@@MarceloTaranto I would like to agree with you. But performances way below 30fps and the constant frame stuttering destroys the RT mode for me right now. In some fights with big groups and effects this is near unplayable.
you mean sub 30.. If only it was 100% locked 30fps, but not even that. And since game is first and foremost is played rather than just watched - 60 should be always priority.
I’m about 40 hours in on ps5. Gotta say. It looks great. It’s one of my favourite ever games, so to finally replay it at 60fps, it is as good as I hoped it would be.
@@SarahAlasiry Same here. I'm at 30 hours on ps5 performance mode and not a single crash. My only problem is when there's a Dialog option for Geralt he becomes blurry every 1-2 seconds and any other character on-screen. Only during Cutscenes.
@@crazy-nephew_5857 the crashes probably only happen in RT mode. RT just absolutely hammers the CPU in these consoles and on PC too - in fact, it is the most demanding game on PC right now when standing in Novigrad. No CPU can do 60fps with RT enabled there.
I get crashes all the time and it usually happens if I die and the checkpoint reloads, I’m playing on death march so I die often :edit on performance mode
@@8Paul7 it’s pretty insane. My 9900k can’t get the job done, and it doesn’t look like even better CPUs can do it. Really hoping we get a patch soon. The hotfix gave me maybe 2-3 more frames, but it’s just not enough. Also the frame pacing with RT enabled seems to be horrible
I’m half-way through it on Xbox Series X. RT mode is not smooth, but the graphics look far more realistic. I really like it, but it’s not smooth enough to play and enjoy. I wish I could play with RT… but performance mode will have to do. Incredible game though! I’m playing it for the first time 🥳
Prioritizing RT AO over RT reflections was the right call. Still it's a shame it can't even hit a consistent 30fps. Hopefully they can optimize it in a patch.
@@promo130 Speak for yourself, some prefer optics over stability. Not for me but I don't get ppl who have to make those generalized statements, like who are you exactly?
I played the game years ago on PS4 and have started a new run since the patch released. I am loving the game yet again and it's impressive how the game is still so good
My Ps5 absolutely struggles in Ray Tracing mode, lack of vrr and other features on my tv might not help, but in locations like Novigrad it’s borderline unplayable with the drop in frame rate
In performance mode the next gen versions often have worse shadows for things like fire, and Geralts hair loses physics in the performance mode too, which is present on old gen.
@@eytbits it’s been 30 fps for games like this since the dawn of 3d, we’re lucky to have stable 30 fps now lol gta v on 360 would tank to and below the 20’s and no one cared, n64 and ps1 you guys would of died major as mask was locked to like 24 or 20fps, developers for these exploration cinematic games are always gonna push for graphical fidelity first and foremost and worry about the people who need high frame rates on pc or remasters on later consoles
The more I've learned about bounce lighting and how it colours the environement, the more I appreciate how effective it is at conveying an extra layer of realism to my brain in games. I think even in the outdoor shots the RT adds a lot in that respect. I think it's worth having on in this game if they can patch in a smooth 30fps personally especially given the nature of the gameplay.
Mhm! The more I see how much RT can improve a scene, no matter how subtle, the more I want to upgrade my "teaser card" (2060) to a card that can run RT full out. One thing I also notice a lot is the added perception of depth a scene gives with the more realistic way light, and more importantly, shadow works out. It feels like watching a photorealistic painting without reference image (just imaging where the light and shadow should be), vs a photograph of that exact same location.
It would've been nice if Photo Mode automatically switches to Ray Tracing even if it is set to Performance mode. It's a hassle to go between menu just to toggle.
Would also be nice if fighting mode automatically switches to performance. They already have a setting which alters the viewing distance when a fight starts, so they could just add another toggle…
You can speed up loading as the game will load things slower IF you don't press a button to skip. Press X and it loads much faster than what DF says here.
@@JerryFlowersIII I believe he's taking the the activity cards that the pa5 offers. Letting basically just skip the loading part and just jump straight to the gameplay
@@JerryFlowersIII When you start the game and the narrator is talking about what's happening you can spam the square button and it usually skips the dialogue before it gets to the end. It doesn't show to press any button to skip so not many people will know. I actually tried this myself 2 days ago or so and it worked.
After seeing the RT implementations in Witcher 3 and GTAV I'm blown away with what Insomniac was able to do with the RT Performance mode in Spiderman. All the games look amazing mind you but nailing RT reflections on full skyscrapers with 60fps is incredible. I wish all devs would have this mode at lower res.
Playing in performance mode on ps5 , runs beautifully , had no crashes only real problem I've had was after saving frame rate in performance mode went terrible but a reload fixed that and haven't had it since
@@JustJro didn't say it didn't have problems , ray tracing mode is practically unplayable just saying performance mode seems to be way to go for best experience
@@Nocc2991 honestly both witcher 3 and cyberpunk have an inherently high latency no matter what fps you are on. You can feel it even on pc that 60 fps do not feel responsive.
I don't use RT even on high end PC games that I have locked to 60fps when I use RT even on the same 60fps it feels heavy af, honestly RT is a drawback for my gaming experience, I don't want games simulating real life, I want games fun to play and target visibility is a must for me, with all those RT shadows I can't see in many areas like indoor, that's stomach upsetting, really unpleasant to play
and I noticed that the grass density is much higher on ps5 he didn’t mention it he only said the draw distance is better on the ps5 , i wonder why he left the grass density
@@justsomeguy5513 more likely because the PS5 has better clockspeed on its CPU and GPU than the "strongest console on earth" the xbox X with its more powerful but Slower! CPU/GPU . All these moronic "sony paying devs to make the games better on ps5" statements are idiotic and have 0 proof.
I would trade the SSR water reflections for a stable 30FPS RT mode with the RTGI and RTAO since they are the most impactful - water looks in some ways better on the performance mode. I think they should offer some RT toggles like this. The textures, and foliage density are significant, and seeing XSX having pathetic LOD is really strange...because the world fills very dense on PS5 even in performance mode with lots of grass, and vegetation, but the RTGI/AO is hard to give up since it makes everything feel so much more rich.
That's footage is wrong series X does not look like that on either mode looks exactly the same as ps5 in actual fact better as series X is running higher settings.
@@PookaBot no fanboy facts go watch NXG gamer video DF messed up here suspect series s footage used for X as I cannot get my game to look like that in either mode on series X 🤷
if Ray Tracing mode was a stable 30 at all times, that would be my easy go to. Too many dips right now but damn it looks so good on this mode. The grass generating their own RT shadows makes it looks so much more realistic! The shadows between the sword and the back in RT mode also just looks so much more natural in RT mode as well. Update: much smoother on my series x than the ps5.
@@dexterousdeep considering the witcher is only using 2 cores it’s definitely just optimized poorly. Fortnite is 60 FPS ray traced. Metro Exodus,Rift apart,Miles Morales. Know the difference from cant vs poor optimization.
Every issue I’ve had with the update on PS5 has been noted in this video. RT mode is basically unplayable, and the input lag is really unpleasant. Performance mode also doesn’t feel as responsive as it should.
@@calebwhyte6957 I tried out the PS4 version the other day, which is obviously just at 30fps, but even that felt as responsive as the performance mode, and way better than RT mode of course.
@@runningbear6391 It 100% is. Went to the same locations as the video and the foliage draw distance was significantly further than what was shown here and looked pretty much the same as PS5. Don't really care if you believe me but that is the case for me.
It's not a bug dude and it needs to be fixed it's unacceptable stop denying it to save face it's counter productive. I want it fixed so being vocal will help
I had that W3 lookin sik af with mods before the update running at 120 fps now it looks like someone smeared Vaseline all over the screen 80% mods don't work anymore and it runs at 45fps at times. Dx12 on that update is an absolute hack job.
The graphics and visuals look good! And VRR can smooth out those small drops in 60fps mode. Hopefully they can optimize the 30fps RT mode better in future patch
@@vaguedreams it looks like they have vsync enabled, which can cause screen tearing on VRR displays. Wish they would just add an option to turn it off on console
@@deadlyydude5522 it’s kind of surprised me never seeing more options like v-sync on consoles. I think the only one I can ever recall of was outer wilds on ps5, which unfortunately had that double buffer style so it’d drop to 30’s if it sustained any fps loss. It’d be nice to have resolution options too for some gains instead of it always down sampling. This game would probably really benefit from these two options alone!
I've noticed that in most comparisons XB prefers a slight boost in image clarity over fps. Doesn't seem like the way to go to me. I'd take better draw distance and fps over raw resolution especially with the quality of modern AA and reconstruction techniques.
The One X was the same way and it drove me nuts. Raw resolution was prioritized over settings and stability. Sucks to see the same decisions being made on the Series X
They've added the option to pause during cutscenes, so I flip between RT and performance pretty often. I've played the game many times, if I know I'm about to settle in to a long story sequence, I flip RT on and keep it on for exploring or easy fights. In tougher encounters, I switch to 60fps. It would be great to have a quicker toggle but there's no loading or black screen to switch so it's not a big deal.
I'm hoping console games sometime implement this as a toggled feature at some point. Give me them fancy 30 fps graphics when I'm not directly interacting with the game and then switch back to 60 fps for gameplay. It would be a nice touch.
I tried doing that but honestly the way the game feels at 60fps is too smooth to ignore. It looks beautiful on a big 4K screen and the higher refresh rate makes everything seem so alive and realistic.
