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[Obliterator]

so

you havent paid attention to any video game marketing... since the beginning of time?

And CDProjekt Red is a company that claimed to be different. The whole free DLC / No DRM stuff. They claim and honestly brag about how pro consumer they are, and in a ton of ways they are.

But to then give us these early trailers, downgrade the game in some ways, and then flat out deny it, all the while delaying the game for months and saying the game will look as good or better at launch.

I have little doubt that Witcher 3 will be gorgeous. The disappointing part is a how a company that has staked their reputation on being pro consumer goes out and does this. Just be upfront. Say the engine / hardware couldn't quite handle what they wanted. People would have been far more ok with that.

 

[Jonm1010]

so

you havent paid attention to any video game marketing... since the beginning of time?

I feel like this has become a tired angle to take.

Not every company has blatantly misrepresented their product. And not only misrepresented but then went on to defend and guarantee that it isn't a misrepresentation.

And furthermore CDProjekt Red has not historically done it. In fact they have been the shining example of an ethical and transparent videogame developer.

So I kind of dismiss this notion that everyone should of been preparing. In fact I remember almost zero skepticism until the 35 minute trailer released. Everyone pretty much universally trusted the footage because it was CD Projekt Red and how clear they were about it.

 

[Jonm1010]

They have stated that the LoD is baked into the assets. So no, it's not possible to have farther rendering than what we currently have.

I never said it was. I said it is a valid thing to be upset about and something I would want.

I was one of those pretty pissed earlier in this thread that the PC version is going to seemingly be held back by the lower common denominator machine in terms of lod because of the umbra system.

 

[SteveWinwood]

im just too cynical for this world it seems

 

[Obliterator]

I feel like this has become a tired angle to take.

Not every company has blatantly misrepresented their product. And not only misrepresented but then went on to defend and guarantee that it isn't a misrepresentation.

And furthermore CDProjekt Red has not historically done it. In fact they have been the shining example of an ethical and transparent videogame developer.

So I kind of dismiss this notion that everyone should of been preparing. In fact I remember almost zero skepticism until the 35 minute trailer released. Everyone pretty much universally trusted the footage because it was CD Projekt Red and how clear they were about it.

Yep I saw next to zero skepticism about that early footage. Pretty much everyone was excited as hell and fully thought that was what we were going to get. CDProjekt Red had earned that level of trust.

 

[cripterion]

Assuming it's anything like The Witcher 2, there will be a mod out within days that allows you to push as much foliage as you want and murder your framerate in the process.

Eatchildren, where art thou?

Graphic whores, you people are still going to buy the game aren't you.

 

[exmachina64]

It was presented that way. Its in a trailer showing a ton of gameplay. A trailer, that looks much better than what we have now in many ways.

Like I said Witcher 3 still looks beautiful, but the downgrade is unfortunate and the part that bugs me is how they are adamant that there wasn't one. There has been, just be honest about it.

It was never a downgrade because it was never real. It was a vertical slice made to elicit the response you had when you first saw it.

The graphics of that vertical slice were made for a PC running a Core i7 processor and one or more Titans. That's how they were able to show foliage that responded to your steps and such.

CD Projekt RED is a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt Capital Group, a publicly traded Polish company. They can't be honest and say that they over-promised with their vertical slice and struggled to release the final product. They probably (unrealistically) expected the consoles to offer more power also.

Yep I saw next to zero skepticism about that early footage. Pretty much everyone was excited as hell and fully thought that was what we were going to get. CDProjekt Red had earned that level of trust.

We were naive. Hopefully, we've learned and will be more skeptical in the future.

 

[mgs2master2]

so is White Orchard the equivalent to the Hinterlands?

Welp. Good to know. I will get a shit ton of quests there.


Also, I just wanna plough triss and other wenches. Can i just do that in Glorious footage or will that get into the downgrade talk?

 

[manzo]

Filthy console peasantry at its finest.

This sentence is a prime example of why CDPR is being shitted on by PC enthusiasts. The consensus among 4chan's /v/ (where this kind of dreck spurs from) that TW3 has been downgraded because of consoles.

CDPR didn't have to downgrade anything. Current gen consoles can handle the 2013 trailers easily with certain downgrades. Worse LoD, draw distances, lighting etc - the trailers don't have anything that couldn't be done on the consoles without lowering the settings.

