• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Digital Foundry - Witcher 3 performance analysis XO/PS4

Stacey

Banned
According to this video, it seems that the PS4 version has more pronounced effects than the Xbone version, especially early on in the video where there's a huge blast of dust on the PC/PS4 and it's almost not apparent on the xbone version. AF of course seems to be less on the XBO and the water reflections and even it's physics seem to be less pronounced on the Xbone as well. I'm really waiting to hear what Nxgamer discovers. This video was made after the day one patch of course.

Are those sort of differences ever mentioned by Digital Foundry?

These effects really help draw you into the game.
 

Javin98

Banned
According to this video, it seems that the PS4 version has more pronounced effects than the Xbone version, especially early on in the video where there's a huge blast of dust on the PC/PS4 and it's almost not apparent on the xbone version. AF of course seems to be less on the XBO and the water reflections and even it's physics seem to be less pronounced on the Xbone as well. I'm really waiting to hear what Nxgamer discovers. This video was made after the day one patch of course.
What this video really shows is how close all three versions are honestly. The significant differences on PC I've seen so far is foliage visibility and Hairworks. HBAO+ is supposed to look significantly better than SSAO as well, but I haven't seen it in this game. Regarding the XB1 version, the dust looks to be dynamic and is occasionally missing on the PS4 version as well. It is curious that it seems to be completely absent in the XB1 version in the video though. Bug, maybe? And water reflections do look a tad less refined but I can't be too sure about that.
 
Are those sort of differences ever mentioned by Digital Foundry?

These effects really help draw you into the game.

Even if the effects difference are present DF won't share as major thing to show the difference between PS4 & XB1, because they are somewhat biased to XB1 version most of the time in every face off for me.
 

Laughing Banana

Weeping Pickle
Even if the effects difference are present DF won't share as major thing to show the difference between PS4 & XB1, because they are somewhat biased to XB1 version most of the time in every face off for me.

That's a pretty huge accusation to make. Especially in something like DF which relies on correct and honest technical assessment for people to trust them, which is incredibly important for them to continue existing.
 

Javin98

Banned

Nizz

Member
So let me get this straight, is there a performance patch coming to PS4 or not? I wanted to pick up the game but all the talk about the framerate has me not wanting to get the game. Would have been perfect too with the the Memorial day weekend coming up.
 
So let me get this straight, is there a performance patch coming to PS4 or not? I wanted to pick up the game but all the talk about the framerate has me not wanting to get the game. Would have been perfect too with the the Memorial day weekend coming up.

mmmv2gb.png
 
Don't get me wrong, but I don't think they will fix the framerate issues in the swamp and in the rain with patches.

They could improve on the loading time after dying though, like Bloodborne did.
 

Javin98

Banned
You need to reload the page to get the images.
Thanks, I'll try it later. On my phone right now on a mobile network.

Don't get me wrong, but I don't think they will fix the framerate issues in the swamp and in the rain with patches.

They could improve on the loading time after dying though, like Bloodborne did.
CDP may not be able to patch the performance to a solid 30FPS in swamps, but a 5FPS boost is still substantial if it's possible IMO.
 

Percy

Banned
Not long ago, I might have felt sorry for CDPR having to have the worst version of their new game at the forefront of all the advertising for it, but after the downgrades it's hard to muster too much sympathy.
 

valkyre

Member
Is it me or is the difference in IQ quite more pronounced than usual between PS4 and XB1? Some 900p XB1 games dont seem to have that much of a difference in IQ, but with W3 this seems to be quite substantial.

As far as loading times go yes they are quite lengthy but my absolute priority -and I believe everyones for that matter- is stuttering elimination and framerate tweaking. This is way more important i think.
 

Noobcraft

Member
Is it me or is the difference in IQ quite more pronounced than usual between PS4 and XB1? Some 900p XB1 games dont seem to have that much of a difference in IQ, but with W3 this seems to be quite substantial.
I think on foliage in particular it makes a difference, but I don't have any real issues with the IQ on the Xbox One version. The graphics have a sort of oil painting effect on all platforms because of the way they did the lighting and foliage so it's less noticeable than it would be if they were aiming for realism.

thu_may_21_21-43-22_cwkq5i.png

thu_may_21_21-45-15_cnkqkk.png
 
Is it me or is the difference in IQ quite more pronounced than usual between PS4 and XB1? Some 900p XB1 games dont seem to have that much of a difference in IQ, but with W3 this seems to be quite substantial.

As far as loading times go yes they are quite lengthy but my absolute priority -and I believe everyones for that matter- is stuttering elimination and framerate tweaking. This is way more important i think.

