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Plum

Member
May 31, 2018
17,276
The Witcher 2 wasn't ported to the 360. The game was re-developed from scratch for the 360, which is a completely different thing.

What? The game was absolutely ported to the 360 with most everything intact, it's the post-processing pipeline and some of the shaders that had to be re-written. Saying that's not a port is just nit-picking and makes no difference in the end; it's just as much a port as, say, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker on 3DS.
 

ShinobiBk

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 28, 2017
10,121
Why should an average and a bad port be taken as the examples to go by? How about Skyrim, Dark Souls, Starlink, Doom, Diablo 3, DQ Builders, Dragon's Dogma, Okami HD, Minecraft, Tales of Vesperia, DBFZ, Hellblade, Outlast 1-2, Rocket League, Warframe, Wolfenstein 2, Crash NST, Civ 6, Valkyria Chronicles 4, RE Revelations 1-2, BOTW, too many Musou, or any other of the large number of impressive or well done ports instead?

I think they specifically pointed out Saints Row and Assassin's Creed III cause they're large open world games.

Playing through Assassin's Creed right now, the performance issues are overstated. It's not perfect at all but it's not unplayable. Audio issues are what really drag it down.

I'm more concerned that it will fit. It's already a 35 gig install on the PS4 and even if they bring it down there's still the expansions. I think it's more likely to be Gwent or Thronebreaker (maybe both?) than Witcher 3. And yeah they had to make big sacrifices initially to get it to run on consoles and even the GPD Win footage doesn't look that good. Unless the devs are capable of using black magic I'm skeptical.

The expansions can be free downloads on the eShop like they did with Assassin's Creed III. That port has it's own issues but that was a very smart thing they did in putting the DLC on the eShop as a free download to reduce storage capacity
 
Oct 25, 2017
11,039
What's with ~70% of this thread completely dismissing the possibility that Switch can do this? There are some gorgeous-looking ports on that system. Warframe, Outlast 2, DOOM, Wolfenstein II, etc. all absolutely floored me and made me reevaluate what the Switch was capable of.

This whole situation reeks of the discussion over The Witcher II on Xbox 360 all over again. Most posters were insisting that it couldn't be done without severe compromises...and then the game ended up looking incredible. Intelligent model/texture optimization works wonders, turns out.

All those games are tight corridor games/not open world like Witcher 3 at all.

Witcher 2 wasn't even open world. It was small enclosed environments.

But hey, at the end of the day, I'd like to see it. Just curiousity. I think it would show what Switch can do with open world games.
 
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fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,910
I think they specifically pointed out Saints Row and Assassin's Creed III cause they're large open world games.

Playing through Assassin's Creed right now, the performance issues are overstated. It's not perfect at all but it's not unplayable. Audio issues are what really drag it down.
Yes but so are Dragon's Dogma, BOTW, Skyrim, Starlink, etc. Should we also judge PS4/XBO capabilities based only on their ports of AC4 and SR4?

Agreed that AC3's technical issues are being overstated but that's par for the course with Switch ports.
 

Gnorman

Banned
Jan 14, 2018
2,945
I'm sorry but it's still a pretty naive comment to make, just because the Switch isn't as powerful doesn't mean it's less of an experience.
I can't agree with this. I'm not saying everything has to be played at 4k 60fps but there definitely comes a point where downgrades stop a game being the same experience even if it's mechanically the same gameplay.
 

Skittzo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,037
I can't agree with this. I'm not saying everything has to be played at 4k 60fps but there definitely comes a point where downgrades stop a game being the same experience even if it's mechanically the same gameplay.

To some people being tied to a TV or monitor is a far bigger downgrade than anything graphically.
 

Stryder

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,530
US
I remember guessing this was going to be a thing. Visuals downgraded obviously; maybe even cel-shaded for an aesthetic that would suit the downgrade and still looking appealing.
 

rokero

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
298
I want to believe ERA , it doesn't matter if it's 480p 25fps at least I can actually fully play it I do most of my gaming at work it would take me months on end to actually finish a game like this playing on a regular console tethered to a TV
 

BlueKoopa

Member
Apr 28, 2019
83
Indiana
This would certainly be an interesting E3 announcement. Can't imagine how you'd do it though. Although Panic Button have talked about wanting to tackle a Horizon like game on Switch before.

Also to the people referring to things like Saints Row and Assassins Creed you aren't thinking clearly. Ports in of the themselves don't constitute a console's power. It's the skill of the developer. Assassin's Creed 3 and Saints Row the Third are two mediocre last gen games quickly cobbled together and thrown on the Switch for some quick bucks. Look at games like DOOM, Wolfenstein 2, Skyrim Special Edition, and Warframe. These are taxing games that were properly adapted to the hardware and translate really well. Warframe just got a huge update to one of its massive open world maps that adds tons of features like wildlife and shit and this is on the Switch.
 

jdstorm

Member
Jan 6, 2018
7,563
All those games are tight corridor games/not open world like Witcher 3 at all.

