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[Mista]

Arriving in the form of a Complete Edition, this is possibly the boldest Switch project to date. Rendering a complex world like The Witcher 3's on a handheld involves cutbacks - in texture resolution, shadows and terrain quality. All of these feature in the latest Switch trailer - but the world is crucially intact, and appears to be running at 30fps. As a handheld version, the glimpse into what's in store is promising, as Tom covers.

the studio says that the game operates at a dynamic 720p while docked and 540p while handheld. Analysis of the small amount of footage released to date shows a native 1280x720 at the top-end, dropping to 896x504 at the minimum. Remarkably though, from the small amount of foot

Given the complexity of the game and Switch's mobile-orientated hardware, first impressions still suggest an impressive technical feat. The only snag is that anti-aliasing quality is evidently low, which can make the stair-stepping stick out. Playing handheld may well be a better way to evaluate the Switch version's strengths - despite the resolution drop, the smaller screen usually works well in mitigating reductions in fidelity.

Last but not least, shadow resolution and the SSAO set-up are on the receiving end of a cut as well. In short, it ends up giving the Switch output a lighter appearance overall. In fact, it looks like ambient occlusion - the shade between objects - is either cut out completely or running in a limited capacity, which does make sense.

Every chop and change is a necessary for performance. How Saber Interactive ends up balancing frame-rate with visual quality will be fascinating to see. The trailer itself is only a 30fps encode, presumably to match the target frame-rate of the game. The feed isn't good for getting a precise lock on performance in terms of frame-times, but the fact that the entire sequence plays out with only the slightest of wobbles at least bodes well.

Here's how The Witcher 3 on Switch compares to PlayStation 4

Initial head-to-head comparisons look ciri-ously impressive.

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Fake]

 

[RedVIper]

Looks like runescape.

 

[Stuart360]

If you use Switch only as a handheld, then i suppose it wouldnt be too bad. I could never play this docked though.

 

[Fake]

Confirm a 1280x720 dynamic resolution while docked. One note: None of the shots he analyzes runs at 720p.

 

[Stuart360]

ARK: Witcher 3 Devolved.

 

[mckmas8808]

WHOA!!!! Some of those shots look gross.

 

[Fake]

'Could require download'.

 

[NickFire]

All the Witcher 3 news lately has me feeling like I missed out on something great. Is it still worth picking up (on PS4)?

 

[KingT731]

All the Witcher 3 news lately has me feeling like I missed out on something great. Is it still worth picking up (on PS4)?

I' say def. Especially considering it's on sale for 15$ on the PS store

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition

The most awarded game of 2015 Become a monster slayer for hire and embark on an epic journey to track down the child of prophecy, a living weapon capable of untold destruction. The Complete Edition includes The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt, all 16 DLCs, and 2 Expansion Packs Hearts of Stone Blood and Wine.

store.playstation.com

 

[Kazza]

Do you think they'll charge $60 for this?

 

[PhoenixTank]

Do you think they'll charge $60 for this?

32GB cart on top of a technically difficult port, so I'd be surprised if it was at a bargain price.

'Could require download'.

 

[Kazza]

I wonder how low Switch owners will be willing to go in terms of resolution? The 3DS and Vita were 800 x 240 and 960 x 544 respectively, so 540p doesn't sound too bad when compared to those.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

I wonder how low Switch owners will be willing to go in terms of resolution? The 3DS and Vita were 800 x 240 and 960 x 544 respectively, so 540p doesn't sound too bad when compared to those.

Only the devil deals in absolutes. I have a gaming pc, xbox one x, ps4 pro and a switch. I'd be willing to go as low as it takes to have a decent on the go experience-something NONE of the others can provide. This would be amazing to play on the plane or train.

 

[comshoplesce]

too expensive, for ps4 retail is about 20€ and you can resell it.

 

[Armorian]

Do you think they'll charge $60 for this?

It's 200+h worth of content, plus as mentioned above game drops on expensive cart.

too expensive, for ps4 retail is about 20€ and you can resell it.

You can resell this one too, it's not Spyro

I'm not saying that full retail price is fair for 2015/16 game but it's at least somewhat justified.

 

[Kittehkraken]

I wonder how low Switch owners will be willing to go in terms of resolution? The 3DS and Vita were 800 x 240 and 960 x 544 respectively, so 540p doesn't sound too bad when compared to those.

