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[GHG]

Hello Sean, i would like to know what happed with the E3 2012 demo? It looks much different than what is currently being shown of the game. These shots for example have depth and ambiance which judging by the recent trailer is lacking in the current build.

Also, why does Ubisoft seem to think that the game looks better now than how it did at the reveal?


How?

From Digital Foundry:


I would love for Ubisoft to "Downgrade" the game to it's original e3 2012 graphical status.

Ok so what happens if the PC version comes out and looks like the e3 2012 version when maxed out?

Are we still calling for Ubisofts head then?

 

[TyrantII]

Ok so what happens if the PC version comes out and looks like the e3 2012 version when maxed out?

Are we still calling for Ubisofts head then?

They showed various "PS4 versions" in 2013 that look closer to that than what was released the other day. Head over to the other topic to take a look.

Here's gamersyde:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_e3_watch_dogs_gameplay-14174_en.html

 

[GHG]

They showed various "PS4 versions" in 2013 that look closer to that than what was released the other day. Head over to the other topic to take a look.

Here's gamersyde:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_e3_watch_dogs_gameplay-14174_en.html

Yes. And how do you know the final ps4 product still won't look like that video above? Has the game gone gold? Have we seen that identical gameplay scenario and area?

 

[mechphree]

Ok so what happens if the PC version comes out and looks like the e3 2012 version when maxed out?

Are we still calling for Ubisofts head then?

I highly doubt it will have 2012 visuals. If anything it will be on par with what was released.

 

[No Love]

Ok so what happens if the PC version comes out and looks like the e3 2012 version when maxed out?

Are we still calling for Ubisofts head then?

Even if it does, good luck running it unless you're on SLI like I and a few others are... it's probably going to run like complete shit.

Have we even seen or had anyone play or see the PC version?

 

[Lostconfused]

Ok so what happens if the PC version comes out and looks like the e3 2012 version when maxed out?

Are we still calling for Ubisofts head then?

Yes because people will call it a shitty and un optimized port with performance issues.

 

[Wishmaster92]

Ok so what happens if the PC version comes out and looks like the e3 2012 version when maxed out?

Are we still calling for Ubisofts head then?

I'm still buying the game on ps4 because it has an interesting concept but come on man... you can't say this:

"There's no scale down in quality, especially the next-gen versions,"

What we showed at E3 2012 in a lot of respects was less good. I think it's in the details. So no, there's no scale down."

When it's clearly a lie, even DF exposed it.

 

[plagiarize]

Right then, I'm off to bed but I must say it really is shameful that simply saying "I'm not going to judge this game until it's out" is interpreted by some of you folks as "damage control for Ubisoft," particularly when you know my track record, and the many things we have reported that big publishers didn't want you to know. I often defend GAF to friends and colleagues who talk about this place like it's a raging hivemind where you're instantly attacked and ostracized if you dare to disagree with the majority viewpoint. Quite disappointing to see a moderate perspective met with so much nastiness.

If you had said that instead of:

Freaking out about a game's graphics two months before it comes out doesn't strike me as a productive use of time.

or

I don't really think it's a good trend to freak out over how video games look before they hit store shelves, because it just encourages publishers to hide things and keep game footage under lock and key to avoid complaints like this. Of course, you guys can do whatever you'd like - but if you're wondering why you haven't seen many game outlets talking about this, that's one possible reason.

or

If you're worried about getting conned by Watch Dogs like so many people were with Colonial Marines, and you don't want to be screwed into buying a bad game, your best move is just to never preorder games. Wait for reviews.

or

I'd have no problem with any gaming site presenting this downgrade in a fair, rational way. This thread is the opposite of both of those things.

or

It's fascinating to see how mad people are getting over this - part of me can sympathize because of how many games have just been total disasters recently, but part of me sees this as GAF making a mountain out of a molehill two months before a game is out.

or

No matter the explanation, it is unfair for anyone to say that Ubisoft is being dishonest about this until we have played the game that will be sold to customers. And I'm not even talking about being unfair to Ubisoft -- I don't care all that much about people being unfair to a corporation -- I think it's unfair to people who want to play this game, and who might succumb to the outrage when for all we know that footage might be from a vertical slice made six months ago.

maybe people wouldn't have got the impression that you were trying to discourage us from voicing our opinions. those are all very different from you saying that you aren't going to judge the game until it's out.

