The Last of Us "Squeezes Every Last Drop of Power" From PS3

[MikeWehner]

The Last of Us "Squeezes Every Last Drop of Power" From PS3

Naughty Dog claims to have maxed out the PlayStation 3.

As we approach what could be our first glimpse at Sony's next system [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121823-Sony-Teases-Possible-PlayStation-4-Announcement], PlayStation 3 developers should know the middle-aged console pretty well by now. Naughty Dog is one of those developers and in a recent interview, The Last of Us Lead Designer Jacob Minkoff claims that not only does his team know the console inside and out, they've officially maxed out its available power.

"I think Uncharted 1 used maybe 30 percent efficiency. Uncharted 2 we were finally using 100 percent, but it wasn't as efficient as it could be. Then, Uncharted 3 we got way more efficient," Minkoff explains. "With The Last of Us, we are as efficient as we can possibly be. It's just squeezing every last drop of power out of the system. And it's a system we know really, really well. We know its constraints, so we can push it to the edges and play it really fast and loose because we know what the system can handle."

Now, being the seasoned developer that Naughty Dog is, we'd never expect the company to boast about anything other than having a perfect handle on its hot new title. You'll never hear a project lead claim that their newest, unreleased work is 97% as good as it could be, and as new engines are built, new things are always possible.

Still, it's interesting to hear how the experience of creating a trio of high-profile titles has honed the team's skills, and if The Last of Us is indeed more technically impressive than the latest Uncharted effort, it'll certainly be a sight to behold.

Source: GameZone [http://www.gamezone.com/products/the-last-of-us/news/naughty-dog-the-last-of-us-squeezes-every-last-drop-of-power-from-ps3]

Permalink

 

[gorfias]

The system is not middle aged. It is old. It is still pretty damn good, (so is the gamecube)but when you've over stayed your welcome by about a year, you are not middle aged. It was middle aged about 2.5 years ago. It hit its stride around 2010.

It is still very good, but you look at what can be done on a good PC, and you see that, even with every last bit of power, it is hard to believe graphics on this system are going to impress.

I think the game will still look fine and likely be excellent. But this isn't the kind of announcement that makes me go, "Oh! I must have this!" I'll wait for critics to tell me it is a one of a kind gaming experience. I'll leave the eye candy to a PS4.

 

[BrotherRool]

Apart from the seriously dodgy maths going on there, Uncharted 1 looked stunning and they said they would do better in Uncharted 2 and it was another level up. And then Uncharted 3 stepped it up again. And the trailer for this looked really good so that seems to be a pretty good claim

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Hmm...

I'm now really curious to know what they mean by that, and now I'm really excited about this game.

I like Naughty Dog so I have no doubt in my mind that this game will be great.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Let's hope that most of this juice was spent creating an highly interactive gameworld, instead of the usual scripted spectacle ride.

 

[Rad Party God]

Heh, kinda reminds me of an interview that Naughty Dog had with some magazine, claiming that Crash Bandicoot 3 had almost doubled the polygon count compared to the first one and that Jak & Daxter had quadrupled that polygon count of CB3. I'd may exaggerate a bit, but it was in that context.

It only shows that Naughty Dog really knows what they're doing, seriously, I respect a lot what they're capable of doing, even rivalizing what's currently capable with PC gaming and that's with an 7 years old console.

 

[Kinitawowi]

Meh. Mike Singleton truly maxed out the ZX Spectrum for Lords Of Midnight nearly thirty years ago, and that was to create an immersive game world. Allegedly maxing out a PS3 to get slightly more realistic facial textures isn't the wow it used to be.

 

[FoolKiller]

Naughty Dog claims to have maxed out the PlayStation 3.

I read that as:
Naughty Dog will release a game with slowdown and framerate issues.

 

[mjc0961]

Too bad it doesn't squeeze even a drop of creativity out of Naughty Dog! Oh boy, more thirty-something white dudes shooting zombies! AWESOME! Oh but let's try to tell a story too, because they're just so good at that. Just ask all those random fucking pirates in Uncharted 3.

I respect a lot what they're capable of doing, even rivalizing what's currently capable with PC gaming and that's with an 7 years old console.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

[FallenTraveler]

Too bad it doesn't squeeze even a drop of creativity out of Naughty Dog! Oh boy, more thirty-something white dudes shooting zombies! AWESOME! Oh but let's try to tell a story too, because they're just so good at that. Just ask all those random fucking pirates in Uncharted 3.

