Biohazard 5 Demo Comparison

[Umon Daisuke]

I doubt there are any real differences between the two other than the type of AA used. I just noticed your post on B3D, and it confirms my speculation that they're using QAA on the PS3 so the texture details are going to pop up more on the 360.

If the tearing and frame rate hitches aren't fixed up in the final versions, I'd say that both versions are essentially the same much like DMC4.

Seems that Kobayashi's team got a better grip on the PS3 hardware or made better design decisions than Takeuchi's team. The base platforms for their games is still the PC after all.

[Umon Daisuke]

Thank You, So is Resident Evil 5 developed for the 360 first this time around too??

No, all of Capcom's used their proprietary engine that runs on PC's. They didn't port the code to the consoles until the project was 60% complete. Since the 360 architecture is closer to the PC than the PS3, they were able to get the game running on it quicker. Any differences you'll end up seeing are mostly due to the way the systems run and handle the game.

EDIT: Anyone familiar with the PC DMC4 knows that it wipes the floor with both console versions and then some. So, should RE5 see a PC version (it might now because of DMC4's poor sales on the platform), it will be the definitive version.

[SandokTheSlayer]

BD3? Anyways so the textures are going to look sharper on the 360? I've noticed the mesh on chris's shoulder are much more detailed on the 360 than the ps3. Will this type of stuff even out? Or like in the comparison, will the face textures and details be as good as 360?

And what is QAA??

[Umon Daisuke]

qunicunx anti aliasing. A supersampling method that provides a good edge AA but also blurs the overall image thereby hiding some texture detail... like the differences you're seeing.

DMC4 used another method, but they also opted with a blur filter that hid details a bit. In motion, they were indistinguishable though.

[blitzcloud]

I still the say the comparison is null now, but I dont have a capture card (that captures 720p), so i'll let Dot do it if he wants. But I tell you for sure that the PS3 version isn't like that on the February demo.

[Dot50Cal]

13MB gif:
http://dot50cal.the-horror.com/Animation1.gif

As you can see, the Japanese demo loads the specular mapping slower than the US demo. The Japan version is on the top. This doesn't invalidate the results, but its interesting to see they did modify this.

[Umon Daisuke]

The heat haze is definitely present in the demo this time as well. Subtle differences that assure that the differences are smaller in the final versions.

It's rather interesting that the final game's options include graphic "filtering"; it'll be a blessing if AA is one of them.

[SandokTheSlayer]

Is the PS3 going to have better graphics than the 360 eventually? I'm talking all around for all games. Do you think the 360 is pretty much maxing out currently? And how much power does the PS3 really have that the developers can't figure out how to use?

[Umon Daisuke]

Theoretically, the console is more capable but we're not talking about a gap that makes you look at 360 games with disgust. No hardware has been technically maxed out in history, so this won't be an exception.

Sony's first party games are basically what you should be looking at. Games like Kill Zone 2, Uncharted and its sequel, GT5 etc. are all among the best (and arguably the best) on console nowadays. They look great, but there are similar looking games on the 360.

[Amphion]

Here s my two cents about both demos. I've played both quite a lot, and I've sat there two feet away from my TV scrutinizing over both.

As most people here, I also think that the 360 demo has a clear edge. The frame rate, the screen tearing or the variance in colors doesn't really bother me though. What really bothers be in the blur filter that s applied to the PS3. Yes...the infamous QAA technique.

I think it looks terrible and makes the PS3 version look well below its true potential here. The textures and fine detail all look horrible on PS3 in comparison to the 360 because of this technique. When I m looking at a wall or ground on the PS3, it seems as if I m looking through a dirty window.

I wouldn't be this annoyed usually, but there s a reason for it. I m forced to get the PS3 version since my friend is getting it on PS3 as well (he canceled his LIVE account), and I want to play co op with him.

Playing with a fried is of course more important to me than slightly better graphics, but it ll still drive me crazy that the 360 version is better and I didn't get it. After all, having the ability to choose a multiplatform game that I want was one of the reasons why I bought both systems.

Few questions for you guys:

1) Do you think there s even a chance that CAPCOM will opt to use a standard form of AA on PS3 before the release, instead of QAA? Is it possible that QAA is just here as a temp option? After all this is a demo.

2) I did not mention the weak smoke effects on the PS3 because I m assuming that it ll be addressed before the game's release. Am I correct to assume that?

