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PlayStation 4.5 Update Brings HDD Support, PS4 Pro 'Boost Mode' (theinquirer.net)

Sony has officially pushed out the PlayStation 4.5 System Update, codenamed "Susuke," which brings a new Boost Mode for PS4 Pro owners and lets PS4 owners download and install games directly to USB 3.0 hard drives up to 8TB in size. The INQUIRER reports: PS4 Pro owners are also being treated to a new Boost Mode, will offer improved performance for PS4 games released before the Pro console. "This feature has been designed to provide better performance for select legacy titles that have not been patched to take advantage of the PS4 Pro's faster CPU and its faster and double-sized GPU," Sony said in a blog post. "This can provide a noticeable frame rate boost to some games with variable frame rates, and can provide frame rate stability for games that are programmed to run at 30 Hz or 60 Hz." The PS 4.5 update brings an improved 2D mode to owners of Sony's PlayStation VR headset, which the firm claims will improve the resolution of the system screen displayed on your TV is significantly better when you're out of VR mode. The resolution of Cinematic Mode on PlayStation VR is also getting a boost, with Sony noting "if your PS VR screen size is set to Small or Medium, the frame rate of content viewed in Cinematic Mode goes up from 90Hz to 120Hz with this update." Other new features include added support for voice chat when using Remote Play on Windows, Mac or an Xperia device, an 'Off Console' icon that tells gamers when a friend is logged in but away from their device and updates to the PS Messages and PS Communities apps on iOS and Android.

40 comments

  1. Re:Oh my god! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who the hell cares!

    Well ... I happen to have a very large penis. That's something you could possibly care about. I mean really the ladies tend to be a bit afraid of it. They tell me the average man's penis is only about five inches long. When they see nearly triple that, plus a lot of girth (and they do like girth) well they get excited and nervous at the same time. Unfortunately anal sex is probably out of the question but it can fill up a vag like nothing else and they often appreciate the challenge of trying to blow it.

    I personally find all of that much more interesting than another Sony product I'll never buy because fuck Sony. Remember the rootkit? I hope they go bankrupt. At least I have a personal interest in the performance of my very large penis. It's white with a little Native American if you were wondering.

  2. Re:Oh my god! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I do, because I got this update and I didn't understand the significance.

    To spin this into a bit of a positive, the weather this march is quite good here in Dublin, and Barca won a tremendous game of footy last night.

  3. Re:Oh my god! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pics or it didn't happen.

  4. Re:Oh my god! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, but once again the update removed the "Other OS" option
    so I can no longer boot my linux distro.

    When will they learn...

    CAP === 'apprise'

  5. Wish they would update Dark Souls and Bloodborne by HalAtWork · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Boost mode does nothing to improve the frame pacing issues on this game or Dark Souls 3, it would be nice if they updated both of these games to have an option go remove the frame rate limit, or did a full PS4 Pro patch.

  6. Everything that used to make consoles superior... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... are now gone. You know what? I can plug in my old SEGA Saturn (who perpetually thinks that the year is 1994, and I happily let it believe so) and put in a disc and know for 100 % sure that it's *exactly* how I remember (or don't remember) it. No patches whatsoever. Every charming bug/glitch is forever pressed onto that wonderful disc. I want nothing to do with modern gaming or modern anything.

  7. Should have waited for Ryzen. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know Sony was trying to exploit the VR market (which probably won't take off), but a Ryzen CPU would be better for gaming. The PS4 is simply a half-step that won't have any effect on this generation of games. Console makers never seem to learn that.

  8. Oh great. by PhunkySchtuff · · Score: 1

    Just when I was planning to slack off work this morning and play Horizon Zero Dawn, along comes an update and I'm going to have to watch a progress bar crawl across the screen instead.

    1. Re:Oh great. by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Happily I was planning to play Horizon Zero Dawn tonight, so the heads up on this update is nice - I can get the update done before now before I settle down to play later. One of the few times in life Slashdot has actually been useful.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    2. Re:Oh great. by bug_hunter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well you could not run the update and play Zero Dawn in offline mode (since as far as I understand it the game has no online features anyway).

      --
      It's turtles all the way down.
    3. Re:Oh great. by byrtolet · · Score: 1

      Replying to undo wrong mod.

    4. Re:Oh great. by donaldm · · Score: 1

      Just when I was planning to slack off work this morning and play Horizon Zero Dawn, along comes an update and I'm going to have to watch a progress bar crawl across the screen instead.

      Wow, you must have a really unusual PS4 because mine just downloads in the background even when i am playing a game. When I am finished playing I do have the choice of installing when I want (sort of like my Linux updates) which then takes about five minutes with two reboots (Linux takes one reboot if you have a kernel update). Oh, the humanity.

