Are there actually coin boosts in the new EA Sports FC 24? How to unlock and get more coin boosts? Anyone who has ever played the Ultimate Team mode in a FIFA game is probably familiar with the coin boost. The Coin Boost is a consumable item that, once activated, gives you a few bonus coins after every game. The coin boosters are particularly helpful at the beginning, as you can use one or two UT coins here. Anyone who has bought the new FC 24 will probably ask themselves sooner or later, how can you unlock and activate the coin boost?
Getting coin boost in FC 24
The coin boost can also be received in EA FC 24 as a reward for completing various challenges. Compared to FIFA 23, these have become significantly rarer. In the current version, unlike in FIFA 23, there is no challenge among the goals for which you get the coin boost. There is no coin boost as a reward under either “Season Progression”, “Live”, “Seasonal” or “Milestones”. Instead, there are currently only challenges for which you receive coins directly.
There are also SBCs for which you get a coin boost. At the start of the pre-season on October 12, 2023, there will also be another coin boost through the “transfer bonuses”. In “Week 1 – SBC New Era I” there will be, among other things, 2x rare gold professional packs, basic hero rental pack (x5 games) and coin boost (1,000 coins x5 games) as rewards. In “Week 2 – SBC New Era II” you can unlock another coin boost with 1,000 coins each for five games.
Activate coin boost and get coins
The coin boosters can be activated either immediately after receiving them or later. If activated, you will receive x coins for x number of games, for example 1,000 coins as a bonus for the next 5 games. The Coin Boosts cannot be traded or sold on the Transfer Market.
This article is still under construction. More information will follow shortly.
Panasonic OLED TVs are the official Diablo IV TVs and are designed to boost your games.
A full selection of OLED options and sizes ranging from 42 to 77 inches.
Panasonic has unveiled its full lineup of 2023 TVs, following the announcement of the flagship MZ2000 OLED model in January. A total of five OLED TVs and two LED models complete the company’s offering.
The Panasonic MZ1500 is the top choice display, sitting below the MZ2000 and available in the popular 55-inch and 65-inch sizes. This model also benefits from an improvement over the 2022 LZ1500, as it features an integrated soundbar, i.e. front-facing speakers.
It’s similar to the flagship MZ2000, which offers a high-end OLED option for those who want the best from their movies and games, so there are now two high-end TV models offering a premium sound system. superior quality. The main difference is that the MZ1500 does not have the micro lens array, which does not allow it to offer the same image quality.
Panasonic talks about the Hollywood deal and has a long-standing relationship with Hollywood production studios. Stefan Sonnenfeld, CEO and founder of Company3 – who has worked on titles such as Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World – uses Panasonic’s OLEDs as a reference display for calibration. Color accuracy is something Panasonic insists on with its models.
With increased brightness compared to older TVs, Panasonic is also supporting the latest standards, partnering with Activision to make it the official Diablo IV TV. Again, it comes down to Panasonic’s color presentation: “I don’t see a lot of things where color balance is more important than Diablo IV,” said Diablo IV art director John Mueller. “We have a very subtle color palette. To create something that looks like an old masterpiece, you have to be able to represent that world in a very nuanced way.
Panasonic’s True Game Mode ensures that what you see on TV is what content producers intended, while supporting 120Hz refresh rates, low latency and input lag, the VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium, as well as Nvidia G-Sync and Dolby Vision.
Besides the MZ1500, Panasonic also offers the MZ980 (which does not have front speakers), as well as the frameless models MZ800 and MZ700, which offer an OLED display at more affordable prices. This latest model, the MZ700, is an Amazon exclusive and should therefore offer great prices during Black Friday.
It is important to note that the MZ980, MZ800 and MZ700 models all offer a size of 42 inches. This allows customers to enjoy the benefits of an OLED TV – better contrast and stunning black levels – in a smaller room. These sizes are increasingly popular in kitchens and bedrooms.
All of these TVs offer 4K resolution with HDR technology to enhance images, and support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos decoding, plus a full selection of smart features.
