The Witcher 3 - Fans Claim 'Downgrade-ation' Is In Full Effect After Latest Trailer, Devs Comment

It seems the latest trailer of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt disappointed a number of PC gamers. While this trailer remains epic, its visuals seem to have taken a noticeable hit in various areas, as there were a lot of low-resolution textures on various environmental objects, the terrain itself, and some characters. And since the game is advertised as one of the most graphically intense games, these graphical compromises let down a lot of PC gamers.

[MonkeyOne]

The Xbox One and PS4 have 1.6 GHZ CPU's people.

They aren't magical boxes

Get over it

[Abash]

I hate how some gamers see visually impressive games and automatically respond to it with "Why doesn't it look greater?!"

[uth11]

I've seen many good looking games dismissed as looking like shit or look last gen. Not everything needs to be photorealistic

[nicksetzer1]

Man, the stark difference in point of view of downgrades on this article and the uncharted one are insane. In fact some of the same people in here whining about the witcher that were fine with uncharted. There was actual gameplay footage at E3 running on XB1, (@900p) looks the same (aka still amazing) as the video here, not sure what's with all the crying.

[Ezz2013]

Every one love to scream "DOWNGRADE" on every single game those days
and then they turn around saying they only care about gameplay and graphics don't matter

Smh

[Mr Pumblechook]

Rumour has it that the story that this would be 720p on XBO and 900p on PS4 was a deliberate fake plant by CD Projekt because of a 'partnership deal' The game will actually be 900p on both platforms and they claim will be that the XBO version was upgraded to match PS4, and deny that PS4 was downgraded to match XBO.

[3-4-5]

* Good way to look at games is this:(IMO)

For this series....It's the best looking game EVER in this series.

As long as it looks graphically superior and plays better than the last game in the series, it should be fine.

[LamerTamer]

@Mr Pumblechook

"the claim will be that the XBO version was upgraded to match PS4, and deny that PS4 was downgraded to match XBO."

And of course we all know for that to be true they would have also had to magically upgrade the xbone GPU to match PS4 as well.

If that was true and the xbone version with weaker GPU could be "upgraded to match PS4" then I suppose the PS4 could magically be "upgraded to match the PC". It don't work that way, although all of the morons giving disagrees must think it does.

It is amazing that so many still struggle with the concept that better hardware can always do more.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

The thing is at some point, it did look greater, but now its being held back.

I like pretty graphics, but i won't not play a game jus because its not the latest tech, but when one of the selling points of a game is a beautiful world and graphics then there is disapointment when there is a downgrade.

[DOMination-]

Just because the ps4 cam do more doesn't mean it will in every game. Maybe this game xan run at 900p on xbone but it doesn't mean the ps4 will automatically have to be higher. It depends on whether the devs can he arsed to put in more effort or not.

Two generations ago, the xbox has a hdd and a 600mhz cpu compared to the paltry 333mhz of the ps2. Almist twice as fast. On the whole, there was little difference in multiplats back then. With the exception of a few games at the beginning of last gen, multiplats were generally the same on 360/ps3 despute radically different hardware. The same will happen this gen. Once devs get to grips with the xbox sdks there will be little difference with multiplats. Ps4 will still have tue edge and of course its capable of more but devs will eek more from the xbone and then use the lowest denominator to port like they always have done.

[ShinMaster]

From article:

"...disappointed a number of PC gamers... these graphical compromises let down a lot of PC gamers"

They're talking about PC. Not consoles.

[awi5951]

The console versions that's why. If it was pc only it would killed peoples pc like 2 did. But since they are working on 3 versions the PC version suffered.

[Saigon]

@Abash, All I can say is bubble+

[kcuthbertson]

People aren't upset that this could be PS4/XBOne Version...they're upset that it might not be. PC users feel like they might have been lied to when comparing to the Sword of Destiny Trailer.

[Pandamobile]

A lot of people don't understand the distinction between trailer graphics and real-time gameplay graphics.

[radler]

Yeah, it's not like the trailers are used to advertise the game to people and it's illegal to use misleading footage or anything...

[Pandamobile]

Either way, how about we wait for the game to actually come out first before crying "downgraded".