 

[mechphree]

Yes. And how do you know the final ps4 product still won't look like that video above? Has the game gone gold? Have we seen that identical gameplay scenario and area?

It's getting released in two months. It is pretty much in QA right now most likely. It doesn't make sense for them to magically upgrade the game back to what it was in 2012. It's not the fact that the current version looks bad either, it's just that it looks a lot worse then the 2012 version.

 

[TyrantII]

Yes. And how do you know the final ps4 product still won't look like that video above? Has the game gone gold? Have we seen that identical gameplay scenario and area?

It's usually not a good sign with every new release of media, it is showing new and gradual degradation in visual fidelity.

The new "PS4" trailer doesn't even appear to be in 1080P, but upscale 720P. Calling a duck a duck is pretty easy in these cases.

Unless Ubi marketing hilariously and terribly screwed up beyond all belief.

Anyways, sorry, but most of us have been round this block a few times.

 

[GHG]

Even if it does, good luck running it unless you're on SLI like I and a few others are... it's probably going to run like complete shit.

Have we even seen or had anyone play or see the PC version?

I do have SLI actually so performance doesn't concern me.

According to lots of people in this thread the PC version is all we've seen up until this trailer. E3 2012 was supposedly running on a 680 gtx.

By that very notion, I don't know why people would be surprised that the game on ps4 hardware doesn't look like the e3 2012 demo. An intel quad core and a gtx 680 is a lot more powerful than the ps4 than many realise and no amount of optimisation can help in certain scenarios/scenes.

 

[I-hate-u]

This game will never make its money back just from the first game, which is why Watch Dogs 2 has to be in early development somewhere in Ubi to be released late next year. Hopefully by then they can reach the E3 2012 demo quality.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I do have SLI actually so performance doesn't concern me.

According to lots of people in this thread the PC version is all we've seen up until this trailer. E3 2012 was supposedly running on a 680 gtx.

By that very notion, I don't know why people would be surprised that the game on ps4 hardware doesn't look like the e3 2012 demo. An intel quad core and a gtx 680 is a lot more powerful than the ps4 than many realise and no amount of optimisation can help in certain scenarios/scenes.

Jimmy Fallon gameplay, which looked damn good, was supposedly running on PS4. If I recall correctly.

 

[Zalman]

This thing blew up. 90 pages? Damn.

 

[TyrantII]

Jimmy Fallon gameplay, which looked damn good, was supposedly running on PS4. If I recall correctly.

They've been showing "PS4 footage" since early 2013. It's questionable if that was true or not now, but it is what they claimed and it was able to hold up to the initial reveal, until now.

 

[Marcel]

This thing blew up. 90 pages? Damn.

The shitty Q&A stream did nothing but throw more fuel on the fire.

 

[moltonasty]

Right. I mean, I think it's totally valid to say "hey, this game looks nothing like Ubisoft made it out to be" when it comes out. It's still in development. They've got 2+ months left with this thing. I don't really think it's a good trend to freak out over how video games look before they hit store shelves, because it just encourages publishers to hide things and keep game footage under lock and key to avoid complaints like this. Of course, you guys can do whatever you'd like - but if you're wondering why you haven't seen many game outlets talking about this, that's one possible reason.

(I do think it might be fun to do a feature comparing how games looked at E3 to how they looked when they came out, though.)

you're just in luck then! http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=780392

 

[plagiarize]

if the Alisha Tyler footage turns out to be representative of the game after all (when it isn't raining)... I think we have legitimate reasons to be angry, because Ubisoft allowed everyone to think that said footage was of the last gen version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpemyeVjppc&feature=player_embedded

watching it again... I can't say it looks different to the most recent PS4 footage.

 

[Zalman]

The shitty Q&A stream did nothing but throw more fuel on the fire.

What happened? I haven't really been following this.

