DF Direct Weekly #69: Horizon Forbidden West VRR/40Hz Tested, Red Dead/GTA4 Remasters Cancelled?

Hitting the 69th episode milestone, Rich gets to grips with Horizon Forbidden West's excellent VRR/40Hz date, while Alex and Tom join him to discuss topics as diverse as the apparent cancellation of GTA4 and Red Dead Redemption patches, more heavy-handed Take Two legal threats, and yet more issues with Capcom PC ports - this time with a furless DLSS patch. Meanwhile, is it really wise for Rich's gaming hardware to be situated next to a big radiator? And do Alex and Tom assess the rendering features of reality itself?

00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:55 News 01: Horizon: Forbidden West patch brings VRR, 40Hz support
00:11:25 News 02: GTA IV and RDR remasters cancelled?
00:20:15 News 03: Take-Two issues VR mod takedowns
00:32:36 News 04: DLSS patch removes fur in MH: Rise
00:41:07 PSA: Halo Infinite Co-Op Flighting Coming Soon
00:44:48 News 05: Biomutant PS5, Series S/X update incoming!
00:47:49 DF Content Discussion: FSR 2.0 deep dive
00:54:23 DF Supporter Q1: Why are we still seeing reduced-rate animations on distant characters?
01:01:07 DF Supporter Q2: Do you ever ponder the rendering features of reality itself?
01:04:59 DF Supporter Q3: Can developers use unrealistic RT implementations to create surreal environments in games?
01:08:45 DF Supporter Q4: Can bad frame-pacing occur with 60fps games set to 120Hz output?
01:12:26 DF Supporter Q5: Console showdown: Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo?
01:16:45 DF Supporter Q6: What does Rich aim to achieve by overclocking a PS3?
01:17:45 DF Supporter Q7: Does Rich have a custom radiator cooling setup for his Switch?
01:19:11 DF Supporter Q8: If Rich is taking a vacation, that must mean Microsoft will be announcing new studio acquisitions

[MarkusFFFF]

I don't understand why Rockstar isn't at least releasing a 60 FPS patch for RDR 2 on the new consoles. It's one of the most wanted patches as far as i know.

[Sitonious]

"Before you criticize video game graphics it's helpful to go outside and touch some grass"
- Alex Battaglia, 2022 (rough paraphrase)

Wise words!

[gordonmcbain]

"Shape up their ship". Someone needs to make a compilation of Alex idioms. I love them.

[andyclouser]

After seeing so much SSR I sometimes forget that reflections in reality don't disappear when the source is obscured in my field of vision

[MattCarter]

You guys should make a tech review on reality as an April's fool joke next year.

[mrbobo]

I've been playing the Balanced Mode over Performance. 40 fps is great with the sharpness of resolution mode. You see a big difference in the Las Vegas area with the holograms

[jaspelino]

Been looking forward to the 69th edition just to hear Richard say it. He did not disappoint.

[koklusz]

Another angle to the GTA4/RDR remasters story is the fact that R* also puled the plug on RDR online support this week, citing that they are moving the devs to work on GTA6. Now, both GTA4 and RDR run on RAGE engine, which R* is very secretive about, so they probably wouldn't give it to the third party developer like GTA trilogy. That means this remasters were probably being developed internally, and with “all hands on deck” mandate for GTA6, there is probably no one left currently to continue working on them.

[Akrymir]

The increase from 30fps to 40fps is a lot larger impact that most might think. It's the same frame time improvement as going from 60hz to 120hz. From a frame time perspective, it's also the exact mid point between 30fps and 60fps (which they mention). This is why it's misleading to use FPS as a performance metric and frame times are what should be discussed.

[ApotheosisDivine]

Always enjoy seeing Tom in these DF direct weekly. Tom needs to be in more of these.

[StuartHart]

54:50 - Thank you so much for answering my question! Hopefully that’s a graphical option we’ll see more in future. I personally find it very distracting to see animation interpolation get so butchered, just as one might find frame-pacing or screen tearing issues be distracting.

[Wobbotherd]

Is Luke Ross actually charging money to acesss the mod? Valve or id Software or literally anybody else HAVE ALWAYS gone after commercially released content that is unlucensed, going back to unlicensed commercial Doom .WAD compilations in 1994! Modifications are legal if FREE, but no one has the right to make money off someone else's work without their permission! The problem seems to be Patreon; if one has to make a donation to play, that "donation" is essentially a subscription to play the mod. But if the mod is freely available, Take 2 has no grounds.

[sasharudyy]

The difference between the RDR1 remake and the trilogy definitive edition, is that RDR1 uses the same engine as RDR2, tho of course a much older version, and there's already a lot of assets that are remade in RDR2, like the entirety of New Austin which is like half the rdr1 map, and supposedly the mexico side of the map too, which can only be accessed by glitching the game. All Rockstar would have to do is port the missions from the first game into the second, which implies animating a bunch of stuff and re-recording voice lines which, yeah it's time consuming, but the gameplay, 90% of the map, and everything else is basically done already.

[guitarsimon]

Rich’s The Getaway reference made my eyes glaze over in nostalgia. Also it’s kind of hilarious that Rockstar basically went “From the reception of The Trilogy, we realised that people actually want us to put effort into these remasters we’re charging near full-price for, so we’ve decided to cancel them”.

[sebastianvangen]

At the start when Richard mentioned "69" i saw in his mind some laugh.

[codesigma]

Unfortunately, Alex, there is an equivalent legal protectionism around modifications when it comes to farm equipment. John Deere has DRM on control modules so they can control all repairs. Fortunately some American states have pass right to repair laws that get around these bs corporate rules

[lyoozero]

I've been playing Monster Hunter for many hours and did not notice the fur rendering issue, I don't I think I ever paid much attention to the animal characters.
That being said, considering that TAA doesn't even work I'm using DLSS because it seems to be the best way to get some sort of anti-aliasing, which is kind of stupid as well.

[dextersbeard]

I just beat Horizon Forbidden West (PS5 version) on my Sony A90J OLED TV and I have to say after these recent Patches on Horizon FW its now potentially the most beautiful game ever on any console and definitly the standard to beat for this generation (atleast on PS5). This game is a masterpiece, in every sense is better than the first game, including in terms of story. The 4K/60+fps with VRR is absolutely awsome. The fluidity while providing the most detailed game ever on Playstation is awesome. I love they did the same thing that Imsomniac did with Spider Man Miles Morales and Rachet & Clank: Rift in Time did with the 120hz/40fps Fidelity mode and an VRR Unlocked 120hz Performance mode.

[xbradx]

Given just how good RDR1 looks on Series X via back compat(though still could use a framerate boost), would love to see them port it over to the RDR2 engine. Hell, if they packaged that along with a next gen version of 2 to bring it up to par with the PC version, I know It'd be a day one purchase. Considering data miners found Jack Marston voice lines in RDR2 on PC, buried, I'm kind of shocked they didn't release a RDR1 remaster/remake as an expansion for 2 the way the games connect.

[DeathblowMateria]

I really like the balanced 40fps on HFW and usually I go straight to the higher frame rate option. It looks stunning