Witcher 3 Graphics

[kenjigreat]

Reminds me of the good old days before any of the api's had won, and carmack publically said he wouldn't touch directx until they made it like opengl.. which they did. Fast forward.. 15+ years and im not sure if that's the case now but a fond memory still. At the time though i thought whatever.. glide was all the rage and hardware acceleration was a mod.

Yeah also for reference.. i find this a bit moopy as i own a kepler card, but the 980 (2000 cores) hits the same performance as a 780ti (2800 cores) with a small clockspeed bump.. so.. yeah consoles are consoles.

---------- Updated at 11:11 PM ----------



Question, how is it not already? I think we're discussing morals here, because CDPR were the chosen ones (and critically probably booked preorders and sales without question on this rep), they consoled out, lost their rep and should have known better. They really should have known better because the mainstreamers they just pulled in are going to want a witcher 4... and 5 the year after.. and they aint doing witcher 4.

As far as the game itself goes.. i've kinda refused to progress the story until i've gotten though the novels on audiobook.. and figured while i'm listening to those will just walk around the world the witcher 3 looking at stuff.

- Its a pretty hot looking game today already.
- If you don't think so you need to run a sweefx profile eg http://sfx.thelazy.net/games/preset/3742/ sorry.
- If you don't think so, you need to run a physically larger monitor 27 inches +
- If you don't think so, you need to upgrade your graphics card to 970/980 performance (i managed to get an average of ~45 fps at 2560x1600 no hairworks hbao on everything else on, sweetfx, and am very happy.... on a kepler 780ti.

... Yes there is a bit of a looming problem.. as in if i -wasn't- listening to an audiobook and using w3 as a glorified screensaver (.. oh the glory) there's actually not much to do except look in the world. But that's not a graphics problem.

---------- Updated at 11:15 PM ----------



No is doesn't. Is there a noclip cheat? Go fly to the same camera angle.. walk around novigrad its the ~same.

---------- Updated at 11:23 PM ----------



No he's right. Ps4's and boxes are basically pc's. I think some laptops use similar chips. The main differences between last generation and this the processor is not some non x86 power pc.. its x86,.. just like our pc's. The graphics of course were and are exactly the same.

Yes.. turning down foliage distance is common sense. Anyone who doesn't drop this is a console player in disguise.. its not like we're talking about 120 fps vs 80 vps.. we're not at 60 yet, so tweaking is required, and if you had the brains to change this setting, theres no way in hell you would keep ultra.

Yes. I hate CDPR for point 3. Instead of giving us a new ceiling they gave us a lower range. And they gave xboners gwent cards. I hate cdpr so much

---------- Updated at 11:32 PM ----------



Usually this depends on the game, for the w3.. not really.. where were are at now (see your fave sweetfx profile screenshots, not the take you were given garbage).. the only thing that can bump the quality is replacement of ingame assets.. we need a skyrim flora and fauna mod and w3 would be exactly where we want it. There's nothing wrong with the lighting.. just stop, actually stop and think about it for a sec. Game we're currently playing + sweetfx. Okay, whats missing? Just replacing the really bad trees grass and shrubs. Which also happen to be everywhere.

Actually.. we need buffed npc's as well.. basically an upgrade from the w3 npc's to the lod of the witcher 2 npc's and we're sorted.

.... NO?

CDPR sucks. That's the topic. If you're complaining about the graphics its terribly obvious you're not using sweetfx because stops really quick once you get that on.

The Lighting is an a graphical issue that can't be 'solved' by SweetFX, seriously the caves in this game and some interiors look horrible and I've tried many presets including the E3/VGX , 1000 Times better etc.

Seriously though go Watch the 35minute gameplay demo and compare it to the current version we have, so much more is missing than grass .I agree with the NPCs part though.

 

[Caine123]

First i wanna state that this is not AGAINST the gameplay in The Witcher 3 and that the game seems to be great and a worthy sequel but the DOWNGRADE and the behaviour CD PROJECT show/s us with their PR!

here i list facts and am willing to edit of course!

1. 2013 Debut GAMEPLAY Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPiqRR5tPMI

2. 2014 Sword of Destiny Trailer where Marcin Mamot said "YES"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCKQcshNph0

Link to the Forum entry http://i.imgur.com/e9fYsYI.png

3. December 23rd 2014 they released a 35 Minute GAMEPLAY Demo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm7S18Tqyec

so then they delayed and downgraded it all the way? strange isnt it? when it was december and playable like that.....

