The Star Wars Battlefront beta began on October 8th and will run until October 12th for free on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Analysis of the gameplay reveals that the beta on the PS4 runs at the higher resolution of 900p, compared to the Xbox One edition at 720p. Due to this only being the beta, however, the final console resolutions may differ at launch.
Thanks to Digital Foundry there’s a detailed breakdown of how the game plays on the Xbox One compared to the PS4. How the game looks on PC will obviously depend on your set up; you can find the minimum recommended specifications here.
‘From an image quality perspective, the compromises are just as you’d expect; we see more aliased edges, and a higher level of shimmering on fine distant detail–particularly on Tatooine’s flag-lines,’ Digital Foundry noted in their report about the Xbox One version, ‘Added to that, there’s a softening to the picture as a whole–a result of a more drastic upscale, combined with a similar grade of post-process anti-aliasing to PS4.’
The beta includes three maps, offering different ways to experience the world of Star Wars in video game form.
‘Of course, Xbox One’s resolution is a factor in this respect, particularly with map visibility across range,’ they said. ‘As with DICE’s earlier titles on the console, 720p has an impact when picking out enemies across broad expanses of terrain–the Hoth map being the biggest example in this case.’
‘Unfortunately, this core pixel count isn’t high enough to resolve details clearly across the map as a whole, and the anti-aliasing’s attempts to clean the image has the side effect adding a noticeable blur to the distance. In effect, this especially dulls the spectacle of this mission’s final third, bringing us to a long spread of trenches–and from an AT-AT’s top-down perspective, Xbox One’s resolution starts to obscure the great art design DICE puts into this scene.’
According to Digital Foundry, the frames for the Xbox One version also drop from the target 60fps to 50fps in intense scenes, unlike the PS4.
‘It’s fair to say PS4’s beta is in the healthier shape,’ the site said. ‘With a clearer image and the better average frame rate of the two consoles, the strong suggestion right now is that the PS4 version is the one to gun for on launch.’
Star Wars Battlefront launches across PC, PS4 and Xbox One for $59.99 on November 17th.
What has your experience with the beta been like, and which platform are you going to choose? Leave a comment below.