Face-Off: The Elder Scrolls Online

[Administrator]

After a rocky start on the PC last year, The Elder Scrolls Online finally comes to the PS4 and Xbox One, six months later than expected. Launching with a number of netcode-related issues that saw players unable to login to the game and stuck waiting in a server queue for up to several hours, it's fair to say the release hasn't gone as smoothly as expected. Indeed many bugs and gameplay issues are still being addressed, despite the emergence of a 15GB day one patch. In particular, the netcode code causes regular interruptions in performance across all platforms, compromising overall stability during gameplay. On the plus side, the new versions of Elder Scrolls Online deliver a new menu system built around regular gamepad control, so this is clearly not a straight port of the PC version - some thought has gone into redesigning gameplay for the console audience.
Both PS4 and Xbox One hand in native 1080p presentations, with similar anti-aliasing techniques in place. The Elder Scrolls Online generally takes on a fairly clean look with smooth edges and little in the way of obtrusive jaggies; sub-pixel shimmer is kept under control, though smaller details still break up when viewed from a distance. The type of anti-aliasing isn't listed in the settings menu on the PC game, but it's clearly a post-process solution. It's not bad either - texture blur is minimal with just a light reduction in clarity compared to the crystal clear look you get from traditional multi-sampling.
On first impression, the console versions of Elder Scrolls Online appear to align nicely with the PC release, the overall look doesn't seem unduly compromised in terms of texture work and overall detail, while the lighting and post-effects pipeline is a close match across platforms. Texture filtering is a sticking point on consoles though, with the lack of anisotropic filtering impacting clarity on flat surfaces, particularly across the ground where the amount of detail resolved quickly tails off within a few feet of the player. Filtering isn't perfect on the PC either, with the game sporting what looks like something closer to 4x AF instead of the usual 8-16x filtering that you'd expect to find - but it's enough to visibly reduce the texture blurring we see on both console versions.
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