Apart from the new OLED models, Panasonic is also launching a few new LED TVs. The MX950 is interesting because it’s a high-end LED TV, using Mini LED technology, and therefore has better dimming controls, while retaining the brightness advantage that LEDs typically offer. It will be offered alongside the MX800, which is a mainstream LED TV for 2023, available at lower prices and in a very wide range of sizes – from 43 to 85 inches.
How will the future be? It is something that our race has been thinking about all our lives, and in an industry that is advancing by leaps and bounds, even if we do not notice it, like this one, the idea of ”this will be the future” is something that we read ad nauseam. In a recent interview the producer of Final Fantasy, Naoki YoshidaYoshi-P to friends, has shared his reflections on the possible future of the cloud gaming. Of course, although he sees a significant potential on this technology, he warns that it will take time before it becomes the norm in the video game industry.
He had a moment of very high interest a few years ago, and now he is experiencing a period of drought. We are not talking about there being no desire, much less public for it, but that when a technology like this enters with rampant force, it goes through a acclimatization period until take the next leap forward.
The as a substitute for the classic consoles?
In these statements, collected by the well-known user Genki on Twitter, Yoshi-P highlights that, while streaming games through the cloud is not ideal for most titles today, the technology has matured in recent times. decade. A period of growth that has encompassed a larger umbrella of games than expected, from PC to “‘big 3’ consoles“, the group of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
Final Fantasy XIV producer speculates on the role the cloud could play in the next decadesuggesting that, eventually, a point is reached in which the replace all platforms and existing consoles. Of course, and without being alarmist, it also recognizes that this transition will not be easy or economical. The producer emphasizes that the costs associated with web servers are a major challenge that must be overcome, and that, as we have commented, perhaps this is the moment that cloud gaming is waiting to get out of the quagmire.
Yoshi-P’s optimism about the cloud contrasts with the issues that certain companies have faced in this field. As quoted in the interview, “Microsoft has had difficulties to make profitable its foray into cloud gaming.” On the other hand, the most notable fact is that of Google, a titan in the internet industry, which had to close its game streaming service, Stadia, earlier this year. Even Sony has had difficulties in this area where even the Japanese made it clear that PlayStation Portal could “expand to the cloud” as a future strategy.
One of the most considerable criticisms against Final Fantasy 14 is that it is challenging to level up. To level up from level 1 to the current level cap of 60 can take hours. You also need to work on post-level cap story quest content. And with the release of the second expansion: Stormblood, things were getting harder.
But gamers have been given away to catch up with their friends through the Tales of Adventure booster in Stormblood. With this booster, gamers can instantly jump a single job to level 60 with a real-money purchase. But how much does it cost to use the Final Fantasy 14 boosting service? And if there are other alternative ways to level up fast in Final Fantasy? Keep reading to learn more.
Is it Worth Buying a Level Boost in Final Fantasy 14?
As a new player looking to catch in the fun right away with friends in Final Fantasy 14 with Stormblood should be looking at spending a lot of money. First, you will spend about $60 to get the bundle of the base game and its expansion. After that, you will purchase a job level boost which costs about $25. With this item, you can boost a single job’s level to 60. Players can only buy one of these items per account pending when patch 4.1 is released.
While these purchases will only get you to level 60, getting into the Stormblood zone and new content is not enough. So, what do you do? You need to purchase a separate scenario shortcut item. Although there are two versions of this shortcut, one will skip the main story quest from the original game and will cost you $18, while the second one will get your character through all the quests from the Heavensward expansion and will cost you $25.
The price is quite steep! If you add the cost of everything to level boost in Final Fantasy 14, it ranges from $103 to $110. But the pricing has been made a bit high intentionally, not as a money grab but as a deterrent. Hence, gamers who have played Final Fantasy for hours wouldn’t feel intimidated or worried if new players would catch up with them instantly, unless they are willing to pay the price. So, perhaps the high price will encourage new players to play through Final Fantasy 14.
Alternative Ways to Level Up in Final Fantasy 14?
World of Warcraft designs included in its expansion-free level boost that gives players the option to jump ahead to tackle the game’s new content immediately. So, why doesn’t Final Fantasy 14 offer this same option? The cost to purchase a level boost and the scenario shortcut is too high, but there are alternative ways you can level up in Final Fantasy 14. This section will teach you 12 ways to level up in Final Fantasy 14 like you are on . And the best part is that you can start most of this method from level 1. So, it doesn’t matter whether you are a seasoned veteran or a new player; these methods will work excellently for everyone.
