News 'Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart' Could Be First PC Game With DirectStorage GPU Decompression

[Admin]

After almost a year of waiting, GPU decompression is finally making its way to a PC game. The tech will be used to smooth out inter-dimensional gameplay that puts huge stress on SSD performance.

'Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart' Could Be First PC Game With DirectStorage GPU Decompression : Read more

 

[RichardtST]

Y'all are just slow and need to learn how to code. DangerZone has been doing instant dimension changes for years. In java. On spinny drives. On Intel Core 2 duo. With integrated graphics. When properly applied, the KISS PRINCIPLE (along with a heaping helping of cleverness) can do absolute wonders.

 

[FunSurfer]

It is more interesting to know how much VRAM will be required for the GPU to do its normal work + decompression

 

[bigdragon]

I had a blast playing Rift Apart on a PS5. I don't see myself buying it again though. For those who haven't played, this is a solid R&C game! Definitely a fun and entertaining experience.

The technology this game boasts has always confused me. It simply looks like a more advanced version of portals or non-contiguous zone transitions found in older game engines. I know I've seen this sort of shifting in UT2004 and HL2 maps, although a much more primitive version of it based off scripted events or static boundaries. No DirectStorage required.

 

[hotaru.hino]

A developer from Traveler's Tails touched upon whether or not the Rachet & Clank Rift Apart really needed the blazing fast SSDs, though the presenter seemed to pick apart what was done at a presentation, rather than the final game. Still, he does explain how "instantaneous warping" could be achieved in previous generations of hardware.

However, a note I would say is in previous games, any semblance of warping or shifting instantly was likely because that part of the level exists, it's just in a place you would never normally get to. Source engine games for instance have a maximum map size of about 2048 feet in all directions (although this somewhat misleading, since the map size is 32,768 units in each direction and the defacto scale is 16 units = 1 foot). You can fit a lot of stuff in that volume.

What Insomniac was probably trying to convey is they could load whole levels instantly, while in game, without the use of speed bumps. But even then, open world games have basically solved this problem without the need for super fast storage.

 

[PlaneInTheSky]

I did not enjoy this game.

You're constantly having to move around and jump in a chaotic 3D world where you barely remember what just happened a few minutes ago.

Because nothing in the world is even remotely relatable to a human world, as an adult I felt no attachment to the characters.

My little newphew liked the colorful and action packed game, but he's a kid and the charcter could be a mushroom or frog for all he cares. It's not that enjoyable as an adult.

 

[DreamsOfGrandeur]

EDIT: removed unnecessary snark.

Y'all are just slow and need to learn how to code. DangerZone has been doing instant dimension changes for years. In java. On spinny drives. On Intel Core 2 duo. With integrated graphics. When properly applied, the KISS PRINCIPLE (along with a heaping helping of cleverness) can do absolute wonders.

Assuming you're talking about this DangerZone (https://www.orespawn.com/), then this comparison is just silly.

A: DangerZone appears to generate most of their geometry on the fly a la Minecraft. While this is impressive, certainly, it isn't at all comparable to loading data from the disk. CPUs (even Intel Core 2 Duos) can spin out meshes faster than even most SSDs can, let alone hard disks.

B: There are almost certainly more polygons in Ratchet's model alone than the entire visible world of DangerZone. These are very different games in terms of asset complexity. The amount of data Insomniac is pulling from storage in a single second is an order of magnitude larger than the entire install size of DangerZone.

If you weren't talking about that DangerZone, I'm very curious to see what you were talking about.

I had a blast playing Rift Apart on a PS5. I don't see myself buying it again though. For those who haven't played, this is a solid R&C game! Definitely a fun and entertaining experience.

The technology this game boasts has always confused me. It simply looks like a more advanced version of portals or non-contiguous zone transitions found in older game engines. I know I've seen this sort of shifting in UT2004 and HL2 maps, although a much more primitive version of it based off scripted events or static boundaries. No DirectStorage required.

The difference I believe, is how they're filling memory. Older techniques would essentially have two levels in memory at any given time. That way you could switch immediately, by just teleporting the player, at the cost of cutting your maximum level size in half. Insomniac appears to be switching between full-scale 10-12gb levels on a console with only 16gb of memory. Which means they only have one level in memory at a time.

I highly recommend this interview with the developer if your interested:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YpCQrPRpE0