I'm doing almost the same thing, all cutscenes i put in RT mode and performance mode in the rest of the game, particularly i prefer to watch the scenes at 30fps , and with the RT the scene become much more rich, play at 30? Definitely no.
I see the differerence between RT off, and RT off, but it's not a staggering one. I'd would play in performance mode. Losing 60fps for a few small visuals updates is not worth it... I also prefer sharper image on a 65" screen.
I think I'd take 60 fps over ray tracing any day. In these examples you provided I thought the improvements ray tracing provided weren't enough to warrant using it. Especially since texture quality seemingly took a dip on RT mode.
I noticed the late draw in of the shadows also on Series X. Very strange. Especially when the resolution is so high on performance mode. It really drags the experience down. Once you see it you cannot unsee it. It is very destracting when you are on foot in Novigrad - on every building basically.
@@xikaryo6735 higher resolution and far more stable experience in RT mode and practically the same in performance mode I wouldnt want to play the PS5 RT mode, I could stand the Series X RT mode
I will always go for performance over RT in any game if I can't get both, but it's good to have the option for those who choose different. It's weird to me that the performance mode has a higher resolution, which is another plus for the better framerate option. I would like to see a comparison between consoles and PC, especially performance mode on consoles and no RT on PC to even the odds. I think it's a huge upgrade, the 60 fps mode alone makes it a better game and a very attractive option even over the PC version for those who don't have the hardware to run it properly.
You were scared to release this video after the patch supposed to improve performance. One month later, still not any relevant update. CDPR just cannot ship finished product.
Been playing this on Series X in mostly ray tracing mode. Switching between ray tracing and performance highlights just how bland the lighting was. It's an incredible difference to the experience in my opinion. Night time and Caves are actually dark. The torch is actually useful! The shadows the torch draws are very impressive also. Just a shame the performance is not quite there yet, and the latency issue....it's heavy to play for sure and has some weird camera stutter but it looks magnificent. It's just a shame that we get an amazing looking mode which just isn't where it should be.
Other games with no raytracing look way better in dark areas than Witcher 3. This reminds me of control which looks very good with RT but abysmal without RT. But control was created with RT in mind, Witcher 3 is just an old game with an old engine. Too bad that RT mode runs so badly on PS5. I play it in performance mode and outside it looks okay but once you enter a house the lighting is so bad 🙁.
I really wish devs stop prioritizing higher resolution over stable framerate. Do we really need a 4k in performance mode in both W3 and CP2077 when it's obvious red engine cannot maintain stable 60fps in both games? Lowering rez a bit and few settings might solve this, but now, basically you're screwed if you're sensitive to frame rate drops and don't have VRR capable display.
With dynamic res this complaint doesn't have water. They are going from 1080p to higher res when the GPU can afford it. The issue is probably on CPU side not what the GPU is doing
Exactly. This game hits 1500s at best. Lol your the only complaining about 4k60 performance mode. You probably wish it was a dynamic 1080p60 you u can feel justified
@@bombyo3634 Even 900p, don't care, as long as FPS is rock solid 60. But as you guys mentioned, in W3 case it might be CPU issue and that Red Engine is just very demanding.
Draw distance on Series X seems to be a bug as I can't recreate the same results as in the video on my Xbox, this is in both modes. My results are the same as the PS5.
Same I think a patch has come or they’re getting a bug. I can’t recreate it on series x either it looks exactly like ps5 does for me. Needs upvotes so they can see and clarify.
I read somewhere they traded draw distance for slightly higher resolution over the ps5 in certain areas. Makes sense they had to make a trade somewhere but that's a bad choice picking draw distance. Many people on twitter have the draw distance issue not sure if it's a bug but odd if you don't have it.
*Honestly, would Performance 1080p/60FPS and RT 1080p/30FPS, be such a crime?* It'd free-up a lot of frames and might even enable one or two extra details/effects. Most console players are not using 1440p/4K TVs/monitors no matter what tech people online say. Its so out of touch to assume most gamers have such hardware. Most gamers are just normal people without the money to spend on both a fancy TV/monitor and a console, so their money goes on the console. 1080p is FINE. It just bothers me that we have devs chasing 4K/1440p on consoles, coming out with not so great games/patches and then getting all these complaints when it can all be avoided. Just keep consoles to 1080p/60FPS, unless a game is graphically basic when you can go higher. ITS FINE. ITS PERFECTLY FINE.
No it's not. Because you just play on 1080p doesn't mean most console players do the same. For a long time all tv that are sold are 4k. Consoles are meant for tv. Thus devs will never prioritize 1080p on consoles. It was clear on Ps4 Pro and One X, and it's even more clear on next gen. Deal with it and do yourself a favor, buy a 4k display. RESOLUTION MATTERS.
@@rafamuniak You do know that "most are sold as" doesn't mean "most are bought because" right? Nor does it mean that 4K TVs are bought BY gamers. Most are sold as TVs, for watching movies and TV shows. You're doing exactly what I said internet tech people do. You assume 4K and such is super common and that loads of people have it etc. You live in a internet gamer bubble, not the real world. I know dozens of gamers all who have PS5s or XBSX etc. and thats all they can afford. They still use for example, 24inch 1080p monitors. Again, you are the one with issues of perception, not me. Not only to I talk to dozens of people IRL as I described, but I also talk about it alot online. So reconsider your view of these topics.
@@satyasyasatyasya5746 speak pls just for yourself and not for others aslong you dont have numbers as a evidence its just a useless generalize me as exampel want to play on the highest Quality as i can 1080 p is just unplayable for me 4k is the future and im glad the devs are focusing on this
Ray Tracing does look better. But fucking hell that frame rate is choppy. I could tolerate it for if the frame rate was locked at 30, but I’d take 60 FPS any day of the week. The frame rate makes the ray tracing mode look worse imo. Hopefully this gets fixed
Not gonna lie, this is the first game where I'm really enjoying the ray tracing application. You can see the difference, I would suggest turning motion blur on.
As someone who plays with VRR, I really hope they don't reduce draw distances for PS5, similar to what they did on PS4 Pro back in the day, in order to get more stable fps. Those patches of grass sprouting from the ground a few meters ahead of Geralt kinda broke the immersion for me 😥 To me the game looks absolutelly stunning on performance mode on PS5 right now 🙏
Disable automatic updates on your ps5 for games. You can manually update your other games but won't have to worry about witcher 3. That's what I'm doing.
Great video Tom. Only one thing I would question is I’m playing it on Series x and the foliage is being rendered the same as you’re showing the ps5. It’s rendering all the way to the horizon pretty much? It’s definitely not cutting of as close as in your video.
I agree my game does not look like that series X footage on this video, nx gamer has said series X runs better settings than PS5 series X is using ultra+ settings for foliage and grass. Also no update has been pushed to consoles yet on Xbox.
@@fwrudiger I suspect he has used series s footage for series X or there the wrong way around as I carnt replicate it looking like that on my game there waaaaayyyy more foliage and grass into the distance literally into the horizon.
This review is disappointing. The XSX's low LOD is a simple bug and can be solved by simply changing the settings in XSX. This fact clearly reveals how short you've spent on XBOX. In the VG Tech analysis, XSX has a better LOD setting with a more distant draw distance. Other reviews have reached the same conclusion. VG Tech even offers comparative screenshots. Tom, this review is simply disappointing. This is the largest Tech channel on the platform and should be better than this.
They should have focused on 1440p 60fps because that's what their level of hardware is meant for, 9th gen consoles are not built to handle 4k60 despite what all the false advertising would tell you
@@WorldwideWyatt Sure if they are running last gen games maybe but not new AAA games, at their best without RT they only reach RTX 2080 levels and I wouldn't expect an RTX 2080 in 2022 going on 2023 to run the newest AAA games at 4K 60 high settings with RT off, consoles should focus on 1440p as their main target for 60 fps or even better yet go for a locked 1080p 60fps at PC max settings if they can hit it
The Series X might have a marginally more powerful GPU than the PS5 (on paper) but DX12 can sometimes get in the way and cause processing inefficiencies in certain workloads (just look at PC gaming). This is most likely why many third party games slightly favor the PS5 in performance (especially rasterization) as its API is probably a bit more efficient and utilizes the hardware a little better.
Tom is incorrect..2 other comparisons said series x is running ultra plus PC settings for foliage and draw distance and ps5 is scaled back...Digital foundry gott the footage mixed up..Series x has higher average resolution and draw distances and foliage.
I’m on vacation staying up late to 4am playing this game like it’s 2015 all over again! TW3 is my favorite game of all time (like many others) so I own it on every possible platform it exists. I go from my pc with a 3080 to/5900x to my series X a lot since we’re hosting family for the holidays. So far the cross-save works like a charm but I have yet to try it on my PS5 and switch. I just finished the Baron’s quest last night and it’s as impactful as it was all those years ago. When it comes to RT, I don’t think it’s worth using it on console as it’s just not worth loosing 30fps for it. On my Pc however, I’m able to squeeze about 80fps with RT on n Ultra+ settings at 1440P. It looks freaking amazing, but even with it off on console, it’s just a beautiful freaking game at 4K! Either way, I’m back hooked on it and this time I’m going for a 100% completion run!
always nice to read when someone can enthuse himself for a game that much. i started the game three times xbox one, one s and one x, because i always wanted to wait for a better version. now i got a pc with a 3080/5600x. but i am now confused why you can play it that way on your pc. for 60 fps with RT i need to lower everything to medium and use DLSS balanced it think. a 3080 ti shouldn't be more than 10 % stronger than my 3080 non-ti?
