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GAF Breath of the Wild Wii U performance impressions

O

oni-link

Member
Mods, feel free to lock this if it's not appropriate, but I feel like it's hard to find concentrated discussion on the Wii U version of the game

There is the Switch v Wii U Digital Foundry thread, but as a lot of people also have issues with the Switch version it's not always clear which version people are talking about

I didn't want to post in the OT as I didn't want to come across any spoilers, and again, it's not always clear which version is being discussed when posters comment on the game

So I wanted to make a thread for people playing the Wii U version of the game to post their impressions, and how they're finding the performance of the game, and how that is impacting how much they're enjoying it

I have the Wii U version ordered, so would appreciate the views of those already playing it on that platform

Personally I'm a little worried, as a few people have said there are later areas in the game that DF have yet to test that run abysmally on Wii U

How are those playing it on Wii U finding the game?

I managed to play the PS3 versions of Far Cry 3 and Dragon's Dogma, and enjoyed them despite the performance, is Zelda Wii U worse than those games?

Edit: Can we try and avoid spoilers if possible, thanks
 
Freeman76

Freeman76

Member
It has performance issues, no doubt. I am usually very sensitive to that stuff but it seems OK with this game as I am so mesmerised by everything else in it.
 
J

johnvr

Member
I was fine with it until my session right now. One large section of the game was most definitely sub 20 fps the whole time I was there. Left the area after it started to give me a headache, I think I will only return that way a few times. Wish I could play it handheld on switch but honestly the game is so good that it's worth playing even with the flaws.
 
Logsi

Logsi

Member
I'm finding it quite intrusive and makes me avoid towns. I hope it gets fixed as it's not acceptable.

The game though. I can already tell it will be my favourite of all time in the Zelda series.
 
S

simatron3000

Member
Only time performance has truly impeded my enjoyment of the game was during the desert boss fight. Pretty much 20fps the whole way through and you really have to wrestle with the camera, few deaths cause I couldn't get the boss into focus.

Other than that it does break the immersion at times, particularly in the villages, but the game is still incredibly playable, and I play on a 165hz monitor on PC
 
G

Guess Who

Banned
It definitely has issues, but I've never found it unplayably bad. From what I've seen it's very similar to the Switch's docked mode, though apparently the Wii U version gets quite a bit worse in later areas. If you don't want to shell out $300 for a Switch it's a totally fine way to experience the game.
 
P

papercan55

Member
Guess Who said:
It definitely has issues, but I've never found it unplayably bad. From what I've seen it's very similar to the Switch's docked mode, though apparently the Wii U version gets quite a bit worse in later areas. If you don't want to shell out $300 for a Switch it's a totally fine way to experience the game.
Click to expand...

The sooner digital foundry release more videos explaining later issues in the game the better.
People are basing impressions of the first digital foundry video taken from the great plateau opening area which is fairly similar for both platforms.

On wii u later villages and other locations frequently run at 20fps and go even lower when raining.
On switch those same locations run at mostly 30fps with occasional dips, this is in docked mode. In portable mode it's slightly better but still pretty much 30fps.
The game deserves a patch to improve performance, they really should tidy it up before the dlc hits later this year.
 
gamerforever

gamerforever

Banned
Minor framerate drops in villages - a little bit annoying, but doesn't really affect my enjoyment.

Looking to get the Switch around Christmas time and will replay Zelda with slightly better resolution and framerate then.

My main gripe is that 720p is just not enough on a 4K tv set and at times it doesn't even feel like the game is HD at all, which is very disappointing. Cannot wait to replay it in 900P.
 
S

Skyzard

Banned
Put almost 20 hours in, usually very sensitive to framerate issues but I can put it aside pretty easily playing on the gamepad (more so than the tv for some reason). Also looks really fantastic on the gamepad.

Sometimes it drops a little briefly in encounters, often in villages but I'm just walking about through them having a look around.

It's a great game and that makes it easier to forgive.
 
C

chronic_archaic

Member
Village performance is ass sometimes, minor problem. Game is fully enjoyable. Looks great on my 24 1080 set. Game plays great on the gamepad once you get used to the awkward controls.
 
M

mxgt

Banned
It's really bad in places, had a section yesterday where it was running at 20 or sub 20 the entire time I was there.

It's my biggest issue with the game, and if the game wasn't one of the best I've ever played then I would have dropped it a long time ago.

In short: The performance is terrible in places (towns, crowded areas, combat with multiple enemies), but the game is good enough to put up with it.
 
killatopak

killatopak

Member
Played it a lot and it's still good.

I compared it to my switch version and you're not really missing anything if you play on either one.