It just seems that CDPR is being shitted on just because the game IS on consoles, not because of how the game looks. The PC version would most definitely look the same, console versions available or not.

 

[cripterion]

It was never a downgrade because it was never real. It was a vertical slice made to elicit the response you had when you first saw it.

The graphics of that vertical slice were made for a PC running a Core i7 processor and one or more Titans. That's how they were able to show foliage that responded to your steps and such.

CD Projekt RED is a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt Capital Group, a publicly traded Polish company. They can't be honest and say that they over-promised with their vertical slice and struggled to release the final product. They probably (unrealistically) expected the consoles to offer more power also.



We were naive. Hopefully, we've learned and will be more skeptical in the future.

Fair enough, guess we will never know but in the meantime, why still promote things like this?

Trailer is from 5th May.

 

[Derp]

The PC version would most definitely look the same, console versions available or not.

Haven't we established that this isn't the case? I thought the visuals are completely different to the 2013 footage across all platforms.

 

[JBourne]

Welp. Good to know. I will get a shit ton of quests there.


Also, I just wanna plough triss and other wenches. Can i just do that in Glorious footage or will that get into the downgrade talk?

Some folks can't see the ploughing for the trees miles away.

 

[Ostinatto]

So you guys think Zelda will be downgraded too?

 

[orochi91]

So you guys think Zelda will be downgraded too?

Not to the extent TW3 has.

Nintendo will likely just opt for 720p and no AA like usual though.

 

[Dictator93]

DC as in DriveClub? Someone did that?

Yes

 

[Obliterator]

So you guys think Zelda will be downgraded too?

I guess it depends on if its still a Wii U game.

 

[JawzPause]

So you guys think Zelda will be downgraded too?

No, it will still look like that on their next-gen console when it releases on that

 

[Alkastelca]

Gave me a chuckle

Nailed It !

Pc gamers truly are like Mr. Bean

Based on a character originally developed by Atkinson, the series follows the exploits of Mr. Bean, described by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body", in solving various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causing disruption in the process.

 

[jim2point0]

If the final result looks anywhere near these reference shots, we can conclude that the downgrade is a myth. Crow shall be served one way or the other.

Nobody is doubting the game will look like that. Most people in here are saying the game has been downgraded since the initial reveal and even the Sword of Destiny trailer. Not the 35 minute gameplay video.

Assuming it's anything like The Witcher 2, there will be a mod out within days that allows you to push as much foliage as you want and murder your framerate in the process.

Not sure what you're talking about, but that mod did not come out days after TW2's release.

 

[Trace]

Nailed It !

Pc gamers truly are like Mr. Bean

Not sure what you're talking about, but that mod did not come out days after TW2's release.

I meant assuming the engine was similar enough to be modded without an entirely new set of unreleased mod tools.

 

[dlauv]

The way the light is interacting with the grass seems a little half-done. It either completely lights the grass or doesn't, which doesn't portray accurate translucence and makes things seem sometimes flat. Though this is something I notice only in screenshots. I think the lighting engine on the whole looks to be improved, but it could just be the way the improved character models are reacting with it.

The target render had a much more hard hitting atmosphere. The gif where he's walking through the swamp looks like it could be out of an HD remake of Resident Evil 4. I don't mind the camera being pulled back or some things being trimmed down. After all, those segments in the target render weren't even actual gameplay segments or realized environment sets. The new atmosphere is quite nice though. It's more folkish and natural. I do think that maybe the game doesn't look as good as the 35 minute footage a while back, which was even pretty compressed, and that's slightly distressing. That's the footage that sold me on the game. If people were sold on 2013 footage or Sword of Destiny and pre-ordered, you can imagine people are going to be sour. But if you haven't pre-ordered at this point, then what's the point of complaining (if you are complaining)?

 

[dex3108]

Assuming it's anything like The Witcher 2, there will be a mod out within days that allows you to push as much foliage as you want and murder your framerate in the process.

I think that people can't do anything about draw distance. CDPR used middleware that uses only full res model and generates LOD levels based on attributes that devs entered when they were creating assets. That means that there is no universal LOD settings for foliage so modders need to tweak settings for every asset. And there is chance that those settings won't be available that easily.