[radler]

Agreed. We should definitely buy the game to check for ourselves that it is in fact downgraded. Excellent suggestion, Pandamobile. Let me just reach into my wallet here and blindly throw money at a product that may or may not be what's advertised.

[AliTheSnake1]

I am so sick of these people.
If the game looks great, they cry they want 60fps.
If the game is 60fps they cry the graphics are not next gen.
Piss off man.

[Pandamobile]

Or don't buy it? Radler, no one told you to go out and buy the game to see if it's "downgraded". This shouldn't be a hard concept for you to understand.

If it's so important to you, wait til other people and sites like Digital Foundry have the game before making a definitive judgement.

[remixx116]

Radler is such a negative person, dude just enjoy games and stop

[starchild]

radler, just stop. You're so damn negative and your crusade is overblown and pointless. Games change throughout development, get over it. As long as they show us representative footage of the final build before it is released then everybody has a chance to do their research and decide if they want to get it or not.

[awi5951]

@AliTheSnake1

You forget this was a PC title first and we shouldn't have to choose that. The console versions have degraded the game. Witcher 2 was a PC benchmark now its a joke now.

[BG11579]

Yeah, you are right but in case you didn't notice it, the story is talking about a supposed downgrade of the PC version.

[Mithan]

Agreed. They can do so much, so what.

I can't believe 21 people disagreed with you lol.

[Dyldog69]

Mobile 1.6 processors

[Angeljuice]

On PC? The article is about PC graphics not console graphics fool.

[Magicite]

most of latest PC games require 3GHZ core CPUs, so obviously consoles are in difficult position.

[_-EDMIX-_]

consoles output 2X in terms of performance based on optimization...

The latest PC titles have been PS4 - XONE ports...

[Kalowest]

This is why I'm building a PC with Sli GTX 970s :)

[FastRedPonyCar]

I have a pair of 970's and a 4770k and it's fucking amazing... well except AC unity. That shit show is hilariously unoptimized.

[starchild]

Really? AC Unity runs just fine on my single GTX 970. I set my monitor's refresh rate at 50Hz and I get a pretty solid 50fps. And if I cap it at 30fps (60Hz refresh) it's very consistent and free of stutter. I've had more issues with Far Cry 4 and Dragon Age Inquisition to be honest.

[I_AM_ CANADIAN_1989]

Witcher 3 was meant to be played on pc. I'm crossing my fingers that it has flawless sli scaling and decent GSYNC support. Only have 2 3gb cards so gpu scaling has to make up for it. :( I will always regret being clueless and thinking gpu memory stacked at the time of building my computer lol should just buy titan z when it gets dirt cheap.

[awi5951]

They were already turning to the console darkside with witcher 2. Because many reviewers said it was more optimized to be played with a console controller than mouse and keyboard.

[TheXgamerLive]

Xbox One is 1.75 GHz CPU, ps4 is 1.6.
Regardless, the game is going to look and play incredible. They've gave this their all and I'll guess a GOTY contender at least.

[stonecold3]

ps4 has 1.75 ghz and that info from wiki

[showtimefolks]

I end it all the time on gaming sites where graphics aren't everything, yet it's the one thing most gamers complain about. Seriously

We are talking about CD Red Project here, they get what gamers want so let's give the game a chance. It's still few months from being released. I am sure it will be fine

Stop over reacting to everything

[Angeljuice]

@MonkeyOne
"The Xbox One and PS4 have 1.6 GHZ CPU's people."

Erm, its actually PC fans who are complaining about the visuals being downgraded on their particular version. Maybe you should read before imparting your "wisdom".

[MonkeyOne]

I didn't read anywhere in the article that said the trailer was a PC version of the game.

The "worry" is from PC gamers which is ridiculous considering how the modding community usually makes games (that are modifiable) look 10 times better than the original release.

On consoles the Witcher 3 will probably look roughly similar to Shadow of Mordor

On the PC the game will look as good as your hardware will allow

[starchild]

Lol no, it clearly looks far better than Shadow of Mordor. That game is only decent looking, while The Witcher 3 looks amazing.

[GUTZnPAPERCUTZ]

X1 1.75ghz - PS4 1.6ghz. But yes they both are underpowered, especially compared to their previous iterations which both had 6-7 cores @ 3.2ghz with PS3 having the beefier CPU

[awi5951]

Yeah there are phone cpu's out with higher clock speeds lol.

