The Witcher 3 for Linux

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Gilrond-i-Virdan;n9070830 said:
I think the timing isn't even correct. TW2 for Linux came out in May 2014. Then CDPR indicated that TW3 for Linux is in the works (that was throughout 2014-2015). Only in 2016 you started hitting some snags and things fell apart. So it can't be that some outrage in 2014 affected problems that happened between 2015 - 2016.

It could also be that something has changed about how communication and PR are managed since 2015, perhaps because of the "downgrade" controversy or other reasons, and avoiding outrage is more of a priority now than before. It might not necessarily have been the only reason why the Linux port was canceled (or at least it looks so at the moment), but a possible factor in the decision. However, that is only a guess, it does not look like we are getting a real answer.
 
metalmaniac21;n9196061 said:
How much of a performance loss vs Windows? What settings?

I can't compare, since I never played it on Windows. But I get around 40 fps on max settings (hairworks off), using Sapphire Nitro+ AMD RX 480 on 1920x1200.

Currently though there is that dark ground bug, and another nasty freeze bug in Velen, so I'm waiting for them to be fixed before playing further.
 
Gilrond-i-Virdan;n9196941 said:
I can't compare, since I never played it on Windows. But I get around 40 fps on max settings (hairworks off), using Sapphire Nitro+ AMD RX 480 on 1920x1200.
Not a very convincing answer, friend. NVM, googled random result, RX 480 hits 60+ frames @ Ultra 1080P. So at least 1/3 on a top AMD GPU, possibly even worse on lower end GPUs.

Does your freeze bug blocks you from entering Novigrad?
 
metalmaniac21;n9198091 said:
Does your freeze bug blocks you from entering Novigrad?

It freezes most of the time near the hanged man tree, as soon as the game starts playing Velen intro. So I didn't progress much further. Wine is expected to introduce some overhead, but from what I've read, 60fps isn't common on RX 480 in TW3 even on Windows for 1920x1080. Most get less. Medium settings may be produce 60fps but not max. Plus, my resolution is higher than your example (1920x1200, not 1920x1080).

The freeze is Mesa specific though. Those who use Nvidia blob don't have it. This was already reported both to Wine and Mesa bug trackers, so hopefully developers will figure out what's going on.
 
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metalmaniac21;n9198091 said:
googled random result, RX 480 hits 60+ frames @ Ultra 1080P

I'd believe only that an RX 480 could hit 60 FPS, I seriously doubt if it can maintain anywhere near that performance at Ultra, 1080p.

An RX 480 is roughly the equivalent of a GTX 1060 (which despite being in the 1000 series is actually a budget card.) On my GTX 980 ti, which is significantly more powerful, I will get fluctuations from 60 FPS all the way down into the low 30's with Hairworks on. I presently play with a Frame Limit of 48 FPS, Hairworks OFF, and am able to maintain steady FPS everywhere.

I imagine an RX 480 can achieve similar results in Windows with minor sacrifices (namely Hairworks and Draw Distances). Likely a further performance impact under Wine.
 
SigilFey;n9200361 said:
I'd believe only that an RX 480 could hit 60 FPS, I seriously doubt if it can maintain anywhere near that performance at Ultra, 1080p.
Well, depending on where the game takes place in. We were talking about Velen, near hangman tree, which pretty much an open field.
 
metalmaniac21;n9201161 said:
Well, depending on where the game takes place in. We were talking about Velen, near hangman tree, which pretty much an open field.

Exactly. I used to get 50-60 FPS around Velen on my old laptop with a GTX 670m. However, once I got to the bridge at Oxenfurt, it dropped to 4. 4 FPS. 4.

The highest FPS a card is capable of reaching means...absolutely nothing. The lowest FPS is what players need to worry about. (Have you ever attempted to ride across a crowded bridge at 4 FPS!? It was like a series of still images accented by screams and horse noises.)
 
SigilFey;n9201331 said:
The highest FPS a card is capable of reaching means...absolutely nothing. The lowest FPS is what players need to worry about. (Have you ever attempted to ride across a crowded bridge at 4 FPS!? It was like a series of still images accented by screams and horse noises.)
Sounds like a problem with free memory or CPU. TW3's landscape polygonal mesh grid is hardly any more complex than TES4: Oblivion.