Witcher 2 wasn't even open world. It was small enclosed environments.

But hey, at the end of the day, I'd like to see it. Just curiousity. I think it would show what Switch can do with open world games.

Assasins Creed Black Flag runs on a WiiU At better then last gen resolution/performance edit. The performance claim was untrue. It is slightly improved visually but struggled with frame rate

The switch is more powerful then the WiiU. Due to games like Zelda BotW we have comparisons on by how much.

The quality of a port of a last gen game like Saints Row/AC3 is entirely dependent on the talent of the development team doing the port and the resources made available to them for the process.
 
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Skittzo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,037
Starlink is a current gen AAA open world game which runs at 30 fps on both the PS4 and the Switch. So open world games in general are not impossible.

I think as usual it's best to look at what the GPD Win2 can do and give or take a little from that. That's probably about where the Switch version will look.
 

justiceiro

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
6,664
Why are people using Ark as a barometer for anything? You wouldn't use, say, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to suggest that Forza Horizon 4 could come to Switch so you shouldn't use Ark to suggest that Witcher 3 can't come to Switch.
Because its the only next gen only open world game on swicth
 

Grimace McRib

Member
Oct 27, 2017
426
Cincinnati, OH
Really no way you can do this game justice on the switch..... unless there's some magical team doing the port that knows tons of tricks. Coming from someone who is playing through what's basically a garbage tier port of Saint's Row 3 (2011 release) to MK11. Gotta keep your expectations in check.
 

Plum

Member
May 31, 2018
17,276
Starlink is a current gen AAA open world game which runs at 30 fps on both the PS4 and the Switch. So open world games in general are not impossible.

I think as usual it's best to look at what the GPD Win2 can do and give or take a little from that. That's probably about where the Switch version will look.

The GPD Win 2 does have the added downsides of no real optimisation and Windows bloat. I reckon CDPR and/or whoever might be behind the port would be able to get a better-looking and better-running version out of the Switch by changing and adapting things on a more granular basis.

Because its the only next gen only open world game on swicth

That's literally wrong seeing as Starlink and Warframe (which has an open world section) exist. Even if it wasn't, the performance of Ark has absolutely no bearing on the potential performance of TW3 because it's a notoriously bad game when it comes to optimisation. There's no case where it's an example of what the tech specs of a console can actually do, and that shouldn't suddenly change just because it saw a release on Switch.

Really no way you can do this game justice on the switch..... unless there's some magical team doing the port that knows tons of tricks. Coming from someone who is playing through what's basically a garbage tier port of Saint's Row 3 (2011 release) to MK11. Gotta keep your expectations in check.

Saints Row 3 was a rushed out port of a game that isn't well-optimised in the slightest. Even an Xbox One X (the BC version has an uncapped framerate) experiences framerate drops. MK11 isn't really comparable either seeing as it's a one-on-one fighter that targets 60fps instead of 30.

I'm personally skeptical about the port, but I don't think there's any real reason to believe it's completely impossible to 'do the game justice'. Outside of the open world (which can be mitigated by dividing the map/instancing highly-dense areas) there's really not much 'fundamentally' different with TW3 when compared to some of the other current-gen titles that have seen a release on Switch.
 

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
Starlink is a current gen AAA open world game which runs at 30 fps on both the PS4 and the Switch. So open world games in general are not impossible.

I think as usual it's best to look at what the GPD Win2 can do and give or take a little from that. That's probably about where the Switch version will look.
can Starlink really be considered AAA?
 

Kubricks

Member
Oct 31, 2017
913
The only way I see this happening is to have The Witcher 3 bundled with the Switch-pro of some sort.
 

EatChildren

Wonder from Down Under
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Oct 27, 2017
7,029
The Witcher 3's biggest technical challenge is the asset density and complexity combined with the total seamless data streaming, as in being able to travel from the far south of Velen to the upper north of Novigrad, going through caves, forests, swamps, houses, castles, towns, cities, ruins, etc without being confronted with a single loading screen. It's the biggest achievement of the engine, to cover such a large variety of topographical variances while also rendering interiors and fluctuating NPC and geometric density, while continuously adapting to cycles of time of day, weather, and NPC behaviours.