[Kumomeme]

actually what people are getting worried are wherever the pc version also will suffer from downgrade

past few years pc gamers had suffer few downgrade issues

before people already being suspicious over downgrade on screenshot released
even before there are claim from a dev saying witcher 3 gonna get downgraded and all those presentation were just advertising stunt

[frezhblunts]

Still like why do the pc gamers worry about graphics so much? It can still be a good/ fun game. It is like they want a beautiful open world game with nothing in it but the environment to stare at the graphics.

[ShinMaster]

From article:

"It seems the latest trailer of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt disappointed a number of PC gamers... these graphical compromises let down a lot of PC gamers"

They're talking about PC. Not consoles.

[frezhblunts]

Fanboys think their ps4s has the best graphics and can do anything. I have a ps4 and there are a lot of problems with it. Just remember the possible downgrade probably helps the gameplay better. I have a wii u and yet most people will say well thats a weak old gen console because their ignorant, I can admit I played the best games on their this year just watch the VGAS they won awards. Still I am sure Witcher will still be a good game.

[DanteVFenris666]

Ps4. It's only 400 bucks it can sit on my tv stand all day long. Yes I do hook up my PC occasionally but it's annoying. I'll play with a few downgraded textures frames and res instead of putting up with how uncomfortable PC gaming is. Yes I depending on the game releases sometimes I game more on PC, but I still prefer console. It's nice to just sit down, controller turns system on and play. I don't want best graphics I want the games with improved graphics from PS3 which there is a good gap with some good gameplay

[Animal Mutha 76]

I agree but then devs shouldn't show content that is either BS or just not capable on the target machines.

The Industry is so full of bait and switch its criminal (or at least it should be).

[Tzuno]

well that's the weakest part in the entire console, AMD and in top of that 1.6 that sucks monkey balls.

[georeo]

Pc gamers upset!

[Gamer1982]

the games not gonna look better than dragon age most probably. Do people think there boxes are magic?? Most early videos were taken from alpha, see the issue with alpha is they either look bad or way better than final game. Watch Dogs was the worst example of this in recent history.. I am used to this over the years of gaming but it seems people are new to this?? Or are just blind to it?
You should check out the game closer to launch or from reviews. Twitch is really good these days to check out quality as there's always early copies being streamed on there now. You cannot downgrade a game that has not been released that's a fact. So stop claiming graphics have been downgraded when the games not even out..

People feeling ripped off and they don't even own the game yet..

[Forn]

I think the game looks freakin' awesome. A lot of fantastic games on the way next year. People complaining about all these new incredible looking games need to quit gaming.

[SamPao]

Spoiled brats :)

Lets wait for the final result :)

[Xof]

Don't expect much different. CDPR sucks at optimization. Just look at the texture scaling the n TW2. Anything short of the highest setting yielded PS2-level textures.

[DarthSocio]

I'm a console gamer, but PC owners shouldn't have to suffer graphical downgrade so that some level of parity could be achieved across all platforms.

[IC3_DEMON]

Someone who has a brain and can put themselves in other peoples shoes. Bubble for you.

[Roccetarius]

I doubt there's a downgrade, considering their past trailers have been fantastic as well.

Either way, here's the full answer to this question. http://forums.cdprojektred....

[SilentSolid]

You're damn right :)

[LOL_WUT]

I think no system should have to suffer any graphical downgrade whether its PC, PS4 or the X1 ;)

[SilentSolid]

Indeed :)

[LamerTamer]

True but it looks like MS is throwing their financial weight around in the dev world to insure "X1 has the same quality experience and graphical quality as other platforms". That would be fine but for the fact that the xbone doesn't have the same quality GPU hardware as other platforms and is at the bottom of the heap this gen for that. As a result xbone would always be a bit less in the graphics dept if all platforms were taken advantage of. Any other result and parity is the culprit, it is just math regarding the GPUs in these things.

[Feralkitsune]

I bet the game hasn't been downgraded, it's CDProjeckt they deliver.

[ShaunCameron]

Welcome to the downside of multiplatform game development.

[CaptainObvious878]

You're dam bloody right, and it's good to see you getting so many agrees.

It's interesting, because when I say the PS4 shouldn't have to suffer a graphical downgrade because of the xbone I get disagrees left, right and center.

