TW3 upgrade for PS4 Pro?

[epyon1979]

well, i think that we all know the main reason: promotion with MS.
thank you, microsoft

How is it possible that CDPR is in such a strong cooperation with Microsoft (they get the Gwent Beta first), when the Playstation 4 sales are dominating both PC and XBox one ?

I am very sad that CDPR does not invest at least a little bit of their energy into a small patch that enhance only the draw distance for shadows and environment. :'(

 

[release_15]

@Grindders:
It is entirely possible for a company to be great to work with, regardless of console sales. My guess would be that CDPR made this deal very early on in the console generation (TWIII was on their stage in 2014), and it's been going ever since. Besides, it's not like they NEED the Playstation marketing. The PS4 version sold gangbusters regardless of Microsoft exclusive marketing, the Playstation blog, etc. made sure to promote the game as it drew closer to release. I don't know what to think about parity clauses. I honestly don't believe they exist, not in the degree that we're talking. "You can't bring out a patch for PS4 Neo" does not sound like contract clause that CDPR would accept. The resolution for Witcher III was 1080p on PS4, whereas it was generally 900p on Xbox One. Microsoft still marketed the game. So I don't believe that Microsoft has anything to do with this.

Gwent and Cyberpunk are the reason, not to mention their work on TWIII just KEPT GOING ever since the game released. Free DLC, expansion packs, constant and sizeable patches, tweaks to the inventory... They put A LOT of effort into this game. Sure, this would be the perfect swan song for you and me, and THE way to finish the whole thing out in style, while guaranteeing another few extra playthroughs, but two people on a forum aren't going to convince them. :hope:

How is it possible that CDPR is in such a strong cooperation with Microsoft (they get the Gwent Beta first), when the Playstation 4 sales are dominating both PC and XBox one ?

I am very sad that CDPR does not invest at least a little bit of their energy into a small patch that enhance only the draw distance for shadows and environment. :'(

I know, at this point I'd take a small patch over no patch, but that's not how it works, I think. Most people wouldn't notice the difference, and I doubt they'd consider it worth the effort. If the devs are going to optimize the game for that platform, they'd rather go all the way, I'm assuming. I'm kinda hoping that they'll revisit the idea once Gwent wraps up (CD Projekt seems cool like that), and they have a bit more time. Maybe they'll even do it when Scorpio hits: two birds, one stone. Normally I'd bury the dream of an optimization patch once a certain period of time has passed, but with this developer, I just don't know. It won't happen this year though, that's for sure.

 

[cooperb212]

Xbox One seems to be an unlocked system unlike PS4. If you look at Xbox One vs Xbox One S with a slight gpu boost games are having better performance that are unpatched. Games will need patches to reap benefits from the Pro unlike Xbox. That is gonna be a huge advantage since Witcher 3 uses dynamic resolution on xbox one. We might see a fps boost and upgrade to 1080p.

 

[yyb0568]

If Gwent and Cyberpunk are the reason that's ok, after witcher 3 CDPR themselves need sit down and seriously think how to improve their skill and overcome their weakness such as gameplay/combat for their next game that's more important than release a graphic improve patch, however I found a interesting thing there are hundreds of people to make just a card game that's almost half of the witcher 3. To be honest I and many friends of mine have NO interesting in a card game even that be part of the Witcher. As for Cyberpunk I think it's their 'Fight club' it make far far more sense than gwent, just hope it will deliver prove CDPR not just using the IP of Witcher to create a card game then make money.

 

[sv3672]

If Gwent and Cyberpunk are the reason that's ok, after witcher 3 CDPR themselves need sit down and seriously think how to improve their skill and overcome their weakness such as gameplay/combat for their next game that's more important than release a graphic improve patch, however I found a interesting thing there are hundreds of people to make just a card game that's almost half of the witcher 3.

It is actually not hundreds of people, from what I have read, "only" a hundred people are working on Gwent, but that number also includes marketing related jobs, and not only developers. It will also feature single player campaigns with a total of up to 50 hours of gameplay, so it is intended to be more than just a simple card game.

 

[epyon1979]

It is also confirmed by Marcin Momot that there are no plans for a Witcher 3 patch for the Playstation 4 Pro . The source is a well known german gaming magazine "PC Games". So the last bit of hope has passed ... :no

View attachment 72410

 

[release_15]

Xbox One seems to be an unlocked system unlike PS4. If you look at Xbox One vs Xbox One S with a slight gpu boost games are having better performance that are unpatched. Games will need patches to reap benefits from the Pro unlike Xbox. That is gonna be a huge advantage since Witcher 3 uses dynamic resolution on xbox one. We might see a fps boost and upgrade to 1080p.