Just have fun guys.
 
T

T-0800

Member
I'm about 5 hours in on Wii U and while I see drops they aren't making me regret my purchase at all. I'm not ready to spend money on a Switch and what an amazing last game for the Wii U.
 
R

rokero

Member
I'm playing the wiiu version and it runs well 90% of the time, you get drops here and there but nothing major imo, I did get a major drop the other day single digits going into the Dark Ruins it got pretty bad
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
It's bad.

Most towns/ranches consistengly run at 20fps or lower, continued drops during combat are commonplace and sometimes, depending on how you fight, the game might even collapse to the point of "freezing" for a few seconds... What seems to consistently trigger this for me is doing headshots against moblins, especially when there are two on screen.

People will tell you it's not unplayable, and I mostly agree, but it definitely gets in the way of gameplay. And note that I consider this one of the best games I've ever played... But I can tell you that if it were any other game, I'd think of dropping it.
 
W

Weltall Zero

Member
I am extremelly sensitive to framerate and to me even 30 FPS is less than ideal, but framerate really goes to hell in villages (sub-20 would be my guess), which is odd because it instantly gets back to 30 FPS once you talk to someone and the camera zooms on them... even if you're still seeing all the other villagers behind them. I have an intuition that it's not so much the visuals that make the game dip as much as NPC AI (which freezes alongside the rest of the game when you're talking to someone).

That said the game is so incredibly enjoyable that I barely mind. Seriously, even with the wildest expectations going in, the game still manages to blow my mind constantly. It also helps a lot that most of the action takes place in the wild, obviously.

oni-link said:
I managed to play the PS3 versions of Far Cry 3 and Dragon's Dogma, and enjoyed them despite the performance, is Zelda Wii U worse than those games?
Click to expand...

From what I've played, absolutely not. I had to stop playing PS3 DD precisely because of the framerate (then went on to finish it on PC); BotW is nowhere near that level from what I've played so far. Again, it helps a lot that so far in BotW dips are confined to villages, where framerate is much less crucial.
 
J

jdstorm

Banned
Bought the WiiU version, mainly for future emulation purposes and because Im hoping for a Switch Hardware Revision soon.

Its perfectly playable a few hours in and if there are any drops, I havent noticed them so far.

Cant wait to see this game at 4k or even 8k.
 
O

oni-link

Member
Dizzy-4U said:
You played Dragon's Dogma? You're more than fine then.
Click to expand...

Have you played the Wii U version?

Yeah I know Dragon's Dogma didn't run well on PS3, but I still really enjoyed it, the performance didn't detract too much from the experience for me personally

It's just a concern when a lot of people are saying the Wii U version drops to a single digit framerate for extended periods

I decided to buy the game on Wii U after the first DF video looking at just the first hour of the game, however that was apparently misleading as the Wii U version gets worse in the latter areas (according to a lot of impressions I'd read in other threads)

If it's not worse than Dogma I'll be fine
 
S

Skyzard

Banned
oni-link said:
...
It's just a concern when a lot of people are saying the Wii U version drops to a single digit framerate for extended periods

...
Click to expand...

I think that's probably a bug. Haven't seen it on my adventures, but I've seen footage of the switch do that too.
 
C

Crayolan

Member
Frame drops seem to be random, sometimes I'll just be walking through a field and it will stutter, other times I will get into a combat with a giant enemy and the framerate stays solid. I'm not the best at noticing this though so maybe I'm missing when it happens more.

The only times I notice consistent dips are when there's some kind of big exploision or particle effect going on (which is understandable) or when I'm fighting moblins, which completely destroy the game for some reason. Whenever you engage moblins there's like a 50/50 chance the framerate tanks hard, and twice I've even had the screen freeze for like a second. For me, that that's the only noticeably bad thing which affects my enjoyment because it makes me want to avoid fighting them.

Pop-in is also pretty bad. Draw distance is really good on the environment, you can see things all the way across the map if you're high enough, but smaller things like people, enemies, trees, etc will despawn while still closer to you than you'd expect. I've also had 2 cases of things just not loading when I approached them. One time it was a tree, so I could see a chest inside of it just floating in the air, and one time it was all the objects in a room, so I was confused as it looked like an empty room at first before all the detail loaded in.

Despite all this, I'm still loving the game, and don't regret getting the Wii U version. Performance is my biggest issue with the game.
 
D

Dunkley

Member
Tolerable in the first half, abysmal in the second. Some later areas really shit the bed in performance and even with Wind Waker WiiU regarded this might just be Nintendo's weakest offering from a technical perspective.

Still the game is good, like really really good, but I guess that is besides the point if we're exclusively discussing WiiU performance as opposed to any subjective views regarding the game's quality.

