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[ScepticMatt]

Purely in visual terms, PS4 and Xbox One miss out on PC's ultra-grade settings in several areas, but the game still looks complete on each. At its core, REDengine 3 drives a high level of foliage detail on console - perhaps the greatest density of plant-life since the original Crysis, rendering trees in at a surprisingly long range. Factoring in time of day, weather systems and rolling clouds, The Witcher 3's physically-based lighting model also impresses, with shadows spread dynamically from each swaying branch, and light shafts flitting between each leaf. In the right light, the final result helps even the bleakest points in No Man's Land's marshes to achieve a great sense of atmosphere.

With consoles set to patch 1.01 and PC at the latest 1.03, it's fair to say only PS4 can compete with a mainstream gaming PC in terms of pixel-count. Rendering at a native 1920x1080, Sony's platform gives a far crisper looking image at every turn, flattering the game's foliage-heavy details at range. Meanwhile, the promised 'dynamic resolution' solution on Xbox One doesn't appear to hit the 1080p target in any of our samples. Instead, for the most part the game renders at 1600x900, with only video cut-scenes providing true 1080p output for any noticeable length of time.

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.

Having played all three versions extensively this week, it must be said PC is a must for its extras, as well as for its solid, multi-threaded optimisation across all setups tested. On the console front, as of update 1.01 the PS4 version is king thanks to a cleaner 1080p image and slightly smoother frame-pacing - though we hope its hitches are addressed soon in a patch.

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

(written by Thomas Morgan)

lock framerate if old

 

[Kezen]

Damn. :O

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUtquPxjp7w
0.12 seconds. Almost no shadows on PS4.

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

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.

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.

Running through the game using our preferred budget PC set-up, featuring a Core i3 4130 and an Nvidia GTX 750 Ti, we found that we could achieve visual quality and frame-rates equivalent to the PS4 version of the game

Fantastic work by Thomas Morgan.

Very surprised consoles do not use PC's ultra textures (no difference between high and ultra except the latter stores more textures in your VRAM to prevent hitching).
Sharpening looks awful but the texture difference remains :

 

[Sijil]

Wow, the 750ti is amazing little piece of hardware.

Also goes to shiw CDPR didn't negelct or abandon the PC version looking at all those extras they invested in.

 

[Tenebrous]

Here we go. Reading now.

Another good job for that 750Ti setup.

While most of our comparison work was carried out using a Core i7 3770K system with 16GB of RAM and a GTX 780 Ti, we found that applying our learning in terms of console-level quality settings allowed us to get a decent gameplay experience with far more modest hardware. Running through the game using our preferred budget PC set-up, featuring a Core i3 4130 and an Nvidia GTX 750 Ti, we found that we could achieve visual quality and frame-rates equivalent to the PS4 version of the game.

 

[robertsan21]

PS4 holds up quite well compared to the PC version, I like it! sure the PC version has some minor better image quality and more shadows.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Low NPC count on PS4 is kinda immersion killing for me.

 

[DOWN]

Looks like an awful job for how the game looks on consoles. I miss the original style of the art. Not impressive for me.

People keep trying to tell me these are some of the best graphics, but this is my PS4:

Pine needles all but disappear into blurred textures at just a couple dozen feet away on the left bush.

 

[velociraptor]

The game doesn't look particularly hot to me.

 

[Zakalwe]

The lack of a 30fps cap on the bone is puzzling.

Good write up as usual.

The game doesn't look particularly hot to me.

It's deceptive, you'd better be wearing gloves if you pick it up.

 

[RudoIudo]

Wow, the 750ti is amazing little piece of hardware.

The game is Very well optimized on Maxwell gpus.
Kepler cards got screwed on the other side.

 

[FranXico]

An excellent breakdown. Most people already expected PC >>>> PS4 > XB1, but the list of graphical effects/features excluded or toned down in the console versions makes this an interesting read.

 

[orava]

 

[robertsan21]

hahaha the PC version is how it should look, the PS4 version is meh the xboned version is... well LOL

 

[FranXico]

hahaha the PC version is how it should look, the PS4 version is meh the xboned version is... well LOL

In that instance, both console versions look a bit "LOL", to be honest.

