The Witcher 3 Discussion Thread!

This game performs pretty good, at least in the opening section. I got really worried when I heard how bad the game supposedly ran but it seems to work well with my setup.

Everything ultra to the max and the framerate is consistently above 30, usually much higher. It pretty much performs like Dragon Age Inquisition does. Didn't expect to be able to play with ultra.

And to think that GeForce Experience recommends mostly low/medium options. That program is demoralising.

Look forward to playing more soon.

 

Even hairworks and never below 30?

 

Yes. But I've only had time to try out the beginning section when Geralt is training Ciri in that mountain valley castle. So I'm guessing it may not entirely representative of the rest of the game?

That beginning section looks pretty demanding graphics-wise though.

I'll play some more tonight after my weekly Game Of Thrones fix.

 

That area isn't particularly demanding. Wait until you get to Velen - that's probably when you will notice serious dips in your frame rate. I was surprised to get 45 FPS at Kaer Morhen at medium-high settings (no HairWorks), and when I got to Velen, bam - 25 FPS. That's a 50% hit.

 

Well I decided to join the fun and bought it from GMG. I don't understand GOG logic of making it into 7 files plus 3 patches though...

 

@Ethrem glad to hear it, I hope others are as lucky.


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I removed my post because its premature for this thread. My 3DMark 11 performance went up on both my 780 Ti and my 980M SLI though and that seems to be the gauge most were using for performance issues. We'll see how this game runs on both my machines.

Luckily GOG has fast servers so they maxed my 105Mbps connection and the game is already downloaded, installing now.

 

Ah I see, fair enough then. Hopefully the game's performance reflects that of 3DMark. I for one will remain optimistic that these drivers aren't a complete catastrophe haha


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Use Galaxy, keeps it up to date automatically... And I agree.. GoG maxed my 100mbit as well.

 

Well I must say... this is the most beautiful game I've ever seen. I had a crash after the first cutscene but it was fine after that.

It has some issues... namely if vsync is on, it tries to sync framerates... So if it can't get 45, it locks to 39.9... if it can't get 60, it locks to 49.9... Turning off vsync made for a large performance increase and killed the stutter.

Here's a FRAPS run... Ultra + Hair...

Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg
185872, 2076204, 31, 410, 89.525

Not too shabby.

As you can see here, the game doesn't throttle at all. If you notice the spike in GPU usage, that was when I shut vsync off. The only core drops are scene changes, menu, and that large one was when I was playing that card game. As expected, my max temps hit 81C with max fans.

Spoiler

 

So that you can copy the files to FAT32 USB drives.

I don't like Galaxy. At all. It doesn't keep the backup installers and extras up to date. It doesn't verify the backups and extras so clicking the download buttons downloads whole files again.

 

That moment when you meet a troll named "Trollololo":


Lololol...

@killkenny1 please don't call me out for using my phone again - too lazy to take a screenshot.

 

I don't like the fact that it doesn't support Windows scaling at all. So just like Origin it looks tiny on my 4K screen.

Unforgivable in 2015 when 4K has become a standard configuration option in laptops and desktops. Especially considering both Steam and UPlay both support basic scaling functionality.

Still waiting on high DPI support from any of these clients but basic scaling is essential.

I guess I must cut them some slack for Galaxy still being in beta. EA has no excuse with Origin though.

End rant.

 

1.05 Patch should be released today, I can finally go back to playing Treasure, Secondary and Main quests again to get XP (I got the bug where these quests weren't awarding XP). On the plus side, this weekend I have explored almost every inch of the 1st chapter areas and played everyone one I could find a hand Gwent... such a good mini-game.

 

I was lucky enough to not get hit by the XP bug, I actually got XP for all the stuff I did over the weekend. I was having so much fun I decided that even if I wasn't I would still keep going.

 

I wouldn't have been handicapped if I had continued with all my quests. I'm level 15 now and have a long list of 11-15 quests that I could have done without it really affecting me... and honestly I'm able to tackle mobs 4-5 levels above me in 1v1 combat and 2-3 levels in groups.

EDIT:
CDPR isn't releasing the 1.05 patch today... changed to sometime this week. Well guess I have a few quests I can complete before I have to hold up.

