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Here’s What Breath of the Wild Looks Like in 8K And with Ray Tracing

Paltheos

Member
I don't know how much truth is behind the idea, but if the amount of time and energy and a developer can put into graphical strength and gameplay development is a zero-sum game, I will pick the latter all the time. And if that is the reason for Nintendo's games falling behind competitors graphically, I will gladly pay that price if it gets us games like Breath of the Wild.
 
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GigaBowser

The bear of bad news
Honestly Youtube compression always fucks this up.

Obviously it looks better on PC, but watching the compressed video it looks better on my Switch OLED.
 

MAtgS

Member
Imagine if Nintendo was part of the graphics race again with the other two companies.

I know part of their success is that they do lower end tech stuff but as a consumer, I really want them to be neck and neck with the other two again. Otherwise, I’ll always be imagining what could have been.
Switch sold 100 million because a hybrid sounded cool as hell. N64, Gamecube, and Wii U were all hardware comparable to the competition and they all sold miserably compared to them. People don't buy high end Nintendo consoles so why Nintendo should Nintendo even bother?
 

tommib

Member
Unlocking framerate, and increasing resolution is one thing, but isn't adding raytracing into the game which originally didn't had it, well...

Modding, and therefore different from how authors envisioned it?
I think it looks horrible but people get hard-ons by reading “ray-tracing”.
 

vanguardian1

poor, homeless and tasteless
Of the many "3d effects" introduced since the 3dfx Voodoo 1, I'd argue that Ray Tracing has been among the most disappointing by far. That being said, Hi resolution Botw looks damned impressive. Also, stable 30fps > jumpy 60fps.
 

daveonezero

Banned
in the days of 2d sprite resurgence and a $3 game like Vampire Survivors I don’t see the issue with a major company not trying to compete with the PC master race.

The variety is why the industry is as big as it is.
 

NeonGhost

uses 'M$' - What year is it? Not 2002.
Is the switch the first console to max out its capabilities with a launch game ?
 

Zenaku

Member
Their games *do* shine. If you think they need pretty graphics to “truly shine” then I think you may be the loser here.
And they're my favourite developer by far. With what Monolith Soft or the Zelda/Mario teams can achieve on Switch hardware, they'd be able to do far more with extra ram, storage space, better networking, better audio, etc.

Better hardware is about more than just pushing more triangles, or pumping out pretty shaders; better hardware opens doors for new gameplay possibilities, and with Nintendos talent, it would put them clearly on top.
 

nikos

Member
Never ended up finishing this game. Think I may start over and play it like this, in ultrawide.
 

Dr Bass

Member
Dont feel that way. I don't support their "fuck graphics" viewpoint. It's insulting to artists.
That's not their viewpoint at all. They are actually supporting a "your games everywhere, for everyone, at an affordable price" viewpoint. And yes, not buying a Nintendo system IS your loss since they have some of the best, most fun, games on the market. :)
Switch sold 100 million because a hybrid sounded cool as hell. N64, Gamecube, and Wii U were all hardware comparable to the competition and they all sold miserably compared to them. People don't buy high end Nintendo consoles so why Nintendo should Nintendo even bother?
It's not because it "sounded" cool as hell, it is cool as hell. It's still the system I prefer the most even though I always have all the systems (sold my PS5 awhile ago, but I'll get another one soonish I think). The reason? Fun and flexibility.

What's funny is a few Xbox-only people (you know who you are) around here talk about how X-cloud is the future and all this ... well I have GP Ultimate. I can do X-Cloud on my devices. It's a cool tech demo but for playing games it sucks. It is not the future, and the primary reason is physics (there will always be some noticeable inherent lag, even in the best scenarios), and ergonomics. I mean forget trying to play the games that rely on onscreen touch controls, a setup that has proven to be inferior since the advent of mobile gaming. And that's not going to change, ever. But this is what MS is un-ironically trying to sell to people to use X-cloud on the go.

Screen_Shot_2019_03_22_at_10.00.23_AM.0.png


I mean ... that is just never going to be a thing. It might appeal to a tiny, tiny contingent of Xbox gamers but you're never going to see more people doing this on a subway or a bus than playing a Switch or just doing something on their mobile device. That setup is awful.