@@cicerofryman97 Awesome, thanks for letting me know! I was wondering if I should just wait a few months, which would have been less than ideal, because I'd like to play over the holidays!
@@xikaryo6735 lol I'm pretty sure that's due to these games being developed for hard drives primarily, with memory limitations. The true next gen games that are starting to come out, and will over the next few years, hopefully will have more unique NPCs.
@@cicerofryman97 this my game looks nothing like the series X version he's showing here and never has suspect that's series s footage mixed up in actual fact series X Runs higher settings than PS5.
No amount of raytracing can convince me to play at jerky 30 fps. During gameplay the extra effects are barely noticeable, yet the low framerate is always apparent. Fluidity is much more important than a few shadows.
Much more then Shadows, and I actually prwfer the massively improved Lighting in RT Mode over 60fps, but to each their own, thats the great thing with choices in different modes on current Gen Consoles
Look on the bright side RT mode will only benefit Virtual Photographers and for someone who likes photography like myself this is definitely beneficial for those kinda people and they can switch back and fourth if they want to play the game or take an in game photo mode
I take photos constantly but I never play in performance mode. It feels soooo much more immersive in RT mode, especially in the woods. The world just feels more real, framerate be damned.
@@gordoncampbell7858 Ray Tracing per se is amazing, it makes games look more natural. But you need expensive hardware for it. Consoles can only get close to that look with Unreal Engine 5 (see the Fortnite update video recently)
I didn't realize there was such a texture quality dropoff for Ray-Tracing mode here. I usually take 30fps for higher fidelity, but in this case it's actually a *downgrade* compared to the 60fps.
Normally it's performance vs resolution. Now its performance vs RT. They should've added that 3rd option. Insomniac has a bunch of options with Ratchet & Clank even a performance RT option which has fewer RT objects as full RT mode, but still hits 60fps
As a PS5 player playing with performance mode, the updated version nearly feels like a new game. Since higher framerates have become the norm for consoles, spoiling me more and more, revisiting this game over the years got a lot harder to do. It's a night and day difference. I'm loving it
Xbox and ps5....get a VRR tv or monitor..... Consoles: oh you wanna split between performance and visuals? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 you want us to implement a frame limiter in our OSes? 🤣🤣🤣🤣...and give you options?🤣🤣🤣
May be unpopular opinion here but 60fps with upgraded visuals is much bigger "game changer" than RT in this game. It's just gorgeous game and playing at smooth 60 is just to good to pass.
Heres hoping they can fix the RT mode, because it looks gorgeous. I dont mind lowering the resolution more if it means a stable 30fps, or even 40fps like Spidermans RT Performance mode.
I would love to play in RT mode, but outside white orchard, it is barely playable... framerate is often below 25 FPS, sometimes 20 on XSX (without talking about the weird visual glitchs that happens only on RT mode). For now, performance mode is the only way to play the game...
Yes that seems like a weird thing, though personally it's not something I'll probably notice much. It's like RT for me, sure it looks nice at times but I'd rather see my games than the "cool" shadows hiding it. I get people like the DF guys says it looks flat but to me it looks fine and brighter, also as my vision worsens I'd rather have things visible not dark
@@UA-camCensors I do wonder if this could be the result of X maintaining a higher resolution. Although I'm not sure if DF meant only in Novigrad or throughout the whole game. Shadows I could live with, but the foliage density/draw is something I personally would definitely notice. It shouldn't be there, if it's due to the resolution I wish they'd lower it at those points. But it probably doesn't work like that.
I hate how this generation of console gaming is constantly selling it as though we have a ‘choice’ between two modes when really in most cases it’s no choice at all. Remember how much they bigged up the ray tracing capabilities of both consoles before release? Borderline mis-selling their products.
The series X doesn't have a lower grass setting than PS5. It is actually a bug because of using cross saves from series S on series X. The foliage and grass settings on series X are at a higher setting than PS5 as long as you don't use the continue option when using a series S cross saves. Please amend the video to correct this.
@@mrbrookeyoung I'm sorry to tell you it isn't. The PS5 version is using the Pcs high setting for foliage while the Series X is using the PC ultra settings. The Series S version uses PC medium setting for foliage when in performance mode. If you use a cross save while playing performance mode on Series S then save and quit and then fire up that save on Series X a bug can occur where the game inherits the series S foliage setting of medium. It is plain and simple. Real world gamers wouldn't even run into this issue on the series X. It is only something you see if you are doing a multiplat performance analysis.
@@mrbrookeyoung I'm not going to argue with you. You can believe what you want. This is well documented in several instances on IGN's and Nxgamers performance breakdowns. Personally playing this title on the Series X my results have never matched the results shown in this video. This next gen patch was done by a very small team. It most likely isn't a result of any GPU capabilities between the consoles. This same bug with draw distance can also occur in Cyberpunk 2077 when moving from a Series S performance mode cross save to a series X performance mode cross save.
40fps sounds peantry but playing Plague tale on 40fps i had a great experience, sure it was 60 but it wasn't a juddery mess with motion blur (turned it off)
Great video but disappointed that it wasn’t addressed that when RT is enabled (only tested on PS5) you get this distracting shadow flicker on objects far away.
As much as I love the new update, I feel like it removed one of the most impressive grafics features od TW3, namely that amazing ripple effect that would appear in water when casting Aard
Something ist wrong with your Xbox version. I could have sworn that my draw distance on Xbox is much farther then yours so I checked it and yeah. Foliage distance is on par with PS5 for me. I stand at the exact same places as you do and I see the foliage and shadows from much farther away.
@Digital Foundry There is no foliage and/or LOD problem on the Series X, Tom! Infact, foliage and LOD is BETTER on Series X than on PS5! Check out NXGamer for this problem: You should not use the same savegame out of the cloud, that you already using for the Series S, because Series X will then use the bad graphical settings of the S instaed of Ultra+!
I haven’t experienced any crashes on XSX after about 20 hours. I did have problems with it booting once but that was while my quick resume queue was full.
My SeriesX powered itself down after overheating during RT Mode during the 1st chase sequence from the Wild Hunt- on horseback with Yennifer. Then proceeded to crash 2 more times while running RT Mode while Gerald was being shaved soon after. Performance mode was the only way I could avoid crashing in that section.
Wow. So it seems RT mode is problematic. I found RT mode unplayable. I wanted to mess around with it but having it on is hardly noticeable to me. So i stay in performance mode. Crazy theres so many problems.
@@69Mikou Try Saints Row The Third Remastered on Series X/PS5 ....since the "next gen" patch of May last year.....the game crashes on average...every 10-15 minutes.
So basically the whole video review is useless cause draw distance is much higher now on xbox series x the same as ps5 i even compared it and the tree has a shadow transition sooner than the same shadow pops on ps5 on the same tree that means framerate comparison is also wrong..i dont know which version they gave you but it was updated since then
Dear DF team. Thanks for great and honest job with this one. I am Polish, huge Witcher series fan (and not a CDPR man :)). On PC I went through W3 with all DLC 3 times...from the premiere and last time with the latest PC CDPR patches (as I remember 1.62) - with most of usable mods incl. HDReworked, foliage, sky, environmental shaders etc. Let me say it straight. Few years ago on my old RTX 980 it looked better and run smoother than this day on my XBOX S/X. OK...free patch, OK (almost) 4K support - that is fair. But please... don't event name it Next-Gen. Compare it to Next-Gen titles, please, and you will see the difference and have the verdict. Huge marketing...and laziness of CDFP devs. They did not optimize it even to have the visuals close to Next-Gen titles...in so powerful machines like XBOX S/X or PS5. And to fail on lock of 30/60 fps - is the best example of devs. work. 7 years old engine on Next-Gen machines should be rebuild, at lest at the level of giving us steady performance. I am happy I don't have PC version - thou' they have true ?Next-Gen? disappointment. It will be patched by CDPR for next 6 months...but first impression flop is unrepairable.
@@gangstagummybear3432 Yeah... such pity. So many years CDPR build their brand ... so many awards with each Witcher, aspecialy W3. They put so much eforts to create the image of the Developer who cares about the player above all standards ... and for what? For failures? First, a huge flop and PR collapse with CP2077 (repaired for many months with patches CP2077 was more-or-less saved) ... and now W3 Next-Gen patch, in a deplorable state (and they had so much time to do it right).
Looks great. Based on the performance issues with ps5 and series x in different areas and just inconsistent performance in the same area when attempting to go through it different times the game really needs another patch.
limited ray tracing at 1080p and struggling to maintain 30fps. It is clear that these consoles are not capable of this technology and instead developers should be focusing on optimising their games so that games run a dynamic 4K (as close to native) 60fps at a minimum. I believe their main selling point on these consoles was that 30fps games where no longer.
What if you turn motion blur, blur and camera lens effects all off? Would that improve the frame rate on the PS5 for both the Performance and Ray Tracing modes?