Its just you. I think this is one of the closest presentations between the two consoles for a AAA game so far. They look nearly identical to me.
 

Daviii

Member
People saying the generation is coming to an end because a game dips to 29fps from time to time.It is happening.

Ahhh, this brings me memories of 25fps black-bar'ed distorted slow-mo NTSC games in my PAL 14" TV with brutal dips to 10-15fps almost constantly

I kind of consider steady 30fps with some dips in a 1080p open world game sounds at least playable without a problem.
 

valkyre

Member
Its just you. I think this is one of the closest presentations between the two consoles for a AAA game so far. They look nearly identical to me.

I dont know, I look at the DF screens and the difference in IQ is certainly observable. Dont know if you have checked it out.
 

thelastword

Banned
It's optimized for what consoles can do.
That video...doesn't really do PC ultra justice though.
And that framerate lock is for no drops at all, perfectly smooth on a higher resolution...which makes a big difference with character clarity and fixing the vegetation that looks mushy and hard to distinguish.
Yeah, it's still a compressed youtube video, but it's not exactly a 240p video where you can't distinguish the differences. I find their videos to have a pretty good bitrate tbh.

Are those sort of differences ever mentioned by Digital Foundry?

These effects really help draw you into the game.
Well, most of the times no. DF usually misses on many of these details since this generation began. As it stands, NXgamer seems to spot these sort of differences much more, he has more of an analytical eye, nothing escapes him and that's a good thing in analyses.

What this video really shows is how close all three versions are honestly. The significant differences on PC I've seen so far is foliage visibility and Hairworks. HBAO+ is supposed to look significantly better than SSAO as well, but I haven't seen it in this game. Regarding the XB1 version, the dust looks to be dynamic and is occasionally missing on the PS4 version as well. It is curious that it seems to be completely absent in the XB1 version in the video though. Bug, maybe? And water reflections do look a tad less refined but I can't be too sure about that.
Well according to Candyland's description, hairworks is in on PC, I didn't mention it before but to me Geralt's hair looks better on consoles, kinda looks more static in certain scenes and less realistic on PC. I also see no difference in foliage visibility on PC against consoles in the video, they all look about the same to me, just some extra fog in the pc version.

There is definitely a problem with the xbone version with dust particles though, it's missing entirely in that video and that early scene with the horse galloping was pretty much like for like and runs on for a bit, the dust particles are on PC and PS4 in several instances but never really shows up on the XBONE. OTOH, smoke/fog seems more dynamic or at least varies, especially in the distance but it's there in all versions in different volumes at specific times, a galloping horse however should definitely kick dust.



As for the hair, I'm definitely not impressed with hairworks, hair looks so much better on consoles. Around that part in the video.

lLEHi9e.jpg
 
Each individual beard hair is physicalized and made of geometry, not fins. But it doesnt surprise me at this point that something about the PC version is something you do not like.
 

Javin98

Banned
Well according to Candyland's description, hairworks is in, I didn't mention it before but to me Geralt's hair looks better on consoles, kinda looks more static in certain scenes and less realistic on PC. I also see no difference in foliage visibility on PC against consoles in the video, they all look about the same to me, just some extra fog in the pc version.

There is definitely a problem with the xbone version with dust particles though, it's missing entirely in that video and that early scene with the horse galloping was pretty much like for like and runs for a bit, the dust particles are on PC and PS4 in several instances but never really shows up on the XBONE. OTOH, smoke/fog seems more dynamic or at least varies, especially in the distance but it's there in all versions in different volumes at specific times, a galloping horse however should definitely kick dust.



As for the hair, I'm definitely not impressed with hairworks, hair looks so much better on consoles. Around that part in the video.

lLEHi9e.jpg
Watch the video again. In the famous vista scene at the balcony, the PC version has significantly more trees in the background. Not a very big difference, but certainly noticeable. As for the dust particles, I'm curious to see if the XB1 version is really missing entirely or it was a bug. NXGamer should get on this soon. I kinda agree with you about Hairworks. I personally prefer the standard hair on Geralt, but on monsters, Hairworks just looks much better.
 
Each individual beard hair is physicalized and made of geometry, not fins. But it doesnt surprise me at this point that something about the PC version is something you do not like.

That means nothing to me if the end result doesn't look better, or even as good, as the standard hair. And I agree with lastsword, I think the non-hairworks hair looks better. I like hairworks on the monsters, but I'm not particularly fond of it on Geralt...which is weird.

I dont know, I look at the DF screens and the difference in IQ is certainly observable. Dont know if you have checked it out.