 

[viveks86]

Nobody is doubting the game will look like that. Most people in here are saying the game has been downgraded since the initial reveal and even the Sword of Destiny trailer. Not the 35 minute gameplay video.

Nobody? Or you? There are plenty of people who think the game has been downgraded since the 35 minute demo. So my first objective is to see if that holds any merit. This already takes us close to a year prior to launch. The obvious next comparison would be the SoD and vgx trailers, though some of it is going to be difficult to do with completely overhauled art.

 

[Ostinatto]

I guess it depends on if its still a Wii U game.

No, it will still look like that on their next-gen console when it releases on that

Wait what? why you guys think it's gonna be on a next gen console?

 

[plumpblumpkin]

So you guys think CDPR will even respond to the accusations??

lol and deny it when it clearly is so downgraded?

 

[Condom]

Wait what? why you guys think it's gonna be on a next gen console?

Yes?

 

[RiccochetJ]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

 

[Tworak]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold.

that would be amazing

 

[Ferrio]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

Yes please.

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

No over-promising and no delays. Sounds awesome.

 

[Saintruski]

Graphic whores, you people are still going to buy the game aren't you.

Nope also why i dont preorder games, if devs fail to deliver they dont get my money, not that they miss my money as an individual but it feels good to have 60 extra dollars to put towards other game games that are deserving...Wasnt this delayed for the purpose of visual/means of more efficient coding?!?! does that mean just drop the hammer of visuals these days?

 

[Maximo]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

And lose money on pre orders and $40 season passes ? Unlikely

 

[cripterion]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

That seems kinda drastic. A middle ground can be reached when they don't show their games too early or if they do they, clearly indicate it's conceptual footage like some devs tend to do.

I personally like what Avalanche Studios is doing with Mad Max and Just Cause 3. Although Mad Max was delayed, we didn't get bombarded with footage so far and what we've seen seems a fair indication of what we'll be getting.

 

[OricWindstar]

So you guys think Zelda will be downgraded too?

I feel like Nintendo generally has the opposite effect, where games look better in the final release.

 

[zon]

A lot of posters were wondering why CDPR doesn't get shit on as much as Ubisoft did when Watch Dogs was degraded. Just look at this thread and you'll understand why: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=954394 (read first post and then the last page, they still haven't fixed it)

 

[Renekton]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

I wonder what damage could the vocal minority in Reddit/GAF do?

For all we know, millions of gamers who saw the trailer probably will buy it without ever seeing a "downgrade" forum topic, or saw it and it didn't matter to them.

 

[RiccochetJ]

that would be amazing

Yes please.

No over-promising and no delays. Sounds awesome.

I wonder if E3 would even exist. It would be just a bunch of title cards.

And lose money on pre orders and $40 season passes ? Unlikely

People should stop pre-ordering/pre-loading games. It should be an outlier.

 

[Kaze2212]

Nope also why i dont preorder games, if devs fail to deliver they dont get my money, not that they miss my money as an individual but it feels good to have 60 extra dollars to put towards other game games that are deserving...Wasnt this delayed for the purpose of visual/means of more efficient coding?!?! does that mean just drop the hammer of visuals these days?

I don't know I find this mentality weird. Sure the game doesn't look as good as the initial reveal - it still looks fantastic though. (Of course this is subjective.)

The GAME will most-likely still be fantastic. A big world to explore, lots of things to do. good characters and story etc.

Sure, they may not have delivered in regards to the graphics, but if they managed to put out a good game with good gameplay and story that atleast is still something that should be rewarded. Just ignoring all the other things besides the graphics is just not fair. Of course this is all my opinion and everyone is free to spent their money on what they think is worth it.
(Otherwise this world would be even more messed up than it already is...)

Edit:
Hold on I think I misread your post. You were speaking of pre-ordering and not buying games in general right? Then don't even mind my post.

 

[Urthor]

I mean, are CDProject Red going to make two sets of shaders for the entire game, one for console one for PC?


The assets of the PC version are going to be the same assets as on console by and large, with difference being that on PC you can throw as much computing power as needs be at them relative to consoles. Not so much one set of environments for console, one for PC

They've obviously had to change the shaders from the ones they used in 2013 to meet the console's lower specs. And most importantly, they can't acknowledge that fact because if they did Microsoft would be rancid at CPR publicly saying "hey yea we had to change the shaders on Witcher 3 because the Xbox One wasn't powerful enough to render them."

