The City is the star but we need more from the supporting cast

[Ant1975uk]

First of all, congratulations CDPR for creating another unique world you can get lost in. I can say without a doubt, the architecture that has gone into the City is outstanding. Just walking about, you fell like a tourist in a massive metropolis. Its all the nooks and crannies, side streets, the verticality, the clash of styles that seem to organically merge. When it works with the busyness of the traffic and pedestrians, walking around this City is an absolute joy to behold.

But thats when it works. Theres a lot of immersion breakers, most of which people have no doubt mentioned. Im playing on Xbox Series X and fortunately can enjoy the better experience on consoles but there is definitely issues that should be fixed with a next patch.

LOD/Distance/Spawn

When I originally bought the game on release, with the early patches, this wasn't as noticeable. Now I don't know whether within trying to fix older consoles they did something global that had an affect on more powerful consoles but the draw distance of NPCs, cars and textures and shadows is so noticeable now.

Npcs fade into view, as do cars. A list of things I am getting on Series X include:

Spawning/Disappearing pedestrians
Spawing/Disappearing cars
Weapons that fade into view when switching in third person
Textures and shadows on buildings fading in
In badlands I can see distant traffic that disappears as you get nearer. In fact outside of the city the pedestrians and cars take a massive hit.
Ground objects and smoke appear out of thin air as you approach them.

Now i know this isn't next gen, but when you switch those modes between quality and performance, I don't expect to see those issues. Especially as they weren't that bad initially before it was patched. I know theres a lot of bugs and stuff to sort and other issues like improving the police further, but fixing these issues would go a long way to bridge the gap to next gen.

It would also be good to be able to get a preview of clothes before buying, be able to sit where you wanted to in the world where theres seats etc.

This has the potential to be one of the greatest ever if the vision is realised and the City is an amazing foundation to build story and further content around.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

You're right for all of the problems
But don't forget that it is "just" an xbox one version which run on ours XBSX
(as long as there is not a dedicated version, we will have to undergo all the optimizations)

 

[Mwatuangi]

If the city is an actor, they're phoning it in. It looks pretty but you can't really engage with it. You can't even sit down or do basic activities like drink and eat unless you're in a scene.

 

[maniak6767]

If the city is an actor, they're phoning it in. It looks pretty but you can't really engage with it. You can't even sit down or do basic activities like drink and eat unless you're in a scene.

Really?

 

[Ant1975uk]

You're right for all of the problems
But don't forget that it is "just" an xbox one version which run on ours XBSX
(as long as there is not a dedicated version, we will have to undergo all the optimizations)

Yes you are absolutely correct!

 

[Manifoldgodhead]

I'm on PC and getting more texture pop in after the patch as well. They're trying to improve performance across the board, I would guess.

 

[Ant1975uk]

I'm on PC and getting more texture pop in after the patch as well. They're trying to improve performance across the board, I would guess.

Yeah my guess would be stabilise across the board then when next gen releases they split the versions. Its very delicate and political at the moment and they unfortunately boxed themselves into a corner with last gen. Ive noticed they paired back LOD on series x when originally i had very little texture pop in. Although, i did turn off film grain and that seemed to help it spawn in more quickly which is less noticeable.

 

[BionicDance]

First of all, congratulations CDPR for creating another unique world you can get lost in. I can say without a doubt, the architecture that has gone into the City is outstanding. Just walking about, you fell like a tourist in a massive metropolis. Its all the nooks and crannies, side streets, the verticality, the clash of styles that seem to organically merge. When it works with the busyness of the traffic and pedestrians, walking around this City is an absolute joy to behold.

Agreed.

Unfortunately, aside from the look, the game is...ehhh...

It would also be good to be able to get a preview of clothes before buying

This, this, thisety this.

I don't know how CDPR could have left this out, especially since we did see footage of it when they started showing some.

be able to sit where you wanted to in the world where theres seats etc.
This has the potential to be one of the greatest ever if the vision is realised and the City is an amazing foundation to build story and further content around.

Well, that's the thing...I get the impression that CDPR thought nobody would care.

From everything I've heard, their attitude seems to have been, "We're making this kind of game, and even though we've included visual elements from games that have come before, we didn't make them functional, too. But it's okay...people won't care because we're making this kind of game, not that kind of game, and people will play in the style we, CDPR, expect, cuz that's the kind of game we're making."

Unfortunately, they were wrong about that. People saw the visual elements and figured they had functionality too, and wanted that functionality...and were disappointed when CDPR left it out. People did care. A lot. Just look at any forum that talks about CP2077; you'll see an unending string of, "Why isn't this in the game???"

I will absolutely die on this hill: CDPR misjudged their audience.

If they don't start adding in this functionality, making CP2077 at least do the things other games do--like being able to patronize any street vendor, and in an immersive way, not just a menu--even if it does them a little differently, I think people will always be disappointed with CP2077. Like it or lump it, this is an instance where conforming to industry norms would be a benefit.