The X1 version has that trademark upscaled 'vaseline filter' look to it. But I wouldn't say the difference in IQ between the console versions is huge.
 

valkyre

Member
The X1 version has that trademark upscaled 'vaseline filter' look to it. But I wouldn't say the difference in IQ between the console versions is huge.

Never claimed for the difference to be huge. Just said it appeared more pronounced than usual. I have seen several DF face offs with other games that were 900p on XB1 and 1080p on PS4 and the difference wasnt much to write home about.

Perhaps W3's dense foliage is the culprit.
 

Javin98

Banned
That means nothing to me if the end result doesn't look better, or even as good, as the standard hair. And I agree with lastsword, I think the non-hairworks hair looks better. I like hairworks on the monsters, but I'm not particularly fond of it on Geralt...which is weird.
Completely agreed. Some people, PC gamers especially, need to remember that something more technically impressive is not always better looking.
 

thelastword

Banned
Watch the video again. In the famous vista scene at the balcony, the PC version has significantly more trees in the background. Not a very big difference, but certainly noticeable. As for the dust particles, I'm curious to see if the XB1 version is really missing entirely or it was a bug. NXGamer should get on this soon. I kinda agree with you about Hairworks. I personally prefer the standard hair on Geralt, but on monsters, Hairworks just looks much better.
I actually did before I responded to you, and had already written that the PC version is one notch ahead of the consoles in FV, it's what I saw when I first watched the video, however, looking at it again, I realize there was no difference really in the number of trees in the PC version, just that there's more fog that makes it look that way. I'll still take another look.

I agree on the horse though, the hair on the horse looks better on PC.

Each individual beard hair is physicalized and made of geometry, not fins. But it doesnt surprise me at this point that something about the PC version is something you do not like.
It's not about something I do not like, it doesn't matter if each hair strand is physically rendered, it does not look realistic or good. Throwing gpu resources at something that does not look accurate is not exactly a worthy accomplishment, besides, the hair on pc look more static in certain scenes, it behaves more realistically on consoles.
 

Javin98

Banned
I actually did before I responded to you, and had already written that the PC version is one notch ahead of the consoles in FV, it's what I saw when I first watched the video, however, looking at it again, I realize there was no difference really in the number of trees in the PC version, just that there's more fog that makes it look that way. I'll still take another look.

I agree on the horse though, the hair on the horse looks better on PC.
No, the foliage visibility is definitely higher on the PC version. It's like a difference of high and very high actually. Which brings me to this:

V-Sync: On
Resolution: 1920x1080
Nvidia Hairworks: Off
Number of Background Characters: Low (console actually seems lower than this)
Shadow Quality: Medium
Terrain Quality: Medium
Water Quality: High
Grass Density: Medium
Texture Quality: Ultra
Foliage Visibility Range: Medium
Detail Level: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: SSAO
All post effects on except vignetting.

Got this from the other thread. The poster claimed that DF said these are the settings for the PS4 version. I'm calling BS until we get better comparisons.
 
Each individual beard hair is physicalized and made of geometry, not fins. But it doesnt surprise me at this point that something about the PC version is something you do not like.

It is certainly more impressive technology, but I personally think it often has an 'uncanny valley' effect. Of course that is probably better than the console's version, which don't even enter that realm. I think it looks very cool on some of the monsters though. Just it doesn't impress me that much on Gerald. For instance, I think the hair on the FFXV tech demo (the city footage) looks much more convincing.
 
No, the foliage visibility is definitely higher on the PC version. It's like a difference of high and very high actually. Which brings me to this:

V-Sync: On
Resolution: 1920x1080
Nvidia Hairworks: Off
Number of Background Characters: Low (console actually seems lower than this)
Shadow Quality: Medium
Terrain Quality: Medium
Water Quality: High
Grass Density: Medium
Texture Quality: Ultra
Foliage Visibility Range: Medium
Detail Level: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: SSAO
All post effects on except vignetting.

Got this from the other thread. The poster claimed that DF said these are the settings for the PS4 version. I'm calling BS until we get better comparisons.

I asked him, it was posted at the description of DF's comparison video.
 
No, the foliage visibility is definitely higher on the PC version. It's like a difference of high and very high actually. Which brings me to this:

V-Sync: On
Resolution: 1920x1080
Nvidia Hairworks: Off
Number of Background Characters: Low (console actually seems lower than this)
Shadow Quality: Medium
Terrain Quality: Medium
Water Quality: High
Grass Density: Medium
Texture Quality: Ultra
Foliage Visibility Range: Medium
Detail Level: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: SSAO
All post effects on except vignetting.

