Have you seen this? It's a video that shows how it will or will not run on Switch.
Yeah imagine having this blown up onto a massive HD screen in 1080p. It'd look like complete ass.
CD Projekt wouldn't want something like that being released under their name.
Lots of issues, tearing being the worst, the video conclusions are the RAM is to blame but I suspect that it's more complex than that. They believe that with heavy optimisation it could run on low settings and dynamic resolution.
It’s not an exact analogy, but Skyrim was also a super popular open world RPG and it released originally in 2011 on PS/Xbox before making its way to Nintendo in 2017, 6 years later. I think something similar can and honestly likely will happen with Witcher 3. A release in 2021 on Switch 2/Switch Pro (a successor to the current Switch that’s hybrid like the current Switch but with power matching at least a standard PS4) is fairly feasible IMHO. But on current Switch hardware it’s probably not worth it to get Witcher 3.
IMO, if a game "requires" maxed out graphics for the current generation of hardware to be considered a good game, it's probably not a good game. Actual game play and story (for story driven games) matter a lot more IMO then graphics. And when I tried playing Witcher 2 it just wasn't very fun. The controls worked, for a given definition of working. But they didn't feel very responsive. Combat felt like you were either randomly flailing with your sword, or fighting against the controls to do much of anything. As such I didn't get much past chapter 2 or so.
Then again, the "random flailing with sword" style of combat is why I'm not a fan of the Gothica games either. First person melee I can handle, and have played some very good games in this genre. But when combat feels like "random flailing", I tend to back away not return to the game.
@FaeKnight oh W3s story and quest progression trumps any other modern RPG, the combat is improved but a little mediocre.
what @bluemage1989 is saying is that the graphics tie it all together since it conveys the tone of the game. It immerses you. What W3 is selling is immersion, so take out the graphics, you take out a lot what make witcher3 a great game
@diwdiws And as I said, if you require maxed out graphics to generate that immersion, your game may not be as great as you're billing it. Now, if the Switch isn't capable of handing the game's environment at a game play level that is one thing. If it would have to strip out a lot of the NPCs and other non-graphic related elements that make the world interesting that would be a valid problem. But just "lower graphics means worse game"? That to me is a sign the game wasn't that good to begin with and is relying on the shiny graphics to cover that up.
@FaeKnight In general graphics are an important part of a video game. If you are trying to create an atmosphere in a modern game, yes, graphics are even more important. It's not as simple as you say. Take the Silent Hill HD Collection, because it changes things like fog it is considered a broken experience. Take Wolfenstein II on Switch, because it goes down to 360p (dynamic scaling) it can look like a mess. Take The Witcher 3, it loses some magic when graphics are torn or blurrier and no, it doesn't mean that it's a bad game. It is one of the best games ever made according to critics and players. Graphics are important and so are other technical elements like performance and resolution, it's not all about the gameplay unless you go back to very simple games like Pong.
But, a buddy of mine just started playing Witcher 3 tonight, and I've gotta say, it looks really good.
I wouldn't be interested if they tried to water it down too much, though.
Otherwise, absolutely.
@diwdiws Really nothing that actually added to the gameplay experience significantly. That's what it lost.
Games are more than their visual fidelity. O.o
@SwitchForce What?? I have it on Xbox and I have watched the Digital Foundry videos of the Swith version, it looks like a mess sometimes. No point in denying the truth.
What kind of game is the Witcher 3. Ive never looked into it, but i know it’s heavily requested for a switch port. Is it really that good of a game for switch?
@nonprophetmusic i know, im just saying the visuals is a big part of the game. A good example is the area called crookback bog. The visuals manages to convey the tone and mood of the place, it’s genuinely creepy and mystical. Water that down then it just becomes a typical action rpg.
I've played a few PC games where I couldn't play the game with maxed out graphics settings due to frame rates dropping into the teens at best. I'd crank the settings up all the way at least once to see what the game looks like if you can run it on them, and it was usually impressive. But even without the water physics being cranked all the way up, having reflective surfaces actually reflect things, and having every single blade of grass distinctly visible the games were still solid games. If I'd been able to run on higher settings (which I could do now, if the games hadn't gone belly up) they would look amazing. But it was the story telling and game play that made them good games, not the Gee Wiz graphics.
And it you can use more then just visual effects to set the tone and mood of a location in a game. Ever wonder how a game like the original Silent Hill managed it despite the (by today's standards) horrible graphics and severe limitations of the console? Sound design, pacing, and writing played a large role. These things made a mechanic designed to hide the horrible draw distances and things popping up out of nowhere into a genuinely interesting and creepy environmental effect. Instead of the fog and darkness just being used to hide the game's flaws, they used it to good effect. And did it so well that when they made a sequel on a much beefier console they didn't remove the fog. Instead they used that extra power to animate the fog to make it more realistic.
If having less reflective water, mirrors that don't actually show your character's face, or a few less leaves on trees and bushes, and less visible grass blades is really doing that much harm to the atmosphere the devs created, then I'd again say the game may not be as outstandingly made as you're claiming. Why rely only on visual cues when not everyone's going to have a system that can run on those high settings? Why not use sound design as well to set the tone?
@FaeKnight again no one is saying you need to max it. Why are you so fixated with that? At this point you are being disingenuous. What people are saying is that its a good game with an execellent story and quest structure but the graphics makes it greater since it actually helps convey the tone and mood of the game.
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Topic: When will we see a Witcher 3 port for Switch
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