Same principle, though. The hardware is still designed to behave like the old machine in those cases. And the game is still programmed for the old machine's specs. It doesn't know that it's running on more powerful hardware. But because the hardware is more powerful and behaves like the previous specs, it's able to do that more fluently and with less strain. It's the very definition of a locked system.

The PS4 Pro will be the same thing. It'll behave like a PS4 for unpatched games, but those games will naturally run smoother, have a stabler, better framerate. They're able to hit that theoretical peak that was programmed for the original system more easily. Hence why games with dynamic res will look better. In which case it's the game that's unlocked (within certain defined parameters), and not the system.

VERY roughly put: you can compare it to why the original Mass Effect now runs at a steady 30 fps with less pop-in textures on the Xbox One.

 

[iCake]

...the original Mass Effect now runs at a steady 30 fps...

You sure about that? It runs better on X1 than it does on an actual Xbox 360 I can tell, but that game is one of the worst performing game I've ever seen on a console. It still dips a lot on X1.

Also, bringing up ME to support your argument is not strictly... viable. ME runs on Xbox One through a software emulator of the actual xbox 360 hardware, where PS4 and PS4 Pro are hardware compatible, just more proccessing power for the latter.

 

[Tokei-ihto]

How is it possible that CDPR is in such a strong cooperation with Microsoft (they get the Gwent Beta first), when the Playstation 4 sales are dominating both PC and XBox one ?

I am very sad that CDPR does not invest at least a little bit of their energy into a small patch that enhance only the draw distance for shadows and environment. :'(

Disappointing for sure, but I doubt it has anything to do with restricting promotional ties to Microsoft or some such. After all, Rise of the Tomb Raider was a timed Microsoft-exclusive and is still getting the full PS4 Pro treatment with three different graphics and performance options that take advantage of the increased processing power of Sony's new console.

Oh well, ... one can only hope that CDPR has a change of heart in this regard (perhaps after Gwent has been released), unlikely as it may seem.

 

[epyon1979]

Oh well, ... one can only hope that CDPR has a change of heart in this regard (perhaps after Gwent has been released), unlikely as it may seem.

I hope so. At least I have noticed that there is much interest in this thread (over 3900 views). And at "NeoGAF" there was a huge interest in a Witcher 3 patch for the Playstation 4 Pro. So maybe , with a lot of luck we might get someday a patch. :crybaby:

 

[essenthy]

wow am surprised, its not that much of a workload to do it for PSpro, at least the HDR part, it can only mean 3 things :

1) the red engine has been so much modified to run on consoles ( the tonemap/lighting part ) that it would take them too much work, its in a zombies state !
2) they are really fully into cyberpunk, no one left on W3
3) this is going to be reserved for scorpio

i cant imagine devs are making PSpro patch with their own money, sony must be handing out cache, so the scorpio theory is fairly likely since MS will probably/is already doing the same, CDPR has been closer to MS than Sony

 

[epyon1979]

The thirst is real. Beside many magazines now Eurogamer is reporting : "Since we want to fully focus on Cyberpunk 2077 and Gwent, and converting The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from a full HD game into a 4K one would be too much of a time and resource-consuming process, we decided not to release an edition of Wild Hunt supporting the new features of PlayStation Pro," the developer said.

So why it has to be 4K ??? Why not simply make a patch with locked 30 fps and higher view distances for shadows and environment like grass and so on ... It would please many fans of the game. You have to look for example at "NeoGAF" , because there are over 800 comments where people are mostly frustrated with the decision of CDPR and almost no one is asking for 4K. Sony does not force anyone to use the 4K capabilities of the Ps4 Neo.

Links:

NeoGAF: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1280951

Eurogamer: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...t-will-not-support-playstation-4-pro-features

 

[Fieldcrab]

The thirst is real. Beside many magazines now Eurogamer is reporting : "Since we want to fully focus on Cyberpunk 2077 and Gwent, and converting The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from a full HD game into a 4K one would be too much of a time and resource-consuming process, we decided not to release an edition of Wild Hunt supporting the new features of PlayStation Pro," the developer said.

So why it has to be 4K ??? Why not simply make a patch with locked 30 fps and higher view distances for shadows and environment like grass and so on ... It would please many fans of the game. You have to look for example at "NeoGAF" , because there are over 800 comments where people are mostly frustrated with the decision of CDPR and almost no one is asking for 4K. Sony does not force anyone to use the 4K capabilities of the Ps4 Neo.