 

System Specs:
I7- 4710mq @ 3.5ghz
Nvidia 860 GTX
Driver: 353.06
Overview: I went to one of the intro villages where you are still around lvl 2 or 3, gearing to slay the Griffon.
Upgrading to the above driver netted me 3 to 4 fps. In general, on medium graphic settings and most of the post items enabled (minus blur..i hate blur) my average fps ranges from 36-42. Lowering the settings to low and leaving post processing enabled gives me an average of 40-47 fps.
One item of note, like many others I had loads of crashes. Updating drivers didn't resolve them. What did was running the game in full screen mode only, cleaning up all background processes. If I overclock my card the game will crash. I can only overclock my memory which nets me an extra 3 fps. If I overclock the actual gpu processor it will crash like clockwork.
Bottom line, this game is a beast. It looks fine on low and even better on medium. Its a shame we can't really run it max but such is life. If you have AA disabled but most other items enabled and settings on medium and NOT hitting 40fps, you need to optimize your machine.
Good Luck and cheers!

 

I too have much smoother experience in Full Screen mode, default is Borderless Window mode, but looks full screen if you don't change it.

So far no crashes, really enjoying the game.

 

There is one thing I can't stand. The font size is microscopic! I had to stop playing because I got a headache trying to read it. Seriously, not being able to clearly read text on a 1080p 55 inch TV is not acceptable... I'm actually closer to the TV than its ideal viewing distance and it still is really hard to read the text. Got a headache. Apparently the console owners are even complaining.

 

I read this is getting fixed in 1.05.

 

It should not have been an issue in the first place though. I mean seriously, why make the subtitles the only thing you can read clearly? Hopefully that patch is out soon.

 

Here's a simple demonstration: go into your web browser's settings and change the minimum font size to 16 point and see how much of a mess the NBR forums look. Same problem. Good UI design is hard to do.

 

Boohoo, it's so hard. I don't see other game devs having trouble. Seems even unpaid modders can do a better job.

Also bad analogy.

 

OK this is a really annoying bug. It's constantly starting up in windowed mode whenever I launch the game. It's not saving my settings when I choose fullscreen mode.

 

I remember Dead Rising had the same problem with small font size on 360, ah memories

 

Oh, other devs most certainly do have problems. Every incarnation of Civilization has had text scaling problems. It's a perennial problem with Ubisoft's games. Likewise Valve's games. Dead Rising has text so small that it is unreadable on standard def TVs and CAPCOM refused to fix it. The list goes on and on. Good UI design really is difficult.

Modders, paid or otherwise, don't do better. They do adequate for specific cases for the same reason. What works at 1080p on a 15" screen won't work at 1080p on a 55" screen, and vice-versa.

 

CDPR isn't even using its own UI engine. It's licensing Scaleform middleware. So if TW3 UI sucks, that's on CDPR. I don't see other Scaleform games having widespread issues (except for perf that is, but that's a separate problem due to Flash/optimization).

 

Ubisoft use Scaleform and have text size issues. Firaxis use Scaleform and have text size issues. CAPCOM use Scaleform and have text size issues. EA use Scaleform and have text size issues. Do I need to continue?

Scaleform is a set of libraries. It's a framework for building UIs. It doesn't make good design any less difficult and it does not make UI design problems go away. What it does do is reduce the time needed to go from paper to finished product.

 

That's what I'm saying. There are plenty of games using Scaleform that do not have UI scaling issues (haha get it, scale). It's the fault of the dev and not every dev sucks at UI design. Scaleform does however make their job easier.

 

You wrote that, "I don't see other game devs having trouble." I listed a bunch that do. You wrote that, "I don't see other Scaleform games having widespread issues (except for perf that is, but that's a separate problem due to Flash/optimization)." I listed a bunch of Scaleform users with games that do.

 

Are you using Nvidia Experience by chance? I had this problem until I read on the GOG forums it's a bug, and a lot of the settings get reset, including Full Screen, if you have Experience running.

Once I removed Experience and manually set all settings, nothing has changed since. Game runs a lot smoother in Full Screen as opposed to the default Borderless full window.

