• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Digital Foundry: The Witcher 3 patch 1.10 gives PS4 the boost it's been waiting for

Shenmue

Banned
I'm guessing better familiarity with DirectX (PC devs) and not so much OpenGL.

My guess is that they had a marketing deal with Xbox for this game and a dev team has a finite amount of time and people to put on things. Obviously you gotta make sure you do all you can to make the marketed version as good as possible, and as a result there just wasn't that much time to polish up the PS4 version before release.

Yeah it's OpenGL vs DX, but it's not like the valid excuse devs had last gen with the weird PS3 architecture vs the more standard Xbox 360 one.
 

Hypron

Member
[Call-Me-G];181535340 said:
Why? Why would PS4 owners have hesitated buying this game only because DF said "it runs at 20 FPS in swamps"? Please, can someone tell me why? A f*cking great game, maybe the GOTY... Just because 3 DF analysis said "it runs bad"? Please.

I have yet to play the game, in part because of the framerate issues.
 

jayu26

Member
My guess is that they had a marketing deal with Xbox for this game and a dev team has a finite amount of time and people to put on things. Obviously you gotta make sure you do all you can to make the marketed version as good as possible, and as a result there just wasn't that much time to polish up the PS4 version before release.

Yeah it's OpenGL vs DX, but it's not like the valid excuse devs had last gen with the weird PS3 architecture vs the more standard Xbox 360 one.

If I remember correctly, it was PS4 version that was used for marketing preview/review purposes most often right before the launch of this game. I remember some of us being puzzled by it. Then we were surprised when to see PS4 version locking at 20fps after release. The whole situation has been weird.
 

Shenmue

Banned
[Call-Me-G];181536714 said:
Gaming is dead. :'(

You know low framerates and constant hitching can actually really take people out of the game and therefore kill their enjoyment of the game. Additionally, the low framerates especially in an area where you are doing combat makes the combat REALLY unresponsive. A huge part of the enjoyment of this game is combat and hunting monsters. It's not all just about a number, regardless of how you are trying to portray it.
 
Its taken so long, and its still just barely acceptable imo, that im just waiting for the inevitable goty/enhanced edition now.

Though, to be fair, im doing that for all the big 100 hour games now, since i no longer have the time to ever really replay them. But i feel more justified when a game has this many technical issues.

Im glad they are making progress, and i hope its even better by the time i get to play it.
 
[Call-Me-G];181536714 said:
Gaming is dead. :'(

[Call-Me-G];181535340 said:
Why? Why would PS4 owners have hesitated buying this game only because DF said "it runs at 20 FPS in swamps"? Please, can someone tell me why? A f*cking great game, maybe the GOTY... Just because 3 DF analysis said "it runs bad"? Please.

Who are you to tell people how to enjoy their games?

I don't like watching movies on anything less than a 50 inch screen but some people watch them on their phones and tablets.

And some people don't find a sub-30 fps enjoyable.
 
You know low framerates and constant hitching can actually really take people out of the game and therefore kill their enjoyment of the game. It's not all just about a number, regardless of how you are trying to portray it.

Some people are perplexed as to how someone can be bothered by something that they aren't. It's a common occurrence in these threads.
 

Gurish

Member
being happy that a game runs "nearly" at 30fps

in 2015
Better than almost any open world game last gen, and I'm talking before the patch, now it's undoubtedly running better than any last gen open world game, so yeah it's a good improvement, frame rate on consoles got nothing to do with technology, it's always been about priorities, it seems that this gen people as well as developers priorities framerate more than ever before.
 
Don't kill me but I basically gave up on this game at about 1.03 or 4. Sometimes I think companies can patch a game TOO much and this game is a great example. I stopped playing because I was waiting for something to be fixed (can't even remember what now) and have seen so many patches that are fixing some things and breaking others it just discourages me from picking it back up again.

Now I have tried to get back to it a couple of times but I feel like the moment passed and I just can't get past the Bloody motherfucking Baron without giving up again. :(
 

Shenmue

Banned
If I remember correctly, it was PS4 version that was used for marketing preview/review purposes most often right before the launch of this game. I remember some of us being puzzled by it. Then we were surprised when to see PS4 version locking at 20fps after release. The whole situation has been weird.

I think the reasoning for that is because the PS4 was at 1080p (dunno why they didn't just show it on PC though. Maybe harder to setup for events and whatnot?). They were showing snippets as well so they could pick and choose parts to show that had decent performance along with the full HD resolution.

So they make the xbox version worse or did I miss something?

Kinda depends if you prefer options:

A) mostly 30fps in Novigrad (maybe other towns as well) with occasional stutters; or

B) 24-26fps with fewer stutters

If DF is to be believed anyway.
 
So they make the xbox version worse or did I miss something?

IIRC the X1 version performed better than the PS4 version, then they released a patch that made both versions worse, then they patched the PS4 version so that it runs better than the X1 version.