That's why the Switch dominates sales. It's simple. It's ergonomic. It's flexible. It's massively fun. Microsoft's strategy with Xbox and gaming on the go with Cloud is, so far, absolutely none of these things. You need multiple devices. It's clunky. Streaming is inferior, and just to reach this state of inferior you need a good connection where your gaming will devour your data plan. Again, it's the kind of thing where tech nerds think it's cool, but everyone else looks at it and goes "no way." And tech nerds don't even get why it's not going to succeed because they just see the novelty of the tech and think "Yeah, this is what's next!" Meanwhile this kind of complexity is just not something the average public wants in their life. Despite being way behind in graphics tech, the Switch is actually way ahead in things that matter to most consumers which is, like I said, simplicity, ease of use and fun. it already accomplishes everything MS is trying to do with their setup in an easier and better way. Want to play it on the go? You have a slime tablet form factor dedicated to doing so. Want to use it as a console? Pop the same device into the provided dock and pick up your pro controller. Boom. That's the entire thing. Dead simple. No data plans, no burning the battery on your personal mobile device. No monthly subs.

I know if a certain group of posters read this I'll get the typical "laugh" emoji response they like to use. But no big deal. Sales numbers prove my point. And if Nintendo releases a Switch 2 with much higher graphics capability, then the gulf in graphics between the Switch platform and the rest of the consoles will matter even less.

Bottom line? The Switch sells the most because it's an awesome device that more people on the planet want than the competition, for all the aforementioned reasons. And one of those reasons is the fact it's a hybrid.
 

Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
The words of a loser.

He who quits a race before it's begun has lost more than a race.

I don't care about Nintendo being competitive with Sony or MS, but at least put in the extra effort to help make the talented teams there truly shine. Most of my favourite games have been from Nintendo, and I'm looking forward to what might be on the horizon for them more than any other company, but it'd be nice to see some effort; the absolute best possible for their price range.
The chip for the new model already exists ("DANE" - 6-8x CPU/4xGPU/4xRAM/4xMemBandwidth+DLSS). It's just up to Nintendo to decide when it releases. It has more likely slipped to 2023 because of covid and the chip shortage it caused. It will launch with BotW 2 in either November 2022 or March 2023 imo.
 

Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
I get what you're coming from, but video games are both about the visual presentation and the interactive mechanics.
Videos games need both graphics and gameplay, it's literally in the name of the medium.

Admittedly, there are some of us that lean into extremes in either direction due to bias and preference.
You have the so called graphics whores that put visuals above all else, often to the detriment of engaging game design or performance.
You also have the "graphics don't matter" crowd that put gameplay above all else, often to detriment of interesting visual presentation or good image quality.

Imo both play vital roles in the overall experience. It's about finding a balance, and that balance will not always the same for every single game.
Nintendo games are not exempt from this simply because they often have heavily styled art directions. Neither is this exclusive to games with photorealistic visuals.
Good visual presentation + image quality = pretty graphics.

I would agree with you if you change the term graphics to art direction in your post. A good art direction doesn't need high end graphical fidelity. Look at DUSK. Look at Ion Fury. Look at SKALD. All fantastic games with strong art directions and excellent gameplay. When you put too much focus on "high end graphics" to the detriment of all else, you get a very pretty game that is immediately replaced a few months later when the next big "Graphical Powerhouse" releases.

And they're my favourite developer by far. With what Monolith Soft or the Zelda/Mario teams can achieve on Switch hardware, they'd be able to do far more with extra ram, storage space, better networking, better audio, etc.

Better hardware is about more than just pushing more triangles, or pumping out pretty shaders; better hardware opens doors for new gameplay possibilities, and with Nintendos talent, it would put them clearly on top.

Ah, ok. I see where you are coming from. I definitely would love to see what they can do with the speed of an SSD or a much more powerful processor. I don't think, however, that a high end GPU is required. Also Networking? What do you mean by that? Do you mean constantly having online connections to enforce some sort of MP/Shared online world? If so I would argue that is a detriment more often than not and causes games to become immediately dated a short while after its release.
 

Jimmy_liv

Member
It's not going to officially be like this anytime soon.

