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[cripterion]

Well, in the case of faces, animations, graphics, etc.. yeah, you can and should mentione this stuff.. if only this things were in horrible quality, only then it shouldn't been taken into consideration.. or if the game would be crashing often, or had game-breaking bugs, etc. then it doesn't matter how many people were working on that game or what the budget was

I understand GTAV has a big budget and I acknowledge that, but if we just go with the "game doesn't have X budget" when someone gives off a critic, we pretty much can't say anything anymore.

And like I said, having a big budget doesn't mean they're going to be spending huge amounts of cash having varied faces. See Destiny...

Anyways, I like the faces variety we've seen so far in TW3. Also like that they seem to be of all equal quality

 

[Kinthalis]

Looks like Jesse's video has hairworks running.

Seemed pretty smooth to me!

Big difference too, as their hair no longer looks polygon-ie.

 

[DOWN]

Kind of an odd thing that Hairworks looks amazing on the animals, but on that Geralt hairstyle, I think it looks worse than regular hair in the game in most ways besides having good separation. It looks very shiny, the ends are very even like its newly salon cut, and it seems to have to catch up with gravity as if it lingers floating behind Geralt's movements and overall moving unrealistically. The non-Hairworks hair has a believable unevenness in lengths like its messy from moving, it doesn't float much, and doesn't look like it has that sort of shine that early TressFX had too.

Looks like it has cool separation of strands, so I'd use it for that and because of the creatures, but if it was a serious performance hit, I think as it looks in the preview videos it wouldn't be a big loss to turn it off. The standard hair is well done.

 

[Gaz_RB]

Can you lead your horse by the reins?

 

[Daverid]

Kind of an odd thing that Hairworks looks amazing on the animals, but on that Geralt hairstyle, I think it looks worse than regular hair in the game in most ways besides having good separation.

The biggest thing is the clipping. Hairworks will have significantly less clipping, which for some people is a really huge deal.

That said, I still think Hairworks looks better regardless. The normal hair has this kind of plastic sheen to it, and looks really whispy, whereas Hairworks is just more dense, layered and natural. However it's certainly not a HUGE difference, differences in character hair is far-less apparent than on creatures.

 

[paragonpro]

Any Xbox one footage? It's the version I'm getting and I'd like to be able to temper my expectations.

 

[erawsd]

I don't know when, but we will get official Sony PS4 footage next week. The PR Manager I wrote to said that Sony is taking so long to get the material ready (It was a special event)

We also should get new previews of Arkham Knight if anyone's interested, there was a huge event which is still under NDA.

Hmm.. interesting, so Sony itself is putting together the footage?

 

[BigTnaples]

Any Xbox one footage? It's the version I'm getting and I'd like to be able to temper my expectations.

Not yet. Soon though.


Just expect it to have worse AA,AF, resolution, and probably less advanced lighting and shadowing. (Some of that is Nvidia stuff).


Overall though, I would say it will look pretty similar to what we have already seen, give or take a few features.

 

[DOWN]

Love the coloring of the sky showing up on the beach

The biggest thing is the clipping. Hairworks will have significantly less clipping, which for some people is a really huge deal.

That said, I still think Hairworks looks better regardless. The normal hair has this kind of plastic sheen to it, and looks really whispy, whereas Hairworks is just more dense, layered and natural. However it's certainly not a HUGE difference, differences in character hair is far-less apparent than on creatures.

With the generally flatter look of W3's lighting/art, the hairworks shine looks like a studio commercial that's out of place for me. And not sure if this is a limitation caused by hairworks, but the length and sitting positions of the hair are oddly uniform and flat. Both standard and hairworks seem to go rapid in the wind, so that's hit or miss.

Sometimes regular's polygonal nature is too obvious, yet sometimes Hairworks looks way to separated like the hair's thickness has no group effect and all the hairs shake wildly like wind is directly hitting them and the illusion of hairlike sitting is better kept by the standard hair.

Overall, I loved TressFX in Tomb Raider DE despite its shine, so it's a positive more than anything.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Hmm.. interesting, so Sony itself is putting together the footage?

That's what he said, yes.

 

[SaberEdge]

3 new screens:

Lovely stuff. I'm still very impressed by the foliage overall. The short grass isn't that great, but most everything else looks nice to my eyes. What really impresses me the most, though, is simply the density of it and how organic it looks. I've never seen such natural looking forests in a game. I spend a lot of time hiking the forests of my area and I have to say these devs really understand how natural forests look and how they are structured.

 

[d9b]

... about 2 000 side characters

Too many side characters, preorder canceled!

 

[Daverid]

and the illusion of hairlike sitting is better kept by the standard hair.

Are you talking about the way it rests on Geralt's shoulder/neck? Because if so then that's hogwash, because the normal hair just clips straight through Geralt's shoulders, which is not "hairlike" at all. Hairworks might still look unnatural the way it sits, but it's better than just clipping entirely through.