Got this from the other thread. The poster claimed that DF said these are the settings for the PS4 version. I'm calling BS until we get better comparisons.
THat is from DF, why would you doubt it? Unless you are talking about conspiratorial reasons...
 
I saw that, but until we get better comparisons, I'll remain skeptical. Let's not forget the thread that got you junior'd and in the end the PS4 version of GTA5 is above high settings.

Agreed. The full face-off should be available pretty soon anyway.
 

thelastword

Banned
No, the foliage visibility is definitely higher on the PC version. It's like a difference of high and very high actually. Which brings me to this:

V-Sync: On
Resolution: 1920x1080
Nvidia Hairworks: Off
Number of Background Characters: Low (console actually seems lower than this)
Shadow Quality: Medium
Terrain Quality: Medium
Water Quality: High
Grass Density: Medium
Texture Quality: Ultra
Foliage Visibility Range: Medium
Detail Level: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: SSAO
All post effects on except vignetting.

Got this from the other thread. The poster claimed that DF said these are the settings for the PS4 version. I'm calling BS until we get better comparisons.
Ok fair enough, still, I'll wait for a better indicator of the settings than just a list from DF. Another visual comparison would be more in line with what I'm looking for here.

THat is from DF, why would you doubt it? Unless you are talking about conspiratorial reasons...
Did DF show the difference in quality and highlight them in pics or video form? I'm guessing no....I don't trust any list from DF, I don't take their word for it in any circumstance "show me the evidence". This is the same DF that marked SSAO as a superior form of AO over HBAO...nuh uh!
 
That means nothing to me if the end result doesn't look better, or even as good, as the standard hair. And I agree with lastsword, I think the non-hairworks hair looks better. I like hairworks on the monsters, but I'm not particularly fond of it on Geralt...which is weird.

It's not about something I do not like, it doesn't matter if each hair strand is physically rendered, it does not look realistic or good. Throwing gpu resources at something that does not look accurate is not exactly a worthy accomplishment, besides, the hair on pc look more static in certain scenes, it behaves more realistically on consoles.

It is certainly more impressive technology, but I personally think it often has an 'uncanny valley' effect. Of course that is probably better than the console's version, which don't even enter that realm. I think it looks very cool on some of the monsters though. Just it doesn't impress me that much on Gerald. For instance, I think the hair on the FFXV tech demo (the city footage) looks much more convincing.
Let's look at this:
Non-Hair works:
expand to full screen for best quality
http://a.pomf.se/ikpeuo.webm
Hairworks:
expand to full screen for best quality
http://a.pomf.se/zzvjiy.webm

Hairworks while wet (which makes it heavier and less floaty, and changes its specular properties):

Non-Hairworks while wet (which does not thing and does not change the material):
 
By 'looks' I meant in motion. Should have clarified that. Not saying the console version looks realistic in motion at all, but I prefer it to how bouncy and stringy Geralt's hair looks with hariworks on.

If you are on horseback, the hair actually bounces a shit ton more without hairworks on. True story. You may not like that it isn't clumpy though (matted).
 

Javin98

Banned
Ok fair enough, still, I'll wait for a better indicator of the settings than just a list from DF. Another visual comparison would be more in line with what I'm looking for here.

Did DF show the difference in quality and highlight them in pics or video form? I'm guessing no....I don't trust any list from DF, I don't take their word for it in any circumstance "show me the evidence". This is the same DF that marked SSAO as a superior form of AO over HBAO...nuh uh!
Dude, I'm doubting that list from DF myself, not supporting it. I, myself, am looking for visual comparisons.
 

Soi-Fong

Member
Let's look at this:
Non-Hair works:

expand to full screen for best quality
http://a.pomf.se/ikpeuo.webm
Hairworks:

expand to full screen for best quality
http://a.pomf.se/zzvjiy.webm

Hairworks while wet (which makes it heavier and less floaty, and changes its specular properties):


Non-Hairworks while wet (which does not thing and does not change the material):

I've been able to get a solid 30 fps at ultra settings w/ hairworks on full with the new patch at a resolution one notch above 1080p.

Hair works is pretty amazing. One main difference I see is with the griffin trophy. Without it, it stays static and ugly. With it on, goddamn that thing is flowing in the wind and it's beautiful in motion.

Consoles are missing that.
 

Durante

Member
HBAO+ is supposed to look significantly better than SSAO as well, but I haven't seen it in this game.
Have you actually played with both? SSAO has all the typical false shadowing and directionality problems of most AO solutions, and those are evident in motion. It also suffers from halos and sometimes inappropriate shadowing.

