• 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: The Witcher 3 PC - Next-Gen - Game-Changing Visuals But What About Performance?

Gaiff

Gold Member
"Much worse" was probably an exaggerated statement, but I'd have expected better optimization and performance from a primarily PC-first developer like CDPR.
From what I've gathered, the port was handled by the Russian branch of Saber Interactive, the guys responsible for the Switch port, but when that little man with the Napoleon complex sparked a war with Ukraine, CD Projekt Red moved the project in-house.



This was back in April so they had to rush the project out of the door to meet their deadline and it was already delayed beforehand. I suppose they wanted to hit their target to have it released by Christmas but this is clearly a rushed port.

Not sure what they can do with this version of the engine being heavily single-threaded.
 

yamaci17

Member
1. Yes, it's also the same on console
2. Most console settings are Ultra + as well minus one or two exceptions as per NXGamer

5tK0xAP.png



3. And that is a more appropriate representation of what PC gamers might have. The people with 12700K and 4090's are the exception, not the rule.
the entire problem revolves around the CPU. foliage density, level of detail and ray tracing cutbacks are THE settings that heavily affect the CPU bound performance

anyways, I see how deceitfully you dodged about the inquriy on how you failed to mention consoles running at 24 fps in novigrad just like the ryzen 3600. (and 3600 has CPU bound settings maxed out in this specific comparison, which proves that 3600 practically gets what its fair share of worth, unlike what you would claim.). the entirety of your claim that consoles lock to 30 fps is nullified anyways.
 
Last edited:

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
anyways, I see how deceitfully you dodged how consoles run at 24 fps in novigrad just like the ryzen 3600.

I don't need to dodge it, it's in all the coverage lol. Plenty of people are shitting on the console version in that games DF topic.
 
Last edited:

GHG

Gold Member
1. Yes, it's also the same on console
2. Most console settings are Ultra + as well minus one or two exceptions as per NXGamer

5tK0xAP.png



3. And that is a more appropriate representation of what PC gamers might have. The people with 12700K and 4090's are the exception, not the rule.

All the cutbacks on console are the heaviest settings on PC so not sure why you're insistent on comparing performance on consoles with cutbacks being made vs the PC version running on max settings.
 

winjer

Gold Member
the entire problem revolves around the CPU. foliage density, level of detail and ray tracing cutbacks are THE settings that heavily affect the CPU bound performance

anyways, I see how deceitfully you dodged about the inquriy on how you failed to mention consoles running at 24 fps in novigrad just like the ryzen 3600. (and 3600 has CPU bound settings maxed out in this specific comparison, which proves that 3600 practically gets what its fair share of worth, unlike what you would claim.). the entirety of your claim that consoles lock to 30 fps is nullified anyways.

The issue is that CDPR didn't create a native DX12 version of the game.
The DX12 and RT implementation is just a wrapper on top of DX11. The result is a game that is very limited in the number of cores, and that puts more workload into the CPU, translating DX11 calls into DX12.
The result is the mess in performance and technical issues like bad frame pacing and some graphical bugs.
On consoles, this is probably also happening as even with the increased graphical effects, this is still a late PS3/X360 era game.
 

yamaci17

Member
The issue is that CDPR didn't create a native DX12 version of the game.
The DX12 and RT implementation is just a wrapper on top of DX11. The result is a game that is very limited in the number of cores, and that puts more workload into the CPU, translating DX11 calls into DX12.
The result is the mess in performance and technical issues like bad frame pacing and some graphical bugs.
On consoles, this is probably also happening as even with the increased graphical effects, this is still a late PS3/X360 era game.
you're missing the point here. I'm not talking about game performance in focus.

here's the ACTUAL issue: some people here IMPLY or insinuate that consoles run the ray tracing at 30 FPS whereas equivalent CPU can't. they don't give context, they just share some random screenshot that PC gets 24 FPS, and then slap "consoles run this at 30 FPS" on top of it. where's the honesty in that?
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
The PS5 version has some annoying glitches that are pissing me the fuck off.