No, the point was different - if there's a 20 fps gap in a non-intensive scenes, turns out using Linux is pretty expensive entertaiment and when there 15-20 FPS in Novigrad or at Oxenfurt bridge on Windows, it could transform into 0 frames.

A shame CDPR fired an OpenGL programmer.
 
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metalmaniac21;n9201471 said:
No, the point was different - if there's a 20 fps gap in a non-intensive scenes, turns out using Linux is pretty expensive entertaiment and when there 15-20 FPS in Novigrad or at Oxenfurt bridge on Windows, it could transform into 0 frames.

That depends on whether that issue in cities is CPU bound, or GPU bound. CPU bound can be fixed by using glthread and CSMT. But if it's GPU bound - it's a problem, and Wine simply needs more performance optimizations.

metalmaniac21;n9201471 said:
A shame CDPR fired an OpenGL programmer.

Did they have one? Whom do you mean? It's a shame CDPR failed to release TW3 for Linux proper.

 
metalmaniac21;n9201471 said:
Sounds like a problem with free memory or CPU. TW3's landscape polygonal mesh grid is hardly any more complex than TES4: Oblivion.

No, the point was different - if there's a 20 fps gap in a non-intensive scenes, turns out using Linux is pretty expensive entertaiment and when there 15-20 FPS in Novigrad or at Oxenfurt bridge on Windows, it could transform into 0 frames.

A shame CDPR fired an OpenGL programmer.

Ha ha ha! :D No -- it's a problem with the 670m being just below required specs.

What I'm pointing out is that when researching how well a given card will perform with a given title, you mostly want to pay attention to the minimum FPS experienced, and take that into account with the average FPS. That will give you a good idea of overall performance and just how ugly things might get during the busiest scenes. (Companies often "interpret" such benchmarks and reports "optimistically". If min, max, and average are not listed together, it's basically the same as no results. Also, pay close attention to whether Vsync was on or off during the benchmark. That can be huge.)

Right now, those trying to get the game running on Linux are effectively porting it or emulating it. That will cost performance until things are optimized...often in strange ways and for strange reasons.

I understand the disappointment, but unfortunately not everything can happen. I still want Breath of the Wild, Red Dead Redemption, and Fable 2 for PC, dang it! ;)
 
Gilrond-i-Virdan;n9201661 said:
Did they have one? Whom do you mean? It's a shame CDPR failed to release TW3 for Linux proper.
You should know better. I probably fucked up facts...
The point was, judging by vacations, they're DX-only devs.
 
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SigilFey;n9201751 said:
Right now, those trying to get the game running on Linux are effectively porting it or emulating it. That will cost performance until things are optimized...often in strange ways and for strange reasons.

Wine doesn't emulate, but translates API calls at runtime. In case of graphics, there is also the step of translating MS shader bytecode (compiled from HLSL), into GLSL bytecode, which is then compiled into GPU machine instructions by the OpenGL driver as far as I understand. I suppose besides the issue of effectively matching DirectX APIs into OpenGL equvialents, making the resulting shaders optimized is also some effort.

You can see the on-going work here: https://source.winehq.org/git/wine.g...ucia;st=author
 
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Gilrond-i-Virdan;n9202451 said:
Wine doesn't emulate, but translates API calls at runtime. In case of graphics, there is also the step of translating MS shader bytecode (compiled from HLSL), into GLSL bytecode, which is then compiled into GPU machine instructions by the OpenGL driver as far as I understand. I suppose besides the issue of effectively matching DirectX APIs into OpenGL equvialents, making the resulting shaders optimized is also some effort.

You can see the on-going work here: https://source.winehq.org/git/wine.g...ucia;st=author

Exactly -- I was simply drawing a parallel between running the game in it's native environment and needing to "re-write / re-configure" parts of it or the OS to make it compatible with a new environment. As it stands, the performance of the present Linux build should probably comparable to a WIP emulation.

Here's a 100% solid truth: if people want it badly enough, the game will work perfectly on Linux in the end. :)
 
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SigilFey;n9202531 said:
Here's a 100% solid truth: if people want it badly enough, the game will work perfectly on Linux in the end. :)

I'm really glad Wine developers are doing all this heavy lifting. If anything, CDPR could sponsor some of that work for Codeweavers, which would at least save their face somewhat, in the light of CDPR's previous quasi-promises and promos of the Linux version of TW3.
 
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Dark ground bug is fixed at last:



Freeze is so far the only major issue, but at least it can be avoided sometimes.
 
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