I wonder why that is?

[LamerTamer]

Why? Fanboys. They still think that DX12 and the cloud is going to make up for GPU hardware with less CUs, ROPs, shaders, etc.

[ShinMaster]

PC games don't have issues with parity. That is only consoles.

Most PC games don't take full advantage of high end hardware anyway.

[NuggetsOfGod]

Un thats becuz of parity! Lol

[ShinMaster]

No, parity is when developers have two or more versions of the same game at the same graphics settings. Multiplatform PC games are still capable of achieving higher resolution, framerate, AA, etc.

The games I'm talking about are MOBAs, MMOs, RTS and indie games, which are some of the most popular PC exclusives.

[DanteVFenris666]

Their just graphics(face palm) I never get upset over downgrade. Especially for consoles. If it's not possible on the system then it's not possible. Some people are just dicks that act like making a game is easy and magical.

[i8urCAKE]

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the problem is due to youtube's compression and thus it looks crappy. they are uploading the better version now.

they said there will be NO DOWNGRADE so i still have hope

[the_dark_one]

http://www.gamersyde.com/ne...

then tell us there was no downgrade. maybe there wasnt no downgrade on pc and the trailer was of the console version, we dont know. but normaly in this case when a game is coming to pc and consoles the trailer is from pc since its the one that could be more shiny

[elninels]

It was at "maybe there wasnt no downgrade on pc" that I wondered, where did you learn to use language?

Your comment is lost on me because the quality of your thoughts and your ability to express them is only as good as your quality of language used.

Also the quality of image available is only as good as the quality of hardware available. Most will not run max settings or even much close to it.

So with this "downgrade" or without it won't matter to most gamers.

[NeoGamer232]

These kinds of articles promote a focus solely on the visual aspects of games. There is so much more that makes a great game, story, control mechanics, gameplay, sound, art style, etc...

It is a shame and pity that these articles come out, because this makes developers focus their efforts on an aspect of gaming that is only one part of the equation.

If you want pretty, then you should go to an art gallery. If you want a great game, graphics are only one piece of it.

[mydyingparadiselost]

At the same time this kind thing happens because lots of devs/publishers show footage or builds of a game that look way better than they do at release. The bullshots, the CG quality gameplay that gets heavily downgraded, the AI and small touches that get dropped during development after an E3 showing, all this stuff is what had led people to begin really questioning and looking at footage to see if they're being lied to and misinformed.

That being said, it seems this is just a misunderstanding, but the furor exists because its become a major tend in the industry to show you one thing and sell you another.

[destroyer11687]

Dangit, my stubby fingers hit diagree when I meant agree. I agree!

[NeoGamer232]

It would be alright if these articles would talk about AI, story length, and small touches...

But, almost all of these articles only talk about the visual aspects of the game. If visuals are the only thing that mattered nobody would've bout games for the past 45 years and wouldn't buy them for the next 10-20 years as well. Until every console can do 4K video and duplicate every aspect of the real world down to the dust particles games will not be fully immersive graphically.

Games are just so much more than graphics, yet that is what these articles focus on...

And this one is even more click bait because it turns out this was just the compression level of the video uploaded.

[anticlimax]

I'd go to an art gallery that lets you walk in maddeningly beautiful digital worlds.

As much as a gameplay and story are what makes games great, graphics are important. Things like textures popping up can really ruin immersion. So do bad lighting effects, or badly done faces.

But most importantly, the issue is developers promising something and then not delivering it (it's called doing a Molyneux). Let us hope this isn't the case with the Witcher.

[Baka-akaB]

Except Molyneux did promise more and delivered far less ... and not just with one title .

So no , it shall remain pulling a "molyneux" and deservingly so

[NuggetsOfGod]

This is about pc

If u pay more why not have it all?

Cd projekt is shifting to the console crowd now I guess.

Console gamers took over this whole thread without reading the first paragraph.

Consoles arghh

[Relientk77]

The trailer on Gamersryde site looks fantastic

[starchild]

Yeah, I downloaded the gamersyde version of the trailer and I don't see any evidence of a downgrade. It looks fantastic still.

[Harold_Finch]

So what people want now is for no game to be considered the best looking?