4. Showing IN-GAME FOOTAGE not in-engine footage Trailer from 2014 VGX Trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqQ3LeBgGDM

5. "CD Projekt promises no visual downgrade for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt"
a report from PC gamer
http://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-promises-no-visual-downgrade-for-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/

6. AFTER the pre-ordering time the Sword Of Destiny Trailer on gog.com's shoppage is gone!

http://i.imgur.com/YnDxKGF.jpg

7. There are still FAKED screenshots on gog.com The Witcher 3 Shoppage!
http://i.imgur.com/TjX7MzA.jpg

8. CD Project ADMITS Downgrade cause of Consoles (Didnt they say THERE ARE NO DOWNGRADES?!?!??!)
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...he-witcher-3-graphics-downgrade-issue-head-on

Did the console versions restrict the PC version?

"If the consoles are not involved there is no Witcher 3 as it is," answers Marcin Iwinski, definitively. "We can lay it out that simply. We just cannot afford it, because consoles allow us to go higher in terms of the possible or achievable sales; have a higher budget for the game, and invest it all into developing this huge, gigantic world.

"Developing only for the PC: yes, probably we could get more [in terms of graphics] as there would be nothing else - they would be so focused, like if we would develop only on Xbox One or PlayStation 4. But then we cannot afford such a game."

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keep us posted with more material!

we shouldnt get treated like that.......
with all those FACTS there is just nothing CDPR can say otherwise..... this was clearly misleading advertisement PR. dont think a company like CDPR doesnt know how to handle sales etc..... i will enjoy The Witcher 3 but i wont support them anymore like i was and respect them like i had.

you wouldnt trust your people in real life too who would talk like this would u?

this has nothing to do that the game seems to still look great, it's about the way it all is/was handled, so some folks should just not talk about other stuff and distract.

 

[kenjigreat]

Downgraded and yet it still looks amazing but you know what they say. Haters gonna hate, bitches gonna bitch.

As for PC gamers who think they're entitled enough to say boo to consoles you might wanna check yourself because were it not for making this title multi platform it may not have happened at all. Plus comments like that just give PC gamers a bad name.

The game looks fine.

It doesn't look 'AMAZING' . Sword of Destiny looks AMAZING , VGX looks AMAZING , The 35 Minute gameplay demo is a slight step back from AMAZING but still pretty awesome.

If you think the game looks amazing , you should be playing the game instead of being here since you are clearly more satisfied with the game compared to the rest of us.

Not Hating - Bought the GoG Version and The PS4 Collector's Edition.

 

[vesemas228]

The Lighting is an a graphical issue that can't be 'solved' by SweetFX, seriously the caves in this game and some interiors look horrible and I've tried many presets including the E3/VGX , 1000 Times better etc.

Seriously though go Watch the 35minute gameplay demo and compare it to the current version we have, so much more is missing than grass .I agree with the NPCs part though.

Sorry i must disagree with you there. The setting is #define RGB_Lift float3, google to see how it works. Also, try my profile.. @IrregularJohn just mentioned the shadows were too dark.. but just to prove the point, using mine, they're much brighter than the other profiles. Fixing it is one thing, but the fact that there is issues in what cdpr built is another.. They admitted this.. and if you tweak around with sweetfx it becomes painfully obvious and very saddening.. cdpr relied on a global illumination setting that makes it bright and never really dark 24 hours a day to handle the night lighting.. as a replacement for in game light sources.. candles, torches, real things that actually make light. You get your profile up.. you can't see squat in a tavern at 11pm at night.. but then look around.. theres only 1 candle in the corner of the room. If you remove the idea of game etc, its makes sense.. if that inkeep only had 4 lone candles going at deep night that's how bright it actually would be. Yeah..

Okay, i'll go watch it now.

 

[Kimonimo]

@luc0s

I have not seen a reply from you on my post:

Originally Posted by luc0s
And how many of those 1 million sales are by people who bought 2 of them to put in SLI?

1 million isn't that much in the grand scheme of things and only a very small fraction of those 1 million people with 970s and 980s have a SLI setup. I have a GTX 970 myself but not in SLI. The Witcher 3 really puts my card to the test when I run it on 'ultra'. I can't even play with Hairworks on if I want a solid 50-60FPS. A friend of mine has a single GTX 980. Even his card is struggling with keeping a constant 60FPS on 'ultra', even with Hairworks turned off.

