Giant Bomb mentioned in Digital Foundry article

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AndreiGradinaru

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#1  Edited By AndreiGradinaru

Giant Bomb has been mentioned in the Titanfall Face-Off. Not a big deal, but found it interesting nonetheless.

Titanfall has been hit over the head repeatedly this week by comments quoted from Giant Bomb, describing a particular instance of single-digit frame-rates in the Last Titan Standing mode, which kits out every player with a Titan and lets them 'have at it'. On the one hand, the report potentially has some merit - this mode is likely to push the game engine to its limits. On the other hand, this engine is designed to pump out a new frame every 16ms. Clearly it doesn't always manage it, but a drop down to single digit frame-rates would necessitate that engine taking 100ms to render the next image - an enormous amount of time. So does the Last Titan Standing mode really hammer frame-rates as badly as suggested?

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-titanfall-next-gen-face-off

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RonGalaxy

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#2  Edited By RonGalaxy

This isn't that big of a deal, but I think sourcing that kind of off the cuff remark is a bad idea. Jeff said single digits, but it isn't like he was testing the framerate. could have been in the low 20's for all we know. I've seen them react to 'bad' framerate before, and I have a feeling they really have no idea what single digits even looks like (it looks like a slideshow).

Or maybe Im wrong. Still think sourcing a comment like that is stupid.

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csl316

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Wait... that sort of comment is considered a "report?"

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Steadying

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#4  Edited By Steadying

I feel like they might be taking that comment a little too seriously.

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RonGalaxy

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@csl316 said:

Wait... that sort of comment is considered a "report?"

exactly. Comments like that should never be sourced or reported on. It's a shame, because digital foundry is well respected when it comes to testing the technical aspect of games.

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jkz

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#6  Edited By jkz

Well this is stupid

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TheManWithNoPlan

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That's...strange.

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erhard

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#8  Edited By erhard

How could you possibly think that this was worthy of a thread?

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AndreiGradinaru

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@erhard: sorry, I didn't know you are in charge of the giant bomb database and this somehow hampers you in your so important work life. Next time I'll make sure to write about a starving afrikan child that kicked a puppy.

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Slag

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Hunh maybe they are taking a mythbusters type approach to these kinds of things. Or maybe that was the only negative rumor they could investigate.

I could see why they chose to, looks like a lot of second and third gaming sites as well as forums have picked on Jeff's observation about Last Titan Standing (posted below from his review)

The frame rate in Titanfall is uneven on the Xbox One and though it's usually fine, it can get downright nasty in specific situations. In one Last Titan Standing match–where every player spawns in a robot suit–several players crammed their mechs into a tight area and began duking it out, and the frame rate dived down to what must have been single digits per second. Even out in wider areas, the game feels a little hitchy from time to time, and there's noticeable tearing throughout

What I find most odd is digital foundry was wishy washy on whether they experienced the same thing or not. They explicitly mentioned they didn't experience single digit framerates in Last Titan Standing, but they didn't say whether or not they experienced significant slowdown or frame rate drops there (which I think is what people really care about). And then they went onto to mention that they suspect it could slowdown dramatically with a full lobby.

I don't know why they even broached the subject if they weren't going to actually test it.

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ShaggE

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"The website Giant Bomb, known for having a wizard in their employ, takes a hard stance against anime and the jerks who watch it."

That's what that reads like to me. Really weird that they took that remark so literally.

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monkeyking1969

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The guy at Digital Foundry is a twat. He is assuming frame rate in 'single digits' is ONE. But a single digit frame rate can be from 0 frames per second to 9 frames per second. And, if the twat would take the comment as it was intended he would deduce Jeff meant the frame rate was much lower than it needed to be too not look stopped, so that is range from purhaps 0 to 20 fps.

And yeah, I bet Titanfall could dip to 20 fps, so even with that 'precious' 16ms frame buffer would look framey shooting out the same frame waiting to a new frame to display. Twat...

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deactivated-601df795ee52f

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lol

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tourgen

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#14  Edited By tourgen

On the other hand, this engine is designed to pump out a new frame every 16ms. Clearly it doesn't always manage it, but a drop down to single digit frame-rates would necessitate that engine taking 100ms to render the next image

Wow what an ignorant asshat.

An engine designed to produce 60fps couldn't possibly drop to 1-5fps under any circumstances?! Right!? Guys, how is this even possible? I mean, come on. I'm not pointing fingers and calling anyone a liar, but... let's just ask the question. Is Jeff Gerstman a fancy pants liar or not?

Anyway, ... I think Titanfall looks pretty awesome as far as gfx and design. I just don't like FPS comp shooters enough to break away from the other stuff I'm playing yet. Really hoping they continue on with the Titanfall stuff, maybe make a few different types of games in the universe.

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reisz

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Jeez, I'm glad no one listens to what I say that inently.

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HeyGuys

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Would actual single digit frame rates even be playable? I've seen some serious slow down but a multiplayer shooter moving that slow essentially breaks the game.

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vitor

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#18  Edited By vitor

@tourgen said:

On the other hand, this engine is designed to pump out a new frame every 16ms. Clearly it doesn't always manage it, but a drop down to single digit frame-rates would necessitate that engine taking 100ms to render the next image

Wow what an ignorant asshat.

An engine designed to produce 60fps couldn't possibly drop to 1-5fps under any circumstances?! Right!? Guys, how is this even possible? I mean, come on. I'm not pointing fingers and calling anyone a liar, but... let's just ask the question. Is Jeff Gerstman a fancy pants liar or not?