@@mbsfaridi ….input lag differences with blur, camera options enabled/disabled. Obviously I saw the videos input lag differences for RT vs performance. And yes I know the difference is probably minuscule
I just cannot deal with 30fps anymore. I dont care what features are available on the 30fps mode. 60fpd is the bare minimum I can stand, much prefer 120fps.
better get a pc then most games on console like this won't have a 120fps mode and ones that do don't really reach 120fps only some multiplayer games do that
You can whine about framerate or you can just get used to it and have fun without the complaining. I used to think the same until I didnt have any fun while playing anymore. Bought me a console and had fun again.
@@nikitos3558 You do you, but some of us like our games to feel responsive. It's hard to have fun if the controls feel bad. I was willing to deal with 30 fps back when we had CRTs and game code running directly on hardware, now not so much.
Depends on the game and how well it's optimized overall I guess. I played the high fidelity mode in Horizon, and it was a blast even if it was only 30fps. And not to mention the ps4 release of the last of us 2 and God of War (the 2018 one), which despite of running at 30fps were both incredible and smooth looking. I guess for ports it's a different story. That's why even tho having a fairly decent PC (3700x and 2080s) I'll be playing Hogwarts on PS5. I don't want to pull my hair out trying to reach for some stable fps in a game which doesn't look optimized at all (given the recommended specs for pc). I'll rather have 30fps and some peace of mind.
This is why I have a PC and a ps5 I have a Gsync screen on PC tweaking graphics hitting way higher than 60fps in most games. The ps5 most games are 60 as an option at least and can play some exclusives I'm keen on early otherwise it's PC for my steam games and the rare game pass game.
The issue I had with draw distance was torches. I can literally see the torch isn't lit like 30ft away then I watch it light up the closer I get then go out once I pass it another 30ft like it's so noticable I'm getting frustrated seeing it while I explore. I want to see the fire in the distance. I don't want to see it go out or light up after 30ft of distance from it like seriously breaks immersion. Same thing with foliage pop ins I see it a lot in this update. Another gripe I have is why they never changed the way roach spawns. He spawns way too far away if you're by water he won't spawn sometimes until you move away and if you are even close to a building most likely he's gunna spawn behind the entire building and kind of just sit there waiting for you to run all the way around. Roach should just spawn like right behind you and walk up to you and you should be able to hold the call button like assassin's Creed and automatically jump on and go. I find myself having to spend extra time just trying to get to roach after calling him
The water reflections in Ray Tracing mode look so average. I honestly think the base cube maps reflections look better because they are more detailed. Never thought I would say that.
Raytracing is nice I guess, but choosing between 30 and 60 fps is no choice at all.
It is for me. I would choose RT every time
@@MarceloTaranto I would like to agree with you. But performances way below 30fps and the constant frame stuttering destroys the RT mode for me right now. In some fights with big groups and effects this is near unplayable.
Better luck next gen
Highest I can get on my 3060 is 45fps with raytracing. Haven’t tried with overclocking yet
you mean sub 30.. If only it was 100% locked 30fps, but not even that. And since game is first and foremost is played rather than just watched - 60 should be always priority.
There is no amount of graphical features and new technology that could make me play in 25 FPS. Not happening anymore.
How do you watch movies at 24fps?
@@deepblue8143 troll or...?
@@deepblue8143🤦♂️
Rock solid 30 with good motion blur in a single player game, yes. This mess? No chance.
Welcome to 2000.
I’m about 40 hours in on ps5.
Gotta say. It looks great. It’s one of my favourite ever games, so to finally replay it at 60fps, it is as good as I hoped it would be.
@@SarahAlasiry Same here. I'm at 30 hours on ps5 performance mode and not a single crash. My only problem is when there's a Dialog option for Geralt he becomes blurry every 1-2 seconds and any other character on-screen. Only during Cutscenes.
@@crazy-nephew_5857 the crashes probably only happen in RT mode. RT just absolutely hammers the CPU in these consoles and on PC too - in fact, it is the most demanding game on PC right now when standing in Novigrad. No CPU can do 60fps with RT enabled there.
I get crashes all the time and it usually happens if I die and the checkpoint reloads, I’m playing on death march so I die often
:edit on performance mode
@@8Paul7 Oh, yeah. True!
@@8Paul7 it’s pretty insane. My 9900k can’t get the job done, and it doesn’t look like even better CPUs can do it. Really hoping we get a patch soon. The hotfix gave me maybe 2-3 more frames, but it’s just not enough. Also the frame pacing with RT enabled seems to be horrible
I’m half-way through it on Xbox Series X. RT mode is not smooth, but the graphics look far more realistic. I really like it, but it’s not smooth enough to play and enjoy. I wish I could play with RT… but performance mode will have to do. Incredible game though! I’m playing it for the first time 🥳
Namaste🙏
next gen consoles 😂😭
You’re nitpicking
Just wait until next next gen mode 😅 finally we'll get what we were promised... 1440p at 40fps 😂. Shhh just take it.
Prioritizing RT AO over RT reflections was the right call. Still it's a shame it can't even hit a consistent 30fps. Hopefully they can optimize it in a patch.
It's a shame we have to wait on a patch for a patch lol
@@theanimerapper6351 Not that surprising for a 7 years old game but still sad.
Rt is a waste of time,
Nobody plays 30 fps
@@promo130 you'd be surprised how many people bought a next generation console just to play at 30fps lol
@@promo130 Speak for yourself, some prefer optics over stability. Not for me but I don't get ppl who have to make those generalized statements, like who are you exactly?
I played the game years ago on PS4 and have started a new run since the patch released. I am loving the game yet again and it's impressive how the game is still so good
i last left off where the king found his dead baby and it was a monster thing, i wonder if im far in the game.
its maybe an awesome game but the combat system is so shitty, I cannot play it more than an hour : / sad
@@PrefoXwhat are you playing on? IT’s improved quite a bit from ps4 to ps5 at 60fps. Ya it’s no Arkham but it’s not bad at all atm
@@FreeAimDog earlyyyyyy
I played it on the switch and was surprised with how good it looked. Looking forward to a playthrough on advanced hardware.
My Ps5 absolutely struggles in Ray Tracing mode, lack of vrr and other features on my tv might not help, but in locations like Novigrad it’s borderline unplayable with the drop in frame rate
um 60 hz means you're capped to 60 fps, rt mode is capped at 30 hz so you're good
welcome to 1999 though
all they have to do is match to the xbox settings because I noticed it run at higher settings on ps5 look at 17:21 look at the grass and compare
Well in 1994 we seen 60fps Tekken to it's going deeper than that.
My RTX 3060 drops from 140fps to mid 40-50'S when turning on ray tracing it's too unoptimized compared to other games that also have RT
@@FussyPickles its capped at 30fps, not 30hz tho...
In performance mode the next gen versions often have worse shadows for things like fire, and Geralts hair loses physics in the performance mode too, which is present on old gen.
You have to make sacrifices to hit 60fps, 1440p is still very demanding
The hair physics were quite confusing. Why is Geralt’s hair THAT demanding that they have to reduce the quality of physics in the 60fps version.
@@10whiten99 hair works or something like that. Demanding setting on pc too
@@10whiten99 My guess is that its not reduced, but the physics are tied to framerate, so it is bugged with 60fps.
@@Phelaidar Correct. Its just a bug.
Sadly I start to appreciate when devs give us a 60fps option (it should be a non negotiable industry standard by now)
welcome to 2010 my console brother
@@eytbits it’s been 30 fps for games like this since the dawn of 3d, we’re lucky to have stable 30 fps now lol gta v on 360 would tank to and below the 20’s and no one cared, n64 and ps1 you guys would of died major as mask was locked to like 24 or 20fps, developers for these exploration cinematic games are always gonna push for graphical fidelity first and foremost and worry about the people who need high frame rates on pc or remasters on later consoles
Is it truth that new Harry Potter game will have only 30fps option on current gens? If yes, that would sucks so much :/
Guys , please support me
@@pistachiodisguisey911 lucky to have stable 30 fps? wtf. glad im on pc...
The more I've learned about bounce lighting and how it colours the environement, the more I appreciate how effective it is at conveying an extra layer of realism to my brain in games. I think even in the outdoor shots the RT adds a lot in that respect. I think it's worth having on in this game if they can patch in a smooth 30fps personally especially given the nature of the gameplay.
Without RT, everything seems to have a blue hue since it uses the skybox as an approximation for indirect lighting.
Also it gives a ton of shading to the grass and that makes it less plain but that performance needs a fix
It’s a game changer, sure the ray traced reflections and shadows are nice. But the global illumination makes it feel like an entire new game
Turning off motion blur helps a bit with the smoothness
Mhm! The more I see how much RT can improve a scene, no matter how subtle, the more I want to upgrade my "teaser card" (2060) to a card that can run RT full out.
One thing I also notice a lot is the added perception of depth a scene gives with the more realistic way light, and more importantly, shadow works out.
It feels like watching a photorealistic painting without reference image (just imaging where the light and shadow should be), vs a photograph of that exact same location.
It would've been nice if Photo Mode automatically switches to Ray Tracing even if it is set to Performance mode. It's a hassle to go between menu just to toggle.
that's a brilliant idea haha, because I just thought i would just use RT mode for photo mode
At least you don’t have to restart when changing like alot of games.
Would also be nice if fighting mode automatically switches to performance. They already have a setting which alters the viewing distance when a fight starts, so they could just add another toggle…
You can speed up loading as the game will load things slower IF you don't press a button to skip.