Final Fantasy 14 Rested Bonus: One of the easiest ways to gain EXP points is by logging out when you are in a Sanctuary. You will get a stored bar of EXP points as a 50% bonus the next time you log in.
Item Buffs: Another excellent way to gain EXP bonuses is by wearing item buffs. Item buffs automatically bring more EXP points in. For example, wearing a Moogle Cap gives you +20% experience up to level 10, while a Menphina earring gives you 30% experience up to level 8-. Sadly, there are not many item buffs; they are pre-ordered.
Join a Final Fantasy Free Company: Joining a Free Company is a fantastic way to find and make friends to run dungeons. As a member of a Free Company, when a buff is enacted, it gives you an EXP boost, so it’s worth being in one even if you want to be a lone wolf.
Food: Consuming food is one of the most overlooked ways to level up. Although it doesn’t give you as much EXP, consuming it regularly is an inexpensive way to level up. Note that all food items earn you the same EXP point.
Final Fantasy 14 Challenge Log: Performing specific objectives in Challenge Log, whether it is participating in a PVP fight, finishing a Guildhests, or a dungeon, you earn EXP points. But the Challenge quest is not available straight away; it is unlocked after beating the level 15 Rising.
Guildleves: Gamers can participate in Guildleves if they have enough Levequest Allowance. Note that six allowances are given per day, with three allowances given every 12 hours. By participating in Guildleves, gamers can quickly complete it and earn a decent amount of EXP points upon completion.
FATEs: FATEs appear randomly on the map and are one of the most enjoyable ways to level up. FATEs consist of another event, mission, or boss fight. It is wise to join a FATE battle with a friend, as the reward you get depends on how well you perform the task.
Class & Job Quests: In Final Fantasy 14, every class has a Class Quest. Completing each Class Quest unlocks new moves and nets you many EXP points. You can start your Job Quests when you get to level 30, earning you EXP points.
Final Thoughts
Final Fantasy 14 is a hardcore game that requires a steep learning curve. Some tactics and techniques of the game are hidden deep inside the regular gameplay. This and more makes it relatively easy to lose points. But with a boosting service, you play with experienced players who will help you get through the technicalities of the gameplay. A boosting service can help you with level and gear boost, character boost, coaching boost, EXP boost, raid boost, job boost, etc. So, whatever kind of boost you need, you can be sure to find it at an ideal boosting service.
A story is a practical tool to attract viewers and subscribers. A well-designed story can do miracles to any YouTube channel, leaving its viewers impressed and willing to consume other content. However, coming up with a catchy, meaningful story requires considering various angles.
Thanks to free design software, you can spend less time thinking of the visual part of your story and focus more on polishing its plot. Good thing that the following is a comprehensive guide to create a coherent, entertaining, and breathtaking story to boost your YouTube views.
Essential components of a catchy story
Whether you plan to create a long or short story, there is a set of crucial elements that should be in the video. Below, you will find eight components that will make your story cohesive, boost your YouTube views, and help you bond with subscribers.
Thumbnail and Title
A thumbnail and title are two first items your viewers will see before they click on your video. It is critical to make these elements as attention-getting as possible, for they often play a pivotal role in viewers’ desire to watch the entire video.
Character
A character is another critical thing on the list. When presenting a protagonist–it can be you or any other individual–make sure to be brief but precise. Stating the character’s occupation and providing a short biography in the right tone will suffice.
Aim
Once you introduce the character to the audience, it is time to voice the aims you want to realize within the story. The nature and complexity of your goals can be different; importantly, though, they should be relevant to the video’s topic. We suggest pointing out simple goals like assembling a fixed gear bike, increasing sales, running a small business, and alike.
Hiccups
Including obstacles in a story can attract more viewers. Try to analyze what problems the character faces that prevent them from attaining the goal. They can be external–insufficient resources and lack of links–and internal, for instance, doubt, lack of ideas, etc.