Lol. They didn't even need to touch the X1 version in the first place. It ran fine.
 

eFKac

Member
IIRC the X1 version performed better than the PS4 version, then they released a patch that made both versions worse, then they patched the PS4 version so that it runs better than the X1 version.

Lol. They didn't even need to touch the X1 version in the first place. It ran fine.

Which version did you end up with after all of this? :p
 

Juanfp

Member
IIRC the X1 version performed better than the PS4 version, then they released a patch that made both versions worse, then they patched the PS4 version so that it runs better than the X1 version.

Lol. They didn't even need to touch the X1 version in the first place. It ran fine.

Now Novigrad drop to 25 fps when it was 30 fps. Also read on twitter that apparently the same happen in Oxenford, I am downloading the the patch so can't really say more about Oxenford. So the performance is worse, and I don't think they improve something.

I think the reasoning for that is because the PS4 was at 1080p (dunno why they didn't just show it on PC though. Maybe harder to setup for events and whatnot?). They were showing snippets as well so they could pick and choose parts to show that had decent performance along with the full HD resolution.



Kinda depends if you prefer options:

A) mostly 30fps in Novigrad (maybe other towns as well) with occasional stutters; or

B) 24-26fps with fewer stutters

If DF is to be believed anyway.

Few stutters? Don't know what I prefer, have to try it first.
 

Hypron

Member
[Call-Me-G];181536714 said:
Gaming is dead. :'(

Look it's not like I don't have other games to play. In fact I have played the entire MGS series, TLOU:R and The Binding of Isaac Rebirth extensively (i.e. hundreds of hours total) since TW3 was released. That, plus a couple of other, smaller games.

I am glad I waited because the game I will get to play once I start playing TW3 will run significantly better than what was available at launch. Gaming isn't dead just because I have some semblance of standards when it comes to performance.
 

Lingitiz

Member
If I remember correctly, it was PS4 version that was used for marketing preview/review purposes most often right before the launch of this game. I remember some of us being puzzled by it. Then we were surprised when to see PS4 version locking at 20fps after release. The whole situation has been weird.
I think it was mainly because the PC version had a major patch prior to release that refined a lot of the settings and optimized hairworks to be less intensive. No idea why they didn't use the Xbox version.
 
IIRC the X1 version performed better than the PS4 version, then they released a patch that made both versions worse, then they patched the PS4 version so that it runs better than the X1 version.

Lol. They didn't even need to touch the X1 version in the first place. It ran fine.

The W3 patches have been a bit of a rollercoaster no matter the platform. You never know what shit they are gonna break next.

Remember when they introduced the 20fps lock that has been a plague on the PS4 since launch into the XB1 version a few patches ago before removing it with a later patch?

Or that time when they patched it so your clothes got wet any time you opened a menu?

Or the Skellige Most Wanted DLC quest that they broke with a patch and has been broken for months with no sign of a fix?


Its fun watching them tinker with it and break it in new and interesting ways.
 

LCGeek

formerly sane
Next time at friend who has this on PS4 gonna give it a whirl such a good game regardless of platform. It stays above 25fps for me is pretty good considering where consoles typically are on this debate. Good news all around.
 

Courage

Member
The game will also start randomly loading during dialogue on Xbox, having to render Geralt's beard and other assets in the background. It's bad.
 

Discusguy

Member
Don't understand why they have to keep messing with the Xbone's performance. The game ran fine before all these last few patches.
 

Zabuza

Banned
Glad to see they've improved the Crookback Bog area. That was honestly the only area where I experience noticeable frame drops, everywhere else in the game ran pretty darn good on my PS4. Always rolled my eyes at the incredibly hyperbolic "unplayable" comments every time the PS4 version got mentioned.
It was pretty fucked up for me the last couple months.
 
This game is like a roller coaster. I just hope to play it again when it's going back up the hill(xbox version)

Edit: Rofl at the same thoughts, funkystudent
 
I think DF needs a much better player than youtube. The quality is really bad and makes pointing out subtle detail quite painful.

They should team up with gamersyde!
 

thelastword

Banned
Did they also improve the graphics a bit on PS4?
The only thing I can see is that they added the effect on the water that the xbox1 had, but the preset is still low. At low setting that effect was on the PC version (and XB1 version) but was always missing on PS4.

I can see some improvements to texture streaming, but I don't think they show enough to show how extensive it is, how about comparing that famous bridge scene which had some texture loading issues?..... I can't comment too much on any improvements to texture filtering or textures going by the youtube videos, but I think this patch deserves a more thorough analysis like NXgamer and Dark have been doing with visual cues. They need to break it down and see what visual improvements there are apart from the minor one I mentioned.

The 20fps is unlocked and some slight optimization which had to be done before release is now done 6 months later is all I'm seeing here frankly. Still, I won't hold this game as a standard for open world games as I'm sure there's is much they can improve still. The size of the update says well enough how deeply they needed to tinker with the code.