 

[blastprocessor]

Though this was an interesting read,

AMD says Nvidia's GameWorks “completely sabotaged” Witcher 3 performance

http://arstechnica.co.uk/gaming/201...s-completely-sabotaged-witcher-3-performance/

 

[EatChildren]

Game is staggeringly beautiful on PC, especially with some config tweaks to increase the draw distance beyond Ultra. I'm actually surprised at the Ultra caps, give you can double the Ultra variables in some cases for fairly low performance costs. If I were CDPR I'd release a desktop based config tool that allows you to tweak all this stuff, knowing what's what, without having to text edit manually. There's a lot of headroom.

 

[GoonerTRON]

I'm getting 60fps - 50-60fps in towns on high setting on a 960. Really impressed by the performance of this game and it's bloody beautiful as well.

 

[robertsan21]

In that instance, both console versions look a bit "LOL", to be honest.

yeah but at least the PS4 version is not blurry like the Xbox one

 

[Sijil]

Though this was an interesting read,

AMD says Nvidia's GameWorks “completely sabotaged” Witcher 3 performance

http://arstechnica.co.uk/gaming/201...s-completely-sabotaged-witcher-3-performance/

Didn't Digital Foundry debunk their claim? Sound like an excuse until proven.

 

[Kezen]

An excellent breakdown. Most people already expected PC >>>> PS4 > XB1, but the list of graphical effects/features excluded or toned down in the console versions makes this an interesting read.

Absolutely agree. It seems many visual cutbacks are the norm, Dying Light for instance featured less dynamic lights on consoles compared to PC.

The PC version features dynamic lighting for appropriate objects, such as this flaming barrel, that are completely absent on the consoles. It definitely changes the feel of these night sections.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-dying-light-face-off

Though this was an interesting read,

AMD says Nvidia's GameWorks “completely sabotaged” Witcher 3 performance

http://arstechnica.co.uk/gaming/2015...3-performance/

On PC and that remains to be proven. The point of contention is Hairworks and consoles don't have it.
You can't damage control by saying consoles were affected as well.

 

[sono]

Looks like an awful job for how the game looks on consoles. I miss the original style of the art. Not impressive for me.

People keep trying to tell me these are some of the best graphics, but this is my PS4:

Pine needles all but disappear into blurred textures at just a couple dozen feet away on the left bush.

Agreed, it looks like *(*().
I waited an entire PS3 generation for this ?

 

[Chocolate & Vanilla]

Is res really the only difference between the two consoles? That XB1 image looks especially blurry to me.

 

[Madness]

hahaha the PC version is how it should look, the PS4 version is meh the xboned version is... well LOL

All I see is a superior PC version and inferior console versions. Don't see how the Xbox One is Xboned there. Both consoles look LOL there.

Every time we get a DF review we see this. The PC version will always be superior because it's hardware at the top levels will destroy what consoles can do. Likewise, PS4 having better hardware specs will always beat the weaker Xbox One version. But you have to ask yourselves, are you happy with how the game looks? Is it next gen in your mind, does it look better than comparable games on the platform?

 

[Horse Armour]

I honestly can't see much difference between PS4 and PC versions but the difference between PS4 and XB1 is huge but that's to be expected given the gulf in hardware power between the two.

 

[nib95]

Looks like an awful job for how the game looks on consoles. I miss the original style of the art. Not impressive for me.

People keep trying to tell me these are some of the best graphics, but this is my PS4:

Pine needles all but disappear into blurred textures at just a couple dozen feet away on the left bush.

That's also a terrible worst case type scenario, and an image with poor compression. There are literally dozens of screenshots of the console versions in the screenshots thread that you could use for a non jaded account.

Also, kinda wish I got the PC version now (though I may need a new GPU, GTX 570 SSC here). I saw comparisons between Ultra and PS4 and there was very little in it, but often others on these forums, have tweaked the ini files to get better results than the game offers in options. I know not everyone will tinker with these, but I'm the type of gamer who would. Also, the muted colour palette mod is amazing.

 

[DOWN]

PC has those bad blending textures that somehow Assassin's Creed trees avoid, but consoles look terrible to me at this point. Xbox One looks terrible + Vaseline.

