580°

The Witcher 3 Dev: "Fairly Close" To Maxing PS4 and XBox One; PC Gamers Should Save for an Upgrade

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most anticipated RPG of the foreseeable future both on PC and next generation consoles, and CD Projekt RED's Co-Founder Marcin Iwinski is pretty confident in the ability of his studio to deliver fantastic graphics getting close to using up the capability of the PS4 and Xbox One and pushing your PC to its limits.

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_QQ_3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

Near maxing the new consoles already?!? well i guess that familiar PC architecture doesn't take much to figure out.

3736d ago Replies(7)
Snookies123736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

I see where you're coming from, and yes they do know that architecture so it will be easier to utilize it to its fullest in no time. However, as The_Infected stated, maxing out a console is not the same as getting everything out of it. Over time devs will learn tricks and nuances that will help them make much better looking games in the next several years. This happens with every new set of consoles. Give it time, and in the coming years we'll see games that will probably blow anything we've seen so far out of the water.

It's the way the deveopers make the games, not the hardware they have to work with.
Kinda like how all humans are pretty much the same structurally, but you see athletes in the Olympics doing things most normal people could never even attempt. It's all a matter of how you work with what's given to you. Whether it's hardware, the human body, or anything else. :]

stuna13736d ago

Yet someone disagrees! You're absolutely right. If people actually believe a 3rd party developer is about to max out either machine quicker than the console maker 1st party developers, you have got to give me some of the stuff you're smoking! It's not going to happen.

Even Cerny himself said that the PS4 has been built upon layered technology, meaning although the development tools make it easy to code and developer for, it's hard to master every nuance of the machine.

A accurate discription in my opinion would be how a onion looks when it's peeled and then cut, you'll see how it's layered all the way to the core.

teflontactics3736d ago

Inefficient code will max out specs much easier than efficient, streamlined code. I've got no worries regarding the fact that it's only going to get better, no matter what the developers claim at this point.

nerdeu3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

You read my mind and you spoke my mind. I only wish more people could realize this fact is a natural process of game development. Just look at the difference between Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. HUGE difference because ND learned to make their tools more efficient.

Same story will probably follow with this generation but only with the difference that developers might hit the bar a little faster. Let's say in 5 years instead of 7. But that doesn't concern me. Greatness (still) awaits! :D

Maxor3736d ago

All the efficient coding in the world is not going over come the realities of the hardware. The PS4 is a system with an AMD 7870 inside it, nothing going to change that.

And maxing out a 7870 is frankly, easy.

wsoutlaw873736d ago

ya you could write code that maxes out a system after the first day, but what does that prove. Its not like there are devs just leaving out processing power because they cant manage to make a game to utilize it. This is just pr bs yet every article and people act like omg this gen is done.

Anonagrog3735d ago (Edited 3735d ago )

@Maxor,

"All the efficient coding in the world is not going over come the realities of the hardware."

I don't get the point you're trying to make here!

It isn't about over-coming what the hardware is capable of! That doesn't even make sense!? It's about realizing the capabilities of the h/w, having a clear profile of performance limitations, and trying to find optimal methods for utilizing it.

"And maxing out a 7870 is frankly, easy."

My definition of "maxing out" is seemingly different to your one.

Y'see, my idea of it involves an awareness of how data is transformed and massaged with the flow of a piece of high performance software. Some nice buzzwords for you would be "cache miss", "pipeline stall/flush", "lockless programming", "branch misprediction", "data-oriented design", "data/instruction prefetching", "principal of locality", etc., amongst plenty of other little gems; easy to list on their own, but something else entirely when designing high performance software and taking consideration of them all.

These have just been hardware-based things. What about logical optimizations, and what of API/Kernel costs? LoD-dependant processing? Mathematical approximations? We can even make processing simplifications to take advantage of human factors.

So, yeah, "maxing out a 7870 is, frankly, easy"?... hmmm, well, perhaps not! :P

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3735d ago
dedicatedtogamers3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

Well, we do hear this "maxing out" rhetoric all the time every console generation, especially from PC devs. With consoles, there's a world of difference between "maxing out" and "optimizing".