After all is said and done, I hope Sony allows new buyers to download the patched game as one big file. Seems like there maybe even further patches in the future too (since xbone gamers are already disgruntled) and perhaps even more patches for their goty edition. So perhaps the best and finished version of this game is still some ways off.

XB1 version runs way worse than before now. I really don't get why this is happening. Walking around Novigrad and Oxenfurt feels like shit now. Inventory menu is sluggish as hell now and possibly worse than before. Picking up items causes the game to pause for a split second. It's so damn annoying.

Hearts of Stone runs terrible at times. It's like they just threw the expansion out and spent no time making sure that it performed as well as the main game does(before the patches fucked everything up). There better be an update in the works that gets the amount of attention and care that the PS4 version got.
It appears some of the improvements they made are negatively impacting the XB1 framerate.....but I'm still curious what these improvements are.
 
It appears some of the improvements they made are negatively impacting the XB1 framerate.....but I'm still curious what these improvements are.

better streaming, and less stutter. i have the ps4 version and the difference is night and day in that department, I'm guessing xb1 had the same problem, so it got a upgrade in that department, the downgrade in fps is only in novigrad, and its very small. i'm playing with motion blur off on ps4 and i see a massive difference.
 

thelastword

Banned
Its taken so long, and its still just barely acceptable imo, that im just waiting for the inevitable goty/enhanced edition now.

Though, to be fair, im doing that for all the big 100 hour games now, since i no longer have the time to ever really replay them. But i feel more justified when a game has this many technical issues.

Im glad they are making progress, and i hope its even better by the time i get to play it.
That's a good point you make, these games take so long to complete, that you really shouldn't be releasing such a game in such a state, (or any game for that matter). How many persons here who have completed witcher 3 are going to do it all over again because performance is now slightly better on PS4, yet, it's not even in an optimal state.

I'm not even sure many persons would want to replay shorter games, even if they had more substantial gains from release.

Better than almost any open world game last gen, and I'm talking before the patch, now it's undoubtedly running better than any last gen open world game, so yeah it's a good improvement, frame rate on consoles got nothing to do with technology, it's always been about priorities, it seems that this gen people as well as developers priorities framerate more than ever before.
What does last gen standards have to do with this one? Are we progressive or are we going back in time saying..."In my dayyyyssss"... That is not a sound argument at all.

The W3 patches have been a bit of a rollercoaster no matter the platform. You never know what shit they are gonna break next.

Remember when they introduced the 20fps lock that has been a plague on the PS4 since launch into the XB1 version a few patches ago before removing it with a later patch?

Or that time when they patched it so your clothes got wet any time you opened a menu?

Or the Skellige Most Wanted DLC quest that they broke with a patch and has been broken for months with no sign of a fix?


Its fun watching them tinker with it and break it in new and interesting ways.
That's what happens when you don't do it right the first time, tinkering with sloppy code trying to fix it is the worse thing imaginable for a programmer.
 

bishoptl

Banstick Emeritus
I just bought a PS4 so this is perfect timing for me. Looks like I'll be picking this up later in the week.

You're in for a treat. I'm 60% of the way through - paused in order to focus on MGSV - and I can't wait to get back. Some of the best-written quests I've ever seen in an RPG.
 

cjp

Junior Member
Now that it seems to be running much better, I'll probably pick it up on the cheap for Christmas.
 

Rurunaki

Member
tumblr_m841wnm1Po1rrb46o.gif


Glad I waited.
 

RyudBoy

Member
With which No. patch Xbone version of Witcher 3 worked fine?

I think it was 1.04 that removed the unlocked frame rate on XB1. It ran fine then, I don't recall if there were any issues in the performance area.

I guess I should inform those who didn't know that the XB1 version shipped with an unlocked frame rate that ran higher than 30fps, but as a result it caused a lot of judder and had to be patched. The game got locked to 30fps and with every update afterwards, we saw the game turn to shit.
 
Novigrad doesn't seem to be much improved, maybe a little bit? Elsewhere it seems a few frames smoother perhaps, nothing big. But then I've not revisited the bog yet.

It should be mentioned that I play without motion blur, so I've probably had a smoother experience pre-patch as well.
 

McSpidey

Member
I'm on PS4 with the expansion pack and general framerate performance is fine but I'm not getting huge delays doing things like crafting. It does 99% of the bar then hangs for a second or two and completes. Similar delays when trying to choose dialogue tree options sometimes too.

Not sure if this is because my save is a completed one from the 1.07 version and I just got back into it for the expansion or if it's something else.
 

Mr Moose

Member
Can anyone with a PS4 take a screenshot of the fog in both versions... perhaps with close ups of the particle effect itself?

I was checking through some old pics, I didn't find many with fog, but I found this one (from back in May), so took another to compare (can't remember if I'd changed the gamma in May, but everything is reset now with the new patch).

Possible spoilers.
Old:
6e0MyGreatCaptureScreen.png

1.10:
Fyresdal.png
 
Top Bottom