Graphic downgrade

[domidawi]

I can't get the point of talk about downgrade, when we still haven't the game on our hands. It's stupid to compare two images without even know on which presets are taken.
When i'll have the game i'll talk about downgrade, if there will be one, of course.

Now onto something thats not off-topic. What I can`t really get over are some of the textures. The famous rocks look really bad and look as though they were made in a great rush but still its not the kind of stuff can get away with. I want to believe that will be fixed untill release but considering this is CDPR we are talking about the stuff I care more about are the bugs.

 

[wichat]

They are taking preorders based on that advertising.

No. A pre-order implies that costumer aware that the seller is not giving any garantee of the exact final product will be. As an publisher pay to a writer for writng a book, he doesn't have any garanty of the exact number of words, pages, style or any detail else. See little font of contracts.


You are not buying a previsible planned machine, but a creative artwork.

 

[Giovanni1983]

They are taking preorders based on that advertising.

Are you aware that after you have seen the gameplay videos for the last, i don't know, 10 months, you can cancel the pre-order if you arent happy?
If you didn't know i understand, if you do know that, i don't know what you're trying to accomplish in here.

Edit: Apologies if the tone of my post sounds a bit aggresive but some posts are totally illogical.

 

[Mohasz]

one of recent gameplay 15 minutes one

one of the first screens from witcher 3 (2 years old probably) scene is from debut trailer

it is not just sharpening filter

in those 2 years they managed to improve character models and lower anything else

This is the only thing I really feel bummed about. I mean, maybe it's just post-processing, but the difference is massive, as if they were two different games. Graphics are not my top priority but it's a shame that the game probably won't look like that at release. At least I doubt ultra settings can make that much of a difference. Optimisation happened, apparently, oh well... the game can still kick ass nonetheless, and I expect it to do so.

 

[serxho92]

Are you aware that after you have seen the gameplay videos for the last, i don't know, 10 months, you can cancel the pre-order if you arent happy?
If you didn't know i understand, if you do know that, i don't know what you're trying to accomplish in here.

Edit: Apologies if the tone of my post sounds a bit aggresive but some posts are totally illogical.

Giovanni they know they can cancel the pre-order but they won't. Why? Because games like this one come rarely but people are just sad because the wanted to play the game with graphics like in the VGX trailer.
There are some gamers who value graphics more than other elements (story,gameplay,content etc..). Others don't give a shit even if the graphics aren't top notch.

But on a side note, seriously after watching the latest gameplay i was amazed with the graphics and how much the game was improved compared to earlier builds. And people still complaining with such obsession.

 

[Giovanni1983]

Giovanni they know they can cancel the pre-order but they won't. Why? Because games like this one come rarely but people are just sad because the wanted to play the game with graphics like in the VGX trailer.
There are some gamers who value graphics more than other elements (story,gameplay,content etc..). Others don't give a shit even if the graphics aren't top notch.

But on a side note, seriously after watching the latest gameplay i was amazed with the graphics and how much the game was improved compared to earlier builds. And people still complaining with such obsession.

I understand what you're saying, i really do but i believe that if it's graphics people want, there are games out there with just pretty graphics and pretty much nothing else.
The Witcher 3 looks really great, maybe it won't be the best looking game out there but it's gonna compete with the best so i don't see why all this negativity.

 

[Sneky]

They are taking preorders based on that advertising.

which you can cancel at any time if you don't like how the game looks on other videos. We have more than 1hours gameplay videos. U and every other person in this forum/thread know how the game looks. Dont like how the game looks? Cancel preorder, but stop making excuses and blaming others. Because if someone bought the game before release, he should keep track on production and other marketing videos. If not, then this is only his faul.

 

[web-head91]

This is the only thing I really feel bummed about. I mean, maybe it's just post-processing, but the difference is massive, as if they were two different games. Graphics are not my top priority but it's a shame that the game probably won't look like that at release. At least I doubt ultra settings can make that much of a difference. Optimisation happened, apparently, oh well... the game can still kick ass nonetheless, and I expect it to do so.

even if the game won't be like that at release, there's still a chance that they might improove that later on, after the game comes out. it can still be tweaked. and as time goes by, with better hardware and software (with DX 12 on the way), we may still get something close to what they first showed us. (perhaps with an enhaced edition patch ?) ^^

edit: an other thing i'd like to add, when you look at TW2 development and how the final result was, i'm willing to bet TW3 will be an even more technically acheived game.