Press X and it loads much faster than what DF says here.
I don't see how that's true.
@@JerryFlowersIII I believe he's taking the the activity cards that the pa5 offers. Letting basically just skip the loading part and just jump straight to the gameplay
@@JerryFlowersIII When you start the game and the narrator is talking about what's happening you can spam the square button and it usually skips the dialogue before it gets to the end. It doesn't show to press any button to skip so not many people will know. I actually tried this myself 2 days ago or so and it worked.
@@doctorsilva1345 they were talking about loading save not the intro clip.
@@Dovahkiin978 That's what I was talking about. When you turn on the game it shows to press square to skip.
After seeing the RT implementations in Witcher 3 and GTAV I'm blown away with what Insomniac was able to do with the RT Performance mode in Spiderman. All the games look amazing mind you but nailing RT reflections on full skyscrapers with 60fps is incredible. I wish all devs would have this mode at lower res.
It's not 60fps, it 30fps with RT enabled.
@@acurisur Incorrect, Performance RT in Spiderman runs at 60 fps (on ps5)
Insomniac is insane. They're wizards
@@acurisur insomniac games have 60 fps rt modes. These guys are beasts of engineering
@acurisur no its 60. It was 30 when it released but got the patch to run at 60.
Playing in performance mode on ps5 , runs beautifully , had no crashes only real problem I've had was after saving frame rate in performance mode went terrible but a reload fixed that and haven't had it since
Just because you are not personally having issues does not change the fact that there is a ton of problems with this update
@@bagelborrowing6085 not once did they say it didn’t have any problems.
Pc has the most problems consoles are having significantly less
@@JustJro didn't say it didn't have problems , ray tracing mode is practically unplayable just saying performance mode seems to be way to go for best experience
@@TristanTheVRGamecat would be the way to go even if it was locked
I noticed latency was pretty high in RT as I kept missing parrys but never did on Performance
Thats because RT is at 30fps. It will have more latency regardless.
@@Nocc2991 honestly both witcher 3 and cyberpunk have an inherently high latency no matter what fps you are on. You can feel it even on pc that 60 fps do not feel responsive.
@@Nocc2991 that's because Rt runs at 24 fps.
@@Nocc2991 No, it's an issue with RedEngine. Cyberpunk had an _additional_ input delay on RT mode as well that was later fixed.
I don't use RT even on high end PC games that I have locked to 60fps when I use RT even on the same 60fps it feels heavy af, honestly RT is a drawback for my gaming experience, I don't want games simulating real life, I want games fun to play and target visibility is a must for me, with all those RT shadows I can't see in many areas like indoor, that's stomach upsetting, really unpleasant to play
40 fps mode would be incredible!
I've noticed more and more third party releases recently that have higher resolution on XSX but improved graphical settings on PS5
Because the SSD that everyone called a gimmick allows assets to be passed to the GPU for renders faster than XSX.
and I noticed that the grass density is much higher on ps5 he didn’t mention it he only said the draw distance is better on the ps5 , i wonder why he left the grass density
@@justsomeguy5513 LMAOOO you xbox stans are nuts. Exclusive optimization is hilarious
@@justsomeguy5513 more likely because the PS5 has better clockspeed on its CPU and GPU than the "strongest console on earth" the xbox X with its more powerful but Slower! CPU/GPU . All these moronic "sony paying devs to make the games better on ps5" statements are idiotic and have 0 proof.
@@justsomeguy5513 wow that's a stretch
Impressive to see them target the PS4/Xbox1 performance
It's just bad optimisation
Neither ps4 or Xbox one have ray tracing
@@sonnieslim5973 or high res textures or more dense foliage
You should watch again.
@@Saltermedia or 60 fps modes lol
I would trade the SSR water reflections for a stable 30FPS RT mode with the RTGI and RTAO since they are the most impactful - water looks in some ways better on the performance mode. I think they should offer some RT toggles like this. The textures, and foliage density are significant, and seeing XSX having pathetic LOD is really strange...because the world fills very dense on PS5 even in performance mode with lots of grass, and vegetation, but the RTGI/AO is hard to give up since it makes everything feel so much more rich.
It's possible removing SSR on console wouldn't improve framerates at all if the CPU is the bottleneck as it usually is on PC.
That's footage is wrong series X does not look like that on either mode looks exactly the same as ps5 in actual fact better as series X is running higher settings.
@@dk06ctr okay fanboy
@@PookaBot no fanboy facts go watch NXG gamer video DF messed up here suspect series s footage used for X as I cannot get my game to look like that in either mode on series X 🤷
He only noticed it one time on series X. The pS5 overall has better draw distance.
if Ray Tracing mode was a stable 30 at all times, that would be my easy go to. Too many dips right now but damn it looks so good on this mode. The grass generating their own RT shadows makes it looks so much more realistic! The shadows between the sword and the back in RT mode also just looks so much more natural in RT mode as well.
Update: much smoother on my series x than the ps5.
Maybe the hardware is just too weak
Ideal will be 40+ fps mode with redused native or upsampling res.
@@dexterousdeep considering the witcher is only using 2 cores it’s definitely just optimized poorly. Fortnite is 60 FPS ray traced. Metro Exodus,Rift apart,Miles Morales.
Know the difference from cant vs poor optimization.
PS5 surprisingly performs better than XSX in many games even though XSX has a slightly more powerful GPU, how come?
I really appreciate the time you spent investigating the input lag. That kind of information is super useful. Thank you!
Every issue I’ve had with the update on PS5 has been noted in this video. RT mode is basically unplayable, and the input lag is really unpleasant. Performance mode also doesn’t feel as responsive as it should.
"UNPLAYABLE" This isn't the PS3 days dude.
Its quite sad knowing that it feels better playing on One X performance mode over performance mode on ps5. The input lag is pretty bad
@@calebwhyte6957 I tried out the PS4 version the other day, which is obviously just at 30fps, but even that felt as responsive as the performance mode, and way better than RT mode of course.
@@Clay3613 it literally hits a constant 25 FPS in 2022. That feels terrible add on the terrible response times. You sound butthurt?
u sound like gaybox fan
The draw distance on my series X is completely different than what is shown in the video. Must be a bug.
@@runningbear6391 It 100% is. Went to the same locations as the video and the foliage draw distance was significantly further than what was shown here and looked pretty much the same as PS5.
Don't really care if you believe me but that is the case for me.
It's not a bug dude and it needs to be fixed it's unacceptable stop denying it to save face it's counter productive. I want it fixed so being vocal will help
@@malazan6004 If it isn’t a bug why does the game on the Series X right now look better in the same exact locations?
It now almost looks like the pre launch footage from 7 years ago
Noooo, no way it does, not a chance.
That’s true. I really like the new lighting and the slightly scaled back colours. It looks great.
Gotta drop the nostalgia goggles my man, the E3 footages ain't got shit on this next gen update
It looks far better than the pre launch footage
I had that W3 lookin sik af with mods before the update running at 120 fps now it looks like someone smeared Vaseline all over the screen 80% mods don't work anymore and it runs at 45fps at times. Dx12 on that update is an absolute hack job.
The graphics and visuals look good! And VRR can smooth out those small drops in 60fps mode. Hopefully they can optimize the 30fps RT mode better in future patch
The screen tearing confused me. I mean, shouldn't the VRR avoid that?
@@vaguedreams it looks like they have vsync enabled, which can cause screen tearing on VRR displays. Wish they would just add an option to turn it off on console
@@deadlyydude5522 it’s kind of surprised me never seeing more options like v-sync on consoles. I think the only one I can ever recall of was outer wilds on ps5, which unfortunately had that double buffer style so it’d drop to 30’s if it sustained any fps loss.
It’d be nice to have resolution options too for some gains instead of it always down sampling. This game would probably really benefit from these two options alone!
Sadly no, a VRR screen cannot help for stuttering. It only helps for screen tearing and latency (because you can play without v-sync).
@@deadlyydude5522 Thank you, wasn't sure what was going on there.
I've noticed that in most comparisons XB prefers a slight boost in image clarity over fps. Doesn't seem like the way to go to me. I'd take better draw distance and fps over raw resolution especially with the quality of modern AA and reconstruction techniques.
The One X was the same way and it drove me nuts. Raw resolution was prioritized over settings and stability. Sucks to see the same decisions being made on the Series X
They've added the option to pause during cutscenes, so I flip between RT and performance pretty often. I've played the game many times, if I know I'm about to settle in to a long story sequence, I flip RT on and keep it on for exploring or easy fights. In tougher encounters, I switch to 60fps. It would be great to have a quicker toggle but there's no loading or black screen to switch so it's not a big deal.
I'm hoping console games sometime implement this as a toggled feature at some point. Give me them fancy 30 fps graphics when I'm not directly interacting with the game and then switch back to 60 fps for gameplay. It would be a nice touch.
I tried doing that but honestly the way the game feels at 60fps is too smooth to ignore.
It looks beautiful on a big 4K screen and the higher refresh rate makes everything seem so alive and realistic.
That would hurt my head
@@milesl.194 Avatar 2 does something similar, flipping between 24 and 48 fps. I find it very jarring. But more options would be nice.
I'm doing almost the same thing, all cutscenes i put in RT mode and performance mode in the rest of the game, particularly i prefer to watch the scenes at 30fps , and with the RT the scene become much more rich, play at 30? Definitely no.