Why am I having to readjust my settings every time I log in?! WHY?!
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
This is dishonesty AT ITS PEAK.

1) the scene is HEAVILY CPU LIMITED
2) it is MAX settings (ultra+, increased draw distance, npc count and lods over consoles)
3) ryzen 3600 is pretty much similar to consoles. it even lacks 2 cores. they're teh same arhitecture. you can't practically expect more performance out of same architecture on different platforms.

exact same scene on consoles run around 23-25 FPS as well. it is clearly what ZEN 2 architecture can output in their horribly optimized code. it has nothing to do with RTX 3080 (it is severely underutilize due to heavy CPU bottleneck)

Sel40KV.jpg



Throwing some pics out there, CLAIMING it is running at 30 FPS SPECIFICALLY THERE (because you're comparing the spot where it is dropping 24, implying that console is always locked at 30, even at such places.)

you will have the exact same 30 or even 40 FPS locked experience with that rig in OTHER locations that NOVIGRAD.

IF and only IF your "magic" consoles would be able to lock to 30 in Novigrad wheras 3600 couldn't, THEN you would have a point.
so much npc. such heavy compute...
christ wtf is wrong with these devs lol
 

winjer

Gold Member
you're missing the point here. I'm not talking about game performance in focus.

here's the ACTUAL issue: some people here IMPLY or insinuate that consoles run the ray tracing at 30 FPS whereas equivalent CPU can't. they don't give context, they just share some random screenshot that PC gets 24 FPS, and then slap "consoles run this at 30 FPS" on top of it. where's the honesty in that?

I'm just saying this game is a piss poor remake, that has too many technical problems, to serve as an example to compare anything between platforms.
 

MidGenRefresh

*Refreshes biennially
D7UVpDZ.png







The 5 people here saying they're having a great experience on 4090s, this setup above is more closer to what most people might have.

And this is a pretty bad experience. Much worse than the console versions running at 30 FPS with RTGI and AO in context.

DLSS 3, Google it.
 
Wait, they're calling this a "next-gen" patch, and it still only uses 2 threads?
CD Projekt is only using 2 threads to maintain compatibility with Intel’s Core 2 Duo; If you visit your local landfill you can get a hold of two of these processors and duck tape both together to form an Intel Core 2 Quad to unlock Unicron for unparalleled performance.
 

Skifi28

Member
CD Projekt is only using 2 threads to maintain compatibility with Intel’s Core 2 Duo; If you visit your local landfill you can get a hold of two of these processors and duck tape both together to form an Intel Core 2 Quad to unlock Unicron for unparalleled performance.

Still got a working core 2 duo in the attic. If anybody wants to buy, psst me.
 

winjer

Gold Member

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update 4.01 Release Notes​

PC-SPECIFIC

  • Fixed an issue where the Screen Space Reflections setting wasn’t working on PC despite being turned on. Players who had previously set their SSR setting to high may notice a performance impact.
  • Added a new performance mode for ray-traced global illumination, which can be toggled by players with compatible hardware. It improves frame rate by prioritizing performance over range and precision.

QUESTS & GAMEPLAY – Available on all platforms

  • Battle Preparations – Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to interact with Avallac’h during the objective “Let Avallac’h know everything’s ready.”
  • Family Matters – Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash during the transition to Ciri’s Story: Out of the Shadows when speaking to the Bloody Baron.
  • King’s Gambit – Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to participate in the fistfight with the second Vildkaarl due to an invisible obstacle.
  • Wine Wars: Belgaard – Added a retrofix for the issue we fixed in 4.00, where the quest couldn’t be completed if the player destroyed one of the required monster nests during exploration.
  • A Dangerous Game – The armor in Caesar’s room should now change its appearance when the Alternate Nilfgaardian Armor is turned on.
  • Axii Puppet – Increased the health and damage dealt by the puppet.
  • Adrenaline Rush mutation should now work according to its description.
  • Various small fixes to quests and cutscenes.

