Microsoft Games General Thread

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Dr. Zoidberg
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MS have announced some of the XSX specs.



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Next Generation Custom Processor: Xbox Series X is our most powerful console ever powered by our custom designed processor leveraging AMD’s latest Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures. Delivering four times the processing power of an Xbox One and enabling developers to leverage 12 TFLOPS of GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) performance – twice that of an Xbox One X and more than eight times the original Xbox One. Xbox Series X delivers a true generational leap in processing and graphics power with cutting edge techniques resulting in higher framerates, larger, more sophisticated game worlds, and an immersive experience unlike anything seen in console gaming.

Variable Rate Shading (VRS): Our patented form of VRS empowers developers to more efficiently utilize the full power of the Xbox Series X. Rather than spending GPU cycles uniformly to every single pixel on the screen, they can prioritize individual effects on specific game characters or important environmental objects. This technique results in more stable frame rates and higher resolution, with no impact on the final image quality.

Hardware-accelerated DirectX Raytracing: You can expect more dynamic and realistic environments powered by hardware-accelerated DirectX Raytracing – a first for console gaming. This means true-to-life lighting, accurate reflections and realistic acoustics in real time as you explore the game world.

SSD Storage: With our next-generation SSD, nearly every aspect of playing games is improved. Game worlds are larger, more dynamic and load in a flash and fast travel is just that – fast.

Quick Resume: The new Quick Resume feature lets you continue multiple games from a suspended state almost instantly, returning you to where you were and what you were doing, without waiting through long loading scree

Dynamic Latency Input (DLI): We’re optimizing latency in the player-to-console pipeline starting with our Xbox Wireless Controller, which leverages our high bandwidth, proprietary wireless communication protocol when connected to the console. With Dynamic Latency Input (DLI), a new feature which synchronizes input immediately with what is displayed, controls are even more precise and responsive.

HDMI 2.1 Innovation: We’ve partnered with the HDMI forum and TV manufacturers to enable the best gaming experience through features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). ALLM allows Xbox One and Xbox Series X to automatically set the connected display to its lowest latency mode. VRR synchronizes the display’s refresh rate to the game’s frame rate, maintaining smooth visuals without tearing. Ensuring minimal lag and the most responsive gaming experience.

120 fps Support: With support for up to 120 fps, Xbox Series X allows developers to exceed standard 60 fps output in favor of heightened realism or fast-paced action.

Four generations of gaming: Our commitment to compatibility means existing Xbox One games, including backward-compatible Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, look and play better than ever before. Your favorite games, including titles in Xbox Game Pass, benefit from steadier framerates, faster load times and improved resolution and visual fidelity – all with no developer work required. Your Xbox One gaming accessories also come forward with you.

Smart Delivery: This technology empowers you to buy a game once and know that – whether you are playing it on Xbox One or Xbox Series X – you are getting the right version of that game on whatever Xbox you’re playing on. We’re making the commitment to use Smart Delivery on all our exclusive Xbox Game Studios titles, including Halo Infinite, ensuring you only have to purchase a title once in order to play the best available version for whichever Xbox console they choose to play on. This technology is available for all developers and publishers, and they can choose to use it for titles that will be release on Xbox One first and come to the Xbox Series X later.

Xbox Game Pass: In addition to games from across four generations of consoles, our leading game subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, will continue to have our first party games, like Halo Infinite, included at their launch. We look forward to millions of you experiencing the Xbox Game Pass portfolio and immersing yourselves in a deep library of high-quality games, playing those you love now and also discovering your next great adventure.

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/02/24/ ... on-gaming/

Doritos Crash Course is going to look nice on this thing.

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Re: Microsoft Games General Thread

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in 2017 we had high end consumer GPU's with 12 Teraflops...

So the sexbox is only as good as a 3 year old computer?
Good thing about consoles was they used to push the boundaries slightly ahead of computers for 1-2 months then lag behind for 5 years.
now they start 3 years behind, and then get worse...

BOO, HISS!!
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Dr. Zoidberg
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RTX 2080 Super has 11 TFLOPS at double the price for it alone. XSX is gonna be pretty good.

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Batman: The Enemy Within – The Complete Season: Available March 1 to 31 on Xbox One
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero: Available March 16 to April 15 on Xbox One

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2: Available March 1 to 15 on Xbox One & Xbox 360
Sonic Generations: Available March 16 to 31 on Xbox One & Xbox 360

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That’s a pretty good list. Already have most of those, but still.

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IN THEORY communism works!!!
If I should Die Hard Arcade before I Alan Wake.
PREY the Lords of Lore my Soul Calibur to Take
-Two Interactive.