Maxing out isn't too hard to do. It's tweaking the code and optimizing that brings you improvement.

Still, I'm glad to see CdProjekt using as much of the next-gen console power as possible.

MysticStrummer3736d ago

If they're maxing out both consoles, the two versions won't be exactly the same. I'll just leave it at that.

DeadlyFire3736d ago

Indeed. I believe they are just using raw code on the new consoles and still running the game unoptomized to a sense on the consoles. Games are likely to shift dramatically in another year or so with power. Especially with Laser scanned environments coming into game development 2015 and on forward. Now if they mix cinema effects into development with laser scanned environments. We could see some amazing environments.

There is also the potential question of if Sony/Microsoft locked out some GPU power to deploy later on in the cycle. Although I don't suspect that is the case.

AngelicIceDiamond3736d ago

@Lopez Devs claimed they were maxing out consoles early last gen and games clearly continued to get better and better.

starchild3736d ago

True, but games continue to get better on all platforms due to new graphical techniques and more efficient techniques. That goes for the PC as well as consoles. It's not due to some magical untapped console power the way some people imagine.

cannon88003736d ago

A game will only go as far as what the engine allows it to go. New technologies only make it better and better. I'm not worried about this one bit.

ooquis3736d ago

If it happens PS4/XBONE versions are identical then in my eyes their credibility is out the window. Like with the news of Tomb raider frame rates. They should be careful not to dig a hole for themselves.

OpieWinston3736d ago

Dude it's CD PRojekt Red....If the ports are identical it's because Direct X11.2 and Open GL do have a massive gap that will fill that Spec void.
CD Projekt Red is a hell of a lot more credible then most of these other devs...including first party studios.
You fanboys need to wake the fuck up and realize that you have NO FUCKING IDEA HOW THIS SHIT WORKS...SO STFU.

CertifiedGamer3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

If anyone knows anything about games and how development work then they would know that every game currently released on pc running on max the majority of time is running on 4 gb of ram. I think witcher 3 must be running at 4.5 or 5 in order to accomidate what console manufactures reserve for the OS allow them to use but by the end of this gen, I hope we will if lucky get to 6.5 gb of ram of the 8 gb of ram that systems the current gen has.

wsoutlaw873736d ago

people said the same thing every year last gen and the next year there was something better. It really doesn't mean anything at all.

andrewsqual3736d ago

Says an experienced developer with Playstation consoles lol. Exactly.

OpieWinston3736d ago

Says an experience developer...
Do you even own a PC? Have you ever played The Witcher franchise at all?
These guys are like the gaming dev gods. All this talk about "Indies are the future" from Mark Cerney and he didn't go to CD Projekt Red for approval...that says something.

They're like the only indie devs that produce a pure quality innovative AAA game without Publisher support.

They're experienced with Direct X...Not Open GL because Open GL is Sonys attempt at creating a graphics SDK that is as good as Direct X.

C-H-E-F3736d ago

No, I don't believe it, Midway said the same thing about that game Stranglehold on the ps3 and look at the last of us??? HUGE GRAPHICAL DIFFERENCE, there will be software new engines etc. to come out to further utilize the consoles. They are close to maxing out their engine on the consoles i'll agree with that, maxing out the consoles this early , to say so is ridiculous especially when we all know you are utilizing the code for peak performance.

bryam19823736d ago

thats why i.dont like pc gaming every game that comes out you.need to upgrade unless you have a 2,000$ badass machine

listenkids3736d ago

And we heard the same claims early into last gen, yet we produced games which trumped them 10 fold. Shit happens over time.

ShutUpDonny3736d ago

I know nothing about programming, but I know that the engines, as they develop, get more efficient. It takes less power to render textures, physics, A.I. and stuff like that, so you can use the processing power on something else something else. They maxed-out the consoles with there current tools.

Muffins12233734d ago

Honestly its irrelevant,every game "maxes out" its power, it just depends on the amount of optimization they do for it,that is what makes the games on the system look better each and every year.I guarantee you we will see better looking games on xbox one in the future than this,same goes for wiiu and ps4.