      Are you sure you have a PS4? and if you do are you sure you know how to use it properly?

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  9. Re: Wish they would update Dark Souls and Bloodbor by thundercattt · · Score: 1

    I was actually wondering if it'd do anything for DS3 since their final DLC content comes out in a couple weeks

  10. Re:Everything that used to make consoles superior. by bug_hunter · · Score: 1

    The big issue with modern consoles is they fix bugs?

    --
    It's turtles all the way down.
  11. That is nice for them... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ..but can we run Linux?

    1. Re:That is nice for them... by AC-x · · Score: 1

      yes

  12. Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Just a heads up, after installing the update my system will no longer start. When it tries to start I get a message saying it's checking storage, which goes to about 20%, then jumps to 100% and just says "there's a problem starting your system, connect a controller via the USB port and press the PS button". Only I have a controller connected and pressing the button does nothing... hmm.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use the USB cable Luke.

    2. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      "Only I have a controller connected and pressing the button does nothing."

      Umm, I do have a USB cable connected as I said?? Not sure what you were trying to say there except make a Star Wars reference.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just a heads up, after installing the update my system will no longer start. When it tries to start I get a message saying it's checking storage, which goes to about 20%, then jumps to 100% and just says "there's a problem starting your system, connect a controller via the USB port and press the PS button". Only I have a controller connected and pressing the button does nothing... hmm.

      It's important to follow a proper procedure when ascertaining the fault in the system. Logically, the first diagnostic procedure involved lubricating the PS and forcibly jamming it deeply inside your rectum. Once this is achieved, you may give yourself a mineral oil enema to help saturate the system in question, ensuring full immersion in the enclosed environment of your anal innards. Having accomplished this step, the best repair strategy involves eating a massive dose of laxatives until the large object with corners that's jammed up your ass slides out naturally. The warmth and compression of being inside your large intestine helps second-level technical support to escalate your case. Once you get past the script-monkeys (by following the anus-insertion procedure so they don't keep asking you to power-cycle it) you can get some proper help with a competent technician. Please be sure to have a bottle of rubbing alcohol on hand to help remove excess stale fecal matter from the PS unit. Thank you for calling technical support.

    4. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      That's what Sony support said to try, didn't help.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    5. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was actually a Space Balls reference; Luke was the janitor.

      CAP === 'codpiece'

    6. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A few dead ps4s is expected and within Sony's limit, no refunds.

    7. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by Wulf2k · · Score: 1

      Does the light come on the controller, indicating that it's at least getting power from the USB cable?

      Does using a paperclip to push the tiny button in the hole in the back of the controller reset it and allow it to connect?

    8. Re:Warning: Update bricked my PS4 Pro by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Side note on my problem - turned out my controller cable was bad, a new one was fine and pressing the PS button actually did do something.

      From there though nothing else worked. I tried to re-install the update, same problem. I tried all of the various Safe Mode menu items first, resetting settings and restoring the database both failed with errors. So in the end all that was left was to re-init the system...

      I even tried pulling the drive to see if I could save off the save game files myself, but I couldn't read the custom Sony file system and after a little research it wasn't totally clear which filesystem support I'd need to install to read it - and I figured the save game files were probably tied to the installation anyway so even if I could save them off I probably couldn't use them again.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  13. Re:Wish they would update Dark Souls and Bloodborn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Boost mode does nothing to improve the frame pacing issues on this game or Dark Souls 3, it would be nice if they updated both of these games to have an option go remove the frame rate limit, or did a full PS4 Pro patch.

    I see what you said. But what I'm actually understanding is this: had you been a PC gamer with moderately decent hardware and just fucking pirated Dark Souls 3, you'd have a much better experience. You'd have basically a 0% chance of ever having negative "punish the paying customer but not the pirates" DRM-related problems, too. Sure is funny how that works.

  14. Boycott Sony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given the behavior of Sony, I won't purchase any of their products. Vote your conscience with your dollars.

    1. Re:Boycott Sony by Desler · · Score: 1

      Wow you're so edgy.

  15. Beast Mode by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You just know someone championed the name "Beast Mode" instead of "Boost Mode"...and they got shot down because it was 6 pm and they were down the pub.

  16. Re:Wish they would update Dark Souls and Bloodborn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah but I don't enjoy everything else that comes along with PC gaming such as troubleshooting and the possibility of something game breaking happening in the middle of my playthrough and then waiting for patches, not being able to play a game guaranteed on day one... and Bloodborne is the game I care more about and it's not even on PC... Plus I wouldn't pirate, I want to support the developer, I enjoyed the game

  17. Re:Wish they would update Dark Souls and Bloodborn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Boost mode does nothing to improve the frame pacing issues on this game or Dark Souls 3, it would be nice if they updated both of these games to have an option go remove the frame rate limit, or did a full PS4 Pro patch.