However I may be misinterpreting what you're getting at, and if you mean just the way the hair "sits in general", then that's totally cool. Like many other parts of your post, even if I disagree, I can see where you're coming from and respect the opinion.

 

[daammyy]

Any Xbox one footage? It's the version I'm getting and I'd like to be able to temper my expectations.

Next week probably. It has been reported to be running at a steady 30fps with many enemies on screen on the PS4 so i guess it's the same for Xbox one.

 

[DOWN]

Are you talking about the way it rests on Geralt's shoulder/neck? Because if so then that's hogwash, because the normal hair just clips straight through Geralt's shoulders, which is not "hairlike" at all. Hairworks might still look unnatural the way it sits, but it's better than just clipping entirely through.

However I may be misinterpreting what you're getting at, and if you mean just the way the hair "sits in general", then that's totally cool. Like many other parts of your post, even if I disagree, I can see where you're coming from and respect the opinion.

Yeah, I mean in general like as Geralt moves his head in a conversation or steps quick, the Hairworks seems to me like it floats easier and the hair doesn't group at all so it tends to react as individual light strands to wind and movements which hair doesn't do since it is often shielded or resting with lots of other strands to block some wind or add weight to motions.

 

[Tovarisc]

Can you lead your horse by the reins?

Nope as far we know.

 

[Daverid]

Yeah, I mean in general like as Geralt moves his head in a conversation or steps quick, the Hairworks seems to me like it floats easier and the hair doesn't group at all so it tends to react as individual light strands to wind and movements which hair doesn't do since it is often shielded or resting with lots of other strands to block some wind or add weight to motions.

Yea I completely understand what you mean. Especially evident when watching that quick cutscene in AngryJoe's video where he summons the Noonwraith.

Hair is still going to be a huge issue in games for a long time, and both methods definitely have their flaws. Overall I'm leaning towards Hairworks, but of course it might drop FPS so much that it's simply not worth the bother, especially since the standard solution is still decent.

 

[RoboPlato]

Yea I completely understand what you mean. Especially evident when watching that quick cutscene in AngryJoe's video where he summons the Noonwraith.

Hair is still going to be a huge issue in games for a long time, and both methods definitely have their flaws. Overall I'm leaning towards Hairworks, but of course it might drop FPS so much that it's simply not worth the bother, especially since the standard solution is still decent.

I'm actually very impressed with the hair and physics without Hairworks and PhysX on. It's a definite step up in simulation from last gen games and while not perfect, still looks pretty good.

 

[tuxfool]

I'm actually very impressed with the hair and physics without Hairworks and PhysX on. It's a definite step up in simulation from last gen games and while not perfect, still looks pretty good.

PhysX probably is on. Only Hairworks is disabled.

 

[BigTnaples]

I see w lot of talk about hairworks. Did we get a new vid with it on?

 

[[Asmodean]]

Screens from the czech version from Eurogamer Czech: http://www.eurogamer.cz/articles/tema-jak-se-zaklinac-3-prekladal-do-cestiny

Just to mention. We've noticed that these screens are from a 2014 build of the game, and on lower settings.

 

[Apoleptica]

I'm going to feel really guilty playing this game with the backlog that I have, I'm not even half way through DA: Inquisition and don't see myself ever finishing it after this releases.

 

[Ciastek3214]

Zombie Geralt is too old for this shit.

 

[misho8723]

Just to mention. We've noticed that these screens are from a 2014 build of the game, and on lower settings.

Yes, they are from 2014 PC version.. some very early build they had to use for trying out the translations.. but how do you know they are on lower settings? Well, I asked the main translator and he said he doesn't know now on which settings it was, and said that it doesn't matter now because the game and graphics have changed over the months

And about those 2 characters which have the same face, he said they are from differrent regions and that the game has many hundreds of NPCs so that some of them are going to share the same or similiar faces is expected and can't be avoided

 

[Gbraga]

Can't see why not

Yes, the same options

I believe I remember reading that the console versions will have all the same HUD options as the PC version.


Those people are idiots. PC gamers playing on console think options are glorious.

Impossible to be sure of course, but I can't see why not. Things like that usually don't differ from PC to consoles.

They have said on Twitter that PC and consoles versions have the same options when it comes to HUD customisation..

This is great, thanks guys!

Think he means this kind of thing

Oh shit, auto-fade is an option for HUD?

All off with Health, Signs and Potions as auto-fade for me! AW YISSSSSS

 

[DOWN]

Wilderness

 

[komplanen]

What's the latest on save game imports from Witcher 2? Any clue what it'll actually bring over?

 

[Xaero Gravity]

Wilderness

God, I'm in love with how dense all that is. I'm more than willing to deal with a bit of pop in if it means having stuff like that.

 

[StrongBlackVine]

Ready for that console footage next week..

 

[Super Stardust]

Such attention to little details. I love it.

yeah, Geralts ears turning red when its cold is a nice touch

 

[misho8723]

Wilderness

Looks great..from where are those scenes?

 

[DOWN]

Looks great..from where are those scenes?