But yeah I am approaching the final boss and the technical issues have been far more noticeable in the second half.
 
S

sirap

Member
If you can stand drops to 20fps when engaging enemies or exploring in rain, towns or tropical jungles...go ahead.
 
S

Skyzard

Banned
Dunkley said:
Tolerable in the first half, abysmal in the second. Some later areas really shit the bed in performance and even with Wind Waker WiiU regarded this might just be Nintendo's weakest offering from a technical perspective.

Still the game is good, like really really good, but I guess that is besides the point if we're exclusively discussing WiiU performance as opposed to any subjective views regarding the game's quality.

But yeah I am approaching the final boss and the technical issues have been far more noticeable in the second half.
Click to expand...

What are the open areas in the second half of the game that are causing issues called? Will try and check them out faster than I might have otherwise, but a name/directions would help.

Disappointing if that's the case, I've been coping fine with it so far :(
 
N

NewGame

Banned
The towns definitely have drops that are annoying. Combat is smooth most of the time.

Sometimes I get some weird slight stutter with a screen tear for 1-2 seconds, maybe once a session (3-4 hours) and I can't seem to replicate them, might be a WiiU issue not Zelda specific.

No problems with explosions, boss fights or flying over huge areas. No problems at all during the cutscenes and such.

Sometimes if I load up the game and try to rush somewhere there's some weird pop in and menu item pictures don't load immediately.

Everything here is really minor, a slight disturbance to an otherwise smooth and beautiful experience, feels like Shadow Of The Colossus levels of nuisance; doesn't ruin the game in a significant fashion unless you pay total attention to it- which you won't because the game is so compelling itself.


Honestly if you want to have perfect 100% performance, you have to wait for emulation to iron everything out but if you have a WiiU and want to play this game there is no reasonable or sensible idea to not jump right in

This is the Mario 64, Ocarina Of Time, Halo or World Of Warcraft moment of gaming history

Don't let petulant technical frets stop you from being a part of it. Take a deep breath and go into the wild.
 
B

blankempathy

Member
Skyzard said:
I think that's probably a bug. Haven't seen it on my adventures, but I've seen footage of the switch do that too.
Click to expand...

It has to be a bug. It happens when humanoid enemies are knocked down and freezes for like a second. Completely random as well with a low chance of occurrence from what I've seen. I've maybe experienced it 4 times total in my 40+ hours of gameplay.
 
D

Dizzy-4U

Member
oni-link said:
Have you played the Wii U version?

Yeah I know Dragon's Dogma didn't run well on PS3, but I still really enjoyed it, the performance didn't detract too much from the experience for me personally

It's just a concern when a lot of people are saying the Wii U version drops to a single digit framerate for extended periods

I decided to buy the game on Wii U after the first DF video looking at just the first hour of the game, however that was apparently misleading as the Wii U version gets worse in the latter areas (according to a lot of impressions I'd read in other threads)

If it's not worse than Dogma I'll be fine
Click to expand...
Yes, I finished Dogma on PS3 and I'm playing Zelda on Wii U. While both games have some serious framerate drops, I think Zelda is a little bit more stable. Dogma bug the hell out of me. Not as bad as Drakengard 3 though.
 
O

Orniletter

Banned
I've played about 35 hours...and it's OK.

The performance can get rough in spots, but it's always playable.

It helps that it's one of the best games ever made we are talking about, tolerating it's shortcomings is more than worth it.
 
W

w3bba

Member
noticeable especially in towns. but it's bearable and doesn't hinder the experience too much. I am actually quite impressed by the performance considering the graphics, the size of the world and the physics
 
Z

zeox

Member
I think the biggest problem for me has been the input responsiveness when the FPS tanks. missing a jump because the paraglider didn't trigger in a random fps drop is infuriating. other than that, it's fine
 
B

big_z

Member
Weltall Zero said:
I am extremelly sensitive to framerate and to me even 30 FPS is less than ideal, but framerate really goes to hell in villages (sub-20 would be my guess), which is odd because it instantly gets back to 30 FPS once you talk to someone and the camera zooms on them... even if you're still seeing all the other villagers behind them. I have an intuition that it's not so much the visuals that make the game dip as much as NPC AI (which freezes alongside the rest of the game when you're talking to someone).
Click to expand...


I thought about the AI thing myself but if you move to one area of the village it runs better than another even though you can still watch the npc characters go about their lives. This is the first Zelda that allows seamless interiors which makes me wonder if theres a problem with the culling. Whatever it is if the switch had come out in July I have a feeling Zelda would have been polished a lot more when it comes to framerate. Shame pleasing shareholders takes priority.
 
