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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - New screenshots

SaberEdge

Member
I wanted to give a quick example to further illustrate the point I was making about 'labels' in judging the quality of different lighting approaches.

2744133-ac-iv-comparison-6-2.png

kz7.jpg~original

Which of the games above has better lighting?

Assassin's Creed 4 uses a form of "global illumination", while Killzone Shadow Fall is using image based lighting with physically based rendering (which is basically the same setup as The Witcher 3 is using).

I know both games can look better and worse than the screenshots above, but having played through both games I think I was more impressed with the lighting in KZ Shadow Fall more often than the lighting in AC4 (although I loved the day-night cycle).

I hope this makes it clear that we can't judge the quality of a lighting system in a game simply by the label that is slapped on it.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
I wanted to give a quick example to further illustrate the point I was making about 'labels' in judging the quality of different lighting approaches.

2744133-ac-iv-comparison-6-2.png

kz7.jpg~original

Which of the games above has better lighting?

Assassin's Creed 4 uses a form of "global illumination", while Killzone Shadow Fall is using image based lighting with physically based rendering (which is basically the same setup as The Witcher 3 is using).

I know both games can look better and worse than the screenshots above, but having played through both games I think I was more impressed with the lighting in KZ Shadow Fall more often than the lighting in AC4 (although I loved the day-night cycle).

I hope this makes it clear that we can't judge the quality of a lighting system in a game simply by the label that is slapped on it.

Oh god.

Please change/remove the KZ image because the compression artifacts are stabbing me in the eyes.
 
I was actually agreeing with you. I'm glad there will be options, because most of the HUD includes information I'd rather not see. I don't need text identifying an ogre with one eye as a cyclops, or any other superfluous info the HUD loves to provide. My level of enjoyment in a game like this depends very much the level of immersion I experience. So yeah, minimal info on screen is my preference.
Oh, I know, I was being sarcastic :D
 
Love these shots.

My only teeny tiny complaint is that the HUD is a bit intrusive. Would love an option to make the items smaller of remove some.


Looks amazing!
 
All those games use precomputed global illumination to one degree or another. It doesn't work the binary way many people imagine, where global illumination is either "baked" or not baked. There are a lot of different techniques and implementations but they all currently use precomputed data in one form or another (i.e light probes etc.), as far as I'm aware. Perhaps The Tomorrow Children can be considered to be using a truly dynamic real-time global illumination.

In any case, it's not like a game that ostensibly has "global illumination" is automatically going to have better or more convincing lighting than a game without it. The HDR image based lighting with physically based properties in The Witcher 3 is looking really good, for example, and may look subjectively better than many games that purportedly use "global illumination".
As far as I know, the games that say they use dynamic real-time GI are using various fast-baking algorithms to approximate it, since actual dynamic real-time GI can usually only be done with much more powerful CGI-level hardware. The only exception to this might indeed be The Tomorrow Children.

Assassin's Creed 4 uses a form of "global illumination", while Killzone Shadow Fall is using image based lighting with physically based rendering (which is basically the same setup as The Witcher 3 is using).

I know both games can look better and worse than the screenshots above, but having played through both games I think I was more impressed with the lighting in KZ Shadow Fall more often than the lighting in AC4 (although I loved the day-night cycle).

I hope this makes it clear that we can't judge the quality of a lighting system in a game simply by the label that is slapped on it.
AC4 might use pre-baked GI, but it lacks physically based rendering. If a game is using physically based rendering, then that will enhance the lighting, whether it's HDR image based lighting or more advanced GI lighting. On the other hand, ACU uses pre-baked GI lighting with physically based rendering, and the lighting there clearly looks better than Killzone SF as a result.

Anyway, I can see your point. There are more factors that go into the lighting than just the lighting technique alone. Physically based rendering is another important factor as well. Basically: GI+PBR > IBL+PBR > GI > IBL.
 
Come on GAF, how come none of you haven't posted this yet?

rBb1HGl.png

I'm not worried about it at all, like I said before they did a fantastic job with W2 considering the hardware......but I don't want screen shots in this day and age. Video does it best for me.