+ Show (12) more repliesLast reply 3734d ago
AceBlazer133736d ago

How bout we see some more games to compare before making claims like this.

SilentNegotiator3736d ago

Because this comes from PR quotes and their prerogative is to make their game sound/look good.

spicelicka3736d ago

Yea how many times have we heard this from every other developer last gen, for the past 5 years we've been hearing it lol. Yet the graphics keep getting better and better.

NobleTeam3603736d ago

This is what devs said all last gen and we didn't see PS3 or 360 get maxed out until really late in their life cycles.

blackmanone3736d ago

Far longer than just last gen I'm afraid. It is like every generation the devs forget they can optimize code. It is really nothing more then a sound bite and a way for them to get a free interview and promotion.

Still, Meh, anything the wither guys can do for more exposure, I am for it.

Vegamyster3736d ago

X86 is much easier and quicker to learn then PowerPc/Cell architecture, mind you X86 isn't as good for gaming which is the trade off. Obviously the Xone/PS4 will improve but not to the same degree as last gen.

danny8183736d ago

Devs will say anything to make sure theyre game sells. They wint max out the new consoles yet forsure

Ripsta7th3736d ago

They always say that!! Lol then a year later it gets maxed again by a different Dev

beatled3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

they were "maxed" day one

bf4 is only 1280x720 on xbox1 and 1600x900 on ps4 and both console versions are covered in artifacts and jaggies

its 2560x1600 on my pc and runs great and is not covered in jaggies

ps4/xbox1 maxed day 1

will devs be able to create prettier games that what we have seen so far, yes!

will we see resolutions tank and performance get crappier still, yes!

ps3 and xbox 360 were maxed in the third year due to their foreign and purposely convoluted architectures,

The current gen machines are already near maxed because the ps4 and xbox1 are EXACTLY like pc's now....takes nothing to max them

Rhaigun3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

You seem to ignore the fact that new drivers and engines with a smaller footprint always come to fruition. Just a week ago, we got word that Havok has vastly improved and halved it's resource requirements for its newest iteration. But, no. That would disprove your ridiculous notion that there is no room for improvement.

During the seventh year of developing for the PS3, there were no secrets anymore. Everyone knew how the hardware worked at that point. Yet, The Last of Us looked better than any other game on the system. Why? Better coding and resource management created specifically for the platform it was released on.

s45gr323736d ago

Not just that but it took game developers to understand the architecture of the PS3. Now is all AMD based plus it has x86 architecture. So there's no learning of new code, architecture, even hardware except optimization. Meaning better looking games less videogame content, we're are the map editors, alternate paths, secret passages or doors. A game like "The Forest" can only be done on PC due to its horsepower and upgradeability. Meaning an open survival horror game from hunting food, drinking water, building houses, and either killing or running away from Cannibals. Were is Planetside 2 on PC schedule for PS4 but never coming like Outlast.

epoxe3736d ago

"new drivers and engines with a smaller footprint always come to fruition."

HAHAHAHAHAAH ROFLMAO. Proof please?

Rhaigun3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

Proof? It happens every time a dev makes a new game with an existing engine. Just ask DICE about the changes Bioware made to Frostbite. Compare Mass Effect to Mass Effect 3. Same engine,better optimized. Even on my PC there's a noticeable difference. I didn't change to a better card. The code just got better. Hell, the game even runs smoother.

So, don't sit there and act like things can't get better with time. It happens every gen.

HighResHero3736d ago (Edited 3736d ago )

I agree with some of your comment, but they aren't EXACTLY like PCs.

windblowsagain3736d ago

Stop talking rubbish.

How does BF4 on PS4 have artifacts,lol. Barely any difference from PC version. I play the PC version maxed all the time.

XB1 has jaggies due to 720p, and oversharping filter makes matters worse.

As great a game BF4 is, the game is covered in bugs, that should have been caught in alpha. Has awful clipping issues. Has only just had a memory leak that was taking some ppl's 16gb ram.

PC is lazy programming. If you don't know that. Then please don't talk about it. Brute force is used.

Games on PC should look x5 times better. But they cater for too large an installed base with various hardware. It does not help matters.