You may want to focus on one obstacle when making a short story. In other cases, feel free to cluster what’s keeping your protagonist from achieving the ultimate goal.
Misfortunes
This step strives to portray what happens if your character fails to succeed. Here, you can include many problems, from potent ones, like debt, to minor ones, such as guilt.
The great thing about such potential misfortunes is that they help make the audience more empathetic toward you. Some may not relate to the issue, while others can re-experience what they encountered in the past. Either way, such tragedies will make the viewers curious about what’ll happen next.
Assistance
Revealing who or what lent you a helping hand is necessary to maintain the interest in your story. It will make the audience eager to know how the story evolves, how the main character handles complications, etc.
Fishing pole
If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. Emphasize what a fishing pole was in your story that helped your character handle the situation and changed your life. In other words, what was it that helped the protagonist attain the goal?
Metamorphosis
It is necessary to describe the transformation your character experienced as a result of the mentioned stages. Was it a good change, or did it have any setbacks? Did it impact any other things in life?
The metamorphosis part is also a conclusion that evokes emotions and leaves the audience with food for thought. Although the ending might be obvious, it is paramount to wrap things up and end on a high note, motivating readers to explore your YouTube channel.
Finale
Leading a YouTube channel, you’ll eventually want to use various strategies to expand your presence and make your content discovered by more people. One of the ways to do that is by creating a story. If you haven’t applied it to your channel, now’s the best time, especially having fundamental tips to come up with a fascinating story provided above.
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS is undoubtedly one of the most popular games today, if not the most popular. Despite a lower number of players than those playing on League of Legends, the game from Korean studio Bluehole is still gaining more ground on these main competitors of the Steam platform, namely CSGO and Dota 2.
compensator or flash hider, which tip to use in PUBG?
The growing craze for PUBG is making more and more players want to play competitively. But who says competition, says search for stability and optimization of its FPS, in order to try to have the best possible gaming experience and thus to progress in level.
As you know PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDSis currently still in the early access stage and the game has not yet been properly optimized. You could run into a lot of issues with your FPS, especially if you aren’t looking to optimize your game the best way on your own. This is why we are going to suggest some small modifications to try to recover up to 30% of additional FPS. These parameters will allow you to have a better gaming experience, to “smooth” your FPS and possibly to give you a significant advantage for your future Battle Royale.
Here is what we advise you to gain your FPS on PUBG. Steam launch settings may quickly become out of date, however.
PC SETTINGS
As a first step, if you are playing on a laptop, consider changing the power settings to “High performance”. Additionally, make sure your graphics card settings are optimized for maximum performance.
If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, follow the instructions below to gain FPS fairly easily.
Open the NVIDIA Control Panel
Click on Manage 3D settings
Click on Program settings
Search TlsGame or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds from the drop-down menu and add it. If it is not there, click on “Add” and search for TlsGame. If it is still not there, add it manually with this path “C: Program Files (x86) Steam steamapps common PUBG TslGame Binaries Win64” (the path to TslGame.exe may well obviously differ)
Search Maximum pre-packaged frames and put it to 1
Search Display technology and put it on G-SYNC (provided you have a G-SYNC screen)
Search Power management mode and put it on Focus on maximum performance
Search Preferred refresh rate and put it on The highest
Search Optimisation threadée and put it on Enabled
Search Vertical synchronization and put it on Deactivated
STEAM LAUNCH SETTINGS
We are now going to look at the launch options to be optimized for PUBG, they can be particularly useful since some of these options allow you to change settings that are impossible to do from the game itself.
Right click on “PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS” on Steam.
Change the value 144 depending on the maximum refresh rate of your screen.
Change the value 8000 depending on how much RAM you want to allocate to PUBG. Obviously be careful not to set all your RAM.
“-Malloc = system” will force Windows to manage memory allocation.
“-USEALLAVAILABLECORES” should force the game to use all of your CPU cores. This option may be obsolete, but it doesn’t hurt to leave it.
IN-GAME GRAPHIC PARAMETERS
Adjust the Brightness according to your tastes. Don’t hesitate to adjust this value in-game, just to be sure you can spot any enemies in dark corners.