It's kind of the same feeling i had playing GTA V after The Last of Us last year. I though "hmm this doesn't look as good as the Last of Us so i'm not that impressed." 5 minutes after that, GTA V's graphics blew me away, they weren't as good as TLOU but they were definitely great and great is enough to blow me away.

[imtheman2013]

I thought it looked fantastic, like almost every other trailer/gameplay of this game. I mean, it's a gigantic, open world game people; it's not going to look like The Order 1886 or other corridor-like games. Cut CDPR some slack, they haven't let us down before, I think they've earned our trust.

[Dan_scruggs]

Its a sad state of affairs when the only game to have crazy impressive visuals and actually deliver at launch is Mario kart 8.

[SilentNegotiator]

That game that everyone thought would be 1080p and wound up at 720p with no AA?

[Dan_scruggs]

Yeah and how none of that mattered because the publicity stills looked exactly like the gameplay with no visible downgrade.

[solidjun5]

lol.
Yea...Infamous: Second Son would like to have a word with you.

[Iamnemesis4880]

Most trailers are not real they get the footage then the photo shop to make it look better.

[Lord-Nicon]

I thought the PS4 was THE machine capable of running 60 fps games @ 1080p....

well, I guess the only next gen machine around here is the PC :D

[the_dark_one]

what the hell as this any to do with ps4 running games at 1080p/60fps?
oh i guess you just and immature troll lurking around to take a stab at ps4 whenever you want

[TheTwelve]

Just another insecure PC dude. You'd think they would be happy as can be with their super machines but clearly something is missing in their lives.

[EXVirtual]

I don't know why everyone screams 'downgrade' (god, I hate that word now) before the game releases but then eat crow when it releases (aside from Ubisoft games).

[starchild]

Uh...Far Cry 4 wasn't downgraded, neither was AC Unity. And both games are drop dead gorgeous. Unity in particular is currently the best looking open wold game and probably the best looking game period. Only Ryse currently challenges AC Unity.

I agree with the rest of your post though.

[EXVirtual]

Apologies. I meant some of Ubisofts games.

[megamanX2]

"I am so sick of these people.
If the game looks great, they cry they want 60fps.
If the game is 60fps they cry the graphics are not next gen.
Piss off man."

its these new generation rejects they dont know anything about how a game should be, and if it was back in the 90's they wouldn't be complaining about how it looks.

[bloodybutcher]

yeah, but in the 90's they were still jumping between their fathers testicles. This gen is all about being entitled and bitchy. I still remember one of my favourite games in my teen time: http://www.atarimania.com/8...

[Father__Merrin]

I've got both witchers on PC, but witcher 3 I will get on PS4 it will be better than getting it on my PC, I don't feel like buying a new graphics card yet

[Roccetarius]

In case people are being mislead here, here's the full answer that was provided concerning the trailer.

Source: http://forums.cdprojektred....

"Good morning. So, I have always been in favor of telling the truth to your community as much as possible. I think this is a good opportunity to give your community an inside look at what happens, so here ya go.

We initially didn't have a new video scheduled for release at this time. The game team is finishing the game, Christmas is coming and January & February will be very busy, so there wasn't a video scheduled to be made. Then, we learned we were nominated for Most Anticipated Game at the VGAs (which we won. Woot!). So a decision was made to create a video to show at the VGAs (whether we won or lost). The video team did a fantastic job getting a video put together in the time-frame they had to make the show's deadline. However, it was not compressed to the correct rate and did not look as good on YouTube as it does in the actual game.

After seeing concerns from fans that the game has been downgraded (which it ABSOLUTELY HAS NOT), the team recompressed the video and it is now being uploaded to YouTube and other channels. You should be seeing the new video shortly. Hopefully, it will alleviate your worries about any false graphical downgrade rumors.

Now you know."

[Eamon]

But if you watch the gamesyde trailer which isn't compressed, you still notice the blurry textures, lack of polygons and general absurdities.

The issue of Witcher 3 downgrade started from E3 not just this VGA trailer. This recent trailer only made the issue much more obvious. What's saddenning for me is that cdprojekt know this and refuse to clarify. If they could just either tell if that was the console version or that the PC version really did get downgraded, the issue would be done and sorted. I'm sure most PC players would still get the game. But cdprojekt seem to be very worried about this and aren't clarifying, and it's only making the issue worse in my opinion.

