Xbox Series X|S Thread - Power Your Dreams.

Monkey Man wrote:

Monkey Man wrote:

rinks wrote:And if they’re using that outline as a way of identifying the Series X, maybe that’s an indication that Lockhart will have a completely different form, maybe more in line with the current Xboxes.

twitter.com/JezCorden/status/1276961661358952448

twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1276995323395805189

Although details are vague about what Halo Infinite will actually be like, I've only ever heard positive impressions from trusted sources who have seen the gameplay footage tipped to be shown off in July, which has already been recorded.

Beyond Halo Infinite, we've heard that The Initiative may be rolling up to showcase their game, after a few years in secrecy. Microsoft's new Santa Monica studio boasts some incredibly impressive industry talent, including the writer of Red Dead Redemption, and the level designer from God of War, led by former Tomb Raider boss Darrel Gallagher. What this all-star developer is working on is anyone's guess at this point, but much like the Halo footage, we've been told to expect great things from this studio.

Microsoft thus far hasn't given a timeline for the July event, but multiple sources with knowledge of Microsoft's plans suggest that it will fall around the week of July 20.

Will there be hardware at the July event? I haven't heard any rumors that we could see the Xbox Series "S" codenamed "Lockhart" at this particular event, although more testing units are heading out to internal staff at Microsoft. The Xbox "Lockhart" console is expected to be a 4TF variant of the 12TF Xbox Series X, with less raw graphics power targeted at 1080p TVs and monitors, in exchange for a lower price.

We're also expecting Lockhart to be disc-less, while matching the Xbox Series X on CPU and SSD power, with some next-gen features albeit at a lower resolution. Some developers are able to target Lockhart right now as of writing, and games built for Microsoft's next-gen developer environment dubbed "GameCore" will have an even more streamlined platform for building Xbox games for multiple SKUs, with minimal changes required. There's a slim chance it could appear in July, but I really feel that Microsoft will wait until they can reliably talk about price before outing Lockhart, since the price point will form a large part of its marketing.

Bangs and Olufson recently revealed they were working on audio accessories for Xbox, which could also appear at the event. They may also be working on the next-gen Xbox headset I've heard about previously. I think Microsoft will want to keep this event firmly focused on games, though, but we'll have to wait and see.

The Latest on Lockhart

Here’s a fun fact though, the original launch plans for Lockhart was that it was going to be released in Mid-October. That may not sound all that surprising, but Anaconda, the series X, was going to release in late August; clearly plans have been adjusted since the conception of the hardware.

But what will the console look like? That’s a good question; the popular idea that it is a smaller cube fills the hearts of many as it reminds them of the Game Cube but that may not be logical.

Why? One thing that Microsoft mandates is when they let employees/third-parties travel with the hardware, they ask them to disguise the product. This is a standard practice in the industry but for the Anaconda, Microsoft recommended employees put the hardware in a PC tower, subwoofer, or something else that is quite large. For Lockhart, Microsoft has said that the hardware should be disguised by using Durango or Scorpio covers which means the device is not the same shape as the series X.

One of the misconceptions about Lockhart is that it is going to hold back next-generation games. It’s a valid concern and the idea sprung up about a year ago when details were murky about the path ahead for the next generation consoles. Specifically, developers were not fully versed in how development (or profiling as it is now called) was going to actually work on the hardware which resulted in myself, and others, hearing mixed messaging from those briefed early on the plans.

As we have learned more during the past year, those concerns have faded as Microsoft has built a strategy of using the same base components across both devices (like Raytracing support and CPU specs) that should make it easier for developers to target the same visual fidelity for both consoles but at different resolutions. Meaning, the series X will be optimized for 4k gaming while the series S is optimized at 4TF for 1080P displays.

Inside Xbox Series X Optimized: The Medium

Q: “What excites you most about developing and bringing The Medium to life on next-generation hardware?”

A: The simple answer is that thanks to the next-generation hardware, we can realize our vision for The Medium at all. Of course, theoretically, you could rescope any game idea, but in our case it would mean completely changing the core game features.

Thanks to the power of Xbox Series X, we can develop the game the way we have always envisioned it. I’m not talking only about graphics, although certainly it helps create an immersive and disturbing atmosphere, but also about gameplay.

Q: In addition to benefiting from the power and performance of Xbox Series X for quicker load times etc. what Xbox Series X features were you most excited to explore leveraging in the development of The Medium?