 

[McGregg]

But on a side note, seriously after watching the latest gameplay i was amazed with the graphics and how much the game was improved compared to earlier builds. And people still complaining with such obsession.

Agreed. And, I can speak only for myself when first saw SOD trailer I never assumed that the game gonna look like that on - I don't know - high settings.
Devs said that the graphic was achieved with in-game engine (no CGI except last 5 sec) but they never said you gonna get those vistas/graphics with smoothly 60 fps on ultra. But other people love assuming things, then you have journalist with catchy headlines and initial assumption is/was enforced etc.

Then devs constantly add/test things... sometimes the same tree model gonna look worse in some scenery just because there are a lot other things taking computing power. And maybe in that particular scenery this tree or grass is not that important, and more power is directed to character models, lighting or other FX etc...

My point is - there is no way that game (of this scale and magnitude) gonna look wonderfully beautiful in every screenshot, in every 'corner' of the game... There must be some balance...
Anyway I feel like broken records... we've been repeating the same things whenever new footage emerges.

Sometimes I really wish Witcher 3 was a text-based role-playing game

 

[AvengerGrim]

CDPR should create the best looking game in existence and not let anyone but dual Titan X owner play the game for the years to come, isn't that what everyone want these days, graphics above all?

As for myself, I don't want another Crysis, no thank you, I buy CDPR's games because I care about the story and the world and I would rather play the game at its best in 2 months rather than in 5 years, if I can get a few eye candies on the side then that just seals the deal!

 

[web-head91]

CDPR should create the best looking game in existence and not let anyone but dual Titan X owner play the game for the years to come, isn't that what everyone want these days, graphics above all?

As for myself, I don't want another Crysis, no thank you, I buy CDPR's games because I care about the story and the world and I would rather play the game at its best in 2 months rather than in 5 years, if I can get a few eye candies on the side then that just seals the deal!

you make an excellent case. TW3 may come out the most beautiful game ever, like crysis did back in the day, and struggle trying to make it work.
i say make a build for the upcoming release, then keep on uptimizing it for about a year or so, then release an enhaced edition copy/patch.

 

[serxho92]

My point is - there is no way that game (of this scale and magnitude) gonna look wonderfully beautiful in every screenshot, in every 'corner' of the game... There must be some balance...
Anyway I feel like broken records... we've been repeating the same things whenever new footage emerges.

I've been saying these lines since the first downgrade thread but still no results . People want VGX graphics no matter what. They seem to not care about what this game really offers.

I'm happy because for what i've seen until now, i've loved every single part of it. By end of May i'll have finished exams and ready to play

 

[freakie1one]

I'm confused... did people preorder graphics or a game?

 

[shtempik]

I think, at least this is how I feel that we definitely want to play the Witcher for it's story and gameplay.
I can pretty much say and I believe that it will be top notch, undoubtedly amazing same for the music, atmosphere etc etc.

The only thing that was extra amazing about this when we saw all the awesome trailers was that the game looked mind blowing, simply stunning like it came 5-10 years from the future and I guess that's what disappoints people in a way.

We know the game looks amazing as it is and all and will definitely buy it no questions asked but I guess some wanted this game to be remembered for the ages to come, being a masterpiece pretty much and on a league of it's own comparing to other games that were released and perhaps that will be released in the next 3 years or so.

I still think it will be remembered for ages like Skyrim but it could just be on a league of a league of it's own, if you get what I mean
That's what I think people are disappointed, that it missed out that opportunity to just completely stand out in a way perhaps no game ever had.

I hope you understand what I mean... And who knows, perhaps Ultra and especially Ubersampling will make a HUGE difference in graphics?
For example in Far Cry 4 I noticed how ultra and especially MSAAx8 make a huge difference in the environment comparing to MSAAx2 and even MSAAx4, good thing to compare when you have those clouds snowy mountains and all.