If CDPR would improve the graphics of TW3, they're gonna have to be smart about it. They can't just throw in the visuals of the early E3 demos, because no-one will be able to run that, with the exception of the lucky few of us who have SLI setups, but those people are a very small minority. As a company, it's not worth it to invest resources into something that only a very small minority will be able to enjoy. As a game artist (which I am), I wouldn't want to design a game that 99% of my audience wouldn't be able to enjoy. It's just not worth it.



They will eventually, it's called making a game future proof, which was quite normal for PC games in the past. In the mean time one just tweaks the settings. Your point makes no sense.

Even more so because you say it's not worth it to invest resources in such graphics, yet they did and spend a 35 minute in-game video showcasing that they had already invested in these graphics. What actually makes no sense, is, therefore, investing in it and then throwing it all away to end up with a downgraded product. Now THAT is a waste of resources, buddy.

---------- Updated at 11:58 PM ----------

Its clear the graphics are not going to get an overhall on PC (judging from cdpr press) I'm going to put witcher 3 on the shelf (as in not buy it yet). Ive got two kids so my gaming time is precious. This was going to be my beautifully crafted world to escape to and its not finished yet.

I'm old, I have patience.

2 years on it before cyberpunk you say?

Same here, I actually cancelled my order back then because of how disappointed I was in the graphics on PC. I am not going to buy it without a graphic overhaul. I have learned my lesson and do not anticipate Cyberpunk anymore.

 

[lif_andi]

we shouldnt get treated like that.......

Just wanted to say that this should go both ways mate. CDPR just spent the last few years making one of the most massive games in gaming history, and it shows they put everything into it they could, and have made a game that has kept me hooked for over 100 hours now, and I'm not even halfway through it.
Now, I purposely bought it on GOG for some 50-60 dollars because the 2 previous Witchers were just fantastic, 1 is one of my all time favorites, and for that money I get possibly up to 1000 or more hours of enjoyment with replays, and throw in 30 bucks and I'll get 30+ hours more.

The point is, when you say we shouldn't be "treated like that" I just simply don't understand what you mean. Treated like what ? You have the oppurtunity to play a game for hundreds of hours with quality voice acting permeating through it, with top notch production values and superbly written stories and NPC's, and for me spectacular graphics, then come here to comment on how CDPR ruined your life because the game doesn't have volumetric fog or something, and claim they are somehow treating you like shit....Calling them liars and whatnot. Dude, sorry but wtf ? Who's treating who badly here mate ?

Will step off the box now and will probably not comment any more since this whole internet outrage is ruining my hopes for mankind, but just wanted to share this perspective.

Best regards and hope you enjoy the game as much as most people are.

 

[Caine123]

Will step off the box now and will probably not comment any more since this whole internet outrage is ruining my hopes for mankind, but just wanted to share this perspective.

Best regards and hope you enjoy the game as much as most people are.

same goes for me, when i read such a statement and you dont know what i mean makes me hopeless in mankind.... getting lied into faces and still run to people who do that like they are gods and cannot do anything bad. think about this maybe you know what i mean if not then not. it is sad that it seems people cannot see clearly in this media community, companies can lie and mislead advertise, if the game is still good all is forgotten... pathetic. i wont discuss this any further as you cannot educate people who dont want to learn something or are plain stubborn. enjoy the game and dont think about the stuff i wrote.

 

[Witcherman]

- Its a pretty hot looking game today already.

Really very subjective, the game looks really awful at times with any resolution and every shader mod installed. It's certainly not a graphical paradise, I think Morrowind with all its graphic mods looks better than this honestly.

No he's right. Ps4's and boxes are basically pc's

They may be but porting isn't a flip of a switch, it still costs a fortune to port games and it's not nearly as easy as that guy was saying. The PS4 does not use OpenGL like said either, that's just misinfo.

3. December 23rd 2014 they released a 35 Minute GAMEPLAY Demo

Didn't read the rest but this date is wrong, the 35 minute video came out in like March or May.

 

[vesemas228]

As for PC gamers who think they're entitled enough to say boo to consoles you might wanna check yourself because were it not for making this title multi platform it may not have happened at all. Plus comments like that just give PC gamers a bad name.

Not exactly. We're just awesome. PC gamers who only know the ultra setting exists then claim the game is broken problems engine nvidia give PC gamers a bad name.