 

[Tenebrous]

All I see is a superior PC version and inferior console versions. Don't see how the Xbox One is Xboned there. Both consoles look LOL there.

Every time we get a DF review we see this. The PC version will always be superior because it's hardware at the top levels will destroy what consoles can do. Likewise, PS4 having better hardware specs will always beat the weaker Xbox One version. But you have to ask yourselves, are you happy with how the game looks? Is it next gen in your mind, does it look better than comparable games on the platform?

I'm still not satisfied with how it looks on PC while indoors (Ultra/1440p). The game really needs a few mods to iron out the ugly stuff while engaged in close quarters conversation.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

Man..... I feel deceived....

CDPR had said it will be equivalent to high settings on pc and this is the exact opposite. Fuck this POS. I am selling it as soon as I can, and I am never going to buy anything from CDPR again. Not on day one atleast.

Before anyone says I am overreacting, I already stopped playing because of tiny text and poor performance. I was just waiting for patch.

 

[Deleted member 57681]

Rendering at a native 1920x1080, Sony's platform gives a far crisper looking image at every turn, flattering the game's foliage-heavy details at range. Meanwhile, the promised 'dynamic resolution' solution on Xbox One doesn't appear to hit the 1080p target in any of our samples. Instead, for the most part the game renders at 1600x900, with only video cut-scenes providing true 1080p output for any no

Dynamic resolution, I see.

 

[Theecliff]

I honestly can't see much difference between PS4 and PC versions but the difference between PS4 and XB1 is huge but that's to be expected given the gulf in hardware power between the two.

is this a parody post?

 

[Kezen]

That's also a terrible worst case type scenario, and an image with poor compression. There are literally dozens of screenshots of the console versions in the screenshots thread that you could use for a non jaded account.

Also, kinda wish I got the PC version now (though I may need a new GPU, GTX 570 SSC here). I saw comparisons between Ultra and PS4 and there was very little in it, but here DF and others on these forums, have tweaked the ini files to get better results than the game offers in options. I know not everyone will tinker with these, but I'm the type of gamer who would. Also, the muted colour palette mod is amazing.

DF have not used ini tweaks in their Face Off, unless I've missed that.

Man..... I feel deceived....
CDPR had said it will be equivalent to high settings on pc and this is the exact opposite. Fuck this POS. I am selling it as soon as I can, and I am never going to buy anything from CDPR again. Not on day one atleast.
Before anyone says I am overreacting, I already stopped playing because of tiny text and poor performance. I was just waiting for patch.

Come on, you can't ask too much of your PS4.

 

[DOWN]

That's also a terrible worst case type scenario, and an image with poor compression. There are literally dozens of screenshots of the console versions in the screenshots thread that you could use for a non jaded account.

It's not a worse case scenario. I started my game up, took a shot, that's what it looked like and that matches my impressions of the graphics. If it were meant to cast the game in a worse light, I could have put their ratchet HUD back on and aimed the camera so you could hardly see what the highest LOD looks like. That's what a common vista looks like in W3 PS4.

 

[therealbigrich]

From what it looks like to me ps4 and x1 version look similar with pc far ahead of them.

 

[wachie]

Here we go. Reading now.

Another good job for that 750Ti setup.

Good job in comparison to the consoles? Are you missing the CPU and system RAM?

 

[Madness]

Is res really the only difference between the two consoles? That XB1 image looks especially blurry to me.

Xbox One is only 900p for the majority of the game whereas PS4 is 1080p. But even then, I'd say using this image above, the consoles are closer together, than the PS4 is to the PC. The PC is basically on another level entirely now. The Xbox One version will always be third in this race. It's just weaker hardware, full stop. It will only get worse the more this generation goes on and computer hardware keeps improving, despite the improvements devs will make on consoles.

 

[robertsan21]

Man..... I feel deceived....

CDPR had said it will be equivalent to high settings on pc and this is the exact opposite. Fuck this POS. I am selling it as soon as I can, and I am never going to buy anything from CDPR again. Not on day one atleast.

Before anyone says I am overreacting, I already stopped playing because of tiny text and poor performance. I was just waiting for patch.

