[jcauthen04]

I don’t play too much when I visit in April, it’s mainly watching The Masters at Augusta and drinking in the British Bulldog in Columbia (local lad from Liverpool owns it, small world) mixed with plenty of amazing roadside BBQ shacks (I still don’t get iced tea) The Southern hospitality is fantastic!!!!
Gilbert is only 30 mins from Columbia, that’s literally next door for you guys.

The BBQ action in Columbia is strong.  Is your friend's pub in what they call the "five points" region of Columbia.  It's an infamous but fun bar district (if you know how to behave yourself)   If his pub is there, he's probably doing pretty well for himself.

If you spent more than two weeks in Columbia, you'd be converted to iced tea... especially if it's Luzianne tea   I make a gallon of it a day and it's usually gone by the time we're done with our evening meal!

[jcauthen04]

After further review and a solid week of seat time with my new XBox Series X, I've reached the following conclusions:

1.)  I now have two older XBox One games which have been elevated from idle (NASCAR HEAT 4), to not owned based on a negative play experience on my One X (Assetto Corsa Competizione) to "regular play rotation". 

NASCAR HEAT 4 was kind of like PGA TOUR 2K21 in that it was capped at 30 FPS, but all too frequently dipped even below that.   On the Series X, it's rock solid 30 FPS and free of any hint of judder at any time, even on the road courses.  It also looks a lot better with the Auto HDR at work.

Assetto Corsa Competizione went from unplayable on the One X, due to frame rate struggles, to amazingly smooth on the Series X.  According to Digital Foundry it went from 34 to 52 FPS, and it feels every bit of that.  This also helped the steering out considerably, even though it already had one of the best force feedback implementations I've ever experienced in a console racer.  The Auto HDR worked a miracle on its vanilla looks to make it look more like a next-gen racer, although it's still not in the same camp as Forza 7 or Forza Horizon 4.

2.)  Project CARS 2 went from ho-hum, play once every other week to a game that feels almost like Series X optimized!  Again the frame rates are solid and I can run it best visuals mode and it purrs along.  Like ACC, it's force feedback implementation somehow seems to get an intangible but welcome upgrade   

3.)  Rainbow Six Siege: the frame rate definitely improved, but I still suck at shooters at 90 frames per second as I did at 50!  I couldn't really detect much of a difference in the graphics between my One X and Series X, but this isn't a game I play for fun, I play it more to produce bench test results.  It will still not be on my play list, post Series X.

4.) Forza 7 didn't seem to get a boost of note, but they haven't really tried based on all I've read.  It was already outstanding in 4K at 60 FPS on the One X.  I can't wait to see what they do with Forza 8, optimizing it for the Series X! 

5.) Rocket League:  I couldn't tell much of a difference on the Series X to be honest.  I went from performance to quality graphics mode, but it didn't result in a chance that I could perceive.  Still a fun game and plays smoothly enough, but I honestly couldn't tell you what platform I'm playing it on.

6.) The Golf Club (OG)... that's right, in my geeky world I had to go back an see what the original XBox One version of The Golf Club looked and played like.  It got no discernable help in any department that I could detect, outside of 5X faster load times.  900p video upscaled to 4K still looks like 900p... I'm sorry.  Just for kicks I tried the "vsync disable" option in the settings and it made no difference in the languishing frame rate.  I was told that they actually removed the functionality of that option, even though it still shows up as an option in the menu.  IOW, you can turn it "OFF" but it's still really ON.

7.)  Elite: Dangerous got a bump in looks and performance.  I can run with hi-res and quality and get smooth control.  It also looks better in all departments.  I'd still love to see what they can do with this one optimizing it for the Series X.

8.)  Finally but certainly not last, PGA TOUR 2K21: I was hoping that the Series X was going to prop it up to the point that I could go back to having it be my base platform for the game, but it ain't happening.  Yes, it looks better with the auto HDR, and gets along faster with the quicker load times.  It also seems like the stick is more responsive to inputs, but a more responsive stick at 30 FPS is still going to feel like swinging a club underwater after you've acclimated your senses to doing the same thing on the PC at 60 FPS.

