For PC users running at anything between 1080p and 4K resolutions, the console-grade filtering method sticks out like sore thumb while playing close to a monitor at default settings.
In practice, the upgrade in Ground Zeroes' texture filtering is also impactful - much more so than its largely unnoticed update in normal maps from console. This is easily the most vivid upgrade for PC users, gifting higher-end machines a richer, denser looking scene as standard. An exception to this rule is in model detail, where the PC's lowest preset still aces both consoles in terms of tree and object draw distances, plus LODs across buildings.
The upgrade from console is often tangible, with PS4 and Xbox One's settings a match for PC at its default settings (high across the board, but with shadows and texture filtering at medium). However, on balance, these are minor gripes. Similar to the PS4 and Xbox One editions, these elements flicker noticeably, even at the PC version's best options, and even attempting to override it via GPU-level transparency super-sampling fails to improve the effect. The lack of any way to treat the stippling effect across character hair and foliage is also a minor blemish.
Given the drawbacks of post-process anti-aliasing along with the power of the PC platform, some flexibility here would have been useful.
Added to that, screen-space reflections also kick in at the extra high end of this spectrum. This essentially runs the gamut for anti-aliasing (AA) quality from low to high, but the intensity of depth of field is also in flux here - peaking with a bokeh form of the effect not used on console. ini file in the Steam directory to tinker at a more granular level, this leaves us at the developer's mercy when it comes to the suggested bars for quality.Ĭase in point, the 'screen filtering' option alters three variables at once.
However, it's only through trial and error that the impact of each setting becomes truly apparent - with some curious trade-offs at the highest presets that may not suit everyone. On the surface, the range of options here feels complete, perhaps barring the absence of a field of view slider. As a bedrock for what will come in The Phantom Pain, our first impression is one of a very smooth, graceful transition to PC, backed by a bevy of settings for effects, post-processing tricks, textures, screen space ambient occlusion, and lighting. Thanks to its laser focus on a single environment, Kojima Productions also manages to achieve an incredible level of polish here, and in line with the console experience there are no glitches, lockups, or untoward stutters during our testing. With almost every cinematic rendered in-engine, it's no surprise that Ground Zeroes weighs in with a lean 3GB download. But to what extent is its 'extra high' preset different to the current-gen releases - and what kind of graphics hardware does it take to run? There are plenty of added features on paper, from its improved lighting via an increase in deferred lights per scene, enhanced level of detail (LOD) settings, and even higher grade effects and shadows. Nine extra months in development, the PC's first Fox Engine title vindicates the wait with visual upgrades over the well-received PS4 and Xbox One versions.