HBAO+ is well implemented in this game, and -- as always when it is -- provides a top-end screen-space occlusion result.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
One thing that bugs me, why is the game so damn colourful, the gamma is all over the place.
It looks nice sometimes but too much other times.
 

Javin98

Banned
Have you actually played with both? SSAO has all the typical false shadowing and directionality problems of most AO solutions, and those are evident in motion. It also suffers from halos and sometimes inappropriate shadowing.

HBAO+ is well implemented in this game, and -- as always when it is -- provides a top-end screen-space occlusion result.
Huh? I know what advantages HBAO+ brings. I'm just stating that I haven't seen how much better it looks compared to SSAO in this game.
 

Ashes

Banned
That's a pretty huge accusation to make. Especially in something like DF which relies on correct and honest technical assessment for people to trust them, which is incredibly important for them to continue existing.

In terms of differences by the numbers, seems the ps4 has it, which one would expect of course, given the tech in both machines, but honestly, even I have to admit, that it's very hard to tell by the way the articles are presented.

Whereas a closer level last gen, especially with resolutions in hindsight, would bring out almost an instant win for x360.

Here it seems well, the ps4 is a bit better but err.. yeah it's a little bit better if you follow the numbers... < that kind of thing.

That doesn't mean that DF are biased. It may mean they are striving to lessen the validity of allegations of bias and being more objective.

Just looks bad from where it was last generation. That's all.
 

martino

Member
Have you actually played with both? SSAO has all the typical false shadowing and directionality problems of most AO solutions, and those are evident in motion. It also suffers from halos and sometimes inappropriate shadowing.

HBAO+ is well implemented in this game, and -- as always when it is -- provides a top-end screen-space occlusion result.

Can't unsee the halo in destiny on ps4...i'm a mystic legend for sure !
 

Kezen

Banned
Let's look at this:
Non-Hair works:

expand to full screen for best quality
http://a.pomf.se/ikpeuo.webm
Hairworks:

expand to full screen for best quality
http://a.pomf.se/zzvjiy.webm

Hairworks while wet (which makes it heavier and less floaty, and changes its specular properties):


Non-Hairworks while wet (which does not thing and does not change the material):

Looks magnificent. Hair on consoles is definitely a step below that, and it's applied to monsters as well.

That alone creates a significant gap between PC at max settings and consoles, no doubt there will be more. The AO on consoles looks really bad as well. :/
Nice to have the option of a much better solution on PC.
 

GRaider81

Member
In terms of differences by the numbers, seems the ps4 has it, which one would expect of course, given the tech in both machines, but honestly, even I have to admit, that it's very hard to tell by the way the articles are presented.

Whereas a closer level last gen, especially with resolutions in hindsight, would bring out almost an instant win for x360.

Here it seems well, the ps4 is a bit better but err.. yeah it's a little bit better if you follow the numbers... < that kind of thing.

That doesn't mean that DF are biased. It may mean they are striving to lessen the validity of allegations of bias and being more objective.

Just looks bad from where it was last generation. That's all.
I tend to agree. Considering the difference is generally bigger this gen, DF Articles do seem to try and keep a certain level of "parity".
 

JAYSIMPLE

Banned
Yeah, it's still a compressed youtube video, but it's not exactly a 240p video where you can't distinguish the differences. I find their videos to have a pretty good bitrate tbh.

Well, most of the times no. DF usually misses on many of these details since this generation began. As it stands, NXgamer seems to spot these sort of differences much more, he has more of an analytical eye, nothing escapes him and that's a good thing in analyses.

Well according to Candyland's description, hairworks is in on PC, I didn't mention it before but to me Geralt's hair looks better on consoles, kinda looks more static in certain scenes and less realistic on PC. I also see no difference in foliage visibility on PC against consoles in the video, they all look about the same to me, just some extra fog in the pc version.

There is definitely a problem with the xbone version with dust particles though, it's missing entirely in that video and that early scene with the horse galloping was pretty much like for like and runs on for a bit, the dust particles are on PC and PS4 in several instances but never really shows up on the XBONE. OTOH, smoke/fog seems more dynamic or at least varies, especially in the distance but it's there in all versions in different volumes at specific times, a galloping horse however should definitely kick dust.



As for the hair, I'm definitely not impressed with hairworks, hair looks so much better on consoles. Around that part in the video.

lLEHi9e.jpg

My friends got it on ps4, me on pc. There's a huge difference when you see it first hand. Pc ultra is nuts compared to Ps4 but that's for the real digital foundry thread.

Framerate just needs fixing on consoles and we are gravy
 
Top Bottom