    It's probably fps locked.

    Why? Because the whole damn point of consoles is they have the same specs, so the games will run the same way on each individual console of the same type guaranteed. This gives players the reliability that the game they see at a friend's house, in a demo, in a commercial, etc. will be the same game that they get at the store and the same experience they get to enjoy. This also gives developers a target to develop for that doesn't come with 10 different ways it can fail, or some glitch due to bad drivers, etc. Developers can develop for one target and have it work the same way on all of the units. This drastically reduces the cost of development and (used to reduce the cost of) QA. (Which we all know is now a thing of the past thanks to Day 0 patches via the net.)

    The recent trend of release a new console variant with better specs just means developers have more chances for failure and players complaining as a result. Not to mention the added cost of maintaining that many more versions of the game. (engine, assets, debugging, etc.) So most of them won't update a game that comes out before the new hardware iteration to use the better hardware, nor will they target the better hardware for new games in most instances. They will target the lowest common denominator to get as much money from as big of a potential market as possible. (Unless the game's requirements mandate the use of the better hardware, but they will try to avoid that at all costs due to the reduced market for the finished game.)

    Go look at games for the Nintendo 3DS if you don't believe me. The Zelda devs were pissed about the 2DS' removal of 3D support, because they wanted to use 3D as part of the game's puzzles. When the 2DS came out that meant they couldn't expect that 3D support would be available so they had no choice but to scrap the idea. The C-Stick style nub on the N3DS is treated like the Circle Pad Pro addon is for the original 3DS. Heck, it's been a few years since the N3DS release and the only games to utilize the new hardware, to the point the original won't run them, are the Xenoblade Chronicles remake (launch title for the N3DS), and a bunch of SNES VC releases. Nothing else targets it.

    So are they going to update it? Fat chance. That's not to say that they won't, but it's incredibly unlikely.

  18. Re:Everything that used to make consoles superior. by darkain · · Score: 2

    Bugs and glitches in old games generally add to their value as a bonus for more experienced players to exploit to do crazier things, such as speed running. Also, glitches sometimes work their way into actual game play down the road, such as wall jumping in Mario 1 being a main feature of Mario 64.

  19. Not all console games are locked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dark Souls II on 360 did not have a frame rate cap, plenty of Ubisoft games don't and other console games

    Only reason frame rate caps are introduced usually is to maintain a consistent presentation, either that or dynamic resolution is used. It has nothing to do with playing the same thing at Jonny's house.

    My guess was some AI or physics routines were tied to the frame rate

  20. Update on update: Had to re-init PS4 by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Of course, the warning that PS Plus "was about to expire" meant it had expired weeks ago... so no saved game backups for any recent games... which were the only ones I cared about. Sigh. Oh well, I only had 40+ hours in Horizon Zero Dawn.

    Fuck. You. Sony.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Update on update: Had to re-init PS4 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's Sony's fault that you relied on a service you weren't paying for ... ?

    2. Re:Update on update: Had to re-init PS4 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well....It's still saved, all you have to do is renew PS+. If not, then start from zero again.

      Anyways. The game Horizon came out 1 week ago. If your ps+ membership expired "weeks" ago, then all you Horizon saves are local. Durrrr

  21. Last feature in readme.. by Roskolnikov · · Score: 1

    3D-Bluray support added to PSVR headset... there have been some work arounds but this is a good thing.

    --
    Unix, an obscure operating system developed by bored researchers in an attempt to get a better game playing experience.
  22. No, not saved by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    First of all, I do give Sony credit for still keeping saved stuff even after the Plus subscription drops... not sure how long but my saved stuff was there.... from three weeks ago.

    My beef is that The console had been giving me messages my Plus subscription "was about to expire", not that is HAD expired - so nothing had been saving for 2-3 weeks... normally that would not be so bad but I had put in 40+ hours on a new game (Horizon Zero Dawn) so none of THAT progress was saved, there was nothing saved from that game at all.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  23. That I thought I was paying for by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    It's Sony's fault that you relied on a service you weren't paying for ... ?

    I'm blaming Sony for not letting me know the subscription had expired. I was somewhat relying on a service that I thought I *was* paying for.

    To be fair, I am ultimately responsible for not making SURE the system was backing up files before I installed the patch. It's not like Sony auto-updates, I was the one that said "I would like you to install this patch", I was the one who trusted that a major patch version would not hose my system... I had just been lulled into a false sense of security, which led to disaster. But I can blame Sony very specifically for giving me a message that indicated backups were still happening, when they were not.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley