Digital Foundry: Unreal Engine 5, Kingdom Hearts 4 & More

Kingdom Hearts 4 and Technical Analysis

The discussion opens with Kingdom Hearts 4, highlighting its reveal trailer and its potential relationship to Jensen's Prophecy.

Unreal Engine 5 Prospects and Concerns

• The hosts analyze the use of Unreal Engine 5 in the trailer, noting its strengths in city rendering and lighting.
• Despite the visual potential, there are significant concerns regarding shader compilation stutter and the high CPU demands of Unreal Engine 5 samples.
• The team argues that developers must focus on cpu-threading efficiencies to ensure stable performance for future titles.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update

"I think them bringing it in-house has a greater chance of it being a higher quality remaster."

The conversation shifts to the The Witcher 3 next-gen patch currently in limbo.
• CD Projekt Red has taken the project back in-house from a third-party developer.
• Technical improvements like RTGI and Ray Traced Shadows are discussed as potential upgrades for the PC version, provided the team respects the original art direction.

Display Technology and Emulation

LG C2 Issues

• The LG C2 OLED television is criticized for firmware instability, including high input latency, flickering BFI (Black Frame Insertion), and weird pinkish tinting off-axis.

PS3 Emulation on PCSX3

• John highlights the impressive capabilities of PCSX3 when paired with high-end hardware, allowing for 4K/60fps gaming in titles like Metal Gear Solid 4 and MotorStorm.
• They note that AVX-512 functionality helps drive performance, but warn that SPU heavy games remain challenging to emulate.

Gaming Trends and Future Outlook

• Regarding current-gen console design, there is hope for a return to physics-based gameplay akin to Red Faction: Guerrilla.
• The episode concludes with a tech showcase of the original Xbox, featuring games like Otogi and Double Steel.