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110°

The 7 Best Western RPGs: Immersive Adventures

RPGs are often huge, sprawling endeavours. With limited playtime, we have to choose wisely, so here's the best western RPGs available today.

SimpleSlave11d ago

"I started playing games yesterday" the List... Meh!

How about a few RPGs that deserve some love instead?
1 - Alpha Protocol - Now on GOG
2 - else Heart.Break()
3 - Shadowrun Trilogy
4 - Wasteland 2
5 - UnderRail
6 - Tyranny
7 - Torment: Tides of Numenera

And for a bonus game that flew under the radar:
8 - Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

DustMan11d ago

Loved Alpha Protocol in all it's glorious jank. Great game.

SimpleSlave10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

Not only glorious jank, but the idea that the story can completely change depending on what you do, or say, or side with, makes it one of the most forward thinking games ever. The amount of story permutation is the equivalent of a Hitman level but in Story Form. And it wasn't just that the story changed, no, it was that you met completely new characters, or missed them, depending on your choices. Made Mass Effect feel static in comparison.

Alpha Protocol was absolutely glorious, indeed. And it was, and still is, more Next Gen than most anything out there these days. In this regard at least.

Pity.

230°

All the Essential Video Games Everyone Needs To Play At Least Once

Given the medium's wild diversity, this primer of the essential video games everyone should try is a good place to start.

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thorstein34d ago

.... from the 2000s (mostly).

shinoff218334d ago

I can't fk with this list. They missed on alot of games probably before the writers times. Also I know people loved some portal but I was never a fan.

Cacabunga34d ago

Tomb Raider 1
Driver 1
Abe’s Odyssey
FF6
King of Fighters 94
Mortal Kombat OG
LINK 2 the past
Street Fighter 2
Resident Evil 1

Inverno34d ago

Infinite but not the first two games? Witcher 3 but not the first two games?? GTA V but not literally any of the games before it??? Portal 2 but not the first? Also if you're going to play Shadow of The Colossus play the remaster and not the remake. Can't say I disagree with the list but my man it's all over the place.

Name Last Name34d ago

I mean some sequels are objectively better and you don’t need to play the whole series.

Inverno34d ago

But most of these games have a story to follow, sure you can catch up with a YouTube vid but where's the fun in that?

LucasRuinedChildhood34d ago (Edited 34d ago )

A list like this isn't telling you not to play the previous games if you want to. It's just giving you legendary games to play.

But tbh, you don't always have to force yourself to play every entry in a franchise to get to the better ones.

- The vast majority of Witcher 3 players never played the first 2 and had a great time. The first 2 games aren't in the same league.
- The GTA games are self-contained with the odd fun reference. You can easily jump into any of them.
- The Shadow Of The Colossus remake looks and controls better than the original (plus it has a 60fps option while the remaster is just 30fps). New players will enjoy it more.
- Portal 2 is a lot better than Portal 1 and takes the concept much further gameplay-wise. Storywise, Portal 1 is fairly light too. Not that you shouldn't play it but realistically ... you'd love Portal 2 whether you play it or not (at lot of Portal 2 players have never played 1).

Bioshock 1 is the only one I agree with you on simply because it's one the best games of all time and arguably better than Infinite. No other setting like Rapture.

Looking at the list, I'd recommend playing Uncharted 1 before 2 but no doubt, 2 is the legendary one you have to play.

Inverno34d ago

I get it, but that's just my opinion on his opinion. I just think that before you play a sequel you should still play what came before it. Maybe it's just me but i find it fascinating playing through the first game in a series and seeing how it has evolved through its sequels. Like I said I don't disagree with the list, other than SoTC which I strongly believe the remaster of the original should be played above the remake.

AuraAbjure34d ago

Awesome list! Hot take on Fear (and it's hard af expansion Persaus Mandate!) Bioshock Infinite is stellar, so is the Witcher 3 and you nailed it by having Ocarina of Time. So many fantastic games! Gotta play 'em all! Next one on my list is Prey after I beat Dead Space 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction.

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80°

The Best Video Game Romances of All Time

Wealth of Geeks explores some of the best gaming romances that have stolen our hearts over the years.

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