Seems like that's the mystery in a nutshell.

It's not so much CPR isn't valuing the consumer relationship as the fact they're not going to publicly bash the consoles by announcing they had to use less demanding shaders for the final product because consoles 2 weak. It's be completely unprofessional to cause a PR disaster for Microsoft/Sony that way.

 

[Tworak]

I wonder if E3 would even exist. It would be just a bunch of title cards.

I wouldn't even give the tiniest shit if e3 fucked off and died. in fact, I'd fap to it.

hmm, brb.

 

[exmachina64]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

Did you really mean a month before physical release?

 

[Sid]

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming trend of developers shying away from showing their games before they've gone gold. It's not worth it.

That would be great.

 

[Saintruski]

I don't know I find this mentality weird. Sure the game doesn't look as good as the initial reveal - it still looks fantastic though. (Of course this is subjective.)

The GAME will most-likely still be fantastic. A big world to explore, lots of things to do. good characters and story etc.

Sure, they may not have delivered in regards to the graphics, but if they managed to put out a good game with good gameplay and story that atleast is still something that should be rewarded. Just ignoring all the other things besides the graphics is just not fair. Of course this is all my opinion and everyone is free to spent their money on what they think is worth it.
(Otherwise this world would be even more messed up than it already is...)

Its the principle of promises, delivery, advertising. Stunning visuals add immersion to a game like this.

(They could have not went with nvidias black box technologies and saves\d the visuals and performance...)

 

[jim2point0]

Nobody? Or you? There are plenty of people who think the game has been downgraded since the 35 minute demo.

Where?

The game has been pretty consistent with the 35 minute demo as far as I know. I can't imagine the game being downgraded from this:

Doesn't really blow me away.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Did you really mean a month before physical release?

Are you talking about what you quoted? Because I clearly don't say that.

 

[NoMoChokeSJ]

Are you talking about what you quoted? Because I clearly don't say that.

Games typically go gold about a month prior to release.

 

[viveks86]

Where?

Not in the mood for looking up posts. It has been often used in comparisons since. Even the obsolete wall comparison in the OP refers to the 35 minute video.

Doesn't really blow me away.

Oh well. I guess you will settle for nothing below the VGX trailer. Have you seen the 5.5 GB HQ video? If that doesn't impress you, then I have no words.

 

[Altairre]

I personally don't care if games get downgraded or not, all that matters to me is how the game turns out in the end overall and visuals are certainly not the deciding factor when it comes to the purchasing decision. To me all promotional material is subject to change. The early stuff we get to see are extremely polished vertical slices that say "this is what we want it to be" (the Bioshock Infinite E3 demo was different from what the game turned out to be and I have no problem with that either).

Now, games development being what it is there are going to be changes but you can almost always see those reflected in the trailers as the release approaches and if you're so enthusiastic about games that you've watched all the early material, you probably are going to see those as well. As always if you're that worried about stuff like this then don't preorder games. There are going to be enough reviews or articles like digital foundry's analysis that tell you exactly what you want to know. I just don't see it as this malicious thing a lot of people are making it out to be.

One thing I can agree on is that devs should just own up to it when and if there is a downgrade. With all the outrage about it lately I can see why they'd want to avoid it though (cause there is going to be backlash either way) but the people who care will probably have an easier time accepting it that way.

 

[OdysseusVA]

So you guys think Zelda will be downgraded too?

I hope people aren't really expecting that

 

[OmegaDL50]

Oh well. I guess you will settle for nothing below the VGX trailer. Have you seen the 5.5 GB HQ video? If that doesn't impress you, then I have no words.

Well I'm glad the topic got back to the subject of The Witcher 3, but yes I agree. Witcher 3 currently, downgrade or not looks amazing. Especially factoring the 35 minute video you posted.

The Witcher 3 has leaked, people are playing it already, there is an extensive PS4 thread for the game that shows what the final version looks like.

If how the game looks RIGHT NOW on the PS4, being visually superior to any medieval style open world RPG to this very day. This doesn't even factor the PC version with the Ubersampling option ticked.

Not even modded Skyrim, and am I very familiar with modded Skyrim.

If this not good enough for you, those expectations weren't EVER going to be met, regardless of circumstance.