I just can't get past my disenchantment with that, especially knowing that the the console on which I'm relegated to 30 FPS is 20 to 25% more powerful than the PC on which I'm playing it at 60 FPS.  If I'd never been exposed to the PC version at 60 FPS, I'm sure I'd be at least content (but not enamored) with the game on the Series X.

[leslie.sangster]

After further review and a solid week of seat time with my new XBox Series X, I've reached the following conclusions:

1.)  I now have two older XBox One games which have been elevated from idle (NASCAR HEAT 4), to not owned based on a negative play experience on my One X (Assetto Corsa Competizione) to "regular play rotation". 

NASCAR HEAT 4 was kind of like PGA TOUR 2K21 in that it was capped at 30 FPS, but all too frequently dipped even below that.   On the Series X, it's rock solid 30 FPS and free of any hint of judder at any time, even on the road courses.  It also looks a lot better with the Auto HDR at work.

Assetto Corsa Competizione went from unplayable on the One X, due to frame rate struggles, to amazingly smooth on the Series X.  According to Digital Foundry it went from 34 to 52 FPS, and it feels every bit of that.  This also helped the steering out considerably, even though it already had one of the best force feedback implementations I've ever experienced in a console racer.  The Auto HDR worked a miracle on its vanilla looks to make it look more like a next-gen racer, although it's still not in the same camp as Forza 7 or Forza Horizon 4.

2.)  Project CARS 2 went from ho-hum, play once every other week to a game that feels almost like Series X optimized!  Again the frame rates are solid and I can run it best visuals mode and it purrs along.  Like ACC, it's force feedback implementation somehow seems to get an intangible but welcome upgrade   

3.)  Rainbow Six Siege: the frame rate definitely improved, but I still suck at shooters at 90 frames per second as I did at 50!  I couldn't really detect much of a difference in the graphics between my One X and Series X, but this isn't a game I play for fun, I play it more to produce bench test results.  It will still not be on my play list, post Series X.

4.) Forza 7 didn't seem to get a boost of note, but they haven't really tried based on all I've read.  It was already outstanding in 4K at 60 FPS on the One X.  I can't wait to see what they do with Forza 8, optimizing it for the Series X! 

5.) Rocket League:  I couldn't tell much of a difference on the Series X to be honest.  I went from performance to quality graphics mode, but it didn't result in a chance that I could perceive.  Still a fun game and plays smoothly enough, but I honestly couldn't tell you what platform I'm playing it on.

6.) The Golf Club (OG)... that's right, in my geeky world I had to go back an see what the original XBox One version of The Golf Club looked and played like.  It got no discernable help in any department that I could detect, outside of 5X faster load times.  900p video upscaled to 4K still looks like 900p... I'm sorry.  Just for kicks I tried the "vsync disable" option in the settings and it made no difference in the languishing frame rate.  I was told that they actually removed the functionality of that option, even though it still shows up as an option in the menu.  IOW, you can turn it "OFF" but it's still really ON.

7.)  Elite: Dangerous got a bump in looks and performance.  I can run with hi-res and quality and get smooth control.  It also looks better in all departments.  I'd still love to see what they can do with this one optimizing it for the Series X.

8.)  Finally but certainly not last, PGA TOUR 2K21: I was hoping that the Series X was going to prop it up to the point that I could go back to having it be my base platform for the game, but it ain't happening.  Yes, it looks better with the auto HDR, and gets along faster with the quicker load times.  It also seems like the stick is more responsive to inputs, but a more responsive stick at 30 FPS is still going to feel like swinging a club underwater after you've acclimated your senses to doing the same thing on the PC at 60 FPS.

I just can't get past my disenchantment with that, especially knowing that the the console on which I'm relegated to 30 FPS is 20 to 25% more powerful than the PC on which I'm playing it at 60 FPS.  If I'd never been exposed to the PC version at 60 FPS, I'm sure I'd be at least content (but not enamored) with the game on the Series X.

