Worth considering that the WiiU has a unique memory setup that Zelda may be utilizing to it's fullest to run. There may be additional changes and optimizations required for the game to better take advantage of the Switch. As an open world game though it definitely has a lot more going on that Mario Kart does, so it may not be a fixable issue, or one that can just be patched. The game may need to be ground up for the Switch to really take advantage of the system.
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DF on Zelda Switch: Docked has major frame drops, portable doesn't (no score talk)
- Thread starter Theorry
- Start date
Worth considering that the WiiU has a unique memory setup that Zelda may be utilizing to it's fullest to run. There may be additional changes and optimizations required for the game to better take advantage of the Switch. As an open world game though it definitely has a lot more going on that Mario Kart does, so it may not be a fixable issue, or one that can just be patched. The game may need to be ground up for the Switch to really take advantage of the system.
Why would there be a need for a Switch emulator in this case? It'll probably take some time before it can perform up to expectations, but the Wii U version on Cemu is much more plausible and realistic.
Not with the difference the dock mode gives in clock speeds, this feels like it runs the same clock speed while docked and handheld mode. It makes zero sense the same game with more or less the same quality with a slight res bump shouldnt see a ten frame difference. I expect it to be patched there's something wrong here.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
How can we be certain this is indeed a hardware limitation?
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
But the 98!
It's obvious people are shook by metacritic scores lol.
That said, no game should get a 10 in my opinion. There is always another level to go when it comes to games.
No, that doesn't explain it. I think what's happening is that the devs have kept the hardware profile to use the portable clocks when docked and just upped the resolution to 900p. Why? Who knows but I'm confident they'll be a patch soon to fix this. Maybe during QC they thought the level of performance was okay and didn't bothering debugging with the high clocks. Of course, this is conjecture but very likely to be the case.
Nachtfalke
Member
I really, really hope Digital Foundry will cover more Docked/Portable comparisons in the future. Since they completely ignored 3DS and Vita, with a few examples of course, it could be the first "real" handheld coverage on their site. That would be fantastic, because handheld mode is the way to go for me.
It's nice to see, that it runs great in this mode. Quite the opposite to Dragon Quest Heroes. I checked the japanese demo and it runs terrible on the go and much better docked. That's something DF should look into.
It's nice to see, that it runs great in this mode. Quite the opposite to Dragon Quest Heroes. I checked the japanese demo and it runs terrible on the go and much better docked. That's something DF should look into.
When did Nintendo confirm the clock speeds?
Feels like people let rumors set expectations and refuse to believe otherwise when handed actual evidence.
Memorabilia
Member
My backlog is so crazy, I may shelve the game and not play for 2-4 weeks anyway. Hopefully we'll get a docked mode patch that gets the framerate up to 30fps (not holding my breathe but I'm in no rush to play it so I figure I'll wait rather than be frustrated by 20fps. Fuck that noise).
Sho_Nuff82
Member
You know that's not how that works. A game with a 10 in gameplay and a 1 in writing isn't a 5.
Psychological Intellect
Banned
"Open World Perfection"
RoadHazard
Gold Member
MK8 is getting exactly the resolution bump that's to be expected IF there are no memory bandwidth issues in the way. I don't expect BotW to ever reach a solid 30 in docked mode unless they scale down some effects. Less grass, etc. And I don't think they would do that, because the game having more advanced visuals in handheld mode wouldn't be a good look for them. The other option is to lower the docked resolution to 720p.
It's not that it gets ignored, it's that reviewers slam some games for performance issues while letting others pass (even if the performance issues are similar between the two titles). Dragon's Dogma, for example, got reamed for spending inordinate amounts of time at 25 fps and having streaming issues on its low resolution textures. If there's one thing that isn't subjective in video games it's the visual and input response impact low/unstable framerates have. It's one of the main reasons why the Mario games are legendary, they feel perfect to play.
Anyway, I hope Nintendo puts out a patch to fix this framerate thing. I don't really understand how it could run worse while docked.
the game does not consistently run at 20fps
Nintendo haven't and I guess will never but eurogamer/digital foundry have posted on them.
yeah, except for Zelda.
Skyward Sword is like the best performing 3d zeldea as far as I remember.
The Illiterati
Member
Good to know it seems like the WiiU version is the one to play...since I have no plans to buy the Switch.
WordsintheWater
Member
This is massively disappointing for me, I primarily planned to play this docked, but I guess I'll have to switch it up for the time being. Sucks that they shipped it in this state in docked mode, but I guess they had to get it out the door during launch.
AcademicSaucer
Member
doesnt the Wii U have framerate drop to the low 10s ?