 

[GHG]

I'm still buying the game on ps4 because it has an interesting concept but come on man... you can't say this:


When it's clearly a lie, even DF exposed it.

It's simple then. If you're so outraged, don't buy it. It's actually quite hypocritical of the people complaining in this thread to then go out and buy the game. Don't like the way that Ubi have handled all of this but yet you still buy the game? Congratulations, you're part of the problem.

It's getting released in two months. It is pretty much in QA right now most likely. It doesn't make sense for them to magically upgrade the game back to what it was in 2012. It's not the fact that the current version looks bad either, it's just that it looks a lot worse then the 2012 version.

The Ps4 version won't look like that. No way, get over it. That much has been known since e3 last year. They were also pretty clear about what hardware the e3 2012 version was running on so it should come as no surprise to anyone. They never said e3 2012 was running on a ps4, nor did they say that's how the ps4 version would look. The ps4 wasn't even announced back then.

The PC version maxed out? Nobody knows yet. That's the version I'll be playing so I'm reserving judgement.

It's usually not a good sign with every new release of media, it is showing new and gradual degradation in visual fidelity.

The new "PS4" trailer doesn't even appear to be in 1080P, but upscale 720P. Calling a duck a duck is pretty easy in these cases.

Unless Ubi marketing hilariously and terribly screwed up beyond all belief.

Anyways, sorry, but most of us have been round this block a few times.

So it's not even 1080p (which is the res the ps4 version will run at) but yet we are passing judgement on this footage and attempting to call them out on it. I don't know, that doesn't seem logical to me.

 

[Easy_G]

This entire thread is disgusting. The hatred and aggression shown toward the developers is despicable and the belief that a game's changes can be judged from YouTube videos of gameplay that occurs during completely different times of day is ludicrous.

 

[GHG]

Jimmy Fallon gameplay, which looked damn good, was supposedly running on PS4. If I recall correctly.

Yes so that's the version people need to compare it to since that's the only other known ps4 footage we've seen. Not the 2012 version.

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

Not explaining that trailer is definitely costing them sales.

Do you honestly think upfront technical disclosures about BF4, Ryse and CoD Ghosts hurt their sales on Xbox One?

None of those games had a tech demo shown before which didn't end up looking like the final product.

 

[maneil99]

This entire thread is disgusting. The hatred and aggression shown toward the developers is despicable and the belief that a game's changes can be judged from YouTube videos of gameplay that occurs during completely different times of day is ludicrous.

So we should wait until launch day? People here have pre ordered the game partly based on visuals that have not been reproduced since launch.

 

[OmahaG8]

This thing blew up. 90 pages? Damn.

Best lurking thread of the week for me, heh.

 

[maneil99]

Yes so that's the version people need to compare it to since that's the only other known ps4 footage we've seen. Not the 2012 version.

But chances are the PC version will not even look like the one showed in 2012... Just like Far Cry 3

 

[Rex_Harrison]

This is an outrage.

 

[chadskin]

This entire thread is disgusting. The hatred and aggression shown toward the developers is despicable and the belief that a game's changes can be judged from YouTube videos of gameplay that occurs during completely different times of day is ludicrous.

Good thing I have browser tabs.

 

[tookhster]

I thought you were better than this, GAF.

 

[GHG]

None of those games had a tech demo shown before which didn't end up looking like the final product.

FWIW, some of the things we saw of ryse a couple of months before launch looked awful.

 

[Marcel]

What happened? I haven't really been following this.

After a stream crash, the dev team gave a dodgy non-answer about the downgrade on Twitch and people who asked for more information about it were banned. What was pretty much their best chance to contain the controversy became another comical fuckup on the part of Ubisoft.

 

[TyrantII]

So it's not even 1080p (which is the res the ps4 version will run at) but yet we are passing judgement on this footage and attempting to call them out on it. I don't know, that doesn't seem logical to me.

The video is a high bitrate 1080P AVC encode. It appears to be 720P scaled to 1080P, going by the softness of the picture.

Either Ubi screwed up the source encode, or this game is NOT running 1080P native on PS4 like they claimed.

If it was the former, we'd probably have a fix or comment by now...