I don't think it's impossible mind you, because discussing any port of any game to any hardware configuration comes with dependency on target (and fluctuating) framerate alongside asset and shader quality standards, factors of which we know nothing about (let alone know if this is even true). Scale back parts of The Witcher 3 far enough and it'll probably work. The real question is how far said scaling will go (draw distance of foliage, NPC density in cities, lighting/shadow quality, etc) and what kind of performance baseline CDPR care for.

If it exists it's obviously not going to look as good as the PS4/XONE build, and certainly not even in the ballpark of the PC build. But still, if they can get it working and looking servicable then more power to them.
 

BigTnaples

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,752
I won't say impossible. But there's no way the magical atmosphere that makes wild hunt so great will make it to Switch.

Unless it was exclusive to some Super Switch. But usually when Nintendo does refreshes they don't do exclusives, or barley use the new power. Cough N3DS cough.
 

Deleted member 5159

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
1,704
where there's smoke there's fire, maybe its a switch pro exclusive?i mean,im glad it will be an option for those who want to play it on the switch.

Personally id rather have switch games tailor made for the platform but exclusives are frown upon on era, so, ill shut up
 

9-Volt

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,868
yup. RE7 and Assassins Creed are on Switch via streaming. I imagine this is the same thing.

I don't understand why people are still thinking this. The leak is literally a preorder of a physical version for CHINA. I can't think of a more impossible thing than a game streaming service for a single game for god damn China.
 

Anth0ny

Member
Oct 25, 2017
46,815
Crazy if true. It's gonna look like absolute dog shit most likely, but whatever. Still cool to have.

Also this game has straight up fucking. There is no longer any excuse, Rockstar. The time is now for GTAV Switch and 200 million copies of the game sold.
 

chrisPjelly

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
10,491
They would need to rework a loooot of things, but that would be one hell of a technical achievement if it is real.
 

Niosai

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,919
It would be a huge undertaking, but I'd bet that this is not streaming if it's real. The Switch is still an untapped goldmine for a lot of publishers, and it would be a crazy good promotion for the upcoming Witcher TV show. I can see someone putting in the effort to downgrade/optimize it for Switch. I can see this happening.
 

Plum

Member
May 31, 2018
17,276
can Starlink really be considered AAA?
12209213.jpg


Nah but seriously of course it's AAA lol. It uses the exact same engine used to make the Division games and has all your typical 'AAA' graphical features. Sure it likely was built with the Switch in mind but it still has all the hallmarks of a proper AAA title.

The Witcher 3's biggest technical challenge is the asset density and complexity combined with the total seamless data streaming, as in being able to travel from the far south of Velen to the upper north of Novigrad, going through caves, forests, swamps, houses, castles, towns, cities, ruins, etc without being confronted with a single loading screen. It's the biggest achievement of the engine, to cover such a large variety of topographical variances while also rendering interiors and fluctuating NPC and geometric density, while continuously adapting to cycles of time of day, weather, and NPC behaviours.

I don't think it's impossible mind you, because discussing any port of any game to any hardware configuration comes with dependency on target (and fluctuating) framerate alongside asset and shader quality standards, factors of which we know nothing about (let alone know if this is even true). Scale back parts of The Witcher 3 far enough and it'll probably work. The real question is how far said scaling will go (draw distance of foliage, NPC density in cities, lighting/shadow quality, etc) and what kind of performance baseline CDPR care for.

If it exists it's obviously not going to look as good as the PS4/XONE build, and certainly not even in the ballpark of the PC build. But still, if they can get it working and looking servicable then more power to them.

I brought this up earlier in the thread but I think a lot of the potential issues could be at least be alleviated by instancing certain areas or cutting the open world into 'zones' that need to be loaded. Neither could be done without some pretty big changes to how the game works (IIRC many quests have characters actively traversing wide areas and in-and-out of towns/cities) so even that provides a great challenge to the developer.

It's really fascinating to me. I want this to be real if only to see just how they manage to get it working and what sacrifices need to be made. 'Impossible' ports are my jam, and CDPR has already shown that they've got the capability when they ported The Witcher 2 down to the 360.

yup. RE7 and Assassins Creed are on Switch via streaming. I imagine this is the same thing.

Neither of those got a retail release, they were only released in Japan (China likely doesn't even have the infrastructure to support them) and they were advertised from the get-go as 'Cloud Versions'. Judging by the evidence we do have of TW3's Switch version there's really nothing to support the idea that it'll be streaming.
 

ShinobiBk

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 28, 2017
10,121
Gonna be a lot of crow eating in this thread.
You've been very confident on this for a while now, know anything more than just the retailer listings?

