Another big E3 reveal is using ‘checkerboarding’ to hit 4K on Xbox One

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Xbox’s press conference not only unveiled the “true” 4K-capable Xbox One X, but it also revealed a handful of high-profile games.

As it turns out, some of these games are using workarounds to hit that 4K mark. For example, Assassin’s Creed Origins is using checkerboard rendering—which is, to be fair, a common practice—to deliver an Ultra HD experience. That doesn’t mean the game won’t look good; it just means that it won’t be native 4K.

Unfortunately, Assassin’s Creed Origins isn’t the only premiere game that will be using checkerboard rendering for its Xbox One X version. BioWare’s upcoming third-person-action-RPG-shooter-that-isn’t-Mass-Effect, Anthem, is also using checkerboard rendering, as pointed out in another painstakingly in-depth video by Digital Foundry.

In picking apart Anthem‘s Xbox One X 4K demo from E3 2017, the video showcases the instances of artifacting (otherwise known as “jaggies”) that point to checkerboard rendering. This means that Anthem, too, will not be running in native 4K.

There are a handful of other small visual that can be seen in addition to the jaggies, namely texture pop-in on the ground and strange patches of visual clarity within the motion blur effect.

All of these visual blemishes, however, could be a good thing, because they might point to the fact that the demo, which already looked amazing in a pre-alpha build, was actually running on Xbox One X.

Yes, we know the presenters said (or, at least, implied) it was running on Xbox One X. But many demos that look as good as Anthem look as good as they do because they’re running on the highest-end PCs, not on consoles. The fact that these visual hiccups even exist might be proof that this is what the actual Xbox One X version will look like, if not better by the time the game is released.

We have a feeling that we’ll be seeing a lot of early “Xbox One X enhanced” games using the same old visual tricks they use for PS4 Pro and even the normal Xbox One and PS4, at least until developers figure out a good workflow for optimizing each of the different platforms available to them. Though, hopefully soon we’ll start seeing some native 4K visuals coming out of the Xbox One X.

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Source: http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/another-big-e3-reveal-is-using-checkerboarding-to-hit-4k-on-xbox-one-x/

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"Another big E3 reveal is using ‘checkerboarding’ to hit 4K on Xbox One" :: Login/Create an Account :: 18 comments

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RilloPosted:

Interested to see a development in this

OwenPosted:

I don't play Xbox anymore so am not bothered:)

MajPosted:

Just a shame its not native 4K. This is basically a rip off 4K

SkatesPosted:

Not an issue for me, it's not always about the graphics, if it's a good game then I'll be fine.

DJ_INSOMNiAPosted:

its up to the game devs to set the games where they are comfortable running them, it doesnt mean games wont run in native 4k it just means the devs arent currently doing it....but they can literally work up to it by patching, its not hard

TaigaAisakaPosted:

Sakon They should've known a 4k console was coming for awhile.


Xbox One X isn't a 4k console like they claimed. The majority of Xbox games are going to be running @ 30 FPS at medium settings. Games being pushed to 60 FPS are going to be medium-low settings, with the very few non-demanding games such as Overwatch being medium-high. The Xbox One X's GPU is roughly the equivalent of the RX 480, which isn't a 4k graphics card. It can be seen as a 4k entry, but not what Xbox One X claimed. Upscaled 4k @ 60 FPS is very possible, but anything native 4k, Microsoft is abusing their customers knowledge. I think consoles are roughly 2 years away from being 4k @ 60 FPS, unless they were to throw in a 1080/1080 TI and maybe a 580 equivalent GPU right now; however that would run the price up for consoles easily an extra $200-$300. Nvidia's Volta GPU comes out more than likely sometime in 2018, that means their Pascal cards (1080/1080 TI) will go down in price, making it easier for consoles to achieve true native 4k @ 60 FPS while giving a price point that is appealing to their customers. From there it's up to the developers to actually have the game support for the hardware.

TaigaAisakaPosted:

Mikey All this talk about 4k gaming coming out soon, but the big question is, when 3d gaming coming out. :-O


I don't think 3D will really be making a full return. The 3DS is a great example. Yes people still buy the 3DS, but not a lot of people use the 3D function; so much so they made the 2DS so people don't have to pay more for the 3DS if they're not using the 3D feature. Pokemon was the game that really tried to leverage off of 3D but Pokemon X and Y were the only games that really used it, other Pokemon games had either very lackluster support or none at all. I can't speak for other games at all, but I know the 3D function isn't used as much as it should as it does give people headaches. I think people are moving towards to VR over 3D game and even then, VR games can be seen as the new 3D considering how some games play out.

TOXICPosted:

All this talk about 4k gaming coming out soon, but the big question is, when 3d gaming coming out. :-O

k3rryPosted:

Weird, kinda hoped it'd be native 4k, but you can't expect the best when they are packing so much tech into that small of a box and shipping it out for $499, still amped to see what Xbox One X does on release.

FibrilPosted:

Guess it doesn't matter on my 1080p TV haha, but when I get around to buying a 4K TV I'd prefer it would be native 4K.


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