Digital Foundry: Wolfenstein II on Switch

I don't know why everyone is so shocked at how people take in information in the worst way from Digital Foundry. This is a grave the entire community dug on it's own when the generation started and used their videos and articles for the sole purpose of console wars. Which at the time the entire focus was based exclusively on resolution between the two systems.

I'm surprised ambient occlusion and volumetric lighting are in. I feel like the absence of both of those while obviously noticeable would not be transformative, granted I'm not sure what kind of uptick in quality would result from that - with a GPU that strapped, surely there would be some significant gains. In my experience those effects are not cheap but I've not had any time with this game on PC either.

Regardless I'll probably double dip Doom and grab this whenever I eventually decide to get a Switch, they're still current gen shooters underneath the Gaussian blur.

Timu said:

Yes, quite better.

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Thanks. If given the option to play a less clean version of the game while at the mall while the kids pick out shoes and hats at Build-A-Bear workshop vs 4k on my Xbox One X...


Switch it is.

Soapbox Killer Returns said:

Thanks. If given the option to play a less clean version of the game while at the mall while the kids pick out shoes and hats at Build-A-Bear workshop vs 4k on my Xbox One X...


Switch it is.

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It's weird, I feel the same way about certain games. If a game is released on all platforms and it performs well enough on Switch, I will usually go with the Switch version of the game. As long as their aren't any substantial sacrifices made I want to have access tot eh portable version of the game. My gaming time is limited as it is and being able to easily bring my gaming with me almost anywhere is a major factor.

Great video and analysis Dark1x. I wonder if the devs tried to use the Switch's FP16 capabilities at any point? IIRC Doom and Wolfenstein 2 are capable of making use of Rapid Packed Math on AMD hardware at least.

Unfortunately, we may never get to see what a shooter can look like on the switch using Idtech 6 built from the ground up with the hardware in mind.

I'm really excited to see what Metroid Prime 4 looks like though if the rumors are anything to go by.

The video was a joy to watch but this thread is a depressing read.

Mr.Gamerson said:

Great video and analysis Dark1x. I wonder if the devs tried to use the Switch's FP16 capabilities at any point? IIRC Doom and Wolfenstein 2 are capable of making use of Rapid Packed Math on AMD hardware at least.

Unfortunately, we may never get to see what a shooter can look like on the switch using Idtech 6 built from the ground up with the hardware in mind.

I'm really excited to see what Metroid Prime 4 looks like though if the rumors are anything to go by.

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This makes me so excited for Metroid Prime 4! It'll be a lot easier to make a good looking game for the system rather than downporting another game. If this, Doom, Fortnite, and a host of other modern games are any indication, I think that we can expect an amazing looking Metroid Prime 4 that's playable anywhere.

Jonneh said:

Skyrim ran on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 though. It's impressive to have such a sprawling world on a handheld but Wolfenstein was built from the ground up for PS4 and Xbox One. I find it very impressive that so many graphical effects made the transition too.

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Wasn't the Switch version based on Special Edition, which uses curgen codebase?

Ghos said:

The video was a joy to watch but this thread is a depressing read.

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The comment section on the video is even worse!

I really wish we could accept the fact that not everybody plays games for one reason. That these ports appeal to the people who don't actually care about this stuff and there are plenty of them.

Timu said:

The comment section on the video is even worse!

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I can't even look, to be honest.

I kinda wish we had a real moderator. I can barely do it myself because I'm 1) too busy with work and 2) too irritated by them when I DO read them. Except on Retro videos - most of those are pretty good.

Christo750 said:

I really wish we could accept the fact that not everybody plays games for one reason. That these ports appeal to the people who don't actually care about this stuff and there are plenty of them.

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Say Word.

Effect said:

Same here and with Wolfenstein. How much of an issue the blurriness is really is exaggerated by some. After a while it's the last thing on your mind as you play. If this is patched again they might actually clear it up more the way they did DOOM.

I'm getting sick of some people acting as if these games only have merit as undocked games. They don't. The experience docked is fine if not significantly more enjoyable because the controls and motion aiming is better when you're not moving the screen.

The game also looks significantly better docked. Not as good as the other versions but that should be a given going into this situation. However the game does not look terrible. No game looks terrible anymore. The game is running on a fucking tablet. Understand what your playing on and judge the damn game from that. Understand many want to play other games on their system of choice and with that a good enough for the system thought is already at play.

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Agreed. I've alternated my playtime on this 50/50 so far this weekend as my wife and mother in law has been watching tv, and hanging out in the room more than usual and my kids are on the other tv's.
The ability to just pick this off the dock and continue and drop back in has helped me game a lot all weekend. I'll take the "blurry" visuals over none. I'm enjoying myself at the end of the day either this is for you or it isn't. I haven't had any frame problems, but I did have a hard lock and had to reset.

"Switch's FIFA Soccer saw EA opt for an entirely different game engine with a focus on performance and resolution - an upgraded last-gen engine rather than a downgraded Frostbite."