T

The_Lump

Banned
Mine is performing flawlessly
still sealed, in it's box on my collectables shelf awaiting it's value to go bananas like Gamecube Twilight Princess did :p
 
O

oni-link

Member
This thread seems a lot more positive in general that those discussing the Wii U version in other threads, which is a relief

I think being in the GAF bubble can mean things sometimes get blown out of proportion

I mean, sure I love 60fps games but I've played games that are 30fps with drops for years, and I don't think I've ever found that to be a deal breaker if the game is fun and well designed

I just didn't want to experience what a lot of people are saying is a masterpiece of the medium if there would massive framerate drops into the single digits on a frequent basis

I should get the game Friday so I will update this thread with my impressions once I get started
 
S

SandTorso

Member
It runs at a mostly stable 30fps from what I've gathered, but especially early on it gets choppy. Villages also run pretty poorly consistently (20fps). Even so, as someone who usually does what they can to get 60fps on PC, it's not the worst thing I've ever experienced in terms of performance.

If your options is Wii U or nothing at all, go for it. Performance is somewhat disappointing, but it doesn't ruin the game by any means. I feel like it's roughly on par with The Last of Us on PS3 from what I remember. I feel like that game got choppy every once in a while too.
 
M

mediapulp_wes

Member
I'm only on the Plateau and my second shrine. I'm also not someone who pays particular attention to framerates, but for what it's worth I have no complaints about the experience at all. if you're a Wii U owner, it's a no brainer for me. Save yourself the price of a Switch.
 
T

Thud

Member
Wizzrobes are frame rate killers.

Also weather effects at stables take a heavy toll on the performance. I've seen it drop below 15 fps.
 
N

nOoblet16

Member
The framerate hardlocks to 20 (goes lower if it rains) in villages or pretty much any time it has to draw more than an empty field...So if there is a relatively complex structure in front of you or some NPCs it'll drop. Gordon city is the only town that runs relatively stable. The game also drops framerate a lot in combat anytime there is anything going on for physics or particles. WiiU has a weakass CPU btw even by PS360 standards, but I am still surprised because some of these drops that occur even from something basic like ragdoll physics. If you hit a Moblin in death mountain the game drops frames and if you knock him off his feet the game will simply freeze for a split second. This happens I'm both Switch and WiiU version. Probably some bug related to ragdoll but it ultimately affects the performance.


I am enjoying the game but it's definitely has a below average performance (contrary to what people think, games in recent years have had pretty stable framerates). The only big game in recent memory that I can think which performs as bad as this is Fallout 4.
 
D

Daknight

Member
I am glad I am not sensitive to frame drops, I haven't notice in towns (at least the ones I visit). Do see some slight stuttering from time to time but hardly.

There is indeed one major flaw I do experience but only when fighting the giant bokogoblins in the framerate halting to a freeze for a second when even a big hit lands or arrows. Hasn't stop my enjoyment...but is very obvious in those instances.
 
P

Professional Enthusiast

Member
Just ordered the Wii U versions since I couldn't find a Switch on launch day and Im also hoping the hardware issues get ironed out. Hoping to hear more performance impressions from you guys.
 
The Hermit

The Hermit

Member
Logsi said:
I'm finding it quite intrusive and makes me avoid towns. I hope it gets fixed as it's not acceptable.

The game though. I can already tell it will be my favourite of all time in the Zelda series.
Click to expand...

I think I wrote this quote, because it's pretty much what I think

30hr in and beated one dungeon.
 
Z

Zips

Member
I haven't found it getting in the way. Vast majority of the time out in the world there's no real issues outside of some slight slowdown when enemies/effects/weather add up to put more load on the processing. There is consistent slowdown in the villages, due to how densely packed they are, and how Nintendo went the route of seemingly pre-loading everything inside of (nearby) buildings so you can quickly enter/exit structures.

Some people are just more bothered by these things than others.
 
P

PeterVenkman

Member
Performance is just bad. As other have said, towns are a stuttering nightmare. The open world is ok until too many creatures, structures or precipitation happens.

I'm still enjoying the game but damn. The fps is terrible. It detracts from gameplay and general enjoyment each time I play.
 
R

Rodin

Member
I wonder if it's the shit tier cpu the reason why the frame rate dies on Wii U in towns. Too many ai with their complex routines together in the same place perhaps?
 
D

Dinskugga

Member
Wii U player

Just played around 10hours and performance/fps is fine for 99% of the time where i am. But Village performance is pretty bad.


Im really worried about late game when i read here :/

And have Nintendo ever put out an performance patch???
 
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