 

[No Love]

After a stream crash, the dev team gave dodgy answers about the downgrade on Twitch and people who asked for more information about it were banned. What was pretty much their best chance to contain the controversy pretty much became another comical fuckup on the part of Ubisoft.

Wow are you serious? LOL. Ubifail as usual...

 

[plagiarize]

It's simple then. If you're so outraged, don't buy it. It's actually quite hypocritical of the people complaining in this thread to then go out and buy the game. Don't like the way that Ubi have handled all of this but yet you still buy the game? Congratulations, you're part of the problem.

you don't get to tell me how to convey my upset at something. I am allowed to complain in an open forum, and I will continue to do so. I'm not sure where you get the impression that people complaining about the marketing of this game are still going to buy it. I might. I might not. It's definitely made me think more than twice about buying the game, which prior to yesterday I was 100% on buying.

So it's not even 1080p (which is the res the ps4 version will run at) but yet we are passing judgement on this footage and attempting to call them out on it. I don't know, that doesn't seem logical to me.

This entire thread is disgusting. The hatred and aggression shown toward the developers is despicable and the belief that a game's changes can be judged from YouTube videos of gameplay that occurs during completely different times of day is ludicrous.

high bitrate 1080p footage provided by Ubisoft is available here:

http://www.gamersyde.com/news_watch_dogs_day_may_27-15089_en.html

that 1080p footage does not appear to show a game natively running in 1080p. we are not saying the trailer isn't 1080p. we are saying the 1080p trailer provided by Ubisoft doesn't look like native 1080p. don't confuse those two things.

 

[Vire]

I thought you were better than this, GAF.

Better than what exactly?

I'm not sure I see a problem with people voicing their complaints that what Ubisoft initially showed is not indicative of the final product.

 

[Light_Wav3]

Well this is disappointing, but like a few others I will hold judgement until the game has been reviewed/leaked/etc. If this really is what the game looks like, then what have they been doing since Novembers delay?
I guess we will know for sure shortly, even still I'm hoping for the best, but I'm keeping my expectations low. :-/

 

[Wishmaster92]

It's simple then. If you're so outraged, don't buy it. It's actually quite hypocritical of the people complaining in this thread to then go out and buy the game. Don't like the way that Ubi have handled all of this but yet you still buy the game? Congratulations, you're part of the problem.

This is what passionate fans do. Same thing happened with god of war 3, it looked like pure shit when it was first announced at the vga's, peoples voices were heard and it went to become one of the best looking ps3 games last gen. In the end this graphical discussion benefits everyone who will purchase the game at launch or at a later date. But you're saying since i'm buying the game i need to shut my mouth and just agree with all the stuff they've been saying? Lol no....

 

[GHG]

But chances are the PC version will not even look like the one showed in 2012... Just like Far Cry 3

And we know this how?

If you look at recent history, AC4 looked every bit as good at launch on the PC as it did in it's initial gameplay reveal.

The video is a high bitrate 1080P AVC encode. It appears to be 720P scaled to 1080P, going by the softness of the picture.

Either Ubi screwed up the source encode, or this game is NOT running 1080P native on PS4 like they claimed.

If it was the former, we'd probably have a fix or comment by now...

AC4 had a patch that made it 1080p on the PS4 at launch did it not?

This thread is unbelievable. All logic has gone out the window. Why don't you all head down to Ubisofts head offices and protest in person?

 

[Steffen]

Better than what exactly?

I'm not sure I see a problem with people voicing their complaints that what Ubisoft initially showed is not indicative of the final product.

We've seen the final product?

 

[plagiarize]

None of those games had a tech demo shown before which didn't end up looking like the final product.

Sure they did. But that's not the point. Say Ubisoft overshot with their vertical slice, why does that absolve them from being transparent about how the final product looks? If anything it means they should be expected to do more to make sure that people realize that those early promises were missed.

I understand why they wouldn't want to come out and admit that they had to scale things back... but that's got nothing to do with my feeling that they still have to come out and admit it, nor my belief that doing so would actually be for the better of the game.

It would certainly do the game more good than that trailer did.

