima-image.jpg

ghost-of-tsushima-8k-mod.jpg

^

So....the textures, tessellation, lighting, shadows, volumetric fog, fabric of the clothes and detail in the characters faces clearly show a desire to have a realistic direction as why create it this way if it was not made to be a photo realistic looking game? Clearly, this was their aim, don't see enough evidence to support they didn't have a aim of this as why even motion capture someone's face like this if that wasn't the goal?

maxresdefault.jpg

art style is doing some heavy lifting.
Where? Can you provide some examples of this?
Assassin’s Creed Shadows seems to prioritize hyper-detailed fidelity with textures and lighting
? That makes zero sense though, being realistic is still a art direction so....what are you talking about?

Additionally, how can being real be a priority over any other effect, when they already have several effects that show an element of stylization against realism in several areas.

As in, when you look at your map, you don't fucking see some paper in the characters hand in real time to um "prioritize hyper detailed fidelity", you see a stylized map

show



If they wanted to um "priortize" this idea, they would not have a map like this using such direction, they'd opt for the character to physically have a map to show the realism and to keep the player in that world

Here is an example to prove this (Something you guys seem to be allergic to lol)

far-cry-2-map.png


When the characters assassinate people, it doesn't just show all the killing in real time to keep the same direction of realism, but instead shows a stylized brush stroke type scene

Assassins-Creed-Shadows-Gameplay_3.jpg

Assassins-Creed-Shadows-Gameplay_6.jpg


Yet, in Ghost when you do some of the boss battles, you get this effect that ironically is less stylized and exaggerated then AC Shadows but...ok.
524GhostofTsushima20200.jpg




So ....look man, no disrespect, but show your work. Stop making claims and show your actual proof of what you are talking about because of the small amount we've seen of AC Shadows, its clear both games share directions, although Ghost Is not going for HYPER style, it is going for realism regardless based on the choices made regarding lighting, textures, shadows and how they did the faces (based on real people) So yes, AC Shadows looks more real, but its also only on PS5, Ghost Of Tsushima was made on PS4... They both aim for realism as clearly Ghost is not a fucking Zelda or Anime looking game and where that gets broken up with effects and scenes with brush stroke animations or something exist in both titles.

So right now, I do not see any evidence to suggest one of theses games put more priority in this area over the other or something when both actually do the same things in different areas. As in, seeking realism in real time gameplay, mixed in stylized with kills, assassinations in other areas, stylized in maps.

I do not currently see that 1 is doing something over the other in this regard, merely that one is next gen only. So right now, their directions are very similar, but expected considering the source.
 

SABRE220

Member
Honestly Im not impressed by the graphics here, I was expecting them to do better here with their first current gen offering. While they seemed to have marked off the checklist graphics features none of them seem to be implemented at a proficient level. They claim virtualized geometry yet the geometric density seems to be nowhere close to nanite and the assets/textures are very inconsistent and the only benefit seems to be lowered popin.

Its a similar situation with the lighting, global illumination is apparently implemented but with little bounce and is flat in other areas with rather poor shadowing. The leap is rather disappointing compared to the jump to unity.
 
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That’s not what he said. He said largest leap in many years. He then goes on to criticize it for not being as good as Massive’s games and unreal engine 5 games.
Indeed. I only reacted to what adamsapple wrote initially (now corrected), before I watched the video.
 

Kenpachii

Member
Odyssey, origin, valhalla look absolutely stunning at times. I am sure this game will look good. But i don't see a "leap" in visual quality over the older titles in that trailer.
 
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