Gaming

CD Projekt Red Addresses Witcher 3 Graphical Downgrade

Published

9 years ago

May 21, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has released to critical acclaim across the board. It’s hard to throw a rock without hitting a rave review for CD Projekt Red’s RPG, including a 10 out of 10 from Gamespot, becoming only the 9th game in history the site has given a perfect score. Despite the game’s success, however, The Witcher 3 has also been subject to complaints about a downgrade in graphical quality.

The complaints revolve around a PC gameplay trailer that aired two years ago at VGX. A comparison of that trailer to the finished game shows a marked difference in graphical quality, with the VGX trailer appearing to be much more detailed. The assumption here was that the graphics had to be downgraded so the game would run on the Xbox One and Playstation 4, but some people were still disappointed that the higher quality graphics couldn’t be preserved for the PC version. As time wore on, questions over this continued to arise, with people starting to accuse CD Projekt Red of deliberately misleading their fans.

In an interview with Eurogamer, CD Projekt Red’s co-founder Marcin Iwinski confirmed that there was indeed a change in the game’s graphical quality. The reason for the change basically boils down to the fact that, two years ago, the game was still fairly early in development. It’s a fact of game development that changes like this are made several times, so a gameplay trailer that early on was never likely to be representative of the final game. “We do a certain build for a tradeshow and you pack it, it works, it looks amazing,” Iwinski said. “And you are extremely far away from completing the game. Then you put it in the open-world, regardless of the platform, and it’s like ‘oh shit, it doesn’t really work’. We’ve already showed it, now we have to make it work. And then we try to make it work on a huge scale. This is the nature of games development.”

Console limitations were also a factor, however. “Developing only for the PC: yes, probably we could get more [in terms of graphics] as there would be nothing else – they would be so focused, like if we would develop only on Xbox One or PlayStation 4. But then we cannot afford such a game,” Iwinski said. But developing the game only for PC was not an option. “If the consoles are not involved there is no Witcher 3 as it is… We just cannot afford it, because consoles allow us to go higher in terms of the possible or achievable sales; have a higher budget for the game, and invest it all into developing this huge, gigantic world.”

So there it is. CD Projekt Red didn’t want to downgrade The Witcher 3‘s graphics, but it wasn’t feasible to develop at that level for consoles. And don’t be mad at consoles. Like it or not, they make up a huge portion of the gaming market and without them, CD Projekt Red wouldn’t have had the funds to create The Witcher 3 at all. It’s also worth remembering that there’s a huge patch coming to the PC version in a week or so, which will apparently include 600 changes, so that should improve the graphics quite a bit. There’s also a patch coming that will allow PC users to change the .ini files, so savvy users can further tweak their settings.

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Rhiannon Nee

Rhiannon likes video games and she likes writing, so she decided to combine them. As well as writing about video games, she also belts out the occasional science fiction or fantasy story, edits videos, and eats strawberry oreos. In that order.

Gaming

Helldivers 2 has quickly become one of Sony’s top-selling games in the US

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2024

Zach Riley

Helldivers 2 proved to be a surprising success, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the gaming industry. As per Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, it currently ranks as Sony’s seventh highest grossing game in the United States to date, trailing behind a trio of Spider-Man titles, a couple of God of War games, and Ghost of Tsushima. It’s only been on the market for less than three months and is not even being sold at full price.

According to Piscatella, a significant factor contributing to the game’s success is its release on PC. He mentioned that, based on Circana’s Player Engagement Tracker, the game has consistently ranked first in terms of active users on Steam in the US since its launch, including April. The release of Helldivers 2 on both PlayStation and PC has been an extraordinary triumph.

He stated that Helldivers 2 has already become the seventh highest-grossing Sony-published game in history. Without a PC, it would not currently be considered one of the top 20 games. While I’m emphasizing the success of the PC SKU, it’s important to note that I’m not disregarding the success of the PlayStation SKU. I just wanted to clarify that. This launch has proven to be incredibly successful.

Prior to the release of Helldivers 2, Sony made it clear that they would be launching their live service-style titles simultaneously on both the PS5 and PC. The success of this approach will undoubtedly strengthen their strategic vision. It will be intriguing to witness if the company reveals official sales figures in the near future, as the title appears to be one of the platform holder’s most successful sellers to date.

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Gaming

The developer of Stellar Blade for the PS5 Expressing gratitude to the fans for their unwavering support amidst a recent controversy surrounding censorship

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2024

Zach Riley

Shift Up, the Korean developer, seems to be reconsidering its contentious alterations to the Stellar Blade outfit. In a message to fans, they have urged everyone to stay tuned for updates and expressed gratitude for the passionate feedback from players. For those who may not be aware, a petition gained significant attention over the weekend when gamers discovered changes made to a few of the game’s costumes through a day-one patch.

The launch day update includes a fantastic New Game + mode, but some players were disappointed by the changes made to protagonist Eve’s outfit. These alterations sparked debates about censorship. Director Hyung-Tae Kim later clarified that this was the studio’s original vision, but he acknowledged that it may require further persuasion to win over users. Internal discussions were also underway to address any concerns.

Thanks to all our Stellar Blade fans for your passion & feedback. Stay tuned for updates🤍 pic.twitter.com/jCRzM4OQBS

— StellarBlade (@StellarBlade) May 1, 2024

There is no definitive confirmation regarding the reversal of the outfits, but considering the language used in the statement and the widespread controversy surrounding the alterations, it is highly likely that a future patch will restore the original costumes. If you want to get a sneak peek at all of Eve’s different outfits and learn how to unlock them, be sure to take a look at our comprehensive guide, All Outfits and How to Get Them.

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Gaming

Will Stellar Blade be available for PC?

Published

4 days ago

April 30, 2024

Zach Riley

It’s quite possible. Fans all over the world are interested in Shift Up’s highly anticipated action-adventure game, Stellar Blade. With its captivating post-apocalyptic setting reminiscent of Nier and a compelling protagonist named Eve, it’s no wonder the game has generated such widespread attention.

The game consistently impresses with its stunning visuals and high-octane action, leaving players in awe with each new trailer.

Yet, just like other noteworthy second-party and third-party game releases, fans are pondering: Will Stellar Blade be available on PC?

In this article, we delve into the details to determine the platform availability of the highly anticipated title.

Will Stellar Blade be available on PC? Allow me to provide you with the answer.

Unfortunately, Stellar Blade will not be available on PC, at least not initially. Currently, the game is only available on PlayStation 5 starting on April 26, 2024.

Regrettably, it appears that there is no indication of a potential PC release for Stellar Blade in the future. In most cases, trailers for PlayStation timed-exclusive titles conclude with a disclaimer that specifies the duration of their exclusivity.

In the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launch trailer, it is explicitly stated that the game will only be accessible on other platforms starting on May 29, 2024.

Regrettably, when it comes to the stellar blade, there is no indication of such.

It’s important to note that Sony Entertainment Interactive published Stellar Blade, unlike Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. This means that the chances of it being released on PC or other platforms in the near future are even slimmer.

However, it is worth noting that there is a chance the game might be released on PC in the future, given PlayStation’s track record of bringing their exclusive titles to the platform. However, it could be a while before this comes to fruition.

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