Set theAnti-Aliasing on Very weak. You can of course change this value as you see fit, but beware of the loss of FPS.
Adjust the Shadows on Very weak. There should be no more shadows inside.
Set the Post treatment on Very weak. This should significantly increase visibility.
Define the Texture on what you think is the most correct. Feel free to compare your FPS between the different changes, as you could possibly have more FPS on high settings. Some pro players claim that it is much more difficult to distinguish enemies with high quality textures.
Adjust the Effects on Very weak. If you don’t want to sacrifice too much visibility, this is one of the essential settings to change.
Set the Vegetation on Very weak. This setting will remove a good number of bushes and grasses.
Set the Display distance on Weak. Setting this to Low should allow you to be able to cover and monitor up to a quarter of the map, which is more than enough. Increasing it should drop your FPS dramatically for no apparent gain. If you wish, you can modify this value directly in-game, if you have a good scope on your sniper.
Check on the setting MotionBlur is not checked.
Reduce the Screen format to one value less than 100 if you want to win in FPS. If you have a good graphics card, you should leave this value at 100 to maintain good quality.
You can optionally skip this part if you don’t want to lose FPS. These few settings will only improve visibility slightly, making sure you get the clearest picture possible. Test this step after having previously saved your preferred settings.
Find your configuration file using the following path:
« C:Users\AppDataLocalTslGameSavedConfigWindowsNoEditor ».
Open the “GameUserSettings.ini” file.
Set sg.ResolutionQuality=100.000000 on the right line. This is the recommended value.
Set sg.ViewDistanceQuality=4 on the right line.
Set ScreenScale=120.000000 on the right line. You can ignore this setting if you don’t want to lose some FPS. But that should counter the disadvantages of having anti-aliasing disabled.
Pass this file to ” Read only “. Right click on the file, go to Properties and check the “Read only” attribute at the bottom of the window.
CONCLUSION
Obviously the result and the gain of FPS will differ according to the hardware configurations of each one. However, you should see a marked improvement in your FPS after these few changes. Do not hesitate to give us feedback on our social networks concerning the known results.
Today’s high-end graphics cards use up to three 8-pin connectors, which usually leads to a tangle of cables and connectors that even the best cable management sometimes has a hard time organizing. The next standard with 16 pins should correct all these problems.
The old Molex 6 + 2 pin connectors are therefore now technically quite simply obsolete. Nvidia has tried to solve this problem with the 12-pin Microfit connector on its latest RTX 3000 Founders Edition, but ultimately it is only a proprietary palliative solution, which does not define any new standard.
According to rumors, Next GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Would Use New 16-Pin Microfit Connector, but it is unlikely to be standard on all cards. We do not know for the moment which connector will use the next graphics cards of the American giant, but it should be very different from what we currently know. The PCI SIG would have already defined a new “High Power Connector” (H +) in the characteristics of the new PCIe 5.0 standard. It should be found in most future high-end graphics cards, here’s what it should look like according to Igor’s Lab.
THE 12VHPWR PCI EXPRESS CONNECTOR
With regard to cable assignment and power specifications, the design of this connector has been specifically defined for support cards up to 600 watts power consumption. This is therefore a major improvement over the previous Molex cables, which only reached about 150W. These 8-pin connectors were ultimately just simple 6-pin connectors, of which the other two pins are just for making sure the cable is delivering the right amount of current.
The new 12VHPWR connector is therefore not suitable for 2 × 3 and 2 × 4 PCI Express auxiliary power connectors. This is because the power pins of the 12VHPWR connector have a spacing of only 3.0mm, while the contacts of the old 2 × 3 (6-pin) and 2 × 4 (6 + 2-pin) connectors have a greater spacing. of 4.2 mm. Figure 9-1 shows the 12VHPWR expansion card connector unplugged, and you can see two different connectors. There are twelve large pins that carry the power rail (2 × 6) as well as four smaller pins below, which are for sideband signals.
If this new Molex cable can provide so much current without immediately burning out, it is because as seen in the technical diagram below, 12VHPWR power connector provides up to 55A continuous current to power the board via a 12V power rail with a maximum power of 600W.
