Multiversus Frame Drops

[Lotte Donohoe]

Asa quick back-story: I've recently gotten myself a used PS3 + used copy of Sonic Unleashed. I've never had a current gen console except for a Wii, so I have pretty much no first-hand experiences with the PS3/X360 era. I've only played newer games either for the Wii or PC versions of recent titles.

Which brings me to my question: I was quite confused when I started up Unleashed the first time, since the framerate drops were so immensly noticable. Right from the beginning when I watched the in-game intro cutscenes, completed Apotos Act 1 and got into the hub world; literally none of those segments went without dropping repeadetly. Nothing game breaking for sure, but highly noticable changes from smooth to un-smooth very frequently in small portions.

I reckoned that something like this was normal for a stage like Apotos Act 2 (when you boost through all the furniture and enemies, making the physics go whazoo), but for the hub world as well? Just walking inbetween the houses and snooping around could sometimes trigger it.

So yes, I wanted to ask: is this normal? Is this maybe normal for console gaming in general and are my expectations just skewed by PC gaming? Or should I maybe check if it's because of my used copy that is somehow giving the PS3 problems?

Yeah it's normal for the game. For whatever reason though the PS3 version tends to drop frames more than the 360 version. I don't think it's by much though. I personally don't think it's much of an issue until the final daytime stage, Jungle Joyride. That's when the framerate really becomes killer. But on the plus side if you have the PS3 version, Cool Edge runs at a super smooth 60fps.

Aw man, that's a shame. From what I've seen, that's the most beautiful stage of all. :-(

Was it because of this that the PS3/X360 versions of Sonic Unleashed were critically received so poorly?

Nah I don't think so. Most of the hate comes from the Werehog. The framerate really isn't much of an issue anyways. For the most part the game does run smooth except in some cutscenes, a few hubs, Jungle Joyride Day Act 1, and when you crash through many robots/stage assets. From what I know the 360 version is mostly at 30fps and the PS3 version's at 35fps.

But yeah, Unleashed in general has a huge framerate issue and there are going to be a lot of moments where your input will be delayed or outright ignored, and can especially be the case in the Night levels and their QTE finishers. It's really unoptimized and pretty painful later on... it got to that point where I'd just rather play the Unleashed Day levels via Generations PC with a constant 60fps than play the game itself again.

You know, I never had any instances where the game didn't read my inputs. Delayed, yes, but only when speedrunning Jungle Joyride Day Act 1. Then again I played the 360 version. No experience with the PS3.

It's far more jarring in the PS3 version because the framerate drops further. In the 360 version it goes to a maximum of about 30FPS and drops to around 20FPS in really bad spots while on the PS3 version it fluctuates between 20FPS to 60FPS, meaning the potential difference between maximum and minimum framerates on that version is around 40 frames. On the 360, it's around 10.

That doesn't sound quite normal to me, Sonic Unleashed has pretty bad frame dropping, but I've never noticed any thing of the sort in the in-game cutscenes or the hubs. The problems happen when things get clustered with enemies or environmental features like Adabat's forests, waterfalls and falling pillars.

Yah, for some reason the PS3 version of Unleashed has an unlocked frame rate, so while some parts of the game (like other mentioned, Cool Edge Day, I believe Windmill Isle Act 1-2) run great, others (Eggmanland and Jungle Joyride BOTH day and night) run at horrid frame rates. Fortunately, this is only an issue much latter in the game, as the rest of the game runs great on PS3. Though it is a shame the PS3 version has such frame rate drops ; a higher frame rate for the speed stages REALLY does make them a blast...

Yeah basically at best PS3 runs at 60FPS, but most of the time it can only handle the same framerate of the 360 version. Since that framerate is the norm on 360, only the BIG drops are noticable - whereas on PS3 it fluctuates all the time. It's never any worse than the 360 version, but because it is sometimes better, you notice it.

In the first cutscene where Werehog and Chip meet I do remember very well there is a framerate drop. It's not that big but it's noticeable. Also when Sonic transforms from Hedgehog to Werehog in the cutscenes there is a bit of a framerate drop.

The cheapest graphics card you can play it on is an AMD Radeon HD 7770. But, according to the developers the recommended graphics card is an AMD Radeon R9 270. To play MultiVersus you will need a minimum CPU equivalent to an Intel Core i5-2300. Whereas, an Intel Core i5-3470 is recommended in order to run it. The minimum memory requirement for MultiVersus is 4 GB of RAM installed in your computer. Additionally, the game developers recommend somewhere around 8 GB of RAM in your system.

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Racing simulators always need to find that blend of providing a realistic experience with offering the necessities to be categorized as a video game. Motorsport Games has taken the Steam early-access title, KartKraft, and has released the full version of this karting simulator. Go-karts are normally where racers tend to start their careers whether it be on asphault or dirt. There are some stark physics involved when racing a powerful kart that require precision for car control. While this can be engineered into a simulation for use at home, having enough content to keep players engaged is also important and unfortunately KartKraft is missing this.

What stands out the most about KartKraft is the racing itself. This is no doubt an excellent simulation of karting with its handling model. While a controller is supported for the game, it's rather unplayable as the experience is designed to work with a racing wheel setup. Balancing grip and monitoring tyre temperature is the focus all while maintaining speed, and it's just as addicting as it is in real life. There are multiple classes of karts in KartKraft with twenty different officially-licensed kart manufacturers. The option to upgrade different parts on the karts is there and this includes the ability to build a kart from the ground up. Money is earned to buy various karts and parts to make sure you have the best equipment out there, but the question is what are you working towards with these karts?

Kartkraft is rather shallow game in terms of content. Even with ten officially-licensed tracks including the Atlanta Motorsports Park and offering laser-scanned realism to each circuit, the main focus of this game will involve purely just doing laps to experience the physics. There are no championship modes, but rather single player offline races against a dull A.I. that tends to predeterminely separate into 1-2 car packs that never actually pass each other and have no idea that you're on the track. Building and upgrading karts for the sake of running stagnant races gets redundant fast.

The online may be even more disappointing. Motorsport Games has added match making for the full release of the game, but it almost feels like timed lobbies rather than true matchmaking. There are sessions opened at assigned times that you sign up for to race in and I find it hard to believe that the game is actually utilizing matchmaking. You're not thrown in with new players as it's a mixed bag of experience. I may have mentioned racing, but the online multiplayer isn't actually racing.

While my local karting places has racers aiming for the fastest one lap time, there should be more options here than doing that. The only option for racing online is posting a hot lap with others on the track in a time frame. There's no actual racing and while modding will be available for the game, the fact that the single player and multiplayer options are the only modes makes it still feel like it's in early access.

The visuals and performance of KartKraft is well optimized. The laser-scanned tracks look good, but the environments aren't mindblowing. The game runs well and I've experienced any drops in frames and it was rock solid across the board. The karts and player models are colorful and have solid reflections and are the standout parts. There were no issues with connection drops or lag during online racing, either, so the base of the game is functional. The karts sound like the karts should, but other sound effects and the lack of any type of atmosphere hurts. Collisions with other A.I. karts doesn't feel natural, but the actual physics and control of the karts is what makes KartKraft work.

Wrestling the karts are a pure joy, though, if you're looking to take turns with friends to set lap times. Getting these things to scoot around corners and power slide is almost as enjoyable as doing it in real life. The karts have a tendency to kick back hard, so counter steering and having arm strength to handle the force feedback from the wheel is important. While you may not physically feel the g-forces like you would at a track, playing this game is still a workout if doing multiple laps for an extended period of time. Keeping the tyre temperatures up is key as well as learning each circuit and finding the breaking points for corners. This is what the game does best.

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