A: The SSD and how it allows for no noticeable loading times is certainly a big deal for us. Thanks to it, you can create a more cinematic and atmospheric experience, and keep the player immersed in the game – with no immersion-breaking loading screens.

Also, the sheer power of the CPU and GPU lets you go a bit crazy with your gameplay ideas, and we believe the new hardware will quickly change how games are being designed.

Q: How will these enhancements impact a player’s experience with The Medium?

A: We’re putting a lot of effort into creating a heavy, disturbing atmosphere in the game. We’re using a variety of means to immerse the player into both our , including music and environment, and thanks to no loading screens these methods are so much more effective. Before, it was a bit of an uphill battle to keep the game immersive and cinematic despite obvious breaks, and now the next generation simply makes that problem go away.

Q: Why did your development team choose to focus on 4K resolution and DirectX Raytracing as enhancement areas for The Medium?

A: These are the features that fits our game and its genre the best. The 4K resolution helps us showcase the art style and environment of the real and the spirit world, while Ray-tracing will add to the atmosphere of the game. In other words, these features make the game’s strengths shine even brighter.

Q: How do you expect fans of The Medium will respond to playing it on Xbox Series X with these enhancements?

A: I hope they will love it Unlike many cross-gen titles revealed so far, The Medium is a next-gen only game. We don’t have any porting plans for current-gen consoles, so the Xbox Series X will offer the experience we always meant for the game.

Monkey Man wrote:

The Latest on Lockhart

Here’s a fun fact though, the original launch plans for Lockhart was that it was going to be released in Mid-October. That may not sound all that surprising, but Anaconda, the series X, was going to release in late August; clearly plans have been adjusted since the conception of the hardware.

But what will the console look like? That’s a good question; the popular idea that it is a smaller cube fills the hearts of many as it reminds them of the Game Cube but that may not be logical.

Why? One thing that Microsoft mandates is when they let employees/third-parties travel with the hardware, they ask them to disguise the product. This is a standard practice in the industry but for the Anaconda, Microsoft recommended employees put the hardware in a PC tower, subwoofer, or something else that is quite large. For Lockhart, Microsoft has said that the hardware should be disguised by using Durango or Scorpio covers which means the device is not the same shape as the series X.

One of the misconceptions about Lockhart is that it is going to hold back next-generation games. It’s a valid concern and the idea sprung up about a year ago when details were murky about the path ahead for the next generation consoles. Specifically, developers were not fully versed in how development (or profiling as it is now called) was going to actually work on the hardware which resulted in myself, and others, hearing mixed messaging from those briefed early on the plans.

As we have learned more during the past year, those concerns have faded as Microsoft has built a strategy of using the same base components across both devices (like Raytracing support and CPU specs) that should make it easier for developers to target the same visual fidelity for both consoles but at different resolutions. Meaning, the series X will be optimized for 4k gaming while the series S is optimized at 4TF for 1080P displays.

https://www.thurrott.com/games/xbox/237 ... -lockhart#

Robbo-92 wrote:Seeing a lot of people thinking that the July event will take place on the 23rd, hopefully we get confirmation of the date and time next week maybe.

DarkRula wrote:

Robbo-92 wrote:Seeing a lot of people thinking that the July event will take place on the 23rd, hopefully we get confirmation of the date and time next week maybe.

I'm thinking earlier, purely because of that Xbox Summer Demo event that was announced yesterday. It's starts on the 21st and lasts for a week, so you'll want people playing as long as possible. Can't really do that if some of them have still to be announced, after all. Could very well be the 21st.

But yes, I'm hoping we get the date announced next week.

Jenuall wrote:If Lockhart is significantly cheaper and offers the same experience just in 1080p instead of 4K then there is a solid chance I might pick one of these up. We're still rocking a 1080p TV at home and there's little chance of that being upgraded any time soon so the benefit of the full power machine would just be wasted on me

Peter Crisp wrote:

Jenuall wrote:If Lockhart is significantly cheaper and offers the same experience just in 1080p instead of 4K then there is a solid chance I might pick one of these up. We're still rocking a 1080p TV at home and there's little chance of that being upgraded any time soon so the benefit of the full power machine would just be wasted on me

It's not like 1080p is horrendous and I can see many people being in the same situation as TVs just don't break much now and that's why people upgrade. 4K is nice but not essential.