Not sure what the region is called but I made the gifs (messily) from PietSmiet's video in the OP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALGJGDRnHT0

 

[Primethius]

Wilderness

I want to go to there.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Facial animation gif montage.

I will never get over how much they improved in this area over the Witcher 2. No more dead eyes!

 

[red36]

did someone say there was a video with hairworks turned on?

 

[DOWN]

did someone say there was a video with hairworks turned on?

In the OP, AngryJoe and Jesse's vids appear to have it turned on.

 

[red36]

In the OP, AngryJoe and Jesse's vids appear to have it turned on.

Orly? I sort of half watched their vids but couldn't persist through their voices. Thanks!

 

[SaberEdge]

Kind of an odd thing that Hairworks looks amazing on the animals, but on that Geralt hairstyle, I think it looks worse than regular hair in the game in most ways besides having good separation. It looks very shiny, the ends are very even like its newly salon cut, and it seems to have to catch up with gravity as if it lingers floating behind Geralt's movements and overall moving unrealistically. The non-Hairworks hair has a believable unevenness in lengths like its messy from moving, it doesn't float much, and doesn't look like it has that sort of shine that early TressFX had too.

Looks like it has cool separation of strands, so I'd use it for that and because of the creatures, but if it was a serious performance hit, I think as it looks in the preview videos it wouldn't be a big loss to turn it off. The standard hair is well done.

Well, you'll be playing on PS4 so I guess that works out for you.

 

[Fiery Phoenix]

Have to say Gopher's videos are definitely the best of the bunch. Professional and well done presentation.

 

[charsace]

Playing Witcher 2 and even though it looks good, this looks noticeably better. The character models have improved a lot.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

Can't believe in a few weeks we'll be playing this. I'm really hoping they've got the original Witcher 1 hairstyle in. Think I'm going to go with that and a beard.

Love the new screen with the cutoff jacket and pointy boots. Fucking pointy boots!

 

[plasmawave]

Playing Witcher 2 and even though it looks good, this looks noticeably better. The character models have improved a lot.

And they actually have facial expressions now.

 

[Primethius]

Facial animation gif montage.

I will never get over how much they improved in this area over the Witcher 2. No more dead eyes!

Holy shit, non-bearded Geralt looks so strange...

I really must have gotten used to the beard in TW3 quick.

 

[Loakum]

Zombie Geralt is too old for this shit.

He looks drunk as hell in that pic. Like he's about to hurl chunks at any moment.

 

[Tovarisc]

Playing Witcher 2 and even though it looks good, this looks noticeably better. The character models have improved a lot.

I just finished up Roche playthrough and have to say that TW2 is still great looking game. Kinda funny how most optimal/fastest way of travel is to have a sword in hand and roll around like Sonic. Also had hard time in Act 3,

Spoiler

choosing between Triss and Anaïs

, that always been struggle for me for some reason.

Still going to do Iorveth playthrough and looking towards to learn more about Saskia the Dragonslayer.

Edit: I wonder what that comet is, just skybox filler?

 

[misho8723]

I just finished up Roche playthrough and have to say that TW2 is still great looking game. Kinda funny how most optimal/fastest way of travel is to have a sword in hand and roll around like Sonic. Also had hard time in Act 3,

Spoiler

choosing between Triss and Anaïs

, that always been struggle for me for some reason.

Still going to do Iorveth playthrough and looking towards to learn more about Saskia the Dragonslayer.

Edit: I wonder what that comet is, just skybox filler?

Wild Hunt? or something to do with them.. maybe it predicts their return

 

[Tovarisc]

Wild Hunt? or something to do with them.. maybe it predicts their return

Duh, how that slipped my mind.

Journal entry, TW2;
According to the Nordlings, the Wild Hunt is a procession, or rather a cavalcade of skeletal horsemen. They rush across the sky on the bony remains of steeds. Clad in rusty remnants of armor, they wear jagged swords at their waists. Like comets, the Wild Hunt is an omen of war, which has been confirmed beyond all doubt.
http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Wild_Hunt

 

[red36]

Have to say Gopher's videos are definitely the best of the bunch. Professional and well done presentation.

Yeah I watched/listen to several all the way through. Gopher's are easily the strongest and provide the most useful information. The or english speaking ones just seem to treat the experience like a roller coaster.

 

[BigTnaples]

I just finished up Roche playthrough and have to say that TW2 is still great looking game. Kinda funny how most optimal/fastest way of travel is to have a sword in hand and roll around like Sonic. Also had hard time in Act 3,

Spoiler

choosing between Triss and Anaïs

, that always been struggle for me for some reason.

Still going to do Iorveth playthrough and looking towards to learn more about Saskia the Dragonslayer.

Edit: I wonder what that comet is, just skybox filler?

I heard NPCs talking about it on my play through last week, but it never amounted to anything. I was curious as well.



Also who is Anais?

 

[HeelPower]

Facial animation gif montage.

I will never get over how much they improved in this area over the Witcher 2. No more dead eyes!

Yeah,its a huge leap.

TW2 was very limited in this department.