Witcher 2 Best grafix EVAR???

The Witcher 2

Thaurin

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I saw sakichop's thread, he posted the following, and because he only wanted positive response, I made my own thread:
The graphic are the best I have seen in a game to date.

I was just thinking about this last night, but in opposite directions. I was thinking that, having seen quite a lot of beautiful console games, the graphics in The Witcher 2 wouldn't even need to get dialed back that much to be able to run on them. A little more pop-in, some lower-quality textures, and you're almost there. My point is, some console games, like Final Fantasy XIII that I had been playing before, are really up there in the graphics department.

Which got me thinking: am I just being too hard on the game here, am I just not seeing it, or is this really the current high-end state of PC graphics? Then I got a little disappointed, because frankly, while the graphics look good, they don't blow me away.

I don't know what I'm expecting. Maybe a little more than just more detail in the scenery and level-of-detail? Revolutionary new effect never seen before? (TW2's lighting effects are pretty nice, of course.) But I can't help but feel that I've seen better graphics in some console games, mostly because of the competent art direction and cinematic design of the developers.
 
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There are 5 things you need to understand.

1. TW2 has been in development for a long time, it is not built on DX11 at its core. It still has win XP support. Consoles support DX9 level effects, they just can't have as high res textures and so on.

2. It is not an FPS, meaning they need to use resources for a lot of other things than just graphics. If they focused only on graphics the game would probably suck.

3. Most people ( because of the interface for one thing ) thinks it is prepared for a console release.

4. They can't make system specific optimizations which you can for console games, making the difference much less than it could be.

5. If you want to checkout what a PC can do ( well if you have 3 way SLI GTX 580 ) and a top of the line I7 check out this video: http://www.udk.com/showcase-samaritan
 
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I saw sakichop's thread, he posted the following, and because he only wanted positive response, I made my own thread:


I was just thinking about this last night, but in opposite directions. I was thinking that, having seen quite a lot of beautiful console games, the graphics in The Witcher 2 wouldn't even need to get dialed back that much to be able to run on them. A little more pop-in, some lower-quality textures, and you're almost there. My point is, some console games, like Final Fantasy XIII that I had been playing before, are really up there in the graphics department.

Which got me thinking: am I just being too hard on the game here, am I just not seeing it, or is this really the current high-end state of PC graphics? Then I got a little disappointed, because frankly, while the graphics look good, they don't blow me away.

I don't know what I'm expecting. Maybe a little more than just more detail in the scenery and level-of-detail? Revolutionary new effect never seen before? (TW2's lighting effects are pretty nice, of course.) But I can't help but feel that I've seen better graphics in some console games, mostly because of the competent art direction and cinematic design of the developers.

I don't know what you're smoking, honestly.

I run the game on full details - and it absolutely trounces every single console game I've seen.

Especially in terms of the textures and density of detail. Look at the forest areas at Flotsam - and there's simply no comparison.

Take a look at the game while checking out a console game at the same time, and all will become clear.
 
Did you read this part DArt ?

Maybe a little more than just more detail in the scenery and level-of-detail? Revolutionary new effect never seen before? (TW2's lighting effects are pretty nice, of course.) But I can't help but feel that I've seen better graphics in some console games, mostly because of the competent art direction and cinematic design of the developers.
 
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Yep, but those are very broad terms.

He didn't mention textures - which is one area where the game stands FAR above every single console game in existence.

Naturally on high settings, but still.

I'm not sure there's a single area of the game that has never been done before, but that's not the point.

It's the combined level of detail and performance on a good rig that amazes me.
 
I've read this part.
2. It is not an FPS, meaning they need to use resources for a lot of other things than just graphics. If they focused only on graphics the game would probably suck.

This is the whole truth and there is nothing more to add to this.
 
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Did you read this part DArt ?

Maybe a little more than just more detail in the scenery and level-of-detail? Revolutionary new effect never seen before? (TW2's lighting effects are pretty nice, of course.) But I can't help but feel that I've seen better graphics in some console games, mostly because of the competent art direction and cinematic design of the developers.

I'm guessing he did. :)

I'd like to know what console games the OP thinks have better graphics than TW2. I have a PS3, and I can tell you that no game I've played comes close to TW2 visually, and that includes FFXIII, which blows the rest of the PS3 library out of the water.
 
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I don't mean to say that I don't think The Witcher looks really good--it does! And I did mention textures, as in a console version would require lower quality textures. I do run the game on Ultra (without Ubersampling) and what I'm saying is that the difference between The Witcher 2 on Ultra to the best-looking games I've seen on consoles (I mentioned FFXIII on PS3) is slightly disappointing.

Okay, granted, I did say that I've seen better graphics on console. I guess that's not really true, but just an illusion caused by excellent design and perhaps personal subjective preference. I'm just a graphics engine whore that hasn't seen such a revolutionary new thing blow his self completely away since maybe Oblivion or maybe Doom 3.

I'm not complaining about TW2. It looks fantastic. But so does FFXIII and I want to see what GG posted (which I had already seen before). :p I want something to really strain my PC, which by now is already 6 months old again by the way!
 
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I don't mean to say that I don't think The Witcher looks really good—it does! And I did mention textures, as in a console version would require lower quality textures. I do run the game on Ultra (without Ubersampling) and what I'm saying is that the difference between The Witcher 2 on Ultra to the best-looking games I've seen on consoles (I mentioned FFXIII on PS3) is slightly disappointing.

Okay, granted, I did say that I've seen better graphics on console. I guess that's not really true, but just an illusion caused by excellent design and perhaps personal subjective preference. I'm just a graphics engine whore that hasn't seen such a revolutionary new thing blow his self completely away since maybe Oblivion or maybe Doom 3.