BTW how would Kamiya know this? Just asking, I saw one from a CDPR dev saying next week for footage though.
 
CD Projekt dev tweeted that next week some PS4 footage should surface though.

And next week the embargo for the youtubers is lifted, really interested in what they have to say.
 
I thought those games were both prebaked GI? ACU definitely does. I think Fable Legends is the only open world game with actual real time GI.

Fable uses the worst kind of dynamic GI solution called LPV which si restricted , limited and has many bugs and doesn't work for interiors that is why they added a mix of baked static GI (Lightmass) for it (the interiors) too !
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
They probably mean it, because next week the embargo drops for the YouTubers event, and they apparently got to see the console builds.
 

misho8723

Banned
They probably mean it, because next week the embargo drops for the YouTubers event, and they apparently got to see the console builds.

I don't know if the Youtubers are going to have any new info about the console versions, because they didn't mentioned anything about them in the videos or posts they released so far and all of them played the game on PC
But maybe Playstastion Poland is going to release some PS4 footage
 

Black Hat

Member
I don't know if the Youtubers are going to habe any new info about the console versions, because they didn't mentioned anything about them in the videos or posts they released so far and all of them played the game on PC
But maybe Playstastion Poland is going to release some PS4 footage

Yeah, in all the videos/vlogs that I've seen they were on PC.
 
The screenshots look pretty good, but it's a bit of a let down that The Witcher 3 isn't using any global illumination, especially when games like Ryse, The Order 1886 and FFXV are using global illumination on weaker console hardware.

Pretty sure they are using some form of IBL global relighting. Otherwise... those shadows would be pitch black.
 

DOWN

Banned
Looks great.
That hud though.. want to cram some other shit in there?
Seems like the further from the major publisher's studios you get, the less the devs know about minimalism and focus on a HUD.
I wanted to give a quick example to further illustrate the point I was making about 'labels' in judging the quality of different lighting approaches.

2744133-ac-iv-comparison-6-2.png

kz7.jpg~original

Which of the games above has better lighting?

Assassin's Creed 4 uses a form of "global illumination", while Killzone Shadow Fall is using image based lighting with physically based rendering (which is basically the same setup as The Witcher 3 is using).

I know both games can look better and worse than the screenshots above, but having played through both games I think I was more impressed with the lighting in KZ Shadow Fall more often than the lighting in AC4 (although I loved the day-night cycle).

I hope this makes it clear that we can't judge the quality of a lighting system in a game simply by the label that is slapped on it.
Keep in mind that "lower quality" can be people referring to the style and result displayed, regardless of how advanced the tech is. If it is used in a disappointing way, due to technique or otherwise, it can still be called bad or low quality for a number of reasons based on the visual cues.
 
Keep in mind that "lower quality" can be people referring to the style and result displayed, regardless of how advanced the tech is. If it is used in a disappointing way, due to technique or otherwise, it can still be called bad or low quality for a number of reasons based on the visual cues.

A lot of people also have learned cues that they react off of. People think cerpuscular rays look great, even though they are actually rather unrealistic in most games and far from being technically demanding or accurate.

The lack of aliasing in those above screens is reassuring. I am curious if that is the IQ of a 980 specced PC @ 60.
 

Quotient

Member
I just noticed the clock in the screen (top right). It seems a little out of place, considering that time probably wasn't tracked to that degree of accuracy in that period.
 

erawsd

Member
I just noticed the clock in the screen (top right). It seems a little out of place, considering that time probably wasn't tracked to that degree of accuracy in that period.

Yeah, its one of those those things thats just there for our benefit since time of day has some influence over monsters, npcs, quests, ect.
 

Thorgal

Member
I wonder how my 780 ti Clasified is gonna handle this game ...

I do not mind swithing some effects down a notch but that Fur tech is one thing i do not want to give up on .
 

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
really hope we can hide the UI. first time seeing it and I'm not really into it. Looks too rigid and "hey here are your stats!"
 
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