The PCI SIG specifies a current capacity per pin, excluding the sideband 4 pins, of 9.2A with a limit of 30 ° C rise above ambient temperature at + 12 VDC when all twelve contacts are energized. So we have a total of 55.2 amps in one direction for the 12 volt power rail, or 662.4 watts. Of course, this is a theoretical limit, so security requires that this number be lowered for security reasons. Here, we consider that 600 watts can still be guaranteed without risk, or 11% less than the theoretical limit.
The connector body must have a labeled or stamped H + sign to indicate 9.2A support per pin (or more), and its approximate location can be seen in the drawing above. It is also known that for safety reasons, the plug has a locking mechanism which must be able to withstand at least 45.00 N (approx. 5 kg) when pulled.
This connection is excellent news for future graphics cards, since in the future, a single standardized card will suffice for all the cards, provided they need an additional power connection and do not exceed a consumption of 600 watts. In the near future, you should have less trouble arranging all the cables in your towers correctly. NVIDIA is often the pioneer in its new technologies, but we do not yet know for sure whether the future RTX 3090 Ti that some leaks evoke will use this connection and will or not support the new PCIe 5.0 standard.
WHAT ABOUT CUSTOM CABLES?
The availability of the various components should certainly be accessible to all enthusiasts in the near future. However, according to one manufacturer, processing is a bit more difficult than with simple Molex connectors. As a customer, you will also have to pay attention to the different sections of the cables, but not only. Indeed, with regard to the current carrying capacity of its different parts, other factors come into play in addition to the pure section of the cable.
In addition to the material used, variants with different numbers of individual strands are also of interest here. The higher the number of individual strands, the finer the section of the individual conductors. This makes the cable much more flexible and therefore easier to lay. However, this also increases the electrical resistance and therefore reduces the maximum current carrying capacity. Below AWG 16 with a diameter of 1.29 mm (corresponds to a cross section of about 1.31 mm²), it is better to install nothing. The 20 amps of continuous charge capacity possible here may seem completely oversized at first glance, but the efficiency is formidable. The AWG 18 can also work if needed, but then the material should be really good, cheap alloys are therefore already excluded.
The higher requirements, especially with regard to the 4 additional signal lines, will make the task much more complicated for some amateur modders, who will probably prefer to look for another hobby or purchase additional equipment.
Samsung quietly included a new feature for the Galaxy A52 in the October update. The update brings to the mid-range phone the RAM Plus feature, already available on the Galaxy A52s. With it, Samsung promises more speed to run multiple apps at the same time.
Overview :
The October update for the Galaxy A52s includes RAM Plus, in addition to security fixes;
The novelty consists in separating 4 GB of internal storage as virtual memory;
This feature doubles the RAM capacity for apps and games.
RAM Plus was previously included in the September update for the Galaxy A52 5G and is now starting to roll out for the 4G / LTE model as well. When launching the A52s version in Brazil in September, Samsung said that this feature “ensures excellent performance to keep up with the consumer’s routine. ”
According to the SamMobile website, RAM Plus is enabled by default and cannot be disabled on the Galaxy A52, unlike the Galaxy A52s, where it could be disabled. Thanks to this, apps and games can consume an additional 4 GB of RAM, which is not available in internal storage.
How to update the Galaxy A52 and check if RAM Plus is active
To check if the update is available for your phone, follow the following path:
Open the app Settings;
Navigate to the option Software update, then the option Download and install;
Then, to confirm that RAM Plus is enabled, go to Settings > Battery and device maintenance > Memory.
But does virtual memory really improve performance?
Despite Samsung’s promises of more speed, SamMobile reports that it hasn’t noticed a difference in use with the RAM Plus feature. The history of similar techniques is not very encouraging either, especially in the case of computers and their slow hard drives.
The biggest impact of RAM Plus is on multitasking, with apps and games being kicked out of RAM less often and being able to stay open in the background in the virtual memory area. In this case, there would be a delay in moving the data between virtual and physical RAM, but at least that would avoid having to open the app from the start. All this, of course, depends on the management adopted by Samsung.
Other manufacturers offer similar features, for example the Chinese Vivo, Realme, OnePlus and iQOO, with names like dynamic, extended or virtual RAM. Xiaomi is also offering the feature on some models in the Chinese market, with rumors that MIUI 13 will bring the option of virtual RAM to the west.
