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[RedSwirl]

Somebody needs to take some of the newer screenshots, sharpen the fuck out of them, and see how they compare to the old ones.

It couldn't be easier: Start -> All Programs -> RivaTuner Statistics Server -> RivaTuner Statistics Server.exe -> click the "Framerate limit" text box -> type "30" -> hit Enter.

Well damn. I never really mess with RivaTuner.

 

[SaberEdge]

For anyone looking for downgrades, this game is going to have so many comparisons between the final version and the "early GIFs" it's not even funny. So many threads will be created.

Until then, I'm keeping my expectations low, hoping to be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed.

I think keeping your expectations low is smart. I don't believe the ultra settings will make as big of a difference as some people are hoping for. But then I personally don't think there is much difference between the new media and the older media anyway. The recent gameplay trailer impresses me just as much as the Sword of Destiny trailer, for example, despite the former being more gameplay oriented and the latter more cutscene oriented.

Well shit. Dem internets done lied to me!

I'll try and modify the damn combat camera myself then. I do think it zooms out way too far.

I agree with you on this. I don't like how far back the combat or exploration cameras are. It's good for the combat camera to be zoomed out somewhat in order to give you a good view of your surroundings, but I think it's just a bit too far out. And I'd also like the exploration camera to be a little more like how it was in The Witcher 2, or somewhere in between.

 

[Durante]

Somebody needs to take some of the newer screenshots, sharpen the fuck out of them, and see how they compare to the old ones.

I gave it a try, emulating the sharpening and heavily color-filtered low-gamma tonemapping of the initial shots.

(The new shots are so much better without that crap. I'm really happy they stopped the oversharpening)

 

[jim2point0]

EDIT: I'm blind. Those were definitely sharpened.

I'd love to see these without the sharpening though.

One thing is for certain. They've definitely changed to a more saturated art style. This looks like a completely different Witcher game than the above shots:

 

[WetTreeLeaf]

(The new shots are so much better without that crap. I'm really happy they stopped the oversharpening)

Couldn't agree more, the new shoots look so much cleaner. Also the previous shots reminded me too much of The Witcher 2 visuals

 

[EatChildren]

I still don't buy the downgrade argument on anything really other than the Nvidia hairworks.

One thing is for certain. They've definitely changed to a more saturated art style. This looks like a completely different Witcher game than the above shots:

But they're also completely different locations at completely different time of day. TW2 was the same. Some areas were vibrant and colourful, others much more drab and desaturated.

 

[Yasae]

This is something I will look at and compare when the game comes out. But that is one of the largest differences that you can see right now.

That could not necessarily be a downgrade due to performance reasons (because they are both sprites in each version of the game), but a pipeline change / art change.

Thank you for being the first person to point out something that is noticable!

Seems to be a recurring trend: grass in the PC version of GTA V is a performance killer, grass was downgraded in the FF XV demo (among other things but that's one of the more notable changes), now this.

 

[Primethius]

Yeesh, the sharpening filter on some of those older shots. Talk about overkill. So glad it's gone from TW3. Was awful in TW2 too.

 

[Damerman]

RIP Triss

 

[Fahrenheit]

Hope my 290x holds up. Wish the 980ti was out already

 

[Deleted member 286591]

Some new screens:

 

[icecold1983]

EDIT: I'm blind. Those were definitely sharpened.

I'd love to see these without the sharpening though.



One thing is for certain. They've definitely changed to a more saturated art style. This looks like a completely different Witcher game than the above shots:

current

older

 

[Durante]

But they're also completely different locations at completely different time of day. TW2 was the same. Some areas were vibrant and colourful, others much more drab and desaturated.

While this is true, W2, like the early shots of W3, used much more aggressive color grading and per-location color filtering than the latter shots of W3 we are seeing now.

It's clearly a matter of preferences, but I'm usually partial to a more unfiltered style, and the same is true here.

 

[chromatic9]

From the new video.

Sure some of it is time of day. I see the general changes of course.

Could be some old footage as well.

 

[erawsd]

current

older

Looking at those two bottom shots it really looks like the foliage is benefiting from the sharpening filter. Its obviously still the same flat low poly textures and it still looks bad but it blends into the environment a little better.

 

[icecold1983]

Looking at those two bottom shots it really looks like the foliage is benefiting from the sharpening filter. Its obviously still the same flat low poly textures and it still looks bad but it blends into the environment a little better.

foliage is much lower resolution in current media. it also doesnt receive light properly

 

[SaberEdge]

foliage is much lower resolution in current media. it also doesnt receive light properly

I'm sorry, but that's just wrong.

What you're doing is basically the same crap that happened with Infamous Second Son and several other games: compare different scenes or completely different lighting conditions and then scream "it has been massively downgraded".

Remember that nonsense?

I'm open to the idea of there being a downgrade in The Witcher 3, but so far I've seen no evidence of it.

 

[Dictator93]

foliage is much lower resolution in current media. it also doesnt receive light properly

It receives light properly. You may just be seeing some which dont cast shadow (and hence dont self shadow beyond normal shading)s. They all receive shadows just fine.

Also, sharpening makes thing appear higher res than they are to an untrained eye. And those images of TW3 with the sharpening filter, whilst making their be more tiny details in the foliage... is aliasing black outline central. For example... just look in the tree line in the swamp shot. Jeez.

 

[michaelius]

The 970's performance is that close to the 980's?

15-20% difference.

Overclocked 970 almost matches stock 980.