 

[crimsonwarrior]

Dude did you think i dont know what is Filtering and post processing ?

No I really don't think you do. Again I am not going to dig up the mammoth corpse of a thread to show you the examples, but I assure you the primary difference in textures is post processing effects. How do you think the low and high settings work on PC settings in the first place?

 

[Juuuhan]

Okay let's address a couple of things posted/discussed here... Also, I'm not a PC guru so I can definitely be off with some shit!

1: False advertising

It never can be a false advertising when the product itself is not finished nor released.

The fuck it can. False advertising is the basic off fooling your customer by showing a misrepresentation. If people are making purchases (pre-orders) based on material shown by the marketing team that aren't featured in the actual product then it is false advertising. Just look at how much flak, Peter Molyneux have gotten for always promising things that aren't featured in the game, or how Double Fine screwed over their customers. It's not suddenly OK to do whatever you want prior to release because you will then come clean once the product is actually released. It's shitty practice and shouldn't be done, especially since pre-ordering is such a big market in gaming (It's not like you're buying a car from a shop).

Also regarding cancelling pre-orders... This doesn't work with the Collector's Edition because they are limited and if I'm feeling fooled I can't cancel my copy to show CD RED that I'm displeased, because then someone else will just pick it up instead for more money (because that's how Amazon is).

Notice! I'm not saying I believe CD RED are doing false advertising or that all cases becomes a class action law suit, but they are still damn unethical and shouldn't be sugar coated as a excuse. Marketing should be done fucking right.

2: Trailers versus game play

It seems that a lot of focus have been on comparing trailers versus game play. Now this is always dumb and doesn't work in practise.
All trailers no matter their name (This also implies to the so called "game play trailers") are hand crafted to be done as spectacular as possible. This means you are more so using the engine to create a cinematic cut scene, and you apply all work to this to make it look as special as possible. Lightning, editing etc. This should be obvious by now by customers and seeing as CD RED claimed they re-made one trailer over 50 times (source: Pax2015), it's also common practice by CD RED .

Another small thing that could further differentiate the visual on the content is if the engine have been updated over time which made some visuals look different (not worse in fidelity but different) by changing parameters in filters etc.

3: Why people care

Now in hindsight you could ask yourself why do people care? The game still look gorgeous so obviously people just enjoy whining? In short there are three reasons (Probably more, but here's what I got) why (sane) individuals care.

3.1 Principals. I believe most people don't give a flying toss in this but for a couple of us, this is bloody important (The same reason why I never have touched Steam or any EA games). Being honest with trailers/interviews are important because ultimately it's our money and we've been burned so many times before by bad companies, and that's why it's so important that CD RED still remains "pure" because we don't really have anyone else to fall back on.

3.2 Consistency, with the game constantly changing and being shown on different hardware it's rather hard to properly get a gripe on what sort of quality we actually can expect on different hardware. After all people's PC's are diverse... And while I appreciate all game play videos I find it far more informative to know graphic features and texture quality and how different settings differentiate from themselves than more game play footage which to be honest is more of a spoiler than seeing fire interacting with plants or something.

3.3 Ubisoft. Now essentially the big issue is, Ubisoft cut out graphic features because they couldn't be arsed to optimize it properly for PC. This if anything is the big deal. The fear that CD RED looked at all amazing graphic features, looked at the clock and said "February is not enough" then looked at the clock again and said "May is not enough". This is more of a "sad eye" feeling than anything else, after all we know CD RED delayed it because they needed time to optimize it (as the content was done) but with no information on how the game will actually roll on PC because currently based on their game play videos, it's seems that even a 980 is struggling. With consoles this is far more straight forward, you have locked hardware and people (for some reason) settle on locked graphical settings, but with PC it's rather shitty because you would assume if the game can be played on several year old hardware, two or three 980's would be sufficient for ultra at +60 FPS (or at the very least would be told what to expect prior to release).

