Digital Foundry: FPS Boost, AMD Radeon & VR Tech

FPS Boost and Back-Compatibility

The episode kicks off with a comprehensive look at the Xbox FPS Boost feature. While generally successful for titles like Prey and Dishonored, the team notes some unexpected departures from expected performance levels in Fallout 4 and Skyrim.
• The decision to cap Fallout 4 at 1080p to maintain 60 FPS is highlighted as an "extreme solution" by Microsoft.
• The team discusses the underlying technical nature of these hacks and notes that they do not always achieve a perfect experience on the Series X|S due to inherent limitations in the original game engines.

VR and Hardware Analysis

PSVR 2 and Industry Trends

The hosts discuss the recently revealed PSVR 2 controllers, noting that they resemble current PC VR standards with added force feedback. They express optimism that this standardization will facilitate easier and higher-quality ports from the PC VR space.

Driver Overhead and APIs

Alex Battaglia and Rich Leadbetter debate the findings regarding driver overhead in low-level APIs like DX12 and Vulkan.

"The whole point of DX12 and Vulkan is to take away a lot of NVIDIA's influence on the kind of back-end stuff that the driver's doing."
• The conversation centers on how these APIs shift the burden of optimization from the GPU manufacturer to the developer, leading to varying results across different hardware configurations.

Radeon RX 6700 XT and Upscaling

The team breaks down the controversial RX 6700 XT launch, noting that the card's value proposition is hampered by inconsistencies in performance and current market pricing.
• AMD's upcoming FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is discussed as a major point of interest. The hosts highlight that while AMD claims it will not require machine learning, it still faces an uphill battle to match the visual and performance quality currently delivered by DLSS.

Behind the Scenes and Community Q&A

The episode concludes with a segment on streaming setups and a special report on the legendary Resident Evil franchise. The team shares insights on current semiconductor supply shortages affecting everything from consoles to GPUs, emphasizing that current market conditions are a "perfect storm" of supply chain disruptions.