Nvidia’s GameWorks: A double-edged sword for Witcher 3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the first games that relies on the GameWorks tools for programmers released by NVIDIA, there is one other, Watch Dogs. Accordingly to a recently released statement by AMD's Robert Hallock:
In an article from last year, tech journalist, Joe Hruska, states that Gameworks would end up adversely affecting 40% of the PC gaming demographic that uses AMD graphic cards:
So, is it time for AMD users to start getting worried about Witcher 3 and its use of Nvidia Gameworks?
Relevant links:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonev...d-potentially-the-entire-pc-gaming-ecosystem/
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...surps-power-from-developers-end-users-and-amd
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the first games that relies on the GameWorks tools for programmers released by NVIDIA, there is one other, Watch Dogs. Accordingly to a recently released statement by AMD's Robert Hallock:
This is evident in Watch Dogs where as per Jason Evangelho: It’s evident that Watch Dogs is optimized for Nvidia hardware, but it’s staggering just how un-optimized it is on AMD hardware. I guarantee that when the game gets released, a swarm of upset gamers are going to point fingers at AMD for the sub-par performance. Their anger would be misplaced.“Participation in the Gameworks program often precludes the developer from accepting AMD suggestions that would improve performance directly in the game code – the most desirable form of optimization.”
“The code obfuscation makes it difficult to perform our own after-the-fact driver optimizations, as the characteristics of the game are hidden behind many layers of circuitous and non-obvious routines. This change coincides with NVIDIA’s decision to remove all public Direct3D code samples from their site in favor of a ‘contact us for licensing’ page. AMD does not engage in, support, or condone such activities.”
In an article from last year, tech journalist, Joe Hruska, states that Gameworks would end up adversely affecting 40% of the PC gaming demographic that uses AMD graphic cards:
AMD is no longer in control of its own performance. While GameWorks doesn’t technically lock vendors into Nvidia solutions, a developer that wanted to support both companies equally would have to work with AMD and Nvidia from the beginning of the development cycle to create a vendor-specific code path. It’s impossible for AMD to provide a quick after-launch fix. This kind of maneuver ultimately hurts developers in the guise of helping them.
So, is it time for AMD users to start getting worried about Witcher 3 and its use of Nvidia Gameworks?
Relevant links:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonev...d-potentially-the-entire-pc-gaming-ecosystem/
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...surps-power-from-developers-end-users-and-amd
Last edited: