The Order: 1886's newest gameplay video came under a lot of scrutiny last night, with many gamers saying that the PS4 exclusive looks noticeably worse than it did in previous videos. Andrea Pessino, chief technology officer at developer Ready at Dawn, took to Twitter to defend the game.
A comparison GIF by a NeoGAF user reveals that one scene looks noticeably worse than it did in an earlier preview:
Pessino said on Twitter that the Knights in the newer footage are wearing "infiltration" uniforms. They're darker and simpler to make them more practical for combat situations. We'll see the shiny ceremonial garb from the older image in other parts of the game.
What about the rest of the scene? The older image shows a more clearly lit, detailed room. The room's darker and duller in the new footage.
The reason for that discrepancy, Pessino says, is the way this latest gameplay video was delivered. Gamers watched the new footage of The Order: 1886 either through the original Twitch broadcast or recordings of that broadcast by YouTubers. Either way, Pessino said that the game's true visual quality - Ready at Dawn previously confirmed it's 1080p and 30fps - wasn't on display in the video:
I think the takeaway here is that if you're going to make graphics a major selling point of your game, simply holding a Twitch broadcast for new footage isn't a great idea. I don't think anyone's expecting Twitch or YouTube videos to maintain the full quality of a game's graphics. It would be best to offer a high-fidelity version for download to clear up any doubts.
Pessino's Twitter defense probably won't put the issue to rest. As a PS4 exclusive, The Order: 1886 will come under a lot of scrutiny from gamers wondering whether it's worth buying a new console for. Also, because we're in such an early stage of the PS4's lifespan, there aren't enough games to divide players' attention. Every game built solely for the console is going to be put under a microscope. The constant examination of the game's going to continue until it's released later in the year.
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