Links:

NeoGAF: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1280951

Eurogamer: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...t-will-not-support-playstation-4-pro-features

As it's console we're talking about they wont just throw out a patch and say that's that. They'd need to keep supporting the new version. I don't think it would take too much effort to create a working version for the PS4 Pro and thus I don't see it being the reason for not making it.

If it was on PC they could just throw the new features in as a Beta branch on steam/GOG and thus never committing to supporting said features. I wouldn't keep my hopes up for such a solution seeing Sony's stance towards un-curated modding on their platform (Skyrim SE and Fallout 4).

 

[release_15]

You sure about that? It runs better on X1 than it does on an actual Xbox 360 I can tell, but that game is one of the worst performing game I've ever seen on a console. It still dips a lot on X1.

Also, bringing up ME to support your argument is not strictly... viable. ME runs on Xbox One through a software emulator of the actual xbox 360 hardware, where PS4 and PS4 Pro are hardware compatible, just more proccessing power for the latter.

I admit, that was a pretty bad example, and a shoddy post by extension. You get my core argument, though. I was speaking in terms of having more powerful console hardware simulating the specs and restrictions of a less powerful closed system. In theory, they should be able to optimize the framerate of PS4 "standard" games quite a bit.

To be perfectly candid, pretty much all I have to go on when it comes to the original Mass Effect is word of mouth. Friend of mine says it generally runs at a smooth, locked 30 now. I saw him play through Virmire on X1 and thought the game ran pretty damn great. But yeah, ME1 has always been dodgy on 360, and the X1 emulator isn't necessarily a guarantee for a locked 30. But it definitely runs games a lot better than my old 360, that's for sure.

@Fieldcrab:

I feel you, but I don't think creating a patch to overhaul the game for a more powerful console is that easy. Are higher res textures already on the disc, for example? If not, they'll have to include them in the patch, and pick and choose where to apply them, the way they did in the original PS4 version. And they still have that CPU bottleneck to contend with. The console versions of TWIII were meticulously tweaked to provide a good balance between prettiness and frame rate. I don't think it's as simple as applying a different lighting solution or changing the slider for the draw distance. That said, it would serve as the ultimate proof for me that CDPR will do just about anything for their fans. But then again, The Witcher III is the first game of theirs that I've ever finished, so I can't hold it against them if they refuse to do it.

On a side note, Platinum'd the game last night.

 

[Fieldcrab]

I admit, that was a pretty bad example, and a shoddy post by extension. You get my core argument, though. I was speaking in terms of having more powerful console hardware simulating the specs and restrictions of a less powerful closed system. In theory, they should be able to optimize the framerate of PS4 "standard" games quite a bit.

To be perfectly candid, pretty much all I have to go on when it comes to the original Mass Effect is word of mouth. Friend of mine says it generally runs at a smooth, locked 30 now. I saw him play through Virmire on X1 and thought the game ran pretty damn great. But yeah, ME1 has always been dodgy on 360, and the X1 emulator isn't necessarily a guarantee for a locked 30. But it definitely runs games a lot better than my old 360, that's for sure.

@Fieldcrab :

I feel you, but I don't think creating a patch to overhaul the game for a more powerful console is that easy. Are higher res textures already on the disc, for example? If not, they'll have to include them in the patch, and pick and choose where to apply them, the way they did in the original PS4 version. And they still have that CPU bottleneck to contend with. The console versions of TWIII were meticulously tweaked to provide a good balance between prettiness and frame rate. I don't think it's as simple as applying a different lighting solution or changing the slider for the draw distance. That said, it would serve as the ultimate proof for me that CDPR will do just about anything for their fans. But then again, The Witcher III is the first game of theirs that I've ever finished, so I can't hold it against them if they refuse to do it.

On a side note, Platinum'd the game last night.

As far as I'm aware PS4 stock textures are nearly identical to those found on the PC version. As long as Sony hasn't got any stupid requirements for new PS4 pro releases (mandatory HDR support, 4K target through the ''checkerboard'' upscaling/rendering method etc.) I don't see any technical reasons for not being able to achieve it. If they target the same old 30FPS with increased visual settings, matching the ''Ultra'' preseton PC, the CPU should handle it fine.

The only meaningful incentive for CDPR to bring the game to PS4 pro is a economic one. Just by looking how they handled the mod support should give you a pretty good idea what they're willing to do for their fans if there's no real coin to be made.

