It's this simulation specifically that allows for such realistic surfaces across the game's vehicles. In GT7, the game simulates the base paint first followed by any additional layering - such as a metallic coating that can be applied - and finally the clear coat itself. Most cars, when painted, use a clear coat to seal the paint work and protect the body for increased durability and this clear coat has an impact on the way light is reflected back towards our eye. This was already exceptionally well-handled in GT Sport and GT7 is simply a continuation of this work, using more advanced hardware. One of the key strengths in Gran Turismo lies in its treatment of car paint - there is a real attention to detail paid to the way light interacts across a wide range of surfaces. I played with RT enabled and the reason why it's desirable comes down to the nature of cars and the materials they've made from. Replays, interludes and everything within the menu system uses this feature but the frame-rate is capped at 30fps, while turning off RT removes the performance limit. Effectively, when using ray traced reflections, this feature is engaged in basically every scene featuring cars except actual gameplay. Hardware-accelerated RT is a key feature, but you're offered the choice between using ray tracing or enjoying a higher frame-rate. Ray tracing is a game-changer for GT7's presentation of its vehicles: cars reflect environments, other cars and even themselves where appropriate. My only complaint is that there aren't any lower resolution options that may have allowed for hardware-accelerated ray tracing to be used in-game. So, this is the first improvement then - image quality is a significant step up from GT Sport. ![]() I believe GT Sport allowed this in the lower resolution mode on the PS4 Pro but it's nice to finally see the effect used at full resolution, greatly improving the sense of speed and the feeling of motion. One of my favourite additions, however, is the inclusion of per-pixel motion blur during actual gameplay. ![]() It's not perfect but it goes a long way to reducing some of the visual artefacts you could spot in GT Sport. Beyond the pixel count, however, other aspects of the image are improved - texture filtering, shadow quality, reflection quality and more have all been enhanced. Gran Turismo Sport's checkerboarded 1800p (or alternatively, 1080p if you set up the front end accordingly) is upgraded to full, native 4K. There's more of course, but this is a good place to start. That starts with image quality, the addition of ray traced reflections and the elimination of loading times. So, what does that mean for players then? Well, in building GT7 for PlayStation 5, I see several key areas where Polyphony took advantage of the new hardware to improve the experience. GT7 seems to have been built directly on GT Sport then - which perhaps explains why it is a cross generation release, but that doesn't mean it's not a beautiful game. ![]() Watch on YouTube Strap yourself in for half an hour of in-depth PlayStation 5 tech analysis, featuring Gran Turismo 7. With Gran Turismo 7, however, you get the sense that everything has finally coalesced into what feels like a perfect mix of Sport's exceptional driving model combined with the content and progression the series was once known for. Polyphony regrouped and pushed hard for PlayStation 4, rebuilding its technology, focusing on refining the actual driving, the multiplayer and the visuals - but this came with a cost - the traditional Gran Turismo experience was pared back. Nigh-on flawless performance on PS2 fell short on PS3, while the menu systems were complex, friction-filled and cumbersome. On a technological basis, there's the argument that the studio pushed too hard, hitting hard limits in the PS3 hardware. It's early days for the new generation, so we had to wonder: to what extent has Polyphony scaled beyond GT Sport's showing on PlayStation 4 Pro?Īrguably, Gran Turismo as a complete package reached its peak in the PlayStation 2 generation - with the shift to HD on PS3, there's the sense that Polyphony Digital struggled to transition the series to this new era and while the games that followed were well-made, a certain purity and joy had been lost. Gran Turismo 7 feels both true to its roots but fresh at the same time, also delivering our first taste of what this technology-focused developer can extract from PlayStation 5 hardware. Taking centre-stage is a vast single-player component, reminiscent of the old days. Leaving behind the interesting but ultimately incomplete GT Sport, Polyphony Digital's latest series entries marks perhaps the most complete Gran Turismo experience since the PlayStation 2 era. ![]() At long last, Gran Turismo has truly returned.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |