Elden Ring |OT| DLC Reviewed (MC: 95 | OC: 94)

[the-pi-guy]

Just some commentary on how the game runs.

I'm not the most sensitive to frame rate, I can see there are plenty of drops, but overall it's more smooth than Bloodborne. So I don't feel that bad about it.

I would say the biggest issue with the game though is pop in. It has the worst pop in, I've ever seen. It's not constant, but it's very frequent. Stuff like grass, bushes, etc will appear as you're walking through them a lot of the time. I haven't really thought about it, but it might be worse after fast traveling, although I'm not completely sure if that's the case. That's just something I thought about just now.

Mechanically though, I haven't had any issues. This isn't like Skyrim where quests break, or inventory disappears, or any big game breaking bugs.

Just to throw out a guess, it seems like the data streaming was not set up for open worlds like this. Maybe there are issues with some assumptions by the game.

I think Skyrim uses little chunks to know what to load and what not to load. I can't remember exactly, I thought it used hexagons, and it would stream in hexagonal chunks of the world at a time.
Maybe ER is trying to load multiple different regions, when it's really only designed to load one. Just hazarding a guess.

[Dr. Pezus]

[Legend]

What's the verdict?

[the-pi-guy]

What's the verdict?

Spoiler free quotes:

Load time:

a six to seven second wait for fast travel on Sony's machine compares well next to the 17 seconds on Xbox Series consoles

Framerate/Quality:

Quality mode: PS5 and Series X run at a fixed 4K - 3840x2160 - while Series S renders at 2560x1440

Framerate mode: On the PS5 and Series X this changes image quality, where the range varies from 2688x1512 at lowest to full 4K at peak. Series S is similar, albeit with a 1792x1008 to 2560x1440 dynamic range

Ultimately, it's hard to recommend the quality mode owing to its uneven performance and in our opinion, it's best avoided. It's clear none of the current-gen consoles work well in targeting a fixed, high resolution: the result being a wavering 30-60fps range for all three machines, occasionally dropping into the 20s. Typically, PlayStation 5 offers a lead over Series X in quality mode, while Series S languishes behind the three with the worst frame-rate reading.

60fps remains unattainable on the actual PS5 game, which ranges from 45-60fps in its frame-rate mode, occasionally dropping still further in effects-heavy scenes. It places PlayStation owners in a difficult spot: using PS4 Pro code means that the dynamic 4K on PS5 changes to checkerboarded 1800p, while grass draw distance takes a hit.

- Xbox with VRR, is probably the better place to play.
- PS5 if no VRR, is better than XSX with no VRR.

[Dr. Pezus]

Spoiler free quotes:

Load time:
Framerate/Quality:
- Xbox with VRR, is probably the better place to play.
- PS5 if no VRR, is better than XSX with no VRR.

Hopefully ps5 supports VRR soon, then that'll be the definitive version for sure.

[the-pi-guy]

Spoiler free Xev rollercoaster:

I've gone from a 8 to a 9.5 to a 8 and now I'm probably about 9-9.5

Elden Ring I was a bit iffy on and wasn't really feeling  that quality around the 10 hour mark but now I think it's one of the best games ever made

[Legend]

Spoiler free Xev rollercoaster:

Elden Ring I was a bit iffy on and wasn't really feeling  that quality around the 10 hour mark but now I think it's one of the best games ever made

From the outside looking in, could some quality of life features help it? Like a way to pause?

[the-pi-guy]

From the outside looking in, could some quality of life features help it? Like a way to pause?

Nah, it has so many more quality of life features compared to Dark Souls.

The thing is the game is so open ended. That makes it easier to get out of trouble, but it also makes it easier to get into trouble (especially early on), and it can make the game feel direction less as well.

[the-pi-guy]

So what makes Elden Ring good?

Or at least different from most things that I've played?

Spoiler for game design spoiler:

<br>There are tons of locations on the map. A key aspect about them though is that they are generally rewarding. There might be weapons, armor, a boss fight at the end of a dungeon. <br><br>Secondly, the game has the most cohesive open world I&#39;ve ever seen. Buildings, and camps feel like they are part of the world. <br><br>They don&#39;t feel like a collection of levels or anything like that. <br><br>The game uses some tricks to hide how big the map is. <br><br>And there are no quest markers or anything. You have to explore to figure out what to do and a where to go. <br>

Don't click if you don't want to read fairly generic descriptions of the game design philosophy.

[the-pi-guy]

This image is going around.  2 out of the 3 I believe worked on Horizon Zero Dawn.

[the-pi-guy]

Over 850k

It's going back up!  900k and counting

[the-pi-guy]

Peaked at 952k.

[Legend]

This image is going around.  2 out of the 3 I believe worked on Horizon Zero Dawn.

I won't judge it till I play it but the game does seem to be another example of an uber scoring metacritic game having plenty of divisive elements.

Been a few days since you posted thoughts. How's it doing in your opinion?

[kitler53]

I agree the game is great and I also agree the UiUx is crud. 

mystery around what shame actually does has always been a part of "gameplay" for these games.  also the UiUx is better than it had been in previous games.  

too early for me to rank the game for me but late enough to say the menus don't need to result in diminished scoring. 

[the-pi-guy]

I won't judge it till I play it but the game does seem to be another example of an uber scoring metacritic game having plenty of divisive elements.

Been a few days since you posted thoughts. How's it doing in your opinion?

The game is great.

The scale and variety is incredible.

Game keeps getting better and better frankly.