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[Cyborg]

I dont know what it is but something seems off with the gameplay. Cant put my finger around it.
Still, gonna buy this my first Witcher game!

 

[Durante]

I do wonder why they apparently capped the PC version at "high" at the event.

(Could of course simply be that everything above it is not yet done/stable/ready to show off)

 

[Alej]

Hope so. The game looks beautiful on PC but the cutscene animations (between the 30 FPS animations and just the poor quality of them in general) look like they haven't evolved past Mass Effect 1. Hoping Mass Effect 4 is a big improvement in this area.

DAI looks beautiful on PS4/X1 too. I highly prefer it over what I've seen in this thread so far about TW3.

Problem with DAI is that everything is just... Empty and flat. There isn't any physics involved or good animations in the game, it is very crossgen.

I would love to see a fantasy world running on the InFamous engine, that would be perfect.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

why are some ingame screenshots really great and some really bad.. cant understand this..

Game's not done.

 

[brau]

DAI looks beautiful on PS4/X1 too. I highly prefer it over what I've seen in this thread so far about TW3.

Problem with DAI is that everything is just... Empty and flat. There isn't any physics involved or good animations in the game, it is very crossgen.

I would love to see a fantasy world running on the InFamous engine, that would be perfect.

I think its more than that. DAI has really stiff gameplay and animations.

But yea.... overall its very empty and flat, with no real interest in doing side quests. Shame too.

 

[Turkoop]

Game's not done.

Hope this is the reason for it

 

[Bl@de]

When he went into the water I shivered cause I thought a big scary sea monster was gonna drag him down.

Who the fuck would go swimming in the world of the witcher????

Let me guess. You read the first book of the witcher saga?

 

[RandomSeed]

I do wonder why they apparently capped the PC version at "high" at the event.

(Could of course simply be that everything above it is not yet done/stable/ready to show off)

They're still working on Genital Tech, which is an ultra only feature.

 

[ChiefofCitadelSecurity]

Just wanted to comment that DAI is a cross-gen game compared to The Witcher 3 and from personal conversations I've had, animation took a big hit overall in order to support last-gen systems. Bioware is implementing new animation systems and techniques in their new-gen only games going forward. Expect them to look much better than their previous endeavors.

I want Bioware to go hard in the paint with Mass Effect. As long as it has the essential Mass Effect experience I'll probably be happy, but I do want them to blow my mind. Like make Inquisition look like it was light work.

 

[BigTnaples]

I do wonder why they capped the PC version at "high" at the event.

They said they were still working on Ultra, optimizing.



Also, assuming "Ultra" is with ubersampling on, the rigs they had probably just couldn't run that at acceptable framrates.

Without having to boot it up, was there a huge difference between TW2 High and Ultra? Aside from US?

 

[The Shogun]

I do wonder why they capped the PC version at "high" at the event.

They still have 3 months of optimizations left. Truthfully they probably just don't have all the Ultra settings stable enough to show to the public.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Neither does Geralt's in Witcher 3. Regardless, the actual running animation itself is considerably less fluid than MGSV's running animation.

In some areas he does depending on the angle of the slope.

 

[Majanew]

They're still working on Genital Tech, which is an ultra only feature.

Well I hope herpes and warts are PC exclusives since I'll be buying the PS4 version.

 

[shinobi602]

I want Bioware to go hard in the paint with Mass Effect. As long as it has the essential Mass Effect experience I'll probably be happy, but I do want them to blow my mind. Like make Inquisition look like it was light work.

Well...that's the plan

 

[icecold1983]

The detail on armor and clothing materials in closeups is glorious. It was already pretty fantastic in WItcher 2 but it's on another level here.

I agree, and they are certainly better than any RPG ever. And that's really the relevant comparison to make.

RPGs (especially open world RPGs) have very different constraints from lesser other genres.

what constraints does an open world rpg have that arent present in open world non rpg games?

 

[aravuus]

God damn

If the combat is more fun than W2's, I can see myself putting a lot of time in this game

 

[whoszed]

The world looks amazing. Level of detail could be on Rockstar level.

 

[gbpackers25]

Holy crap I'm excited for this! What's the best way to catch up on the story for the first two games. I definitely want to be caught up before this comes out but I don't have time to play both of the games.

 

[Durante]

Without having to boot it up, was there a huge difference between TW2 High and Ultra? Aside from US?

There was a pretty significant difference in shadow quality, textures and espacially LoD distance. Due to the latter I hope that things like the grass/tree popup in the videos would be considerably mitigated on PC ultra.

 

[The Shogun]

They said they were still working on Ultra, optimizing.

Also, assuming "Ultra" is with ubersampling on, the rigs they had probably just couldn't run that at acceptable framrates.

Without having to boot it up, was there a huge difference between TW2 High and Ultra? Aside from US?