Also, have you given up on Bayonetta 3 in 2019? Seems unlikely given the schedule, there's no chance it doesn't get overshadowed. I think early 2020 is possible and I don't think seeing it at E3 is out of the question
 
Oct 27, 2017
3,257
It would be cool if real. Maybe Panic Button is on this? It would make for an interesting Digital Foundry video at a minimum.
 

giallo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,223
Seoul
I love how really talented devs can pull off amazing graphical feats with good optimization, but you'd have to be Iwata in his prime with pixie dust and magic beans to get this to run on the Switch, even at 720p docked/480p handheld. The game would look like exposed ass. The element that ties everything in this game together is the scope of it all. The beautiful environments would be compromised big time.

Streaming could be a thing, but then you have issues with the portability factor.
 

Afrikan

Member
Oct 28, 2017
16,968
Nintendo has one hell of a porting device. Never thought I'd see all these PS4/Xbox multiplat games on the Nvidia X1 system.
 

EatChildren

Wonder from Down Under
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,029
I brought this up earlier in the thread but I think a lot of the potential issues could be at least be alleviated by instancing certain areas or cutting the open world into 'zones' that need to be loaded. Neither could be done without some pretty big changes to how the game works (IIRC many quests have characters actively traversing wide areas and in-and-out of towns/cities) so even that provides a great challenge to the developer.

It's really fascinating to me. I want this to be real if only to see just how they manage to get it working and what sacrifices need to be made. 'Impossible' ports are my jam, and CDPR has already shown that they've got the capability when they ported The Witcher 2 down to the 360.

Instancing would work, but I can imagine it'd be an enormous job to rebuild so much of the engine's backend to do this efficiently without, as you've noted, breaking quests and mission arcs that involve characters moving across multiple zones. I figure instancing would create a domino effect on the code, breaking quests, TOD, and all manner of things to the detriment of an efficient production cycle.

But yeah, much like yourself I'm fascinated to see if they can pull it off and how good it'll look. Breath of the Wild is a great example of an enormous, varied playspace that seamlessly streams all assets and geography without loading screens. But, while it might not have the verticality, The Witcher 3 is something else namely due to its heavier geometric detail and NPC density in cities, which as far as I'm aware are notable performance drops on consoles (oddly not on PC, where the efficient CPU headroom probably shines through).
 

jdstorm

Member
Jan 6, 2018
7,563
I love how really talented devs can pull off amazing graphical feats with good optimization, but you'd have to be Iwata in his prime with pixie dust and magic beans to get this to run on the Switch, even at 720p docked/480p handheld. The game would look like exposed ass.

Streaming could be a thing, but then you have issues with the portability factor.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the undocked version be checkerboard 720p aka 360p. The high DPI on the Switch should hypothetically make it look passable and the extra power could be used for greater content density. Docked will probably be checkerboard 1080p
 

UsoEwin

Banned
Jul 14, 2018
2,063
I imagine they would either have to add loading segments at sections in the maps, or drastically reduce geometry and texture detail to be able to stream in Witcher 3's areas. It worked for BotW with the art style, but I can't image giant blurry textures in The Witcher would look too hot.
 

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
Nah but seriously of course it's AAA lol. It uses the exact same engine used to make the Division games and has all your typical 'AAA' graphical features. Sure it likely was built with the Switch in mind but it still has all the hallmarks of a proper AAA title.
my point was less graphical features and more if Ubisoft presented it as an important pillar. I don't think many will say the game did well, nor did anyone even remember the game until star fox was announced for it. which goes to show that Ubisoft didn't put much money behind it in regards to marketing.
 

Justin Wong

Member
Apr 1, 2019
66
The GPD Win 2 does have the added downsides of no real optimisation and Windows bloat. I reckon CDPR and/or whoever might be behind the port would be able to get a better-looking and better-running version out of the Switch by changing and adapting things on a more granular basis.



That's literally wrong seeing as Starlink and Warframe (which has an open world section) exist. Even if it wasn't, the performance of Ark has absolutely no bearing on the potential performance of TW3 because it's a notoriously bad game when it comes to optimisation. There's no case where it's an example of what the tech specs of a console can actually do, and that shouldn't suddenly change just because it saw a release on Switch.

The win 2 actually beats the switch in performance in almost every game



Saints Row 3 was a rushed out port of a game that isn't well-optimised in the slightest. Even an Xbox One X (the BC version has an uncapped framerate) experiences framerate drops. MK11 isn't really comparable either seeing as it's a one-on-one fighter that targets 60fps instead of 30.

I'm personally skeptical about the port, but I don't think there's any real reason to believe it's completely impossible to 'do the game justice'. Outside of the open world (which can be mitigated by dividing the map/instancing highly-dense areas) there's really not much 'fundamentally' different with TW3 when compared to some of the other current-gen titles that have seen a release on Switch.
 
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