Pretty sure that a port like this of FIFA would have resulted in an uproar...

Now FIFA is 1080p/60 docked and 720p/60 handheld. Online also adds to the complexity.
Different goals, different ways to reach them.
Both limited by Switch hardware. But I wouldn't call one approach Impossible (especially as it started from a Vulkan API that is native on Switch)

Equanimity said:

That said, hope PB is able to improve the resolution and shame Bathesda didn't use a 32GB cart even though they're charging Switch consumers the full retail price.

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Actually despite the label I was able to reject the large update and get into the game straight off the cartridge.

I decided to update later but the cartridge alone has some content playable out of the box.

That's pretty impressive given the Tegra X1 isn't exactly a new chip.

A hypothetical "Switch Pro" should be able to run all or most PS4/XB1 games.

Do it Nintendo.

mocolostrocolos said:

Game in portable mode is amazing.

Docked Mode... Ouch.

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Yeah I mostly played this in docked mode. And it wasn't looking good.

Game is fun though. No regrets.

UltraMagnus said:

That's pretty impressive given the Tegra X1 isn't exactly a new chip.

A hypothetical "Switch Pro" should be able to run all or most PS4/XB1 games.

Do it Nintendo.

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I don't know about Nintendo's finances but I think they should have waited a year for Parker (or w/E the upgraded X1 is called).

No clue what this would do for the sales price though.

Idolvo said:

I don't know about Nintendo's finances but I think they should have waited a year for Parker (or w/E the upgraded X1 is called).

No clue what this would do for the sales price though.

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It can work fine as is too ... Switch is now a proven success, if they give developers a Switch Pro IMO they will get a lot of support for it. I think they should consider a November 2019 time period.

Finally got to watch the DF video and yeah, the toned down blurriness would bother me way to much. Reminds me of what my vision's like when trying to view signs in the distance.

I'll give it a go if it ever hits the bargain bin, but I like my games looking crisp and clean anymore.

Dark1x said:

I can't even look, to be honest.

I kinda wish we had a real moderator. I can barely do it myself because I'm 1) too busy with work and 2) too irritated by them when I DO read them. Except on Retro videos - most of those are pretty good.

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disable comments all together?

UltraMagnus said:

It can work fine as is too ... Switch is now a proven success, if they give developers a Switch Pro IMO they will get a lot of support for it. I think they should consider a November 2019 time period.

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Oh, don't get me wrong. I love my Switch.

But 2.5 years for an upgrade is a bit too soon IMO. Late 2020? Sure.

RogerL said:

You could use remote play on your PS4 pro...

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I actually used the ps4/vita remote play function a lot. But the bigger switch screen spoiled me and since I got it I rather play my games on the switch.

But I hope the game gets patched. The low resolution is really noticeable and bothers me a little

Idolvo said:

I don't know about Nintendo's finances but I think they should have waited a year for Parker (or w/E the upgraded X1 is called).

No clue what this would do for the sales price though.

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The Tegra chip that Nintendo got was sort of the last one before they started pivoting to Denver cores in the CPU. While Parker may have been viable if they kept games on the A57 cores, anything beyond that is basically going to necessitate a custom design.

Dark1x said:

What do you think is the most impressive port? I definitely don't feel it's Fortnite but what else?

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Well, Fortnite just got a patch a few days ago and now it runs at a higher resolution, at least subjectively it looks 720p in the portable mode. And it also feels smoother than before the patch. All it's missing is SSR and better AF, and gyro, and it would be mighty impressive.

Another mighty impressive port is Outlast 2, imo. Native 720p in portable, doesn't drop a frame, keeps basically all the visual features... Now obviously DOOM is more demanding than Outlast 2, but the performance differential is small there. And it has essentially the same visual features that id Tech 6 games have.

After the patch, Rocket League is quite amazing too. Similar framerate to the other systems, 900p docked and 720p portable, albeit reduced effects... Which are the ones the pros themselves turn off on PC.

Rime is impressive too. It's a demanding open world game, maybe not the most technically impressive one, but whatever it is it's doing hammers both the CPU and the GPU, and after the latest patch the Switch version is great. It's missing some shadow maps, but it's good stuff, comparatively.

Handling full scale console games on platforms 50 times the size

Switch continues to be the best portable ever and a modern day marvel

Thank you Bethesda, thank you PB, than you Nintendo

10 pages in this thread went the way I expected
"360p, disgusting'
"its a bad port"
"no one (ME!!!!) cares it runs on a portable"
"why does it not looks like PXbone in dock mode?"
and the youtube comment section is even worst. all by the same groups without any real intention to participate/ discuss. just beat the dead horse to fit their personal agendas (or complex cause I can no thing any other better fitting word for someone trying to downplay a game they never expected to buy on a system they don own)

I think its very impressive that it has almost all the effects of wolf 2, but the low res diminishes the accomplishment, as I wouldn't be able to enjoy the game with the hit in IQ. Still its very impressive what mobile hardware from 3 years ago is able to do. Hopefully a Switch Pro is in the cards for the future, so games can at least keep the switch native res.

