[2021] The Great Ensmallening: Part 3 (Mesh Accuracy + Sound Fidelity)

Tenno, 

We bring you Part 3 of the ensmallening. By now you already know about Part 1 and Part 2, but now we will go into how we are changing Mesh Accuracy and Sound Fidelity.

We expect the download size to be 7 GB  with an estimated 3.6 GB of savings overall, meaning the game just got 3.6 GB smaller in file size!  These numbers may vary slightly. 

Our target release for this is next  THIS week on PC. Until then, read on about how we are continuing to optimize Warframe, while also making gains in quality!

Mesh Accuracy:
A big part of the Ensmallening Part 3 is how Meshes are changing. Not only are we reducing filesize, we are also significantly improving quality.Look to this Before and After for the improvements you can expect:

 

BEFORE:
Take care to observe the eyes and mouth and ear details. Jagged details are widespread. 

AFTER:
Take care to see the improved contours and details across the Mesh. A much smoother finished piece!

 

Sound Fidelity:

This one is for the audiophiles! 

We are making some changes to the way we handle encoding of Warframe’s audio. We are replacing xWMA with OPUS and a new ADPCM encoder! ADPCM will provide less noise and brighter mids. It also has improved spatialization so that the full audio mix just feels more alive.

Here is a spectrum plot of sine sweep 20-20k with the new ADPCM encoder above the old. Much improved!
 

In general, Opus will really improve the way you hear Warframe’s accompanying music. We also expect this to improve general synchronization and any start up lag! Stay tuned for a future Devstream where we go over this in a bit more detail, too, for the audiophiles out there!

Cheers Tenno!  
 

1 minute ago, (XBOX)AMONGTHEWEAK said:

Nice, but Cross-Save/Play when?

We said when we have something meaningful to say, we'll say it, because until then it's just going to be empty noise and 'we really need to get this done'. 

Just now, Old_Fogie said:

Wow.... Ok. Um, appreciate your busy and such, but may I politely suggest switching to decaf?

I already drink Decaf in the afternoons! I'm just stating the facts of the matters, no one wants cross save more than I, and I am simply summarizing Steve's words from December and before. 

1/22/2021 Update:

Some final tests are being done before we can ship these changes. Expect Part 3 of the ensmallening to arrive next week on PC!