I dont get motion sickness from games often but the judder on PS5 really messed with me. I really hope they can fix it
Don't feel to bad It's happening on series x too
Get it on Xbox too, it's really distracting when running
@@sean7332 show some respect, they're trying
@@Aribbonofsoundmen respect? Bruh they have to earn it
@@Aribbonofsoundmen another one of this stupid generation who think you are born with respect world doesnt owe you a thing
I see the differerence between RT off, and RT off, but it's not a staggering one. I'd would play in performance mode. Losing 60fps for a few small visuals updates is not worth it... I also prefer sharper image on a 65" screen.
Yeah i will use the RT mode for some photos and walking around enjoying the graphics, but not gameplay
RT is basically photo mode.
Hard to play on Quicksand mode as that's how it feels in my XSX
Exactly! I rather they made it a separate mode or an option to comepletely disable it
@@UA-camCensors think it’s bad on xbox at least it hits 30 fps 99% besides big cities. It’s the latency that’s so bad. Ps5 is way worse at 25 fps.
I think I'd take 60 fps over ray tracing any day. In these examples you provided I thought the improvements ray tracing provided weren't enough to warrant using it. Especially since texture quality seemingly took a dip on RT mode.
You have to restart the game after toggling RT. Otherwise textures look like crap and the overall stability is even worse.
Am I the only person who could care less about ray tracing on consoles??
Not at all. Wish they scrapped it altogether to optimize games for 60fps
I Hope most people choosing fps and fingers crossed that happens.
Ty tom, always a pleasure to watch your vids
All the hosts on this channel are absolute gems aren't they
I noticed the late draw in of the shadows also on Series X. Very strange. Especially when the resolution is so high on performance mode. It really drags the experience down. Once you see it you cannot unsee it. It is very destracting when you are on foot in Novigrad - on every building basically.
Same, the Xbox version seems weirder than anything. The higher resolution is the only saving grace it has. I’ll stick with PS5 and PC.
does it? it's been that way on the XBox since it came out.
@@xikaryo6735 if i had a ps5 i would also play it there in performance mode... still in no chance at getting one in my area for msrp.
@@xikaryo6735 higher resolution and far more stable experience in RT mode and practically the same in performance mode
I wouldnt want to play the PS5 RT mode, I could stand the Series X RT mode
The same for me. This is really frustrating.
I will always go for performance over RT in any game if I can't get both, but it's good to have the option for those who choose different. It's weird to me that the performance mode has a higher resolution, which is another plus for the better framerate option. I would like to see a comparison between consoles and PC, especially performance mode on consoles and no RT on PC to even the odds. I think it's a huge upgrade, the 60 fps mode alone makes it a better game and a very attractive option even over the PC version for those who don't have the hardware to run it properly.
You were scared to release this video after the patch supposed to improve performance. One month later, still not any relevant update. CDPR just cannot ship finished product.
Been playing this on Series X in mostly ray tracing mode. Switching between ray tracing and performance highlights just how bland the lighting was. It's an incredible difference to the experience in my opinion. Night time and Caves are actually dark. The torch is actually useful! The shadows the torch draws are very impressive also. Just a shame the performance is not quite there yet, and the latency issue....it's heavy to play for sure and has some weird camera stutter but it looks magnificent. It's just a shame that we get an amazing looking mode which just isn't where it should be.
Other games with no raytracing look way better in dark areas than Witcher 3. This reminds me of control which looks very good with RT but abysmal without RT. But control was created with RT in mind, Witcher 3 is just an old game with an old engine. Too bad that RT mode runs so badly on PS5. I play it in performance mode and outside it looks okay but once you enter a house the lighting is so bad 🙁.
@@taptoplayde Well I'm wondering why...Maybe because this game is almost 8 years old?!
I really wish devs stop prioritizing higher resolution over stable framerate. Do we really need a 4k in performance mode in both W3 and CP2077 when it's obvious red engine cannot maintain stable 60fps in both games? Lowering rez a bit and few settings might solve this, but now, basically you're screwed if you're sensitive to frame rate drops and don't have VRR capable display.
With dynamic res this complaint doesn't have water. They are going from 1080p to higher res when the GPU can afford it. The issue is probably on CPU side not what the GPU is doing
Exactly. This game hits 1500s at best. Lol your the only complaining about 4k60 performance mode. You probably wish it was a dynamic 1080p60 you u can feel justified
@@bombyo3634 Even 900p, don't care, as long as FPS is rock solid 60. But as you guys mentioned, in W3 case it might be CPU issue and that Red Engine is just very demanding.
This is exactly what I send to their customer service. I hate this focus on 4K. I think a 1440p@60fps would be really nice for a performance mode.
Am I tripping or did this video feel kinda PS5 biased
It's DF they're always biased.
60 fps any day no matter the resolution
Draw distance on Series X seems to be a bug as I can't recreate the same results as in the video on my Xbox, this is in both modes. My results are the same as the PS5.
Same I think a patch has come or they’re getting a bug. I can’t recreate it on series x either it looks exactly like ps5 does for me. Needs upvotes so they can see and clarify.
I read somewhere they traded draw distance for slightly higher resolution over the ps5 in certain areas. Makes sense they had to make a trade somewhere but that's a bad choice picking draw distance. Many people on twitter have the draw distance issue not sure if it's a bug but odd if you don't have it.
*Honestly, would Performance 1080p/60FPS and RT 1080p/30FPS, be such a crime?* It'd free-up a lot of frames and might even enable one or two extra details/effects.
Most console players are not using 1440p/4K TVs/monitors no matter what tech people online say. Its so out of touch to assume most gamers have such hardware. Most gamers are just normal people without the money to spend on both a fancy TV/monitor and a console, so their money goes on the console. 1080p is FINE.
It just bothers me that we have devs chasing 4K/1440p on consoles, coming out with not so great games/patches and then getting all these complaints when it can all be avoided. Just keep consoles to 1080p/60FPS, unless a game is graphically basic when you can go higher. ITS FINE. ITS PERFECTLY FINE.
No it's not. Because you just play on 1080p doesn't mean most console players do the same. For a long time all tv that are sold are 4k. Consoles are meant for tv. Thus devs will never prioritize 1080p on consoles. It was clear on Ps4 Pro and One X, and it's even more clear on next gen. Deal with it and do yourself a favor, buy a 4k display. RESOLUTION MATTERS.
@@rafamuniak You do know that "most are sold as" doesn't mean "most are bought because" right? Nor does it mean that 4K TVs are bought BY gamers. Most are sold as TVs, for watching movies and TV shows. You're doing exactly what I said internet tech people do. You assume 4K and such is super common and that loads of people have it etc. You live in a internet gamer bubble, not the real world.
I know dozens of gamers all who have PS5s or XBSX etc. and thats all they can afford. They still use for example, 24inch 1080p monitors.
Again, you are the one with issues of perception, not me. Not only to I talk to dozens of people IRL as I described, but I also talk about it alot online. So reconsider your view of these topics.
@@satyasyasatyasya5746 speak pls just for yourself and not for others aslong you dont have numbers as a evidence its just a useless generalize me as exampel want to play on the highest Quality as i can 1080 p is just unplayable for me 4k is the future and im glad the devs are focusing on this
@@hitagisenjougahara2651 lol it is upscaled 1080p
Ray Tracing does look better. But fucking hell that frame rate is choppy. I could tolerate it for if the frame rate was locked at 30, but I’d take 60 FPS any day of the week.
The frame rate makes the ray tracing mode look worse imo. Hopefully this gets fixed
RT mode needs some work to be stable 30 fps. Game drops way too much fps
Not gonna lie, this is the first game where I'm really enjoying the ray tracing application. You can see the difference, I would suggest turning motion blur on.
As someone who plays with VRR, I really hope they don't reduce draw distances for PS5, similar to what they did on PS4 Pro back in the day, in order to get more stable fps. Those patches of grass sprouting from the ground a few meters ahead of Geralt kinda broke the immersion for me 😥 To me the game looks absolutelly stunning on performance mode on PS5 right now 🙏
Disable automatic updates on your ps5 for games. You can manually update your other games but won't have to worry about witcher 3. That's what I'm doing.
Great video Tom. Only one thing I would question is I’m playing it on Series x and the foliage is being rendered the same as you’re showing the ps5. It’s rendering all the way to the horizon pretty much? It’s definitely not cutting of as close as in your video.
They had a quick patch on PC to fix some issues with the new update, I'd assume they pushed a similar patch out to the consoles.
I agree my game does not look like that series X footage on this video, nx gamer has said series X runs better settings than PS5 series X is using ultra+ settings for foliage and grass. Also no update has been pushed to consoles yet on Xbox.
@@dk06ctr I wonder if he mixed his footage up and that is series S footage and not X. Or maybe he was just getting a random bug.
@@fwrudiger I suspect he has used series s footage for series X or there the wrong way around as I carnt replicate it looking like that on my game there waaaaayyyy more foliage and grass into the distance literally into the horizon.
@@dk06ctr yea 109% same for me. I can’t replicate what he’s showing in the video.
This review is disappointing.
The XSX's low LOD is a simple bug and can be solved by simply changing the settings in XSX. This fact clearly reveals how short you've spent on XBOX.