 

[eskiMoe]

Why not simply make a patch with locked 30 fps and higher view distances for shadows and environment like grass and so on ... It would please many fans of the game.

Maybe because it's not that simple?

 

[Rawls]

As far as I'm aware PS4 stock textures are nearly identical to those found on the PC version.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-face-off

PC sets itself apart in several key areas though. With foliage visibility range set to ultra, we get trees, plants and accompanying shadows rendered at a range far beyond anything possible on console. By comparison, PS4 and Xbox One treat each of these variables individually; trees use an equivalent to its medium setting, while foliage is on high, and shadow draw distance is low. It's a hybrid setup that can only be matched on PC by tweaking its .ini file variables manually (found in your documents folder). However, on the console front, both are exactly matched with each other in this area.This granular approach to optimising for PS4 and Xbox One applies to texture quality too. Here we get a mixture of the PC's medium and high settings, based on which segment of the world you inspect. As a rule of thumb, consoles rarely match PC's best 2024x2024 resolution textures, though low-priority objects with blurrier maps are shared for all three versions. Ground textures in almost every case lack PC's sharpness, and also fall short of its 16x anisotropic filtering. Xbox One gives the worst results here, and in Novigrad City's main plaza, PS4 hits a mid-point in filtering quality between the other two platforms.

Texture filtering is the only difference noted between the console versions. The remainder of the graphics presets are identical, even down to shadow quality and foliage density - both PS4 and Xbox One using the medium setting in each case. This is backed by screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO) on console, a lower resolution form of the HBAO+ mode offered on PC. With the latter selected, foliage across the ground is clearer and more defined, and less shimmer is visible across shaded areas around geometry. The PC gets a better deal, though both techniques suffer from a visible halo effect around characters passing in front of darkened spots.

Added to that, physics are greatly improved on the PC release. Water quality is set to high on PS4 and Xbox One, enabling water simulation that has boats rocking with oncoming waves. However the water detail is of a much higher quality on PC, with ripples rendered with a higher precision grade of tessellation. Nevertheless, console users still get a good return here; anything less than the high setting looks very strange indeed, with boats and characters entirely unaffected by the tide.

Nvidia's HairWorks ranks among the more unique additions to the PC release - now in abetter optimised state following the latest patch, provided you of course have an Nvidia GPU ...

To round up, all post-processing settings are a match between the three formats, though there are some exceptions. Bloom, light shafts, chromatic aberration, depth of field and velocity-based motion blur are all enabled for PS4 and Xbox One with no cutbacks in quality. As mentioned, the use of SSAO on console is easily the biggest difference in this post-process category, where the cleaner look of HBAO+ is sadly a PC-only feature.

Not posting this to get involved in the debate one way or the other. I just thought some specificity might be beneficial.

 

[Fieldcrab]

According to this sites FAQ: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/09/08/ps4-pro-the-ultimate-faq/ even older PS4 titles will be compatible out of the box with PS4 pro although with identical visual settings. I don't see how tweaking a already working game could be too large of an obstacle. Wonder if the lower texture quality Rawls pointed out is caused by lack of memory Bandwidth or memory.

Q: Will PS4 Pro have separate or exclusive games?
There will not be any PS4 Pro-exclusive games. Because PS4 Pro and the standard PS4 are members of the same family, both systems will be fully compatible with all past, present, and future PS4 titles, including PlayStation VR. All PS4 games are PS4 Pro games, and vice-versa.

 

[Pug.]

Yeah, I definitely think the more prudent move would have been for CDPR to hold off on releasing the GOTY edition until around November or December and bundle it with a PS4 Pro patch. Instead of just capturing those gamers who have yet to play TW3, they would have also appealed to us old-timers who are looking for something, anything to warrant another playthrough. Not to mention the fact that such a release would have coincided with the holiday sales season.

Still, I think there are enough supporting titles on the horizon to get me genuinely excited for the PS4 Pro. Final Fantasy XV is, I believe, going to receive a day-one PS4 Pro patch. Uncharted 4 is going to be compatible - really looking forward to revisiting that title and trying it out on my new TV - and of course everything coming out after the launch of the PS4 Pro will be compatible, including Mass Effect Andromeda.

 

[Pawel1995]

I mean that's the difference with PCs and Console. If you want to keep supporting your game, you would need to upgrade/update your games every 3-5 years, because a "new" console generation is coming out.

In my opinion they did the correct move to release a patch and the GOTY edition now and start moving everyone to the Gwent or Cyberpunk team.