Like I posted earlier the confirmed Ultra settings that aren't present here are

- Better post processing effects
- Tessellation
- Improved hair and fur
- Better physics


Could be more but these are the ones specifically mentioned

 

[Peterthumpa]

Why those new hair effects like in Unity and now here, act weird for like a split second when the camera focus on a given character? It looks strange, maybe I'm nitpicking here but I'm sure I'm not the only one noticing it.

 

[flaxknuckles]

what constraints does an open world rpg have that arent present in open world non rpg games?

They have to make a shit ton more side quests (with voice acting and actual story) and clothing

 

[Turkoop]

Well...that's the plan

we are here to hype Witcher and not ME4

 

[RK9039]

Man that was so cool, I'm ready for this. I'll probably just barely make the 'high' settings on my PC, but that's okay.

 

[benzy]

In some areas he does depending on the angle of the slope.

The only other animation I see is Geralt sliding down the slope and not running. Is there a link to other footage where his running animation actually changes? I'm not seeing it in today's vid.

 

[Kezen]

Also, assuming "Ultra" is with ubersampling on, the rigs they had probably just couldn't run that at acceptable framrates.

Without having to boot it up, was there a huge difference between TW2 High and Ultra? Aside from US?

There is no ubersampling in The Witcher 3. It has not been mentioned, ever.
Instead we have more graphical effects, I'll take that.

 

[Durante]

what constraints does an open world rpg have that arent present in open world non rpg games?

Among many others, one of the most significant is the sheer amount of equipment options on the characters.

A non-RPG character might have 3 outfits throughout the game (and for many games, that's already a high estimate), and they can be designed and even animated as one ensemble.

A RPG character has many dozens of options for every single equipment slot, and literally hundreds of possible combinations that need to work together.

 

[Kiant]

Perfect Dark Zero had better walls than this.

Preorder cancelled.

Minecraft called.

I assume that is the console version.

 

[Peterthumpa]

Among many others, one of the most significant is the sheer amount of equipment options on the characters.

A non-RPG character might have 3 outfits throughout the game (and for many games, that's already a high estimate), and they can be designed and even animated as one ensemble.

A RPG character has many dozens of options for every single equipment slot, and literally hundreds of possible combinations that need to work together.

Do you mean that there's a model for each combination? Always thought that this was achieved more... dynamically.

 

[BigTnaples]

There was a pretty significant difference in shadow quality, textures and espacially LoD distance. Due to the latter I hope that things like the grass/tree popup in the videos would be considerably mitigated on PC ultra.

Correct me I am misremembering, but I remember being bothered that even on Ultra the shadows were horrific. Dithering everywhere that made an otherwise beautiful game look off.

Was this fixed later?


Indeed. Anxious to see benchmarks for this game, also hoping LoD and whatnot is easier to mod this time around.

Minecraft called.

I assume that is the console version.

PC.

 

[thuGG_pl]

I'm currently playing DA:I (70 hours) and W3 looks so much better. Much more natural, lively and believable. Also the faces in DA:I are just awful. No contention.

 

[Moff]

So what is the "different approach"? Give us some examples of deep and compelling gameplay that is soured in the transition from W2 to W3.

well do you think witcher and skyrim are similiar games? because I dont, if you see the difference, that's the different approach.
in general, witcher focused on small enviroments with interesting quests, which provided interesting stories and often different approaches with choices and consequences. while skyrim offered tons of what we would today call MMO style kill and fetch quests. it's basically quality vs. quantity.

 

[Durante]

Do you mean that there's a model for each combination?

No, but that's the point.

When you animate a character who has one or three fixed outfits, you can obviously do a lot better than when you separately animate a character who has 8 modular equipment slots, and the dozens of options which can be fit into every single slot.

 

[icecold1983]

Among many others, one of the most significant is the sheer amount of equipment options on the characters.

A non-RPG character might have 3 outfits throughout the game (and for many games, that's already a high estimate), and they can be designed and even animated as one ensemble.

A RPG character has many dozens of options for every single equipment slot, and literally hundreds of possible combinations that need to work together.

did any of this apply to witcher? i havent played any of them, but every screen of witcher 2 seems to show him with the exact same visual outfit/equipment. also, realistically how much work is actually done to acount for this? from my experience, changing the armor/outfits/equipment does nothing to change the animation and just introduces lots of clipping errors as a result

 

[universalmind]

ingame shots from gamestar.de (They don't have the watermark and sharpening applied):

LOL can't see any downgrade tho

 

[The Shogun]

did any of this apply to witcher? i havent played any of them, but every screen seems to show him with the exact same visual outfit/equipment

Witcher 2 has different armor and weapon sets yes.

 

[GrizzNKev]

I'm usually one to act upset about graphics, but man, this game has a style and class that goes so far beyond what you see in most video games. Can't fucking wait for this.

 

[chancellor]

I'm really excited for my first Witcher game, this looks really good for a large RPG. The running animations were a bit stiff but the nonetheless this is a day 1 purchase and hopefully worth waiting for after all the delays.

 

[Alej]

I think its more than that. DAI has really stiff gameplay and animations.

But yea.... overall its very empty and flat, with no real interest in doing side quests. Shame too.