So, is this going to work? Do you have a model with virtual RAM and have you noticed a difference? Leave your impressions in the comments field!
As part of its celebration of the purchase of Bethesda, the second wave published by Microsoft with games with FPS Boost for the Xbox Series consoles includes some substantial improvements for classic titles of the American company. Well-known games such as Skyrim, Fallout 4 or Fallout 76 will go through the Digital Foundry benchmark later, but to begin with, we wanted to revisit two titles from Arkane Studios, Dishonored Definitive Edition and Prey. Both are brilliant games, but they didn’t perform optimally in their original console incarnation. FPS Boost improves both dramatically, and what is most fascinating is that not only doubling the frame-rate is key to improving the experience. FPS Boost, in fact, goes beyond what you would expect, to the point that, with Prey in particular, it almost seems like we are entering more remastering territory.
Let’s start with Prey, one of my favorite games of 2017, but also one that I didn’t get to play in its entirety on previous-gen consoles. A mix of performance issues, input lag defects, and long load times were quite a stumbling block, and why suffer from all that if you could play a PC version that was much better?
First, some basic facts. Prey runs at 900p on Xbox One S, with resolution increasing up to 1440p if you play on Xbox One X (where the draw distance is also extended and reflections are improved). These resolutions are maintained in Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, respectively, but with FPS Boost activated all performance problems disappear and both new generation machines offer sixty frames per second, with just the occasional small jerk. However, the performance improvement is only part of the equation, because there is a similar improvement in input lag, solving one of the biggest defects that the version for the previous generation presented.
And what about loading times? A one minute and fifteen second wait on Xbox One S is reduced to just thirteen seconds on Xbox Series. Prey is a game with a great exploration component, especially in the final section, where moving around the map is as frequent as it is essential. What was annoying and almost unacceptable on Xbox One is now so much better. FPS Boost makes the game change from night to day, making it a much closer to PC experience. Prey is now available on Xbox Game Pass, so it goes without saying that if you’ve bought a new Xbox and haven’t played it, I highly recommend doing so. The only downside is that in Series S it still works with the 900p resolution of the standard Xbox One S, when it is clear that the console could do much more, but even so the improvement over the previous generation is still spectacular.
I’ve also wanted to try Dishonored Definitive Edition, which we first saw in 2015 and was, to be honest, disappointing. Originally released in the late days of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era, a 60FPS version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One seemed unavoidable, considering how light the requirements of the PC version are, but it was not the case and the port was surprisingly poor. There are some issues that remain when playing on Xbox Series consoles, but the improvement is huge and once again not limited to frame-rate alone. Yes, sixty frames per second is the goal, but curiously not even Xbox Series X manages to stabilize at that figure. The interface elements that appear on the screen cause some jerks, but regardless of that there is a feeling that something is not quite right.
The improvement, in any case, is still very great whether you play in Series X or Series S, but what has really caught my attention is the gigantic improvement in loading times. In my tests the waits have been reduced to just a couple of seconds, which is a change like from night to day. How the Xbox Backward Compatibility team has accomplished this remains to be seen, but it’s easily the biggest improvement I’ve seen in load times, and I wouldn’t be surprised if key data is cached in memory to facilitate the massive reduction in load times. loading times. Once again, the change is transformative; Dishonored is a game that is based on experimentation, on challenging its impressive AI. This involves many deaths and loading screens, a process that was torture on previous generation consoles and that here is not the slightest problem thanks to FPS Boost. Beyond the performance hitches, the only real issue is the lack of Xbox One X support, which means both Series S and Series X run at the original 1080p resolution. Still, the game is fabulous, it’s on Xbox Game Pass, and it’s worth playing.
But clearly what we glean from here is that FPS Boost is really more than just doubling performance. The reduction in input lag is a direct effect of the improved frame-rate, but the feeling is that the Xbox Backward Compatibility team is doing a lot more to reduce load times than you might expect. And considering how much the storage speed limitations were in games like Fallouts, it will be interesting to see how well they work with FPS Boost turned on. We’ll check it out soon, but for now, here and now, what we have are two great games from Arkane that feel refreshed and fresh, and which we highly recommend.
