During the recent beta for The Division, Eurogamer discovered that the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game included options in the Visuals menu to potentially improve image quality (above). Now, developer Ubisoft Massive has revealed that console players will have the option to improve frame-rate.
Speaking with Team Epiphany in a recent gameplay Q&A, an unnamed Ubisoft Massive dev first talked about how they’ve kept the PC version “in check” with PS4 and Xbox One:
One good thing about The Division is we’ve always considered the PC as a separate platform… We’ve always been in the mind that we’ll have a dedicated PC build, so it hasn’t really held it back too much. We do have to kind of keep it in check with the consoles; it would kind of be unfair just to push it so far away from them. But it’s been good having a dedicated PC build for this game.
I’m really happy that we’re pushing the PC build as much as we are; there’s a lot more customized options than the console.
Immediately following this, the dev revealed that console players will be able to improve frame-rate by disabling certain lighting aspects:
It’s actually great that we’re given the option that you can actually disable certain lighting aspects to improve frame-rates in the console versions. I don’t know of another game that does that off the top of my head. So if you want to choose frame-rate over visuals, you can if you want.
When asked if this feature was in the beta, he replied, “I’m not sure if it’s in the beta.”
According to a beta analysis, The Division was running at a capped 30fps, so it remains to be seen how much of an effect the improved frame-rates will provide.
The Division launches in one month on March 8 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