 

Frostbite doesn't even use Scaleform, so idk why you listed EA. CS:GO uses Scaleform and has no UI scaling issues. Same with recent Ubisoft games. The others I've no experience with so can't comment on. The only Scaleform game I've played that was problematic was PlanetSide 2, whose UI shrunk when downsampling.

 

Some EA games: all of the Mass Effect games, Sims 4.
Some Ubisoft games: the Assassin's Creed games.
Some Firaxis: Civilization 4, XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

This is not a comprehensive list; it's a sample from my library cross-referenced with Autodesk's list of games that use their frameworks. Fact is, UI scaling problems are endemic to video games, have been for years. Yes, we all know you have an axe to grind with CDPR but singling them out over UI issues is foolish when there are worse offenders out there.

 

Well I guess I will have to sit closer to the TV, kick the brightness up, and shut off all the lights. Its a great game but struggling to read things is a pain. I also seem to be having problems locking on enemies with a 360 controller (DS3 via MotionInJoy). It works maybe 1/10 of the time.

 

I really wish the combat was more like bloodborne where you can see a dot on the enemy when you are locked on

 

It shows a gold icon on them when you are locked on. The problem is that it hardly ever does it. I noticed it doing the tutorial. Maybe I'll try my DS4 later, I just hate doing that because then I have to pair it back with the PS4 and I have a spare PS3 controller and a Bluetooth dongle that literally only works well with MotionInJoy

 

Goes to show you how much luck I have with it that I don't know that lol

 

There are a bunch of kids hiding in a house near Hindholt, north of the Devil's pit in Velen. Nearly brought tears to my eyes - this game brings out all the brutality of war when a girl said she'd eaten 'half a charred squirrel and some berries in the past week'. I gave them some food.

Just as I was going to take a screenshot, the game crashed on me and gave me an orange screen of death. Sigh...

 

Well I figured out my controller issue... It won't let you lock on until you get real close... which is kind of stupid because by that point you're already going to get smacked good.

I didn't know that Microsoft released the controller software for the Xbox One controller. I'm using that now and it is much smoother, especially turning the camera.

Performance... is out of this world. I bumped the core and memory +100 on my cards... there is some power limit throttle here and there but not bad. Here's my AB log for the whole session... seems like my framerate is averaging 60 or so by the looks of it. The lowest dip was 45.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

UI in AC looks fine, it seems to scale intelligently based on resolution:

Spoiler: AC:BF + 4x DSR

Spoiler: AC:U + 4x DSR

Now compare that to BF3, whose UI starts to get comically small as you go up in resolution and there's no way to manually adjust it:

Spoiler: BF3 + downsampling

I actually see nothing wrong with UI scaling in TW3. If some of the text is too small when playing on a TV, it's a problem at all resolutions:

Spoiler: TW3 + 4x DSR

 

There's your problem right there - playing a PC game with a controller and on a TV screen. Might as well get Xbox or PS...

 

He does have an XB1 and PS4...

 

I want a bigger screen and I don't have the luxury of having room for a desk to put a real monitor on. My setup works perfectly most of the time.

And a PS2, PS3, Wii U, and 3DS too. So what?

 

There is a monitor bolted onto your laptop, you know...

 

And it is way too small. I like being able to lounge on my futon with a controller and play on a 55" screen as opposed to a 17"

 

But you have room for a TV?

 

So quit yer yappin'! It's like showing up at an all-you-can-eat 5-star restaurant and complaining about the napkins.

So sit closer to the TV

 

I basically live in my room... Besides, the TV is higher up than a monitor would be.

Well you seem to like to complain about everything, why shouldn't I have the same luxury? And in any case, the small font problem is an issue with the console versions as well so playing the game on one of them would yield drastically inferior performance and no fix for the text.

Easier said than done. My couch and my bed happen to be the same futon. Turning off the lights tonight actually helped a bit though.

 

I suggest we start a Change.org petition so Ethrem gets his larger text in TW3

 

Try open user.settings and change FullScreenMode= 1 to 2. That supposedly forces TW3 to start in fullscreen (I haven´t tested myself).