LOCALIZATION – Available on all platforms

  • Fixed various issues with Arabic localization.
  • Added the localized versions of Orianna’s song “Lullaby of Woe” in Korean and Simplified Chinese.
  • Adjusted Priscilla’s lip-sync animation to match her voice-over in Simplified Chinese during the song “The Wolven Storm”.
 

Mr Moose

Member
They are not fixing RT visual bugs on consoles? Fucking hell
This thread is about the PC version.

CONSOLE-SPECIFIC

  • Fixed an issue where consoles could create a higher amount of saves than their set limit, resulting in various issues with saving the game or user settings being reset.
  • Improved Screen Space Reflections quality on next-gen consoles.
  • Optimized ray-traced global illumination on next-gen consoles to improve the performance of Ray Tracing Mode.
 

Mr Moose

Member
Oh shit didn’t realize lol

Hope it’s not just performance. RT has really annoying visual bugs.
Do you have any pics? I am about to check it now and can try and recreate the pic, forgot about the game until this thread reminded me to play it.
 

GHG

Gold Member

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update 4.01 Release Notes​

PC-SPECIFIC

  • Fixed an issue where the Screen Space Reflections setting wasn’t working on PC despite being turned on. Players who had previously set their SSR setting to high may notice a performance impact.
  • Added a new performance mode for ray-traced global illumination, which can be toggled by players with compatible hardware. It improves frame rate by prioritizing performance over range and precision.

QUESTS & GAMEPLAY – Available on all platforms

  • Battle Preparations – Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to interact with Avallac’h during the objective “Let Avallac’h know everything’s ready.”
  • Family Matters – Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash during the transition to Ciri’s Story: Out of the Shadows when speaking to the Bloody Baron.
  • King’s Gambit – Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to participate in the fistfight with the second Vildkaarl due to an invisible obstacle.
  • Wine Wars: Belgaard – Added a retrofix for the issue we fixed in 4.00, where the quest couldn’t be completed if the player destroyed one of the required monster nests during exploration.
  • A Dangerous Game – The armor in Caesar’s room should now change its appearance when the Alternate Nilfgaardian Armor is turned on.
  • Axii Puppet – Increased the health and damage dealt by the puppet.
  • Adrenaline Rush mutation should now work according to its description.
  • Various small fixes to quests and cutscenes.

LOCALIZATION – Available on all platforms

  • Fixed various issues with Arabic localization.
  • Added the localized versions of Orianna’s song “Lullaby of Woe” in Korean and Simplified Chinese.
  • Adjusted Priscilla’s lip-sync animation to match her voice-over in Simplified Chinese during the song “The Wolven Storm”.

Looks good on paper. Hopefully nothing was nerfed in the process and the RT toggle is just that - a toggle for those who need/want it.

Hopefully this hasn't broken the beyond ultra settings mod I have installed.
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
Do you have any pics? I am about to check it now and can try and recreate the pic, forgot about the game until this thread reminded me to play it.

I don’t. Of the top of my head Kaer Morhen for example had this problem indoors where the top half of the room would not load or compute GI, which is something that happened in a lot of caves.

Another annoying bug were the spider webs, which are used a lot in Blood and Wine, and would look purple. This they really have to fix. Also failure to load high res textures in characters during dialog/cutscenes in RT mode, although curiously this got a bit better playing from external SSD but only the Performance mode fixed it completely.
 
Last edited:

yamaci17

Member
I don’t. Of the top of my head Kaer Morhen for example had this problem indoors where the top half of the room would not load or compute GI, which is something that happened in a lot of caves.

Another annoying bug were the spider webs, which are used a lot in Blood and Wine, and would look purple. This they really have to fix. Also failure to load high res textures in characters during dialog/cutscenes in RT mode, although curiously this got a bit better playing from external SSD but only the Performance mode fixed it completely.
Wdym? That texture problem happens on consoles too? Thought my 3070 was spazzing out. Jk. Its a bug really, it happens once you change texture settings back and forth on PC. it specifically happens with certain type of clothing, mind you, not a general problem.
 
Top Bottom