In the VG Tech analysis, XSX has a better LOD setting with a more distant draw distance. Other reviews have reached the same conclusion. VG Tech even offers comparative screenshots.
Tom, this review is simply disappointing. This is the largest Tech channel on the platform and should be better than this.
Even NX gamer Ended up with the same results " xbox series x with higher settings than ps5"
Hello, could you tell me the video please?
These consoles should have focused on 4k/60fps 1080/120 instead of worrying about RT implementation on all titles.
They should have focused on 1440p 60fps because that's what their level of hardware is meant for, 9th gen consoles are not built to handle 4k60 despite what all the false advertising would tell you
@@AzaiaMonota4k/60fps is well within their range if they don’t include RT and go for the PC equivalent of “high” instead of “ultra” settings. 🤷🏻♂️
@@WorldwideWyatt Sure if they are running last gen games maybe but not new AAA games, at their best without RT they only reach RTX 2080 levels and I wouldn't expect an RTX 2080 in 2022 going on 2023 to run the newest AAA games at 4K 60 high settings with RT off, consoles should focus on 1440p as their main target for 60 fps or even better yet go for a locked 1080p 60fps at PC max settings if they can hit it
The Series X might have a marginally more powerful GPU than the PS5 (on paper) but DX12 can sometimes get in the way and cause processing inefficiencies in certain workloads (just look at PC gaming). This is most likely why many third party games slightly favor the PS5 in performance (especially rasterization) as its API is probably a bit more efficient and utilizes the hardware a little better.
Tom is incorrect..2 other comparisons said series x is running ultra plus PC settings for foliage and draw distance and ps5 is scaled back...Digital foundry gott the footage mixed up..Series x has higher average resolution and draw distances and foliage.
I’m on vacation staying up late to 4am playing this game like it’s 2015 all over again! TW3 is my favorite game of all time (like many others) so I own it on every possible platform it exists. I go from my pc with a 3080 to/5900x to my series X a lot since we’re hosting family for the holidays. So far the cross-save works like a charm but I have yet to try it on my PS5 and switch. I just finished the Baron’s quest last night and it’s as impactful as it was all those years ago. When it comes to RT, I don’t think it’s worth using it on console as it’s just not worth loosing 30fps for it. On my Pc however, I’m able to squeeze about 80fps with RT on n Ultra+ settings at 1440P. It looks freaking amazing, but even with it off on console, it’s just a beautiful freaking game at 4K! Either way, I’m back hooked on it and this time I’m going for a 100% completion run!
always nice to read when someone can enthuse himself for a game that much. i started the game three times xbox one, one s and one x, because i always wanted to wait for a better version. now i got a pc with a 3080/5600x. but i am now confused why you can play it that way on your pc. for 60 fps with RT i need to lower everything to medium and use DLSS balanced it think. a 3080 ti shouldn't be more than 10 % stronger than my 3080 non-ti?
Hopefully the draw call issue on XSX gets resolved!! That is huge and adds a lot more immersiveness and realism to the world!
It has been fixed. It looks the same as ps5 for me. The wierd thing is that it has looked that way on my series x since the patch launched.
@@cicerofryman97 Awesome, thanks for letting me know! I was wondering if I should just wait a few months, which would have been less than ideal, because I'd like to play over the holidays!
Lol I can’t feel immersed in a game where every NPC face looks the same. Completely takes me out of the game.
@@xikaryo6735 lol I'm pretty sure that's due to these games being developed for hard drives primarily, with memory limitations. The true next gen games that are starting to come out, and will over the next few years, hopefully will have more unique NPCs.
@@cicerofryman97 this my game looks nothing like the series X version he's showing here and never has suspect that's series s footage mixed up in actual fact series X Runs higher settings than PS5.
No amount of raytracing can convince me to play at jerky 30 fps. During gameplay the extra effects are barely noticeable, yet the low framerate is always apparent. Fluidity is much more important than a few shadows.
Much more then Shadows, and I actually prwfer the massively improved Lighting in RT Mode over 60fps, but to each their own, thats the great thing with choices in different modes on current Gen Consoles
Look on the bright side RT mode will only benefit Virtual Photographers and for someone who likes photography like myself this is definitely beneficial for those kinda people and they can switch back and fourth if they want to play the game or take an in game photo mode
I take photos constantly but I never play in performance mode. It feels soooo much more immersive in RT mode, especially in the woods. The world just feels more real, framerate be damned.
This is what broke the spell of raytracing, for me. Better, stable performance will always come out on top, no contest.
oh hey RT mode is great for the photo mode 😅
That's because ray tracing is an absolute joke and a marketing ploy. Losing frames for what? Darker rooms, lower res. It's stupid
@@gordoncampbell7858 Ray Tracing per se is amazing, it makes games look more natural. But you need expensive hardware for it. Consoles can only get close to that look with Unreal Engine 5 (see the Fortnite update video recently)
I didn't realize there was such a texture quality dropoff for Ray-Tracing mode here. I usually take 30fps for higher fidelity, but in this case it's actually a *downgrade* compared to the 60fps.
Normally it's performance vs resolution. Now its performance vs RT. They should've added that 3rd option. Insomniac has a bunch of options with Ratchet & Clank even a performance RT option which has fewer RT objects as full RT mode, but still hits 60fps
@@chimnino 40fps should be standard, not just for Sony's 1st parties. It's such a fantastic middle ground, with virtually no negative.
god i love morgan's voice, delivery and accent XD
@nelyl8943 he can't say albeit correctly for some reason.
I cannot understand how people choose looks over performance. Blows my mind.
As a PS5 player playing with performance mode, the updated version nearly feels like a new game. Since higher framerates have become the norm for consoles, spoiling me more and more, revisiting this game over the years got a lot harder to do. It's a night and day difference. I'm loving it
Hopefully we get 40fps fidelity mode 🙏
yes i need this!!!!!
Xbox and ps5....get a VRR tv or monitor.....
Consoles: oh you wanna split between performance and visuals? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 you want us to implement a frame limiter in our OSes? 🤣🤣🤣🤣...and give you options?🤣🤣🤣
Don’t think it’s possible since it has trouble maintaining 30fps. Dips in 25fps constantly
May be unpopular opinion here but 60fps with upgraded visuals is much bigger "game changer" than RT in this game.
It's just gorgeous game and playing at smooth 60 is just to good to pass.
@@TommyV8898 it's smooth as butter what? 60fps mode is the best on both consoles especially with a VRR screen. RT mode is a joke on both
Looks like I'll wait a couple of patches to drop in before I play
Heres hoping they can fix the RT mode, because it looks gorgeous. I dont mind lowering the resolution more if it means a stable 30fps, or even 40fps like Spidermans RT Performance mode.
I would love to play in RT mode, but outside white orchard, it is barely playable... framerate is often below 25 FPS, sometimes 20 on XSX (without talking about the weird visual glitchs that happens only on RT mode).
For now, performance mode is the only way to play the game...
It's a joke yeah
Playing 60FPS on PS5, the foliage and draw distance enhancements make the world feel more alive
Am I the only person that prefers the look of the water reflections in performance mode?
I expect them to fix the foliage draw on X, that can't be right.
Yes that seems like a weird thing, though personally it's not something I'll probably notice much.
It's like RT for me, sure it looks nice at times but I'd rather see my games than the "cool" shadows hiding it.
I get people like the DF guys says it looks flat but to me it looks fine and brighter, also as my vision worsens I'd rather have things visible not dark
@@UA-camCensors I do wonder if this could be the result of X maintaining a higher resolution. Although I'm not sure if DF meant only in Novigrad or throughout the whole game. Shadows I could live with, but the foliage density/draw is something I personally would definitely notice. It shouldn't be there, if it's due to the resolution I wish they'd lower it at those points. But it probably doesn't work like that.
I hate how this generation of console gaming is constantly selling it as though we have a ‘choice’ between two modes when really in most cases it’s no choice at all.
Remember how much they bigged up the ray tracing capabilities of both consoles before release? Borderline mis-selling their products.
nvidia always has better rtx
Tom your output has been stellar. Presentation, editing and all that. Great stuff man
The series X doesn't have a lower grass setting than PS5. It is actually a bug because of using cross saves from series S on series X. The foliage and grass settings on series X are at a higher setting than PS5 as long as you don't use the continue option when using a series S cross saves. Please amend the video to correct this.
Wrong I've got both PS5 and Series X
@@mrbrookeyoung I'm sorry to tell you it isn't. The PS5 version is using the Pcs high setting for foliage while the Series X is using the PC ultra settings. The Series S version uses PC medium setting for foliage when in performance mode. If you use a cross save while playing performance mode on Series S then save and quit and then fire up that save on Series X a bug can occur where the game inherits the series S foliage setting of medium. It is plain and simple. Real world gamers wouldn't even run into this issue on the series X. It is only something you see if you are doing a multiplat performance analysis.
@@shredenvain7 I literally have both PS5 and Series X versions and it matches DFs findings
@@mrbrookeyoung I'm not going to argue with you. You can believe what you want. This is well documented in several instances on IGN's and Nxgamers performance breakdowns. Personally playing this title on the Series X my results have never matched the results shown in this video. This next gen patch was done by a very small team. It most likely isn't a result of any GPU capabilities between the consoles. This same bug with draw distance can also occur in Cyberpunk 2077 when moving from a Series S performance mode cross save to a series X performance mode cross save.