As part of its celebration of the acquisition of Bethesda, Microsoft’s second wave of FPS Boost titles for Xbox Series consoles sees the delivery of some dramatic updates to classic titles from its newly assimilated publisher. The big hits Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 will receive Digital Foundry treatment in due course, but to start, we wanted to revisit Arkane Studios’ Dishonored Definitive Edition and Prey. These are both brilliant games, but are also somewhat sub-optimal in their original console incarnations. FPS Boost dramatically transforms both – and what’s fascinating is that it’s not just doubling the frame rate that is critical to improving the experience. Notably, FPS Boost goes further than one might expect, to the point that, with Prey in particular, I feel that we are close to the remastering territory.
We’ll start with Prey – an immersive simulation that I happen to classify as one of my favorite games of 2017, but also a release that I just couldn’t play on the previous generation’s consoles. A combination of performance issues, input lag issues and some lengthy load times were very draining – and why would we go through this when the PC version is much better?
Let’s first get the statistics out of the way. The game runs at 900p on the Xbox One S, with a resolution that rises to 1440p on the One X (which also gets a push in the draw distance and improved reflexes). These pixel counts persist in Serie S and X respectively, but obviously, with FPS Boost enabled, all performance problems are solved, both next generation machines deliver perfectly at 60 frames per second, punctuated only by some stutter in the checkpoints. But increased performance is only part of the equation – there is a similar improvement in input lag, comprehensively addressing one of the biggest problems with the previous generation version.
As for the loading times? Well, one minute and 15 seconds of waiting on Xbox One S is reduced to just 13 seconds on Xbox Series machines. Prey is a game that is all about exploration, and especially towards the end of the game, moving around the map is frequent and essential. What was irritating and unacceptable on Xbox One is now much better. FPS Boost is changing the game for this release, bringing it much closer to the PC experience. Prey is on the Game Pass right now, and let’s say that if you have a new Xbox console and haven’t tried it before, it is highly recommended. My only regret is that the Series S is still locked to the One S 900p standard when it is clear that the console can do much more, but regardless, the improvement here compared to the One S is still spectacular.
I also wanted to check out Dishonored Definitive Edition, which we reviewed for the first time in 2015 and which is – to be honest – a real disappointment. First released at the end of the PS3 / Xbox 360 era, an update of 60 frames per second seemed inevitable for PS4 and Xbox One, given the low hardware requirements on the PC, but it was not meant to be and the port it was extremely poor. There are some persistent problems with the game running on Xbox Series consoles, but it’s still a huge improvement – and again, it’s not just about the frame rate. Yes, 60 frames per second is the goal, but interestingly, even the Series X cannot fix the target well. The UI elements that appear on the screen cause stutter, but even beyond that, there is a feeling that something is not right.
But the improvement is still huge, whether you’re playing on the Series X or S, but what really caught my attention here was the huge improvement in loading times. In my tests, extended waits are reduced to just a few seconds – it’s an overnight improvement! It remains to be seen how the Xbox Compatibility Team managed to do this, but it’s easily the biggest boost to load times I’ve seen – and I wouldn’t be surprised if key data is cached in memory to facilitate these massive reductions in load times. . Again, change is transformative. Dishonored is a game about experimentation, about challenging the impressive AI. This implies many deaths and reloads, a tortuous process in the systems of the previous generation that is not a problem at all thanks to FPS Boost. In addition to the performance hiccups, the only real problem is the lack of support for the Xbox One X, which means that both Series S and Series X are at the original 1080p resolution. Still, the game remains fantastic, again, it is available on the Game Pass and is worth checking out.
Clearly, the big advantage here is that FPS Boost is actually more than just a doubling of performance. Reducing input lag is a knock-on effect of improving frame rate, but there is a feeling here that the Xbox Compatibility Team is doing more to reduce load times than might be expected. And taking into account the storage speed limitations of an issue for Fallout games, it will be interesting to see how they work in their new FPS Boost reissues. We will check this out soon, but here and now these titles look renewed and with a fresher air, I highly recommend them.