Nintendo, after being a business, also want games to be available to many people. Cheap consoles do that, Sure the games are expensive, but considering people but so few and Nintendo ones have a lot of playtime, that's not much of an issue compared to the PCs you need to pay at this level.
Series S is cheaper than a switch but much more powerful.

No, Nintendo aren't about putting out cheap consoles, they're about raking in as much money as possible.
 

MAtgS

Member
That's not their viewpoint at all. They are actually supporting a "your games everywhere, for everyone, at an affordable price" viewpoint. And yes, not buying a Nintendo system IS your loss since they have some of the best, most fun, games on the market. :)

It's not because it "sounded" cool as hell, it is cool as hell. It's still the system I prefer the most even though I always have all the systems (sold my PS5 awhile ago, but I'll get another one soonish I think). The reason? Fun and flexibility.

What's funny is a few Xbox-only people (you know who you are) around here talk about how X-cloud is the future and all this ... well I have GP Ultimate. I can do X-Cloud on my devices. It's a cool tech demo but for playing games it sucks. It is not the future, and the primary reason is physics (there will always be some noticeable inherent lag, even in the best scenarios), and ergonomics. I mean forget trying to play the games that rely on onscreen touch controls, a setup that has proven to be inferior since the advent of mobile gaming. And that's not going to change, ever. But this is what MS is un-ironically trying to sell to people to use X-cloud on the go.

Screen_Shot_2019_03_22_at_10.00.23_AM.0.png


I mean ... that is just never going to be a thing. It might appeal to a tiny, tiny contingent of Xbox gamers but you're never going to see more people doing this on a subway or a bus than playing a Switch or just doing something on their mobile device. That setup is awful.

That's why the Switch dominates sales. It's simple. It's ergonomic. It's flexible. It's massively fun. Microsoft's strategy with Xbox and gaming on the go with Cloud is, so far, absolutely none of these things. You need multiple devices. It's clunky. Streaming is inferior, and just to reach this state of inferior you need a good connection where your gaming will devour your data plan. Again, it's the kind of thing where tech nerds think it's cool, but everyone else looks at it and goes "no way." And tech nerds don't even get why it's not going to succeed because they just see the novelty of the tech and think "Yeah, this is what's next!" Meanwhile this kind of complexity is just not something the average public wants in their life. Despite being way behind in graphics tech, the Switch is actually way ahead in things that matter to most consumers which is, like I said, simplicity, ease of use and fun. it already accomplishes everything MS is trying to do with their setup in an easier and better way. Want to play it on the go? You have a slime tablet form factor dedicated to doing so. Want to use it as a console? Pop the same device into the provided dock and pick up your pro controller. Boom. That's the entire thing. Dead simple. No data plans, no burning the battery on your personal mobile device. No monthly subs.

I know if a certain group of posters read this I'll get the typical "laugh" emoji response they like to use. But no big deal. Sales numbers prove my point. And if Nintendo releases a Switch 2 with much higher graphics capability, then the gulf in graphics between the Switch platform and the rest of the consoles will matter even less.

Bottom line? The Switch sells the most because it's an awesome device that more people on the planet want than the competition, for all the aforementioned reasons. And one of those reasons is the fact it's a hybrid.
Tell that to whoever decided to put cloud versions of KH on Switch.
 

RhyDin

Member
Imagine if Nintendo was part of the graphics race again with the other two companies.

I know part of their success is that they do lower end tech stuff but as a consumer, I really want them to be neck and neck with the other two again. Otherwise, I’ll always be imagining what could have been.
Too busy selling $60 cardboard kits and other novelty items with high profit margins. They'll probably re-release BOTW a bunch of times on future hardware and it probably still won't look or perform as well as a current day emulator.
 

Ryu Kaiba

Member
There's a delicate balance somewhere that shows games can be beautiful and run at 4K 60FPS
This video exemplifies what most devs should be aiming for rather than Hyper-realistic 1080 x 960 @ 30 fps.
 

Kenpachii

Member
So just checked the new cemu out after a a few months of not looking at it and god dam they did some mighty updates.
21:9 is now native in the graphical packs, and works like a absolute boss no longer stretched ui's.
ragdoll physics and water physics solved at higher framerates then 60. Boats where practically not usable ( not that u ever need them anyway ) but its fixed now.
Taxation on the GPU went even further down, now no issue gettign 6880x2880 on ultra wide at 60 fps ) before i could only get 30-40's.

