DF Direct Weekly: ROG Ally X, Black Myth, and PC Stutter
The ROG Ally X: Handheld Hybrid Or Beta Product?
The panel engages in a deep dive regarding the Asus ROG Ally X, examining its status as a high-end Windows-based handheld. While the hardware itself receives praise for its improvements—such as the controller handles and the 120Hz VRR panel—the user experience is heavily criticized:
• Onboarding Issues: The setup process via Windows proves frustrating, with non-functional controller inputs and forced language errors, making the machine feel like an unfinished beta product.
• The 'Xbox' Branding Conundrum: Despite being branded as an Xbox, the device fails to deliver a streamlined console-like experience, instead forcing users to navigate complex Windows ecosystems, different storefronts, and persistent driver/system updates.
• Performance Benchmarks: Through competitive testing, the Ally X shows significant gains over the original ROG Ally in demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2, largely attributed to the addition of 24GB of memory which alleviates VRAM bottlenecks.
Black Myth: Wukong Patch Analysis
The team analyzes the latest patch for Black Myth: Wukong, which has proven controversial due to technical trade-offs:
• Visual Downgrades: The implementation of a new performance mode on PS5 has resulted in the total removal of Lumen (Global Illumination), leading to a significantly worse visual presentation reminiscent of last-gen hardware.
• Inconsistent Strategy: The panel expresses confusion over the developer's choice to push out these specific technical configurations, noting that they often contradict the artistic intent of the game.
The Evolution of PC Stutter
Alex leads a discussion on the historical prevalence of stuttering in PC gaming, comparing modern titles to those from the mid-2000s:
"Older games, when you go back to them, a lot of them have very clean frame times, even while CPU limited."
• Shader Compilation: Modern middleware engines and the sheer, unending diversity of shaders contribute to the constant shader compilation stutter currently plaguing PC gaming, a problem that early developers actively mitigated through specialized compilation steps.
• Technological Shifts: The move away from purpose-built game code to massive streaming open-world models has increased the complexity of memory management, exacerbating stuttering issues that were rarer in the past.