 

[Witcherman]

@vesemas228 It's not a matter of opinion, he's right when it comes to that. Image related.
http://i.imgur.com/BP7zmlm.jpg
No amount of sweetfx can hack in the lighting that only exists in cutscenes and it definitely can't bring back the even better graphics from old footage. It's nearly impossible to make the gameplay aspect of TW3 graphically spectacular and I've tried all of the presets as well as develop my own. Unless you like butchering the vision CPDR set out for the game that is, I suppose you could make it monochrome with film grain if that was your preference, then it might look amazing

 

[vesemas228]

Seriously though go Watch the 35minute gameplay demo and compare it to the current version we have, so much more is missing than grass .I agree with the NPCs part though.

I skimmed though it after the first 5 mins.. observations from this video are:
- They nerfed building corner geometry. Tesselation please. As this is probably the cheapest way in terms of labor for cdpr to fix it?
- The foliage in the video is just as terribad as it is in the game today.. in the dialog sequence with the swamp midget you can see it very clearly.

But i still am going to insist you're doing it wrong.

Really bad wall geometry yep: View attachment 15184

But take 2 steps forward.. This is in range: View attachment 15185

The very first trailers.. well.. cdpr lost their balls. Obviously the stuff was rendered in game.. and its another league of detail.. in lod of the npc models and general effects. The environment is similar to today.

---------- Updated at 12:27 AM ----------

@vesemas228 It's not a matter of opinion, he's right when it comes to that. Image related.
http://i.imgur.com/BP7zmlm.jpg
No amount of sweetfx can hack in the lighting that only exists in cutscenes and it definitely can't bring back the even better graphics from old footage. It's nearly impossible to make the gameplay aspect of TW3 graphically spectacular and I've tried all of the presets as well as develop my own. Unless you like butchering the vision CPDR set out for the game that is, I suppose you could make it monochrome with film grain if that was your preference, then it might look amazing

See my previous post.. a torches of skyrim mod should do the trick. eg: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/18916/? We're gonna need a flora and fauna one as well, so why not. Once the world is capable of lighting itself, just like people do at night, then you can remove the reliance on the never dark global illumination setting and fixed. Cutscenes not so sure.. if they are rendered using the actual world or some fixed alternate scene..

 

[IrregularJohn]

What would you rather have? A true PC (exclusive) title with the 2014 graphics and only 100 hours of gameplay (or less)? Or the current graphics we have right now with 200+ hours of gameplay (what we currently have)?

I take bigger worlds with more quests and more gameplay over better graphics anytime any day of the week. If that means CDPR had to cut down the graphics due to budget and/or time constraints than so be it.

We now have 200 hours of gameplay? In 2014 John Mamais specifically said it's 50 hours of main story and 50 hours of side quests. Has it been doubled?

And if you think a 25h PC game is better than a 250 multi-platform game then... well.. I guess you're entitled to your opinions, but I think that's a ridiculous statement.

And now it's a 250 hour game. Where are you getting these numbers???

 

[Witcherman]

https://twitter.com/Bacon_is_life/status/602841924299546625
I guess they really don't care about PC. The downgrade wasn't enough, now it seems they're taking back claims of releasing the redkit earlier than last time. What a let down.

I skimmed though it after the first 5 mins.. observations from this video are:

a torches of skyrim mod should do the trick.

Ehhh.. here's a list of things that were removed/downgraded:
Subsurface scattering/high detail speculars(wild hunt armor)
Forward lit soft particles
Semi volumetric clouds
Bokeh depth of field
Combat camera shake
Convincing and gratuitous pools of blood that 'realistically' floated on water
Subtle lens flares
Tessellated ground/walls
Anamorphic lens flares
Flexible water simulation
Geralt's face was severely downgraded
In-game scenes like the Wild Hunt attacking the town and the introduction to the emperor of Niilfgard were changed to worse effect
Aerial perspective fog
Sign particle intensity was lowered
Many textures in Novigrad were downgraded
Volume based translucency
Interior lighting looks horrendous now
The bloom shader sucks, you can see how it was before in the wild hunt segment
Screen space reflections
The way drowners look was good before, not so much now
Probably more things. SweetFX or simple light mods doesn't address any of this. Not to mention we aren't getting light mods for a loooong time.

As for the cutscene thing it seems like an on/off switch and not a switch to a fixed situation. There's an option for it in the binary but I don't think simply enabling it does anything, I've had it turned on for a while now and haven't noticed a thing. I think someone might mod it to work one day though.