I understand how you feel, this is not what I thought witcher would be visually, hopefully they get some massive backlash for this and that developers around the world LEARN from this mistake and that its not cool to lie to your customers.

Poor form CDPR!

I know its a big open world and its a massive undertaking. I guess the game looks good still, but its nowhere near the level they advertised.

 

[JaseC]

is this a parody post?

Yes.

 

[AndyH]

I honestly can't see much difference between PS4 and PC versions but the difference between PS4 and XB1 is huge but that's to be expected given the gulf in hardware power between the two.

I love you Horse Armour.

 

[Kandrick]

Not really surprising results.

Man..... I feel deceived....

CDPR had said it will be equivalent to high settings on pc and this is the exact opposite. Fuck this POS. I am selling it as soon as I can, and I am never going to buy anything from CDPR again. Not on day one atleast.

Before anyone says I am overreacting, I already stopped playing because of tiny text and poor performance. I was just waiting for patch.

If anything, you should sell your PS4/Xbox one then. Blame Sony/MS and not CDPR for making cheap pricewise underpowered "next-gen" consoles.

 

[ScepticMatt]

I dislike the sharpening (as used in the digital foundry PC images here)

is this a parody post?

yep.

 

[Alkastelca]

They don't mention horrible and constant camera judder/stuttering on PS4 (I don't know if it's also present on XOne) ._.

I captured a video using share on my PS4.
Take a look at the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0bdLblqI04&feature=youtu.be&t=2m30s

Notice just how bad the camera is stuttering all the time

 

[ArchedThunder]

Wow, the shadows on the PC version make a huge difference.

 

[FranXico]

Xbox One is only 900p for the majority of the game whereas PS4 is 1080p. But even then, I'd say using this image above, the consoles are closer together, than the PS4 is to the PC. The PC is basically on another level entirely now. The Xbox One version will always be third in this race. It's just weaker hardware, full stop. It will only get worse the more this generation goes on and computer hardware keeps improving, despite the improvements devs will make on consoles.

In fact, at this point, I even speculate that during this generation, the gap between PC and PS4 will grow much faster than the gap between PS4 and X1.

 

[Zakalwe]

Looks like an awful job for how the game looks on consoles. I miss the original style of the art. Not impressive for me.

People keep trying to tell me these are some of the best graphics, but this is my PS4:

Pine needles all but disappear into blurred textures at just a couple dozen feet away on the left bush.

That's a terrible screenshot to use, not representative in he slightest.

 

[nib95]

DF have not used ini tweaks in their Face Off, unless I've missed that.

Yea sorry, misread.

It's not a worse case scenario. I started my game up, took a shot, that's what it looked like and that matches my impressions of the graphics. If it were meant to cast the game in a worse light, I could have put their ratchet HUD back on and aimed the camera so you could hardly see what the highest LOD looks like. That's what a common vista looks like in W3 PS4.

It is, otherwise you wouldn't keep posting that same example. Like I said, there are countless other shots, including those in this DF article, yet you keep using your example as the defecto sample of how the game looks. It's a massive game, you were always going to get some areas less graphically impressive than others, same can be said for the PC version, and for all other similar games.

 

[HORRORSHØW]

console shots look garbo. maybe it looks more impressive in motion

 

[1st Course]

The game doesn't look particularly hot to me.

Agreed. Dragon Age and Assassin's Creed are much more impressive IMO.

 

[blastprocessor]

On PC and that remains to be proven. The point of contention is Hairworks and consoles don't have it.
You can't damage control by saying consoles were affected as well.

I have a PC with an Nivida GPU and a PS4 - damage control? LOL

 

[patapuf]

Man..... I feel deceived....

CDPR had said it will be equivalent to high settings on pc and this is the exact opposite. Fuck this POS. I am selling it as soon as I can, and I am never going to buy anything from CDPR again. Not on day one atleast.

Before anyone says I am overreacting, I already stopped playing because of tiny text and poor performance. I was just waiting for patch.

keep in mind this is ultra, not high.

The ps4 having a mix of mid and high was to be expected was it not?

 

[GoonerTRON]

console shots look garbo. maybe it looks more impressive in motion

It looks great on console compared to other console games. I played past the Griffin on XB1, then my GOG code came in the email.