Just hope they can stabilize performance, RT mode is literally unplayable right now
DF please tell cd project red to add 40fps unlocked vrr to witcher 3 and cyberpunk!!!
40fps sounds peantry but playing Plague tale on 40fps i had a great experience, sure it was 60 but it wasn't a juddery mess with motion blur (turned it off)
First they need to hit 30fps, then worry about 40 lol
They don’t even hit 30 fps on rt mode and you are asking for 40 fps
Thank you! Great video! Hope there will be more paches for RT mode. Love to play it in RT
Performance mode is way smoother even a novice like me can notice
Great video but disappointed that it wasn’t addressed that when RT is enabled (only tested on PS5) you get this distracting shadow flicker on objects far away.
As much as I love the new update, I feel like it removed one of the most impressive grafics features od TW3, namely that amazing ripple effect that would appear in water when casting Aard
Upgrade Aard a bit and you'll see the ripple effects are actually upgraded! You can now see water splashes and not just water ripple effects!
Xbox Series X is the best
With Series-X being claimed to be the most powerful console, why does it under perform to PS5 in game after game?
@@runningbear6391 Isn't the architecture supposed to be very similar to Windows too? If so, Xbox and PC combined dwarf Sony.
Hell, pretty sure PC beats all the consoles combined?
Odd how a simple change of the camera perspective makes Geralt's run animation more bearable to look at. It always looked really odd to me
Yeah same. Walking animations too
Something ist wrong with your Xbox version. I could have sworn that my draw distance on Xbox is much farther then yours so I checked it and yeah. Foliage distance is on par with PS5 for me. I stand at the exact same places as you do and I see the foliage and shadows from much farther away.
What version are you running? They are running v4.001 It is likely that CDPR fixed the draw distance in v4.002
Is this Groundhog Day? I swear I’ve already seen this.
I really appreciate that they are giving us a follow-up review. I feel like a lot of reviews. Just do opening 10 hr and call it a day.
Did they ever patch the foliage draw distance on Xbox? Edit: it has been hot fixed! Draw distance now matches ps5. Thank God
CDPR releasing an unfinished game? Who would've thought that. 🤣
A DX11-to-DX12 wrapper seems to be in place, being the main reason for many of the issues. Watch the excellent analysis from NXGamer!
@Digital Foundry
There is no foliage and/or LOD problem on the Series X, Tom! Infact, foliage and LOD is BETTER on Series X than on PS5! Check out NXGamer for this problem: You should not use the same savegame out of the cloud, that you already using for the Series S, because Series X will then use the bad graphical settings of the S instaed of Ultra+!
Digital foundry forgets about quick resume. Liturally instant load in from home screen.
I haven’t experienced any crashes on XSX after about 20 hours. I did have problems with it booting once but that was while my quick resume queue was full.
Consider yourself lucky, in 17h I have had more than 5 to 7 crashes...
My SeriesX powered itself down after overheating during RT Mode during the 1st chase sequence from the Wild Hunt- on horseback with Yennifer.
Then proceeded to crash 2 more times while running RT Mode while Gerald was being shaved soon after.
Performance mode was the only way I could avoid crashing in that section.
I've experienced a single crash on the PS5 in RT mode.
Wow. So it seems RT mode is problematic. I found RT mode unplayable. I wanted to mess around with it but having it on is hardly noticeable to me. So i stay in performance mode. Crazy theres so many problems.
@@69Mikou Try Saints Row The Third Remastered on Series X/PS5 ....since the "next gen" patch of May last year.....the game crashes on average...every 10-15 minutes.
19:32 Damn PS4pro load times were crazy.
On X1S load times were lowered to 36 iirc when using an external HDD.
Yup. I remember playing on the PS4 regular and every time I died I automatically whipped out my phone cause it'd be like a 2 min wait lol
So basically the whole video review is useless cause draw distance is much higher now on xbox series x the same as ps5 i even compared it and the tree has a shadow transition sooner than the same shadow pops on ps5 on the same tree that means framerate comparison is also wrong..i dont know which version they gave you but it was updated since then
true
Dear DF team. Thanks for great and honest job with this one. I am Polish, huge Witcher series fan (and not a CDPR man :)). On PC I went through W3 with all DLC 3 times...from the premiere and last time with the latest PC CDPR patches (as I remember 1.62) - with most of usable mods incl. HDReworked, foliage, sky, environmental shaders etc. Let me say it straight. Few years ago on my old RTX 980 it looked better and run smoother than this day on my XBOX S/X. OK...free patch, OK (almost) 4K support - that is fair. But please... don't event name it Next-Gen. Compare it to Next-Gen titles, please, and you will see the difference and have the verdict. Huge marketing...and laziness of CDFP devs. They did not optimize it even to have the visuals close to Next-Gen titles...in so powerful machines like XBOX S/X or PS5. And to fail on lock of 30/60 fps - is the best example of devs. work. 7 years old engine on Next-Gen machines should be rebuild, at lest at the level of giving us steady performance. I am happy I don't have PC version - thou' they have true ?Next-Gen? disappointment. It will be patched by CDPR for next 6 months...but first impression flop is unrepairable.
CDPR is terrible at optimization for these game systems, that was obvious from Cyberpunk.
@@gangstagummybear3432 Yeah... such pity. So many years CDPR build their brand ... so many awards with each Witcher, aspecialy W3. They put so much eforts to create the image of the Developer who cares about the player above all standards ... and for what? For failures? First, a huge flop and PR collapse with CP2077 (repaired for many months with patches CP2077 was more-or-less saved) ... and now W3 Next-Gen patch, in a deplorable state (and they had so much time to do it right).
Looks great. Based on the performance issues with ps5 and series x in different areas and just inconsistent performance in the same area when attempting to go through it different times the game really needs another patch.
Randy it's been stated they are working on a patch for all platforms
Anyone notice the frames cut in half during witcher vision
Only inside buildings in cities it happens to me.
Ye I was wondering if I was imagining things but I guess not.
limited ray tracing at 1080p and struggling to maintain 30fps. It is clear that these consoles are not capable of this technology and instead developers should be focusing on optimising their games so that games run a dynamic 4K (as close to native) 60fps at a minimum. I believe their main selling point on these consoles was that 30fps games where no longer.
they can hit 30fps its probably due to framepacing or just bad optimization from the dev teams
You know it's a Tom Morgan joint when a top-notch intro sequence kicks off the vid!
What if you turn motion blur, blur and camera lens effects all off? Would that improve the frame rate on the PS5 for both the Performance and Ray Tracing modes?
I would love to see this tested! In addition throw in input lag differences as well. Probably super minimal but I’ve always wondered
Those are very cheap
I'd be surprised if u could gain even a single frame
No difference
@@sleepyjordan887 16:08 Performance mode 92.9ms and RT mode 157.9 on PS5.
@@mbsfaridi ….input lag differences with blur, camera options enabled/disabled. Obviously I saw the videos input lag differences for RT vs performance. And yes I know the difference is probably minuscule
I just cannot deal with 30fps anymore. I dont care what features are available on the 30fps mode. 60fpd is the bare minimum I can stand, much prefer 120fps.
better get a pc then most games on console like this won't have a 120fps mode and ones that do don't really reach 120fps only some multiplayer games do that
You can whine about framerate or you can just get used to it and have fun without the complaining. I used to think the same until I didnt have any fun while playing anymore. Bought me a console and had fun again.
@@nikitos3558 You do you, but some of us like our games to feel responsive. It's hard to have fun if the controls feel bad. I was willing to deal with 30 fps back when we had CRTs and game code running directly on hardware, now not so much.
Depends on the game and how well it's optimized overall I guess. I played the high fidelity mode in Horizon, and it was a blast even if it was only 30fps. And not to mention the ps4 release of the last of us 2 and God of War (the 2018 one), which despite of running at 30fps were both incredible and smooth looking.
I guess for ports it's a different story. That's why even tho having a fairly decent PC (3700x and 2080s) I'll be playing Hogwarts on PS5. I don't want to pull my hair out trying to reach for some stable fps in a game which doesn't look optimized at all (given the recommended specs for pc). I'll rather have 30fps and some peace of mind.
This is why I have a PC and a ps5 I have a Gsync screen on PC tweaking graphics hitting way higher than 60fps in most games. The ps5 most games are 60 as an option at least and can play some exclusives I'm keen on early otherwise it's PC for my steam games and the rare game pass game.
The issue I had with draw distance was torches. I can literally see the torch isn't lit like 30ft away then I watch it light up the closer I get then go out once I pass it another 30ft like it's so noticable I'm getting frustrated seeing it while I explore. I want to see the fire in the distance. I don't want to see it go out or light up after 30ft of distance from it like seriously breaks immersion. Same thing with foliage pop ins I see it a lot in this update. Another gripe I have is why they never changed the way roach spawns. He spawns way too far away if you're by water he won't spawn sometimes until you move away and if you are even close to a building most likely he's gunna spawn behind the entire building and kind of just sit there waiting for you to run all the way around. Roach should just spawn like right behind you and walk up to you and you should be able to hold the call button like assassin's Creed and automatically jump on and go. I find myself having to spend extra time just trying to get to roach after calling him
The water reflections in Ray Tracing mode look so average. I honestly think the base cube maps reflections look better because they are more detailed. Never thought I would say that.