 

[chadskin]

Since it's apparently a new day in some time zone and new people are entering this thread again, let me get ya'll up to speed:

A (really) short rundown of what happened so far:

• Ubisoft released a story trailer of Watch_Dogs, confirmed by PlayStation Denmarks Twitter to be from the PS4 version (-> 1080p, 250MB download here)
• Ubisoft gave gaming magazines additional b-roll footage (as in video with straight gameplay, not meant for the public) that they can use in their video previews (like Italian site Every Eye did)
• people immediately notice the downgrade from presentations at E3 2012 or Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
• the damning GIF in the OP and this picture, among others, are taken from the b-roll
• the b-roll footage is not confirmed to be from the PS4 version but Ubisoft could've shot down any speculations about it a long time ago (it's also highly unlikely they'd send PS3/360 b-roll footage of the game to gaming magazines)
• instead, that's how they adressed the downgrade in a Twitch Q&A livestream:

"This asset (the trailer) has been created to convey the context of the game. It's something the fans wanted. In terms of graphic quality, I invite anyone to read the impressions of the journalist and it's pretty positive. We're in debug mode and we're fixing little things, the graphics are at no risk at all. I don't know why anyone thinks this." - approximate quote from the interview just now.

Feel free to add stuff if I missed anything important.

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

Oh god, what if this isn't even 1080p on PS4? I don't think GAF would survive that.

 

[Rex_Harrison]

Good thing I have browser tabs.

Honestly, if you told me the second part was a racing game from 2006, I'd believe you.

 

[Marcel]

And we know this how?

If you look at recent history, AC4 looked every bit as good at launch on the PC as it did in it's initial gameplay reveal.



AC4 had a patch that made it 1080p on the PS4 at launch did it not?

This thread is unbelievable. All logic has gone out the window. Why don't you all head down to Ubisofts head offices and protest in person?

Unless you go to Paris or Montreal to defend Ubisoft in person, your dedication as an apologist is questionable at best.

 

[GHG]

Sure they did. But that's not the point. Say Ubisoft overshot with their vertical slice, why does that absolve them from being transparent about how the final product looks? If anything it means they should be expected to do more to make sure that people realize that those early promises were missed.

I understand why they wouldn't want to come out and admit that they had to scale things back... but that's got nothing to do with my feeling that they still have to come out and admit it, nor my belief that doing so would actually be for the better of the game.

It would certainly do the game more good than that trailer did.

Nobody knows if they have or haven't had to scale things back yet. The game isn't out and we haven't seen final ps4 footage or final maxed out PC footage yet.

Jeez I'm giving up. You guys can continue on your crusade.

 

[olimpia84]

Damn, every time I watch that horrible gift I can't help but to think this a last-gen cross-gen title or in other words a 2005/2006 release xD

 

[plagiarize]

And we know this how?

If you look at recent history, AC4 looked every bit as good at launch on the PC as it did in it's initial gameplay reveal.



AC4 had a patch that made it 1080p on the PS4 at launch did it not?

This thread is unbelievable. All logic has gone out the window. Why don't you all head down to Ubisofts head offices and protest in person?

it is entirely logical for us to presume that the game looks like the footage Ubisoft are providing us. it is entirely logical for us to presume that any upgrades that might happen between now and launch will be minor.

AC4's situation is very different to Watch_dogs. It was a launch game for one, where as watch_dogs was delayed to give it more time to work out it's problems.

 

[dark10x]

So we should wait until launch day? People here have pre ordered the game partly based on visuals that have not been reproduced since launch.

It's a pre-order. Cancel it if you're concerned. Simple.

 

[TyrantII]

AC4 had a patch that made it 1080p on the PS4 at launch did it not?

This thread is unbelievable. All logic has gone out the window. Why don't you all head down to Ubisofts head offices and protest in person?

WTH are you talking about? You seem to be talking to yourself, and misconstruing a bunch of different info.

Sober up maybe? Apologists be apologizing apparently.

 

[chadskin]

Actually, you can watch the recorded Twitch livestream here: http://www.twitch.tv/ubisoft/b/509039542

Juicy part starts right around the 19:00 minute mark.