 

[angryogres]

Sorry, for an open world rpg with a huge densely populated world it looks amazing. Comparing the full game to a vertical slice is ignorant.

Also, I am enjoying the game but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed in the forums.

 

[Witcherman]

Comparing the full game to a vertical slice is ignorant.

I think stating it was a vertical slice is what's ignorant, CDPR said it was the full game. If you look in the post above yours you'll also see a list of things that could be patched right into our game.

 

[bryjoered]

I would pay at least 25 dollars for those effects to be returned to the game. I shouldn't have to but I 100% would and so would the rest of the PC master race you have neglected!

 

[AceroR]

Retail vs Demo 2013: frustration

It is the first time I write in this forum and I do so they know what I think about the game.

Had many illusions about the game and even more to see the demo in 2013, but seeing the final version( PC ) my hype is gone and was very sad and even more to learn that the great CD Projekt Red was behind .

I have not bought the game for that reason , which wrote above ... but reading the announcement that would improve the graphic quality has made ​​me rethink the buy , so I just wanted to tell you so continue , bringing new patch with improvements and bringing current quality alo must have been , as seen in the demo of 2013 and bought it , I swear.










Greetings and sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[IrregularJohn]

It is the first time I write in this forum and I do so they know what I think about the game.

Had many illusions about the game and even more to see the demo in 2013, but seeing the final version( PC ) my hype is gone and was very sad and even more to learn that the great CD Projekt Red was behind .

I have not bought the game for that reason , which wrote above ... but reading the announcement that would improve the graphic quality has made ​​me rethink the buy , so I just wanted to tell you so continue , bringing new patch with improvements and bringing current quality alo must have been , as seen in the demo of 2013 and bought it , I swear.

Greetings and sorry for the inconvenience.

If they manage to return it to 2014 gameplay footage level I'll be extatic.

 

[vesemas228]

Subsurface scattering/high detail speculars(wild hunt armor)
Forward lit soft particles
Semi volumetric clouds
Bokeh depth of field
Combat camera shake
Convincing and gratuitous pools of blood that 'realistically' floated on water
Subtle lens flares
Tessellated ground/walls
Anamorphic lens flares
Flexible water simulation
Geralt's face was severely downgraded
In-game scenes like the Wild Hunt attacking the town and the introduction to the emperor of Niilfgard were changed to worse effect
Aerial perspective fog
Sign particle intensity was lowered
Many textures in Novigrad were downgraded
Volume based translucency
Interior lighting looks horrendous now
The bloom shader sucks, you can see how it was before in the wild hunt segment
Screen space reflections
The way drowners look was good before, not so much now
Probably more things. SweetFX or simple light mods doesn't address any of this. Not to mention we aren't getting light mods for a loooong time.

As for the cutscene thing it seems like an on/off switch and not a switch to a fixed situation. There's an option for it in the binary but I don't think simply enabling it does anything, I've had it turned on for a while now and haven't noticed a thing. I think someone might mod it to work one day though.

Subsurface scattering is a gorgeous effect when its used well. Especially with skin.. look at the back of your hand.. or anywhere where you can see a blood vessel.. skin is actually translucent. The stuff behind it makes us not see through. So sub surface scattering allows some simulation of light going through transparent skin, and getting reflect off and back into the skin.

Lack of Volume based translucency is probably why its so dark when its frikkin raining. DAMN YOU CDPR!!!!

Interior lighting doesn't look bad. Its non existent. Just like the real world, light in games comes from light sources too.. and in most scenes there arent enough light sources to actually make the room bright.. think about a real room with the same amount of lights as in w3. it would be exactly the same. Computer graphics also has an approximation for err, what is it, ambient light, which is the the light that exists not because there was a direct stream of photons from a light source, but because it bounced off something else. This happens, thats how color works. Its called global illumination in computer graphics, and well, it can be a simple as constant value. Whatever the witcher 3 does is crap. Its so you can see at night.. They said this in an interview they couldn't add enough lights in the game because peasants, and well you still need to see.

I could go on.. computer graphics is one of the most interesting areas of computing science by miles.. but i can't handle the maths personally to command it more than what the textbook defines.

 

[kenjigreat]

If they manage to return it to 2014 gameplay footage level I'll be extatic.

I think everyone would be jumping for joy if they did that.