[Umon Daisuke]

Why not wait when the final versions are out if it's bothering you that much? I'm sure you won't be alone on Live playing. Dot will be doing a comparison then as well. As it is, both versions look great and despite some issues, the PS3 one doesn't look remotely horrible. As for your questions:

1) Temporal is the only other way, and it's possible that it's changed in the final game. One of the latter Kotaku previews of the multiplayer levels mentions the two versions looking identical, and the editor had noted the image quality of the demos in a prior preview.

One thing to keep in mind that QAA by itself won't give the game that murky look. There is likely additional filtering used in the PS3 version much like DMC4. I did mention that one of the games options after clearing is turning off some filters. I've also found that the PS3 demo is considerably brighter, so toning it down helps quite a bit.

2) Yes. The heat waves that were lacking in the first Japanese demo are in the new one. Neither version has great volumetric effects like say Lost Planet in-game, but the cutscenes are a different matter.

[Amphion]

Oh I m sure playing over Live wouldn't be a problem. It s just that I always happen to play co op games with the same friend and I d like to continue that with RE5. Even if the visuals in the PS3 version bother me, I ll still be happier playing co op with a good friend, so no big deal really.

Great to hear about the filtering option, but is it only available after clearing (as in beating?) the game? I may have misunderstood what you meant there.

Good to hear about the heat waves, but I actually was referring to the pillars of smoke in the village demo. In the US demo the smoke is a lot higher and more voluminous on the 360. On the PS3 and a bit wimpy and thin looking. I was wondering if that may be adjusted as well. You can see the difference best at the very start of the village demo by looking in the distance and noticing the few pillars of smoke.

[Umon Daisuke]

The demos are fairly old builds, and they did get the PS3 version running a little after the 360 one (since porting from the PC based MT Framework to the 360 is easier), so anything's possible. We'll find out sooner than later.

[Hagu]

Now compare it to the Xbox 360 verson pics on this site. It's an exact pic. They posted the PS3 version without any detail on the walls. There comparison pics are bullshit.



Looks like this website tired to make the PS3 look shitty by blurring the walls. I'm running on full HDMI settings. And my camera sucks, but you can tell that the PS3 version looks just as good as the XBox 360.

[Mr_Zombie]

Looks like this website tired to make the PS3 look shitty by blurring the walls.

Yes, because Dot is such a fanboy, he'll do anything to make PS3 version look shitty -- even buy a promo Blu-ray disc released only in Japan :/.

Before making such statements, you should first read previous posts:

I took a look and it appears that the specular mapping takes a couple seconds to load on the PS3. At the time of the capture, it didn't load in. I'll have a look some more this weekend if I have some free time.

[SandokTheSlayer]

So why do they need to use this QAA in the PS3? Is it because of the GPU? Does the PS3 not have enough memory or bandwidth or pixel fill rate or something like that?

[Hagu]

My Ps3 didn't take any loading time for the walls to show ridges. So maybe "DOT" should post the real pics of how the graphics look. I mean obviously the pictures look much worse than they do in reality. I took the pic myself striaght from my own TV. All you have to do is set your PS3 to FULL HDMI in the settings.

[Darkmoon]

Or, possibly, there was an issue with the original Japanese copy. I believe other websites and such have also found these issues, after all.

But if I were you I really wouldn't accuse the guy of trying to taint the PS3 or some such crap. Dot doesn't care, I'm afraid. And he's hardly going to pay a great deal of money for all his gear to try and prove Sony inferior, is he?

It's nice to see the two do have similar graphics. But please, keep accusations to a minimum. Most of us are mature enough that we don't give a crap about which console is superior in a demo or what have you and insulting Dot will just annoy most folk.

[Alexia_Ashford]

I'm sure the majority of members here will know anyway considering most of those who have a PS3 will have downloaded the demo and seen it for themselves. I've not seen anyone else make an issue of it. I'm sure "DOT" has better things to do with his time than hijack PS3 demo pics.

[Umon Daisuke]

So why do they need to use this QAA in the PS3? Is it because of the GPU?

It's easier to implement because of the GPU's lineage, much like it's easy to implement standard MSAA on the 360 because of the eDRAM's specific core. In real world results, QAA does rid of aliasing better but at the expense of an overall image blur. In motion, it's hardly noticeable unless it's pointed out followed by a switch to the 360 version.

Most developers don't quite count on the majority taking screen caps and comparing them, and rightfully so. Others do the extra work if they feel it affects the intended look of the game, and likely tested on 40"+ screens. Uncharted comes to mind.

Heck, most people don't even realize that a good number of games out there nowadays don't even use AA. They only do when they're told.

EDIT: Since some of you screamed for a US demo comparison, one was pointed out to me: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351123