CerealEnthusiast said:

It sometimes goes to 360p?

I understand that everybody wants all the games on Switch, but dayum. (and I don't blame the developers, I'm sure they've done their best).

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Is that lower than that mess of a batman game Telltale put out?

cardboardboxer said:

Actually despite the label I was able to reject the large update and get into the game straight off the cartridge.

I decided to update later but the cartridge alone has some content playable out of the box.

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That's a good option if you want to play it straight away. But the issue remains, unfortunately.

UltraMagnus said:

That's pretty impressive given the Tegra X1 isn't exactly a new chip.

A hypothetical "Switch Pro" should be able to run all or most PS4/XB1 games.

Do it Nintendo.

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At this point they should wait for the Switch 2, now with that hardware third parties can start porting their Xbox/PS4 games without trouble. While the Switch 1 enjoys success anyways based on an appealing concept, indies and first party

Play the long game is the best Nintendo can do with an hybrid/tablet, Switch as it is a souped up Wii U its gonna have limits.

Another very impirtant point to consider is the carts with the next negeration Switch bigger space cards will be affordable

Having played the Xbox One X version playing the portable mode is incredible. I mean Doom and now this blows my mind that it's running on such a tiny machine. People need to remember the specs and power consumption of the switch honestly

It's really an astonishing feat, to get the game even running on the Switch. Much credit to the porters.

It's still a marvel the work Panic has done. I don't need to shoot Nazis and Klansmen in pixel perfect clarity to enjoy shooting Nazis and Klansmen, particularly when I'm playing on my bed.

Speaking of impressive PS4/XB1 to Switch ports, you know what doesn't get enough love?

Yooka Laylee.

Cronogear said:

Speaking of impressive PS4/XB1 to Switch ports, you know what doesn't get enough love?

Yooka Laylee.

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Heck yeah, that's one of the best ports on Switch for sure.

Cronogear said:

Speaking of impressive PS4/XB1 to Switch ports, you know what doesn't get enough love?

Yooka Laylee.

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Well, YL dosn't get much love anywhere....lol

Relaxed Muscle said:

Well, YL dosn't get much love anywhere....lol

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Was talking more about the quality of the port rather than the actual game, but you're not wrong.

Cronogear said:

Was talking more about the quality of the port rather than the actual game, but you're not wrong.

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I know, it was a joke about how that game is already forgotten.

Saw the DF video about it and looked really good.

this

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is what wolfenstein runs on amazing. image from ifixit https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+Switch+Teardown/78263

TheFuzz said:

Good lord, dude. That's pretty subjective cherry-picking on your quotes.

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well it is what stood out for me

why would I quote something that didn't stand out?

What a phenomenal port! Panic Button are true masters at optimization. Fantastic reporting as always John. :)

I wonder what their next project is...

gordofredito said:

well it is what stood out for me

why would I quote something that didn't stand out?

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you dug your hole.

Toni Codrea said:

I hope it's a current gen game, maybe not as heavy as Wolf 2 but still something that will lead to an impressing port.

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I've heard murmurs of it being their biggest project yet, but who knows. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

RogerL said:

"Switch's FIFA Soccer saw EA opt for an entirely different game engine with a focus on performance and resolution - an upgraded last-gen engine rather than a downgraded Frostbite."

Pretty sure that a port like this of FIFA would have resulted in an uproar...

Now FIFA is 1080p/60 docked and 720p/60 handheld. Online also adds to the complexity.
Different goals, different ways to reach them.

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Yes? That's exactly the point they're trying to make.

Dat wall.

Not sure why people think fallout 4 is possible though.

Though I suppose Boston can be foggy and its night all the time and your character has lost Thier glasses.

Then yeah, maybe fallout 4 could work. There are way too many long vistas.

The wolf 2 conversion is good though.

It seems Panic Button did a very good job again, considering the game's starting point, even if it looks really blurry in several instances. And it was very fascinating to see the tricks used to make the conversion work, while referencing the techniques used in older Doom ports (btw, that was a good way to bring back some of the older DF Retro videos :D ). Very curious to see what's their next big Switch port, and great video :)

Also, add me to the group of people who'd like to see a comparison for Crash XD

Sub Boss said:

At this point they should wait for the Switch 2, now with that hardware third parties can start porting their Xbox/PS4 games without trouble. While the Switch 1 enjoys success anyways based on an appealing concept, indies and first party

Play the long game is the best Nintendo can do with an hybrid/tablet, Switch as it is a souped up Wii U its gonna have limits.

Another very impirtant point to consider is the carts with the next negeration Switch bigger space cards will be affordable

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Why would they wait? Games with adaptive resolution should already hit their max more frequently and drop resolution less on a thereotical Switch 2.

In the meantime those that feel it's acceptable can enjoy the game as it is and those that deem it unacceptable can enjoy it on PS4/X1.