Good stuff
 
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DZ_b_EZ

Member
I've been contemplating on restarting on Wii U again, but it seems like playing this on my PC would be the most ideal.
 

Fredrik

Member
Imagine if Nintendo was part of the graphics race again with the other two companies.

I know part of their success is that they do lower end tech stuff but as a consumer, I really want them to be neck and neck with the other two again. Otherwise, I’ll always be imagining what could have been.
I agree but I also wonder if the games would be as good if they focused more on graphics, I’m thinking they’re currently pushing every other aspect as far as they can since the know they can’t compete in graphics. At launch BOTW made Horizon Zero Dawn seem ancient, HZD looked pretty but lacked the world interactions and possibilities BOTW had.
 

Zenaku

Member
I would agree with you if you change the term graphics to art direction in your post. A good art direction doesn't need high end graphical fidelity. Look at DUSK. Look at Ion Fury. Look at SKALD. All fantastic games with strong art directions and excellent gameplay. When you put too much focus on "high end graphics" to the detriment of all else, you get a very pretty game that is immediately replaced a few months later when the next big "Graphical Powerhouse" releases.



Ah, ok. I see where you are coming from. I definitely would love to see what they can do with the speed of an SSD or a much more powerful processor. I don't think, however, that a high end GPU is required. Also Networking? What do you mean by that? Do you mean constantly having online connections to enforce some sort of MP/Shared online world? If so I would argue that is a detriment more often than not and causes games to become immediately dated a short while after its release.
I'm not a big fan of multiplayer myself, much prefer single player, but networking extends to a lot of things. Streetpass and Miiverse are great examples.
Loser that made Nintendo get to the top by using their brains, not brute force.

Unfortunately a lot of big corporations have this mentality that "more" equals "better", which is why both Sony and Microsoft struggle even though they have "more" than Nintendo.
A defeatist attitude is not praiseworthy, in any walk of life. I would say Nintendo have done well in spite of those words, not because of them.

Not caring about the outcome of a race or competition is fine, but the act of giving up without trying affects more than just the outcome. I know just how damaging that kind of attitude can be, and I won't applaud it in anyone no matter how successful they may be.
 
I really wish the Switch would have been the new DS and that they would have a beefy stationary console. But i guess it works better for them the way they are doing it right now.
 

mrcroket

Member
It looks ugly to me, like when you play a game on a tv with all the "fancy" and shitty filters of the standard mode actives...
 

Lokaum D+

Member
"however, according to a report from DSO Gaming, Digital Dreams' version is being run through an emulation called Cemu. Cemu is a WiiU emulator for PC that has been used to run games like Breath of the Wild in the past. This means that this version of the beloved RPG is running on PC rather than through the Switch itself."

superhero flying GIF by South Park
 

skneogaf

Member
Every time I see any Nintendo game running like this or at least 4k etc I think I'm definitely right in my opinion that Nintendo should have made a gamecube 2 and game boy 2.

Gamecube 2 = plays "switch" games at 4k

Game boy 2 = plays "switch games at 720p

Instead we got a hybrid that does both things poorly.

The switch sells like hotcakes too so I'll never get my idea.
 

Fbh

Member
Looks good but LOD draw distance is distractingly bad, detail on the floor is basically appearing under his feet, I don't remember if it was that bad in the OG switch version. I'd rather see that improved than 8K resolution.


I don't know how much truth is behind the idea, but if the amount of time and energy and a developer can put into graphical strength and gameplay development is a zero-sum game, I will pick the latter all the time. And if that is the reason for Nintendo's games falling behind competitors graphically, I will gladly pay that price if it gets us games like Breath of the Wild.

While I agree with you, it's a shame Nintendo doesn't offer some optional "pro" hardware to play their games on.

As emulation has shown, a lot of their games can look really nice by simply running at higher resolutions and framerate. A "pro" console wouldn't significantly add to their graphics budget since you aren't asking them to make new textures or geometry, but simply to use the stronger hardware to increase things like resolution, framerate, anti aliasing, draw distance, etc.
 
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