I'm not complaining about TW2. It looks fantastic. But so does FFXIII and I want to see what GG posted (which I had already seen before). :p I want something to really strain my PC, which by now is already 6 months old again by the way!

Well, such things are subjective - and there's no way to "prove" what's best.

I just think it's the best looking PC game out there, and when you couple that with a fantastic gameplay/story - it all comes together.

Last time I was this impressed was Crysis - and that was due to the visuals more than the gameplay.

With TW2, it's how everything comes together.

Also, the textures themselves, if you take the time to look at the ground/trees/rocks - are just incredible.

It's been a long time since I've seen a major title play to the strengths of the platform - and the amount of memory available for textures is a big one.

Beyond that, we have some pretty huge areas with minimal load-times, and a very fast and flexible savesystem. That's another thing that impresses me.

When I compare it to other recent major titles like Dragon Age 2 or Fallout NV - there's just no competition. Considering that it's a european developer with comparably limited means - that is truly an achievement.

That they dare to make the game challenging and demand something of the player, takes it beyond great into "classic/masterpiece" territory.

I've yet to finish it - but there's nothing so far to dissuade me from considering it one of the best games I've ever played.
 
Disclaimer: I don't pay much attention to graphics. Having said that, I'm not blown away by TW2's graphics either. In fact, the pixelization caused by the fubar shadows takes it down a peg.

As a mostly open-world game, it's pretty good, but it can't compare to more linear games where the engine only has to render a corridor at a time.

But again, I don't really care about the graphics - give me back my fighting stances instead of more polygons ;P
 
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Some of the best shadows I've seen as well. I think this "glitch" is how some people perceive the technology they're using. I don't see the "glitchy" part about it, but to each his own.
 
The shadows looked great to me (on my system). Sounds like an issue with your system/video drivers. Let me guess… ATI?

It's a known issue with both ATI and Nvidia. Mostly noticeable at medium range, on light backgrounds (such as skin textures). I eventually got used to it, but am still waiting on the first patch for the second playthrough to see if anything is resolved.
 
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It's a known issue with both ATI and Nvidia. Mostly noticeable at medium range, on light backgrounds (such as skin textures). I eventually got used to it, but am still waiting on the first patch for the second playthrough to see if anything is resolved.

Can you show me a screenshot of what you're talking about?
 
graphics vs art

Technically, TW2 is a DX9 marvel. It incorporates many effects others only seem to match using DX10 or 11 techniques. The downside to that is very very high CPU calculations to power these.

They're not just techniques for the sake of it either - TW2s SSAO implementation is the best I have seen - it actually adds greatly to the atmosphere and style.

Artistically it is also fantastic - best forests I've seen ever I think.

But overall I rate TW1 better artistically, and some other games are more stylish.

EDIT: I see the shadow 'gitch' in high preset.. it's actually just a dithering instead of true transparency - looks to be possibly intended as a consequence of shadowing speedtree foliage (and I saw the same effect in Crysis), as it's much better than hard shadows, but proper transparency would be nicer
 
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I second that.
Heh-heh, the "best garfix evar"-thing always amuses me.
I think there are two things that need to be separated very clearly:

1. Technical graphics
Yes, today's PC FPS games are the undisputed king here (Crysis/Battlefield et al). Full of enigmatic acronyms (SSAO anyone?), the engine manages to render fairly convincing visual realism.

2. Artistic graphics
If the art director is truly blessed, he/she can envision fantastic graphics style, factoring in the underlying tech. Think of Final Fantasy XII with all of its beautiful landscapes... primitive as a tech, but oh so moody...

The bottom line: does Crysis (2007/PC) look better than Final Fantasy XII (2006/PS2)? You decide...
 
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In my opinion Witcher 2 is the most beautiful game ever released. It is the case of when technological superiority meets with excellent art style..the result is just spectacular. There is a thread on neogaf of high res screenshots - it is being flooded with screens from TW2 these days, and anyone can see how extremely beautiful this game looks.

CDP weren't kidding when they said they look better than DA2. They make DA2 look like game from 10 years ago.
 
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I'm personally not talking about technical quality or art direction. I'm talking about the combined visual experience - which will always be a subjective thing.

I "measure" this by my reaction to the game, considering my state of mind and pre-disposition.

Whether that's about technical quality or a strong art direction, is really irrelevant to how I react. It's not important, so to say.

Trying to argue about whether this game or that game was better in this way or that way, is just silly. It gets you nowhere.

I just know TW2 blows me away, and that's enough for me. This is with everything from technical wizardy, atmosphere, monster design, character design, sense of place, unique setting, animations, and a shit-ton of other things included.
 
Can you show me a screenshot of what you're talking about?

Well, a screenshot was embedded in my original post, but here's a link to the relevant topic over at GoG Click.

Overal, graphics quality is what I would expect from a PC release, nothing blown-out-of-the-water spectacular. Perhaps we've all grown so accustomed to console titles that we do a doubletake when there's actually lush foliage and richly textured characters to gaze at…
 
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Well, a screenshot was embedded in my original post, but here's a link to the relevant topic over at GoG Click.

Overal, graphics quality is what I would expect from a PC release, nothing blown-out-of-the-water spectacular. Perhaps we've all grown so accustomed to console titles that we do a doubletake when there's actually lush foliage and richly textured characters to gaze at…

Yeah, I saw the original screenshot. As they're telling you in the GoG.com thread - this is an intentional effect. It has to do with how they're handling shadows in a way that doesn't break performance.

I think the end-result is fantastic, and it's definitely not a glitch.

What it might be, though, is a compromise between the best looking shadow technology and the best performing technology.
 
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