Interesting bits:
- Evolution Studios uses a variety of anti-aliasing passes, including a post-process FXAA, temporal and pixel-based passes, along with further algorithms that work directly on materials themselves. Most edges appear clean and smooth giving the title a distinctly super-sampled appearance across many objects, although this level of quality doesn't quite extend across the entire scene.
- This more conventional approach hasn't limited Evolution Studios' flair for visual exposition, instead allowing for the developer to deliver a level of graphical complexity above that of most other new-generation console racing games - only Forza Horizon 2 provides ample competition.
- Performance in DriveClub remains at a rock-solid 30fps regardless of how many cars or effects are on-screen. If you can't hit a sustained 60fps in a racing game, a locked 30 is a decent alternative and ensures consistency in response.
- While foliage and shadow pop-in are still visible, transitions between detail levels now appear much smoother than in previous builds and LOD streaming isn't too pronounced. The disappointing factors here come in the form of a low level of anisotropic filtering, which results in ground textures appearing blurry from a few metres away, and a massive reduction in environment detail visible in the rear view mirror when driving via the cockpit view - spectators, trees and geometry details are all ruthlessly culled, although these have no impact on the mirror's practical use.
- The cars are also lavished with the same level of attention as the scenery: everything from the brake lights and tires to the internal cockpit is intricately rendered, with various surfaces - such as plastics, rubber and metallic paint - all accurately simulated.
- Jostling for position around one of DriveClub's many courses, cars handle differently when driving across gritty roads or smooth tarmac. Changes in suspension, drift and grip are all affected by the conditions of the ground and this is clearly felt when cutting across a gravel bank before rejoining the main road once again.
- Controller response feels zippy and consistent throughout, carefully avoiding the heavy feel present on some 30fps racing games. Indeed, performance is rock solid with DriveClub delivering a locked 30fps with no frame drops or frame-time anomalies whatsoever - a huge upgrade from the variable frame-rates seen in the work-in-progress 2013 builds.
- he use of camera and object blur also helps to keep panning movements smooth, which is usually an area where 30fps titles tend to feel lacklustre. The effect works in tandem with depth of field, adding an extra layer of intensity when racing, simulating the distress felt by the driver during hard hitting collisions, or the sensation of speed when flying past locations at over 150mph.
- Elements such as lighting, shadows, and the way materials behave under certain conditions continuously change to form a level of realism simply not possible on the last generation of consoles. Shadows slowly creep across the landscape and change shape as the sun's position moves across the sky, meanwhile in remote rural locations where there are no street lights, the only form of illumination on the environments comes from the car headlights, dramatically changing the look and feel of racing at night compared to in the evening or in broad daylight. Real-time reflections are also generously deployed across shiny surfaces of the cars and parts of the environments where lights and geometry are all reflected.