[shammgod]

I will still buy it and still love it

[Gatsu]

People sure like to complain... The game look so fantastic. I'm getting tired of constant complaining about graphics or no 60 fps, enjoy the darn games and stop crying over every small thing.

[Rainbowcookie]

What has become of gameplay ... I remember playing games that looked pretty crap as a kid and it didn't matter .

[Gatsu]

Yeah I know...gaming or gamers have changed a lot.

[Ps4andxb1]

Yet another example that PC gaming is useless.

PC gamers forever boast of amazing graphics, then get shafted with bad ports for any game that actually matters.

Haha, sh*t never changes.

[bumnut]

Another poorly informed idiot commenting on something they know nothing about, you are right about shit never changing!

[ShaunCameron]

The games are usually made with console and lower-end PC owners in mind since they make up the majority.

[VJGenova]

Ever play the witcher 2 on pc? Try turning on ubersampling and see what happens. Computers twice as powerful as a ps4 can't handle that.

This game will look amazing on PC. Should look great on consoles too.

[S2Killinit]

Oh Noooooo. But still, it will be a good game.

[elweon]

looks like shit

[Clonetrooper1139]

Getting sooo tired of the graphics whores.

[masterfox]

one thing I can say easily is that, after seeing so many games coming next year lots of them looking fantastic, the witcher 3 doesn't look that impressive anymore imo.

[urwifeminder]

What a shame new consoles are so weak another downgrade is hysterical where are all the unreal 4 games?

[Nikolas26]

Tbh here ps4/x1 cant even run wither 2 1080p 60fps, just relax and be happy u even get the chance to play this game, enjoy it and if u still aint happy go trade your consoles and buy a gpu next year.

[EvoNeonLover19]

Man sometimes I just wish the Internet didn't exist. If it weren't for the Internet I would have never known if the gane was downgraded or not. I remember when I was younger and saw a commercial for a game, I'd be like I really want that game. Now with the Internet it just feels different when wanting a game because people either say it's been downgraded or it isn't fun. However, with all that said I still buy what interests me even if my decision might get a little bit hazy because of the negativity on the Internet.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Well...if you don't like the look of it ...skip it. I will gladly buy and play The Witcher 3.

[Kumomeme]

i'm fine with console version,but actually what people are getting worried might be wherever the pc version also will suffer from downgrade

past few years pc gamers had suffer few downgrade issues

before people already being suspicious over downgrade on screenshot released
even before there are claim from a dev saying witcher 3 gonna get downgraded and all those presentation were just advertising stunt

[Many-hat5]

This situation is becoming more prevelant. Dev releases trailer -looks fantastic, everyone excited. Dev releases trailer few months later to the shouts of downgrade! Why is this? Who's fault is it? Seems to me Devs are fast becoming the politicians of the gaming world -nobody trusts them anymore. I place this problem squarely with the Devs. If you release a trailer and either outright say this is what finished game will look like OR you imtimate as much from the wording you use, and then the final product falls well short of the expectations set. You shouldn't be surprised when people become annoyed - they've been lied to, that normally upsets people. On the other hand Devs are driven by publishers and consoles manufacturers to portray their products in the best possible light. IMO graphics only enhance a great game, they don't make a great game. Therefore, to Devs and politicians alike, I say - honesty is always the best policy.

[JMyers]

It's just a trailer... jeez. Calm down people. The game in motion may look different. The gameplay is what matters anyway.

[ThisJarContainsTHC]

I have a ps4. i dont care what these people think. looks fine.

[insomniacgamer]

lol @ resolutiongate bs

1. The game will look at least good if not great
2. You will get your money's worth and then some
3. Graphics are not the end all be all. Crytec tried pushing that bs line and said a game can stand on graphics alone and yep, Crysis 3 looked awesome and was "meh" as all get out.

CDPR are the last bastion of good devs out there with a couple other noted exceptions. I trust them to deliver because their moral compass is stuck on "customer" and not "profit"

[Tdmd]

Seriously that ppl are complaining about The Witcher 3 graphics? It looks phenomenal to me! Downgraded or not.

[Enigma_2099]

You know, people would probably stop being so hard on the graphics if they stopped using the graphics to sell you on the game.