SinCityAssassin
Member
Like we've had a bunch of people play this on the Wii U a few days early while experiencing even heavier frame rate drop at larger frequencies than this, and most of them came out praising the game in spite of it, I suppose we can belittle their experience as well because this game runs at 20 all the time and is unplayable obviously.
mejin
Member
It probably wouldn't be a "nit pick" if it was a PS4/XBO game.
But Switch is a brand new platform and Zelda is one the most cherished ips ever. It's understandable.
Are you for real?
I guess you forgot the "Innovation" and "Easter Eggs" criteria, universally agreed to be equally important as "Gameplay".
It's not.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
This keeps being repeated by some people even though it's not even remotely true. All previous 3D Zeldas run more or less locked at their target framerates (20 for the N64 titles, 30 after that), outside some specific situations. They certainly don't regularly drop to 20 while just running around in the world.
bukowski81
Member
I think its actually the other way around. People are going crazy because it is Zelda.
Witcher 3 was 30fps on ps4, fluctuated between 20-40 on Xbox One and nobody said it didnt deserve the great score it had.
Bloodborne has issues too. Skyrim had plenty of issues way worse than framerate drops and still got a very high score and people agree is an excellent game.
Pretty much all open world games have this kind of issues, and most of them way worse than BoTW
Are you sitting down? Because, boy, do I have some news for you.
I don't remember a single framerate drop in twilight princess or windwaker
how do you not understand it. 10 means "I enjoyed this game and none of its flaws affected that enjoyment enough for me to rank it lower than my highest ranking"
oh, and that reviews are opinions and all of that.
this thought that a 10 means perfect is an idiotic construct invented by gamers, and an industry afraid to offer out 10s or 100s (even though the same industry is fine handing out 5/5 or A's). Maybe stemming from the term "perfect 10" or the near unattainable 10 score in traditional gymnastics (which was eventually eliminated in the top tiers of the sport because of this very problem)
10 means.. I have a scale of 1-10.. and this game deserves a 10. it has nothing to do with perfection. It's the same as having a 5 point scale and saying this game deserves a 5.
or you know.. "if this game didn't have ALL OF THE OTHER STUFF that reviewers are glowing over"...
seriously, people get so butt hurt over reviews. "omg, opinions are a thing!!" some people get pissed about frame dips here and there. others don't give a shit. it's really just that simple.
Sothis Krieg
Member
So bandwith issues or Vsync issues ?
Osminovski
Neo Member
That isn't how reviews work. That's not how 'perfect' scores work - especially on a 10 point grading system - this isn't academia or (Pitchfork). How many All Time Classic games have been shipped with bugs? Or an imperfect difficulty curve?
A reviewer grades based on gameplay, game design and a perceived artistic/cultural impact, not on technical merit. Otherwise indie games like Papers Please would score like shit for crap graphics. If a technical issue doesn't affect a reviewers overall enjoyment of a game they consider to be a GOAT, then they should score it as such (hence the 98 and not 100 on Metacritic).
Bozingles
Playing the Great Plateau portable, and then docked after you leave the plateau would theoretically "fix" most of the frame drops, is that correct?
I'm still on the plateau and sometime notice the occasional drops, but I wouldn't say that it breaks the game at this point in any way.
I'm still on the plateau and sometime notice the occasional drops, but I wouldn't say that it breaks the game at this point in any way.
The Illiterati
Member
Nope, sorry. If you look at the videos comparing the two, the Switch version is indistinguishable from the Wii U version. All Nintendo did is bump the res for the tv mode. If you play in portable mode, you may get less frame drops than the WiiU, but you're playing in portable mode....which I will never do.
megabytecr
Member
I bet this is because basically this game was done in Wii U first, and thus a port from a very different architecture and system strengths.
They should at least make an option available to play the game at 720p docked.
For games made from the ground up I hope we don't see such issues.
They should at least make an option available to play the game at 720p docked.
For games made from the ground up I hope we don't see such issues.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
TW3 had unacceptable performance issues on PS4 at launch, very similar to this game in fact (regular hard drops to 20fps). Most of that has now been fixed, but it took many months of patches to get there.
I've seen plenty of people complaining about the frame rates on both of those games, particularly Bloodborne.
oneofthose
Banned
no comparison to wiiu yet?
TP: Fog (espeically that forest dungeon), but it was pretty decent
WindWaker :bombs kill it momentarily for some reason (especially WWHD. Not as bad in GC version). Fighting that sea monster was rough
That boss on Dragon Roost Island had drops.
That's going off decade old memory so maybe there's more. Don't rememebr