Anyway, ... I think Titanfall looks pretty awesome as far as gfx and design. I just don't like FPS comp shooters enough to break away from the other stuff I'm playing yet. Really hoping they continue on with the Titanfall stuff, maybe make a few different types of games in the universe.

Lol. You're really quoting the DF guys, people who actually know how game engines work, as ignorant asshats? Rocks, glass houses and all that.

They weren't reacting to Jeff's article. They were reacting to the massively negative thread that it prompted on places such as Neogaf. If anyone here would actually bother to read and click on the links embedded there.

He's not calling Jeff a liar - he's just asking how likely it is that the engine would drop so much. Most engines built around 60FPS tend to have drops - they discuss that in depth and prove that this is worse than most for that, but they rarely hit single digits because they have such a high overhead. Dropping 20FPS when you're running an average of 60 isn't THAT huge a problem. Dropping 20 when your max is 30 is most definitely an issue. No idea why you're taking it so personally.

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audioBusting

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#19  Edited By audioBusting

@monkeyking1969 said:

The guy at Digital Foundry is a twat. He is assuming frame rate in 'single digits' is ONE. But a single digit frame rate can be from 0 frames per second to 9 frames per second.

Duder, calm down. 100ms for one frame is 10 frames per second, so he's not saying that at all. It's strange that he picked out Jeff's review in particular, but let's not get crazy here. He's probably trying to give credit for the Last Titan Standing experiment idea, which he shows right after that paragraph.

Edit: and to be fair, for "science-minded" people like the Digital Foundry guy, "single-digit frame-rates" means something specific. He's only saying that he's being skeptical about that for good reason. I don't why some of us seems to be incredibly incensed at the idea that someone doesn't believe Jeff's small remark on his written review.

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TrafalgarLaw

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Jeff is the only one commenting on single-digit drops and mentioning screentearing. All these other "professional" reviewers either have a personal agenda or are too blinded by the hype to mention it. DF just finds it odd and put it into test. Kudos to Jeff.

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audioBusting

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@slag said:

What I find most odd is digital foundry was wishy washy on whether they experienced the same thing or not. They explicitly mentioned they didn't experience single digit framerates in Last Titan Standing, but they didn't say whether or not they experienced significant slowdown or frame rate drops there (which I think is what people really care about). And then they went onto to mention that they suspect it could slowdown dramatically with a full lobby.

I don't know why they even broached the subject if they weren't going to actually test it.

Huh? He did test it, and he embedded the results video right after that paragraph.

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Snail

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#22  Edited By Snail

Milliseconds.

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themangalist

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Is Giantbomb an underground indie rockband that whenever the local newspaper mentions their name we need to cheer?

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musubi

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Click bait articles on the internet? Never!

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Slag

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@slag said:

What I find most odd is digital foundry was wishy washy on whether they experienced the same thing or not. They explicitly mentioned they didn't experience single digit framerates in Last Titan Standing, but they didn't say whether or not they experienced significant slowdown or frame rate drops there (which I think is what people really care about). And then they went onto to mention that they suspect it could slowdown dramatically with a full lobby.

I don't know why they even broached the subject if they weren't going to actually test it.

Huh? He did test it, and he embedded the results video right after that paragraph.

oh crap, my bad, I just read the article. I wish he mentioned the results more explicitly in his article.

Looks like TF routinely dipped into the mid-low 30s during firefights based on his test. Not nearly as bad as what Jeff was saying, but noticeable. certainly enough to validate Jeff's claim that there are big framerate drops. Still don't know why he didn't stress test his proposed scenario of ...

we can well imagine that if all 12 Titans were let loose in a confined space, frame-rates could plummet to a noticeably unacceptable level.

maybe he couldn't get enough people to help create that scenario.

anyway thanks for the catch.

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RazielCuts

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Is Giantbomb an underground indie rockband that whenever the local newspaper mentions their name we need to cheer?

Pretty much? Or at least it once was. Although I think you're missing the point in this particular case. Eurogamer seem to be using something Jeff said off the cuff to base a whole article around, seems very strange, even if Jeff's comment did catch on like internet wildfire.

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#28  Edited By Mcfart

Jeff is the only one commenting on single-digit drops and mentioning screentearing. All these other "professional" reviewers either have a personal agenda or are too blinded by the hype to mention it. DF just finds it odd and put it into test. Kudos to Jeff.

Pretty much this. I didn't read the article (who got time for dat) but they probably used Jeff's hypothesis to do their own testing. Alas, Jeff was hyperbolizing :P

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Mcfart

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Jeff is the only one commenting on single-digit drops and mentioning screentearing. All these other "professional" reviewers either have a personal agenda or are too blinded by the hype to mention it. DF just finds it odd and put it into test. Kudos to Jeff.

Pretty much this. I didn't read the article (who got time for dat) but they probably used Jeff's hypothesis to do their own testing. Alas, Jeff was hyperbolizing :P. What a weird way to get caught.

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CaLe

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This looks like single digits to me.

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forkboy

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Jeff is the only one commenting on single-digit drops and mentioning screentearing. All these other "professional" reviewers either have a personal agenda or are too blinded by the hype to mention it. DF just finds it odd and put it into test. Kudos to Jeff.

I know we dig conspiracy theories, but maybe other people didn't experience it?

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forkboy

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Jeff is the only one commenting on single-digit drops and mentioning screentearing. All these other "professional" reviewers either have a personal agenda or are too blinded by the hype to mention it. DF just finds it odd and put it into test. Kudos to Jeff.

I know we dig conspiracy theories, but maybe other people didn't experience it?

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CharlesAlanRatliff

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@cale said:

This looks like single digits to me.

Yeah, that's the gif I immediately thought of when reading that paragraph. It is possible, but seemingly rare. At least, I hope so.