4: Where are we now

I don't believe CD RED downgraded the game, the real issue is how they represented their early trailers and trailers have a tendency to always look more sublime than the actual game. All in all it makes little sense seeing as CD RED is still pumping out a lot of game play content which were played on a PC. While some "bad spots" definitely can be found it seems that the concern are more targeting certain areas where the fidelity is bad, rather than the overall.

Also some issues tend to be more on lightning which makes some areas look better/worse than they actually are, it seems more-so that CD RED have some areas where the engine is having issue (the frost effect on the Wild hunt's armour comes to mind) and it's mainly this inconsistency that cause a lot of concern.
Overall it feels like the current issue lies on special effects, such as shadow effects on areas, particle effects like dust flowing in the wind etc. So I truly believe CD RED could avoid another 200 page topic if they were to plan a "Technical game dev. diary." where they highlight special effects etc. It's also one of the few things they can do without spoiler the game and provide the community with some new information.



Random thoughts

With all said and done though, CD RED has been rather elusive with information regarding the PC version, both regarding how the Mouse and Keyboard works, whether monitor ratios are addressed (16:10, 21:9, 4:3, 5:4 etc), how the UI is and how you can customize it as well as actual performance and special effects....

I really want this to be covered before release in a detailed "Tech demo" and the notion that "Story is the focus, technical features are a secondary" is nothing more than PR bullshit (which is fine, mind you... PR is PR after all.) to increase sales for Xbox One (since CD RED are being sponsored by Microsoft) or that "We're saving Ultra settings for the gamers to find out" just gives the consumer a bad taste coming from a developer who have been so (rightfully) proud of the beauty they have achieved with their engine.

 

[crimsonwarrior]

but I keep seeing the downgrade talk popping up across different boards. It makes me a bit sad to see it hounding them in the way that it does. Maybe it's just the internet bubble

That's exactly what it is. I have seen it spouted by all of 25 different people including this thread and youtube. That's not a massive fan outcry, that's an uninformed opinion doing the rounds. Most of the people I see complaining about it hold the original sword of destiny trailer up as this golden standard. When others like myself point out how it isn't that impressive, but a visual trick of editing and an extreme sharpening effect to make it look that way, they won't hear of it. So it's just a type of negative buzz that follows any prehyped launch. Most of the people worried about won't be deterred, or convinced otherwise. So I will follow up with my tried and true argument. Wait until the game is out until making a final verdict. If you guys are seriously worried than just give it a few days. I promise you it will quickly be reported on by the bulk of people playing it if they find the game underwhelming visually.

 

[B_l_a_d_y]

That's exactly what it is. I have seen it spouted by all of 25 different people including this thread and youtube. That's not a massive fan outcry, that's an uninformed opinion doing the rounds. Most of the people I see complaining about it hold the original sword of destiny trailer up as this golden standard. When others like myself point out how it isn't that impressive, but a visual trick of editing and an extreme sharpening effect to make it look that way, they won't hear of it. So it's just a type of negative buzz that follows any prehyped launch. Most of the people worried about won't be deterred, or convinced otherwise. So I will follow up with my tried and true argument. Wait until the game is out until making a final verdict. If you guys are seriously worried than just give it a few days. I promise you it will quickly be reported on by the bulk of people if they find the game underwhelming.

can you applay sharpenig filter or other effects you talk about on some recent screens, if that what are you saying is true, this will look like sod or vgx.
Now this is only your words, with pictures your arguments would be 100x times stronger, please do this

 

[Cyrex13]

Game still looks awesome, but I also must admit not like those first trailers, and now this "downgrade" problem as all over internet.. But what really bothers me is why CDPR is being quite about that? Why don't they just get us few screenshot of Ultra settings so that they just close all this discussions.. Also why is problem to tell us on which platform was some gameplay video?.. Anyway looking forward to this game, and still having fate in best devs in gaming industry..

 

[wichat]

Okay let's address a couple of things posted/discussed here... Also, I'm not a PC guru so I can definitely be off with some shit!

1: False advertising The fuck it can.

Law in hand: do you have any copy of the game for arguing there's a false advertisment?

Until May 19th nobody can claim false advertisment. Further that's is a mater of opinions and taste and speculations.