Phantom Dust Remastered Dev Explains Why It Won’t Run At 60fps, Clarifies Use of Original Assets, Microtransactions

Microsoft's Adam Isgreen talks about the upcoming remaster.

Posted By | On 04th, May. 2017

Phantom Dust Remastered may not be the brand new game that was hyped at E3 (and which was subsequently put on hold by Microsoft) but at least it’s something new for the Xbox One. That being said, it won’t run at 60 FPS and actually re-uses the original assets from 2004. Why is this the case? Adam Isgreen, Creative Director at Microsoft Studios and who’s speaking in the above interview, took to NeoGAF to clarify several things.

Isgreen first noted that the original assets were used because the company didn’t access to the raw texture files. “We didn’t have source is the major reason, and also because for a 2004 game, it holds up well in comparison to other games from that time. That’s subjective of course, but we’re trying to capture and preserve what PD was, not re-create it. It was funky, certainly, and that’s part of its DNA.”

He also explained why it won’t run at 60fps. “The entire engine was built around the game running at 30 FPS. Everything in the code and data is either frames @ 30, assumes 30, or hard-coded to expect 30 FPS. The frame rate averages 30 FPS now on a wide range of systems. The worst dips we’ve seen are to 26/27 in certain moments. This is massively improved from the original (for those that played it) which would drop into the teens constantly on destruction events.”

Another concern was that the skills featured in the DLC, 74 of them which were tough to earn, would be out after launch. “The DLC skills will be released all at once a bit after we’re launched, and it won’t be nearly as painful to get them all,” Isgreen said.

Finally, regarding the micro-transactions and whether they would affect the progress systems, Isgreen noted, “You can still unlock everything normally, and the MP shop now always acts as if you’ve finished the campaign, so there’s a chance for any skill to be available (including ultra-rares) every time you visit the MP shop.

“Also, you can now skip campaign missions after 3 retry attempts, and we still give you all the skill / credit rewards. And you can still trade skills and credits online.”

What are your thoughts on Phantom Dust Remastered for the Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below.


Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!

Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Control 2 Seemingly Teased in Alan Wake 2: The Lake House DLC

Control 2 Seemingly Teased in Alan Wake 2: The Lake House DLC

Remedy Entertainment has seemingly snuck the first glimpses of Control 2 into the recently-released second DLC...

Ubisoft Says it Has “Started an Exploration Phase on the Rayman Brand”

Ubisoft Says it Has “Started an Exploration Phase on the Rayman Brand”

Following recent reports that a Rayman remake is in the works, Ubisoft has stated that it has started explorin...

EA Sports FC 25, Astro Bot Were the US’ Bestselling Games in September

EA Sports FC 25, Astro Bot Were the US’ Bestselling Games in September

Other new releases such as The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and others...

PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch All Saw Sharp Year-on-Year Declines in US Sales in September

PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch All Saw Sharp Year-on-Year Declines in US Sales in September

Hardware spending in the US fell by 44 percent year-on-year to $251 million, which is the lowest it has been f...

Guilty Gear Strive Balance Update Coming October 31st

Guilty Gear Strive Balance Update Coming October 31st

All 28 characters have received adjustments, from buffs and cancels into other techniques for increased combo ...

Fallout: London Crosses 1 Million Downloads

Fallout: London Crosses 1 Million Downloads

The total conversion for Fallout 4 recently received a massive update, which restores missing dialogue and fix...