Games looked pretty good on the Wii U Gamepads screen at 480p when i played them via Off TV Play. And the Gamepads screen isn't the best either.

 

[Barakov]

I'm glad they're doing for the people that want it but I think this is just way too much of a downgrade. It's just so superior on the HD twins and PC.

 

[sendit]

IMO, a device like the Switch needs to have a 2-3 year life cycle.

 

[SonGoku]

native 1280x720 at the top-end, dropping to 896x504 at the minimum

LOL even worse than my 720-540p dynamic estimate
That's docked!

If you use Switch only as a handheld, then i suppose it wouldnt be too bad. I could never play this docked though.

It will be just as bad, sub native resolution games look like ass on handhelds
I imagine this will drop to 480p or lower

Games looked pretty good on the Wii U Gamepads screen at 480p when i played them via Off TV Play

They were getting native resolution feed though and even down sampling, iq was pristine
Switch would look much better with a 480p screen

 

[EviLore]

All the Witcher 3 news lately has me feeling like I missed out on something great. Is it still worth picking up (on PS4)?

One of the best ever.

 

[SonGoku]

I wonder how low Switch owners will be willing to go in terms of resolution? The 3DS and Vita were 800 x 240 and 960 x 544 respectively, so 540p doesn't sound too bad when compared to those.

The thing about handhelds is games can look great at native resolution and awful sub native it get worse as the gap between native and render resolution widens. The image quality of RE revelations on the 3DS was much better than sub native abyss on Vita Imo.

Also keep in mind this is 540p dynamic meaning it will go lower than that so its even worse than it sounds.

 

[Kittehkraken]

They were getting native resolution feed though and even down sampling, iq was pristine
Switch would look much better with a 480p screen

The Gamepad screen was FAR from pristine IQ.

 

[SonGoku]

The Gamepad screen was FAR from pristine IQ.

Better than sub native handheld games Imo even accounting for streaming artifacts
Switch with a 480p IPS display wouldn't suffer from such artifacts

 

[loki 16]

Happy for switch owners, but this game is probably going to run like ass. Not even the PS4 and Xbox versions were great.

 

[Kazza]

The image quality of RE revelations on the 3DS was much better than sub native abyss on Vita Imo

I haven't played revelations yet, and have a choice on laying it between 3DS and PC. Which one is best? The res on the PC version has obviously been bumped up, but maybe a game originally design for a portable looks and plays best on a portable rather than on a big screen.

 

[SonGoku]

Which one is best?

PC any day. Though the wow factor is there playing such impressive game on the 3DS at native resolution (lol), if you can find a cheap used copy get it on 3DS i like to play those types of games on a dark room on the bed or something.

 

[Virex]

All the Witcher 3 news lately has me feeling like I missed out on something great. Is it still worth picking up (on PS4)?

Absolutley my friend. It's a great experience. You won't regret it. It's a damn fine game and the expansions are equally good.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

I dont think anyone should be surprised, we knew it couldnt look that good considering the size. My biggest problem was when it was just rumored...just because you "can" port it, does it mean that you should? If the game is playable only in potato mode, does it require a release? Im glad morre people get to experience the game but man one of the selling points of W3 was its lush visuals 4 years ago with an amazing story. Im pretty sure they can port GTA5 too but does anyone actually want to play it in that state?

N NickFire

FUCK.YES.

 

[NickFire]

One of the best ever.

Picked it up right before sale ended. Haven't played yet but looking forward to it.

 

[LMJ]

It's a time sink N NickFire , but an awesome one lol

I don't think anybody here expected this game to look amazing Switch-side, in fact I would wager none of us did lol, but don't let that deter any of you Nintendo players only, it's a phenomenal game!

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Panzer Looks so sweet.

and yeah Switch handhold mode is pretty rad and doesn't need high res to look good. long as they hit a decent framerate this will be nice. will sell pretty well despite the huffing and puffing of elitists.

 

[StormCell]

I've still yet to actually enjoy Witcher 3. I own the complete edition for PS4.

As far as this Switch version, the only thing that's really important to the game is framerate and good enough enemy draw distance. I'm not at all blown away by the visuals of the game on PS4 Pro, so it looking more muddy on Switch doesn't mean anything to me. It really seems like this is a game that is massively story-driven, so getting immersed in that story is what's most important.