Digital Foundry Direct: RE Village DRM, 120Hz Consoles & Zelda
Resident Evil Village PC Performance and DRM
The podcast opens with a critical discussion surrounding the PC version of Resident Evil Village. The team highlights a significant performance debacle where a cracked version of the game reportedly removes Denuvo DRM and resolves severe performance issues and stutter that plague the official release.
• The team emphasizes that paying customers are suffering while the pirate version runs superiorly, calling this situation "unacceptable."
• Discussions suggest that Capcom's internal anti-tamper measures, when combined with Denuvo, may be the primary culprits.
• The host notes the importance of highlighting such issues so developers can address them, similar to how Capcom successfully patched Devil May Cry 5 in the past.
"The bottom line is if your DRM is causing performance problems in a game, that is a red line that as a developer or as a publisher, you cannot cross."
### Update on Capcom Patch
Near the end of the episode, the team receives positive news: Capcom has officially confirmed that they are working on a patch to address these PC performance issues, which should be available shortly.
## Console Performance and Features
### A Plague Tale: Innocence 120Hz
The team discusses the surprising discovery of 120Hz support on A Plague Tale Innocence for Xbox Series consoles, despite it being marketed as a 60FPS upgrade.
• The unlocked frame rates essentially behave like a PC game with V-Sync off, leading to tearing without a VRR display.
• This serves as an excellent, albeit unexpected, showcase for how VRR can provide a smooth experience even when the frame rate is inconsistent.
## Retro and Preservation
### Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
The team reviews the Nintendo Switch version of Skyward Sword HD, noting that many of the original game's frustrations—such as mandatory tutorial text, poor camera controls, and motion controls—have been largely addressed with key quality-of-life improvements.
### MiSTer FPGA Core Update
The discussion expands to the MiSTer FPGA project, specifically the addition of the Capcom Play System 2 (CPS2) core. This allows for hardware-accurate emulation of arcade titles like Marvel vs. Capcom, facilitating the long-term preservation of original arcade PCB hardware in a modern format.
## Supporter Content and Future Plans
The hosts discuss upcoming content for the DF Supporter Program, including:
• Continued, direct collaboration with Crytek to improve the upcoming Crysis 2 and 3 remasters based on DF expert feedback.
• Excitement regarding the new N64 digital HDMI mod, which helps modernize the console's output for flat-panel displays.
• A look back at Nintendo's 2012 Wii U E3 conference, analyzing the missteps that led to the system's struggle and how its failure ultimately influenced the design philosophy of the Nintendo Switch.