Problem with the quests in DAI (and most recent AAA RPGs) comes from design. They put a journal and markers are everywhere, it makes you OCD about doing everything and then you don't really focus on the important matter anymore.

Imagine if they let you explore the zone with only one guideline: "secure the area and get x power", that's the quest and the only quest on the area (the side quests are all there but not referenced). Then you have to search for yourself how to secure it and how to gain power for the Inquisition, and you are doing this by doing the side quests you DISCOVER. Then, you indeed progress in securing the area, you see the place changing because of you and the story consequently opening further...

In fact, this is already in the game, but you won't do this because of that big errands to-do list and marker.

I really hope it will be different in TW3.

 

[RoadHazard]

Hearing that the combat is as clunky as in TW2 is disappointing. I mean, I'll adapt to it just as I did back then, and I'm sure I'll very much enjoy the game anyway, but it's a shame if they haven't really improved what was the biggest weakness of the last game.

Visually it looks great in some aspects, not so great in others. The outdoor environments looks awesome (although not as good as in the trailer bit at the end), but interiors seem to range from decent to outright terrible. DA:I's interiors generally look far superior to what we're seeing here, IMO. Better textures, materials that feel more like what they're trying to be, etc. DA:I uses PBR, does this? Kinda doesn't seem like it. Everything feels flatter and less... well, physical. I get that this is more wide open, but DA:I's environments aren't exactly small either, and there are no load times when going into houses there either. (And I'm talking about the PS4 version of DA:I.)

 

[ChawlieTheFair]

Let me guess. You read the first book of the witcher saga?

No, but fuck swimming in open water in video games lol.

 

[Refreshment.01]

Digital Foundry would not exist in this case. Console gamers care a great deal about graphics and the capabilities/specs of their platform.

Mostly for system wars.

 

[Denton]

The detail on armor and clothing materials in closeups is glorious. It was already pretty fantastic in WItcher 2 but it's on another level here.

I agree, and they are certainly better than any RPG ever. And that's really the relevant comparison to make.

RPGs (especially open world RPGs) have very different constraints from lesser other genres.

You didn't have to cross out the lesser. They are lesser
Open world RPGs are the pinnacle of videogames.

 

[Kiant]

PC.

I hope not, after the initial first cut in the trailer it started to look progressively worse.

 

[brau]

Problem with the quests in DAI (and most recent AAA RPGs) comes from design. They put a journal and markers are everywhere, it makes you OCD about doing everything and then you don't really focus on the important matter anymore.

Imagine if they let you explore the zone with only one guideline: "secure the area and get x power", that's the quest and the only quest on the area (the side quests are all there but not referenced). Then you have to search for yourself how to secure it and how to gain power for the Inquisition, and you are doing this by doing the side quests you DISCOVER. Then, you indeed progress in securing the area, you see the place changing because of you and the story consequently opening further...

In fact, this is already in the game, but you won't do this because of that big errands to-do list and marker.

I really hope it will be different in TW3.

FC2 did this. It was sort of broken. But i really liked that idea.

I think i just like things to develop as i discover and explore the world. Skyrim was like this for me. Spent 120 hrs with only 1/4 of the story progressed.

But i don't like checklists of things to do or errand quests that feel the same after the 20th time.

Also, quests are not very dynamic. I wonder how much of this we'll see in the W3

 

[Denton]

There is no ubersampling in The Witcher 3. It has not been mentioned, ever.
Instead we have more graphical effects, I'll take that.

There will be supersampling, PC gamer interview just mentioned it.

 

[tcrunch]

ingame shots from gamestar.de

Tried to make some kind of comparison thing so it's easier to see the diff...

Witcher 2 shot from some GAF on 2012 thread, if someone has a better shot than this (not a pre-game or promo shot) then link and I will update:

DAI on high-ish settings (PC version, DAI is a crossgen open-world vs. W3 which is next-gen only):

Witcher 3 man, high settings, still from trailer

 

[brau]

Tried to make some kind of comparison thing so it's easier to see the diff...

Witcher 3 man, high settings, still from trailer

Overall its nicer, sure. But that brick texture on the back is hideous.

Spoiler

Purge it with fire!

I really like that the game is more vibrant and not overall color corrected with a gradient on top.

 

[The Shogun]

Tried to make some kind of comparison thing so it's easier to see

Yeah Witcher 3 is the best looking open world RPG ever made bar none imo. And we haven't even seen Ultra yet.

 

[Kezen]

There will be supersampling, PC gamer interview just mentioned it.

I stand corrected. Thank you for this info and here's the bit :

Yeah, we actually have a supersampling option, but that’s really where you need a monster of a computer. We had it in Witcher 2, it was called ubersampling. Arguably, for some players it didn’t make that much of a difference considering the performance costs it put in. Well, everybody familiar with the technology behind it, for supersampling, downsampling images—the changes are all very subtle, but they add to the overall picture. So yeah, we’ll have that. We’ll probably force your computer to its knees.

I just hope I will be able to force AF.