 

[Durante]

foliage is much lower resolution in current media. it also doesnt receive light properly

I don't see a significant foliage resolution difference in the screenshots you posted. Of course, the "older" ones are clearly supersampled and sharpened, while the current one seems rendered at native resolution at best, with post-AA, so it obviously doesn't show fine detail quite as well.

For lighting, everything is hard to tell due to ToD differences. Clearly, in both the old and new shots foliage receives shadows. It might be the case that some grass casts shadows in the old shots but not the new, but it's hard to tell and there also appears to be some in the old shots that doesn't cast shadows.

 

[Dick Justice]

The sharpening filter in TW2 was dreadful. So I'm glad to see it go.

 

[SaberEdge]

I don't see a significant foliage resolution difference in the screenshots you posted. Of course, the "older" ones are clearly supersampled and sharpened, while the current one seems rendered at native resolution at best, with post-AA, so it obviously doesn't show fine detail quite as well.

For lighting, everything is hard to tell due to ToD differences. Clearly, in both the old and new shots foliage receives shadows. It might be the case that some grass casts shadows in the old shots but not the new, but it's hard to tell and there also appears to be some in the old shots that doesn't cast shadows.

Yeah, the two older ones are officially released screenshots, if I'm not mistaken. The newer one was actually done by me --just a screenshot I took of a scene in the recent gameplay trailer.

When you have a lot of fine detail like that it definitely tends to suffer more than usual if the video quality isn't up to snuff.

 

[jim2point0]

The sharpening filter in TW2 was dreadful. So I'm glad to see it go.

You know you could disable that, right?

 

[Dick Justice]

You know you could disable that, right?

Yes, and then it made certain textures blurrier. So it was either over-sharpened jaggies or blurrier textures. Latter was preferential, but it's nice to potentially see the best of both worlds in 3.

 

[BatSu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Kof4_9K7zak

 

[RDreamer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Kof4_9K7zak

It always breaks immersion for me to be playing a card game in a game with picture of people in that world. It's too weird. They should stick to generic things and monsters or something in world.

 

[jim2point0]

It always breaks immersion for me to be playing a card game in a game with picture of people in that world. It's too weird. They should stick to generic things and monsters or something in world.

I agree. Really strange choice.

Is this game in the books? Is that how it was there?

 

[DieH@rd]

It always breaks immersion for me to be playing a card game in a game with picture of people in that world. It's too weird. They should stick to generic things and monsters or something in world.

I have no problems with that. Geralt's best friend Dandelion is a bard whose songs are well renowned all across that world. In the books, people often comment about various bardic songs and Dandelion's masterpieces [which are often focused on the adventures of Geralt]. People who Geralt meet are always part of those songs.

The card set featured dwarf Yerpen, and he was present in the books when Geralt joined the hunt for Gold Dragon, together with Dandelion, Yennefer and few other bounty hunters. It makes perfect sense that he would become famous after encounter with such beast was immortalized by Dandelion.

 

[BatSu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XUADJOjQTj4

 

[Leatherface]

excitement levels ...exceeding ..maximum...capacity..

 

[julzillamilitia]

this is going to look glorious on my PS4 and vita remote play. Gorgeous.

 

[Renae]

Is the gameplay exactly the same as TW2 ? Because I had to install the Full Combat Rebalance mod to appreciate the battles...

 

[foxtrot3d]

I agree. Really strange choice.

Is this game in the books? Is that how it was there?

I don't remember any card game in the books.

EDIT:

Game kinda reminds me of cyvasse from GoT.

 

[EatChildren]

At least it's not The Witcher 2's dice poker.

 

[erawsd]

I don't remember any card game in the books.

EDIT:

Game kinda reminds me of cyvasse from GoT.

I don't either but its been long enough that I don't remember a lot of the details from the books. Apparently, it is mentioned as a popular game Dwarves play.

 

[jim2point0]

I don't remember any card game in the books.

EDIT:

Game kinda reminds me of cyvasse from GoT.

I thought I read somewhere that it was. My bad.

 

[Denton]

I don't either but its been long enough that I don't remember a lot of the details from the books. Apparently, it is mentioned as a popular game Dwarves play.

I read the books again few months ago and yes it was mentioned, by name too, dwarves played it.
But yeah I am not sure about cards having people we know on them, maybe it will make sense, maybe not, though I find it hard to believe CDP would do something without thinking it through.

 

[Turin Turambar]

At least it's not The Witcher 2's dice poker.

It surprised me to see they went and did it worse than in their previous game (Witcher 1), for no apparent reason.

 

[red36]

Dwarves play a game called Gwent in the books. However clearly this game is more like a Magic game than a card game played at the time.
@Turin
probably because the mechanic was so abusable that you easily made the most money in the game from dice. It was way more fun than the lame version in 2 though. The board was better as well.

 

[ScepticMatt]

I don't remember any card game in the books.

I'm not sure about a card game, but I remember that there was some kind of game that Geralt played with some dwarfs.

probably because the mechanic was so abusable that you easily made the most money in the game from dice. It was way more fun than the lame version in 2 though. The board was better as well.

It was also very rigged. You get more/less lucky the higher the "skill" difference

 

[silva1991]

Will my 780 be good enough for very high setting and locked 30fps ??

 

[foxtrot3d]

Will my 780 be good enough for very high setting and locked 30fps ??

I'm wondering if I shouldn't just get the game for one of the consoles with my 680.