If you play on the Xbox for any length of time the swing starts to feel normal, it’s only when I switch my laptop on to do some designing and test plays that I feel the difference. It’s a totally different feel playing on a PC @ 60 fps, it takes me a couple of rounds to get the feel  for the tempo when I switch but you can’t beat playing the game on a 75” tv so the Xbox wins every time for me. Even when I plug my laptop into the TV through hdmi it still doesn’t look as good (upscaled 1080p) or play as good because I get lag between the two for some reason.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jcauthen04]

If you play on the Xbox for any length of time the swing starts to feel normal, it’s only when I switch my laptop on to do some designing and test plays that I feel the difference. It’s a totally different feel playing on a PC @ 60 fps, it takes me a couple of rounds to get the feel  for the tempo

I know I was doing much better with the XBox One version before I bought the PC version.  I had also developed a feel for 30 FPS, but I find it harder to adapt back to it after playing at 60.

when I switch but you can’t beat playing the game on a 75” tv so the Xbox wins every time for me.

Here's where I have it too easy... both my gaming pc, XBox Series X, and PS4 are all connected to the same 55" HDTV, via the same home theater system.  All I have to do is select HDMI 1 for the Series X or HDMI 2 for the PC and I'm in business.  The 60 FPS call for my attention is to strong to ignore in my setup.

Even when I plug my laptop into the TV through hdmi it still doesn’t look as good (upscaled 1080p) or play as good because I get lag between the two for some reason.

Upscaling is usually oversold, IMO.  I always sense the "fuzziness" of it, no matter what I'm scaling to and from.  I don't get any lag difference between my gaming PC (Geforce GTX 1070 8GB and i5-4440) and my Series X.

I just wish HB Studios could find a way to at least give Series X owners the OPTION to unlock vsync so we could use our VRR capabilities and fully enjoy this game at ~60 FPS.  It's just so frustrating to know that with the Series X, I have a machine that's probably around 20% more powerful than my gaming PC, yet I'm having to plod along at 30 FPS on the more powerful machine

[jcauthen04]

I made an interesting discovery and fix for a nagging problem with PGA TOUR 2K21 on the Series X that I need to share with those of you who may be in my boat.  I have a 2018 vintage TCL 55" Series 6 HDTV with Roku technology.  If you've got a Roku supported TV that's maybe over a year old, what I discovered may apply to you.

Here's the deal.  I reported shortly after getting my Series X that I was having trouble with the display blacking out for a couple of seconds, every 8 to 10 seconds or so when I had the XBox Series X display res set to 4K in the console's settings menu.  If I switched to 1080p, it was fine, but naturally I was restricting the display to 1080p.

I did some research and found that this is a common problem on Series X and S consoles with older Roku equipped TVs.  To cut to the chase, the permanent fix to this problem for me came when I moved the Series X's HDMI cable from HDMI 4 to HDMI 1 on my Onkyo AVR.  No more screen blacking out every 8 to 10 seconds with the res set to 4K.

This was a solution I'd read about from others who were experiencing this problem and it always seems to work.  If you're connecting straight to your TV with the XBox Series X output, you can try another input port on the TV, from what I'm reading.  I can't imagine why this is happening this way.  I've never had the problem when I was using my One X while plugged into HDMI 4 at 4K, so it seems to be Series X and S related.  Hopefully it will be fixed in a future system update.

[lastchancehombre]

I have the same set JC, bought it summer 2018 but I've not seen the problem with the Series X which is set to 4k. I have the console plugged in directly to HDMI1 on the TV.

I'll be getting around to switching out my receiver pretty soon, desperate need for an upgrade, so thanks for the heads up on this!

[jcauthen04]

I have the same set JC, bought it summer 2018 but I've not seen the problem with the Series X which is set to 4k. I have the console plugged in directly to HDMI1 on the TV.