I respect a lot what they're capable of doing, even rivalizing what's currently capable with PC gaming and that's with an 7 years old console.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Hater's gonna hate.

OT: Wow, they maxed out the ps3 with uncharted 3, and now they're doing it again! Can't wait, gotta love everything Naughty Dog gets up to. They make some fantastic games.

 

[Vault101]

imagine what they could do if it was on PC and they wouldn't have to inject the hardware cocain and redbull...slap it on the ass and say "RUN! run old man! or I'll blow your head off with a shotgun!"

was that elitist?...I dont know

Too bad it doesn't squeeze even a drop of creativity out of Naughty Dog! Oh boy, more thirty-something white dudes shooting zombies! AWESOME!

come on..lets be fair, its called "marketability" plus theres a girl in it....you dont play as the girl but we gotta take what we can get right!?

[quote/]Oh but let's try to tell a story too, because they're just so good at that. Just ask all those random fucking pirates in Uncharted 3.
[/quote]
lack of nathan drake improves their prospects in that area, I'd say trying for an emotionally compelling story is always a good thing

 

[Erttheking]

You mean like how Halo 4 pushed the 360 to it's limits? Sounds interesting.

 

[Irridium]

They said the same thing about Uncharted 1. And Uncharted 2. And Uncharted 3.

Not say that's a bad thing, in fact it makes sense. The longer you develop for a console, the more you learn about its ins-and-outs and the more you can do.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

This is just more nonsensical marketing talk, playing off of nonsense about untapped power that was sold hard to people earlier in the generation. There's no meaningful way to measure "100% efficiency" in graphics. Even if every clock cycle is being used, the difference between a game that's clever about where it's compromising and where it's spending its resources and one that isn't is huge. It's as much an art as it is a science, and you can't be very objectively precise when talking about how efficient "art" is.

From a purely technical perspective, I can't see any improvement between the screenshots for this game and the last one. Hell, Far Cry 3 looks better and that's a multi-platform game.

 

[R.Nevermore]

Too bad it doesn't squeeze even a drop of creativity out of Naughty Dog! Oh boy, more thirty-something white dudes shooting zombies! AWESOME! Oh but let's try to tell a story too, because they're just so good at that. Just ask all those random fucking pirates in Uncharted 3.

I respect a lot what they're capable of doing, even rivalizing what's currently capable with PC gaming and that's with an 7 years old console.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Hater's gonna hate.

The average to low end pcs of today bend this 7 year old system over its knee and give it a spanking. Don't be ignorant.

Unfortunately these ancient systems have been holding back gaming from truly advancing its graphics to the point where PCS are pushed to their limits.

 

[The Real Sandman]

Let's just hope they use most of this "power maximization" to make an engrossing world with a good story and interesting characters... oh wait this is Naughty Dog.

._____.

Well... at least it'll look nice and play a'ight.

 

[viranimus]

/cue the chorus of "we needed a new generation 6 years ag.... oh wait... too late. Sorry.

Heres the thing. Development wise... THIS is the point where developers LEARN. If you have pushed a system to its conceivable limits, you then have to come up with innovation that allows you to work around those limitations in hardware. Thats where true innovation will originate.

Dont get me wrong, I am no longer supporting the side of holding off on a new generation. By the time it hits US shelves it will be DUE. Not long overdue, not incredibly early. DUE.

But yanno, at least as far as Sony goes with how they treat their customers, simply having another Sony console will be one that is too soon for such a repugnant repository of self righteous rejects.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

PS3 is only about 7 years old, its meant to last atleast 10 going by Sonys failed boast about it life cycle. I think the 360 is around 8 or 9 years old.

This game looks interesting though, although im betting it will be released on the PS4. Actually i think a few PS3 games will be moved onto the PS4 to make their day one lineup awesome.

 

[Denamic]

Heres the thing. Development wise... THIS is the point where developers LEARN. If you have pushed a system to its conceivable limits, you then have to come up with innovation that allows you to work around those limitations in hardware. Thats where true innovation will originate.

You don't really work around hardware limitations. They're hard caps; you can't get around them without new hardware.
What you CAN do is use 'tricks' to lower the hardware power necessary to render shit by not actually rendering the real thing. Such as not rendering off-screen objects more aggressively and avoid reflective surfaces, cleverly replacing objects with very low poly count LOD models, or even 2D sprites, and vice versa, cutting shaders and relying on clever lighting and texture work to hide it, etc. What they mean is that they've mastered using all these tricks to the utmost. There's nothing else they can do to make it look any better.