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XSX specs!

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/03/16/ ... es-x-tech/

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The ray tracing difference

RDNA 2 fully supports the latest DXR Tier 1.1 standard, and similar to the Turing RT core, it accelerates the creation of the so-called BVH structures required to accurately map ray traversal and intersections, tested against geometry. In short, in the same way that light 'bounces' in the real world, the hardware acceleration for ray tracing maps traversal and intersection of light at a rate of up to 380 billion intersections per second.

"Without hardware acceleration, this work could have been done in the shaders, but would have consumed over 13 TFLOPs alone," says Andrew Goossen. "For the Series X, this work is offloaded onto dedicated hardware and the shader can continue to run in parallel with full performance. In other words, Series X can effectively tap the equivalent of well over 25 TFLOPs of performance while ray tracing."

It is important to put this into context, however. While workloads can operate at the same time, calculating the BVH structure is only one component of the ray tracing procedure. The standard shaders in the GPU also need to pull their weight, so elements like the lighting calculations are still run on the standard shaders, with the DXR API adding new stages to the GPU pipeline to carry out this task efficiently. So yes, RT is typically associated with a drop in performance and that carries across to the console implementation, but with the benefits of a fixed console design, we should expect to see developers optimise more aggressively and also to innovate. The good news is that Microsoft allows low-level access to the RT acceleration hardware.

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Here’s how Xbox Series X removable storage will work

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Microsoft revealed some key details about the next-gen Xbox Series X console today. Along with clock speeds, new technologies, and much more, the biggest news is that the next Xbox will support removable storage, thanks to 1TB expansion cards. Microsoft is using a special proprietary expansion card, and it has teamed up with Seagate to launch 1TB expansion cards for the Xbox Series X.

The cards simply slot into the rear of the console and are used as a quick way to extend the built-in 1TB NVME SSD. Microsoft is using PCI Express 4.0 connections for both the internal NVME SSD and external SSDs, meaning the speeds are designed for next-gen games. It also means that games that are optimized for the Xbox Series X will need to run on the internal SSD or these expansion cards.

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“You can continue to use your existing USB 3.1+ external hard drives on Xbox Series X and you can run Xbox One, 360 and OG Xbox games directly from the external USB HDD,” explains a Microsoft spokesperson. “Games optimized for Xbox Series X and the Velocity Architecture need to be run from the internal SSD or the Expandable Storage Drive.”

So if you’re looking to extend your storage on the Xbox Series X, you’ll need an expansion card for all of the newer games and titles that will gradually get updated. Microsoft has not yet revealed exactly how much these cards will cost, though. External USB storage drives come in a variety of forms right now and are often a lot less expensive than equivalent NVME SSD drives.



Seagate will be the exclusive launch partner for these expansion cards, too. “At launch, the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X will be the only Expansion Card available,” reveals a Microsoft spokesperson to The Verge. “We look forward to sharing more details in the future.” It’s not clear whether Microsoft will have its own branded expansion cards or just how many other third-party drive makers will be able to create expansion cards. More providers will increase competition and drive prices down for consumers, so it would be surprising if Seagate is the only manufacturer after launch.

This new expansion card support and built-in NVME SSD will mean significant improvements in load times. Microsoft demonstrated a 40-second improvement over the Xbox One X today, showing just how much SSD storage will impact gaming on the next-gen Xbox. It also allows Microsoft to enable multiple game resumes from standby or even after the console is rebooted for an update.

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Microsoft simply caches whatever is used in RAM by a game straight to the SSD, allowing the console to resume titles instantly. Microsoft isn’t saying exactly how many games will be able to Quick Resume in total, but a minimum of three will be supported. As each game has different RAM requirements, the actual number could vary depending on how much space the Quick Resume feature takes up.

We need more information about the Xbox Series X expansion cards, but what’s clear right now is that they will inevitably become the only way people will extend storage on the next Xbox once games are updated. Here’s hoping this proprietary solution isn’t too pricey.
source back to the days of possibly loosing your save down the back of the sofa then?

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While I don’t agree with the piddly storage size or the proprietary expansion cards.

I do like that the controller for SEX will use AA batteries!
I have 2 energiser rechargeables that still hold a charge. I purchased 16 of them when I first got my Xbox 360.
It’s actually really nice to know that something I purchased for my 360 has lasted so long.

Don’t think I’ll be getting a SEX, but I will be looking at a controller for my PC since my XBO one is starting to get a little ratty.
If I should Die Hard Arcade before I Alan Wake.
PREY the Lords of Lore my Soul Calibur to Take
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