I only saw it on occasion, and I can't really tell you what conditions or circumstances brought it on.  I've never hooked my Series X directly to the TV yet, but from what I've read, it can happen when connected directly to the TV.  Oh, and it's not just TCLs that are doing it from what I'm reading.  It's any Roku equipped TV of any make.

I'll be getting around to switching out my receiver pretty soon, desperate need for an upgrade, so thanks for the heads up on this!

Make sure you buy a receiver that supports HDR10, Dolby Vision, and 4K Passthrough.  My 2015 vintage Yamaha AVR did not support HDR10 and it was a handicap. 

[FRSTDWN]

The Denon receiver I have is the best I have ever had by far. Never had any issues with it and it is powering 7 speakers and two subs. Highly recommend Denon.

[lastchancehombre]

I only saw it on occasion, and I can't really tell you what conditions or circumstances brought it on.  I've never hooked my Series X directly to the TV yet, but from what I've read, it can happen when connected directly to the TV.  Oh, and it's not just TCLs that are doing it from what I'm reading.  It's any Roku equipped TV of any make.

The only time I do see it is when 2K21 is loading between players during a multiplayer match which all involved see. No other game has any issues whatsoever.

Make sure you buy a receiver that supports HDR10, Dolby Vision, and 4K Passthrough.  My 2015 vintage Yamaha AVR did not support HDR10 and it was a handicap.

Really good tips JC, thanks! Hopefully HB doesn't do another whitewash of the forum before I get around to it!  lol!  If so, I'll be back to pick your brain before I go to buy a new system! Thanks again! 

[lastchancehombre]

The Denon receiver I have is the best I have ever had by far. Never had any issues with it and it is powering 7 speakers and two subs. Highly recommend Denon.

Yeah, that's where I've been leaning. Thanks man!

[jcauthen04]

My next AVR will likely be a Denon, after all the praise I've read for them.

Here's another sobering conclusion I've come to - if HB Studios does see fit to provide a 'disable vsync' option for 2K21 when running on the Series X, it will cost me $650!  Why?  It will mean that the game will be running at a variable refresh rate, if I understand VRR technology correctly, and that's fine as long as you have a display that also supports VRR and can sync with what it's getting from the Series X.  The VRR ready HDTV that I have in mind is the TCL 55" 55R635, which will cost me $650 at Best Buy.

You won't see any screen tearing or stutter with VRR, even though the refresh and the frame rates are varying, as the display will dynamically match its refresh rate to the frame rate. 

So the question is this; is PGA TOUR 2K21 running @ ~60 FPS on a Series X on an HDTV capable of displaying it without screen tearing or stuttering worth $650?  As one who's had the benefit of playing this game at 60 FPS for four months now, via the PC version, the answer is a resounding YES!

[FRSTDWN]

Resume to play is horrible btw. At least for this game , cod and pubg. Never works. Also with pandora it cuts it off . Typical microsoft oversight.

[FRSTDWN]

And the option to turn off on receiver tv via Xbox is completely broke.

Also how the hell do we not have a wireless chat mic in 2021.

Meh..

[jcauthen04]

Resume to play is horrible btw. At least for this game , cod and pubg. Never works. Also with pandora it cuts it off . Typical microsoft oversight.

Hate to hear that Paul... I'm already back to playing this game exclusively on the PC after I finish my final round in the Reddit XBox One Society tournament this week anyway.  I've never tried streaming anything while playing a game so I can't speak to the problem you're having with Pandora.  I have read that trying to stream ANYTHING while playing a game on the Series X is also causing the cyclic screen blackout on Roku equipped TVs.  Microsoft's obviously got some work to do with system updates.

[jcauthen04]

And the option to turn off on receiver tv via Xbox is completely broke.

I've notices that also with my Onkyo TX-NR585 

Also how the hell do we not have a wireless chat mic in 2021.

Meh..

I'm able to communicate fine via my Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless headphones, unless you are speaking of something outside of a group voice chat?