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Most disappointing graphical downgrades of this gen?

BAD

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,565
USA
Don't come at me with "downgrades are just optimization!" Nope. Optimization includes downgrades AND under the hood changes that can lead to improvements. Optimizations can include improved visuals and performance, even. Downgrades are their own distinct subcategory. A colloquialism for the reveal and release of graphics and aesthetics that are perceived as lower complexity and quality compared to prior showings.

So without further ado, the worst downgrade of the gen for me is The Witcher 3. Made worse by the devs claiming there would be no downgrades for PC, but then dropping the lighting, particles, and environment quality for all platforms. And frankly, it's quite [REDACTED] as it stands in vanilla release. I'm replaying it on PS4 Pro right now and couldn't believe some of its issues were worse than I remembered. Please don't come and post PC .ini file modded images as an argument.

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Trace

Trace

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,683
Canada
Sorry, The Witcher 3 is ugly to you? I've seen some hot takes around but that's pushing it a tad far.
 
ckareset

ckareset

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt account
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Feb 2, 2018
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I'll never get over those puddles in Spiderman
 
Rodjer

Rodjer

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Jan 28, 2018
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I mean, if they wanted TW3 to run on Xbox One and PS4 they had to downgrade the game lol
Publishers and developers will always want "parity" between version, Metro Exodus is the only exception thanks to RTX.

And lol at calling TW3 ugly.

The Division was downgraded
Anthem as well
The biggest offender is Watch_Dogs
 
Ichi

Ichi

Banned
Sep 10, 2018
1,997
I thought The Messenger was gonna be 16-bit all throughout but at points it was 8-bit. Disappointing.
 
xtib81

xtib81

Member
Mar 10, 2019
1,890
The Division. Man, that gameplay reveal looks like a PS5 game.
Watchdogs is a close second.
 
ckareset

ckareset

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The downgrades I have an issue with are systems downgrades. Graphical downgrades don't matter to me
 
Admiral Woofington

Admiral Woofington

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
Witcher 3 had a downgrade for sure, but it was still one of the most gorgeous games out there when it came out. So they promised us the sky and the stars, but downgraded to the sky only.

For me it'd be watchdogs 1. That game didn't have much else going for it besides the graphics, so when it got downgraded now it was just an ok open world action game that's a bit pretty to look at.
 
Kindekuma

Kindekuma

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
4,720
Watchdogs is a huge stand out to me. E3 compared to release builds looks like a totally different game.
 
Flandy

Flandy

Community Resettler
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Oct 25, 2017
3,445
Witcher 3 I guess but I still think it's one of the best looking games this gen. Especially running on a pc at 1440p60
 
Rodjer

Rodjer

Self-requested ban.
Member
Jan 28, 2018
4,808
OP not naming Watch_Dogs is really weird, TW3 downgrade is nowhere near WD fuckery.
 
Admiral Woofington

Admiral Woofington

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
OrdinaryPrime said:
I thought I was going crazy because I didn't see the word ugly in the OP haha.

For whatever reason, CDPR gets away with a lot of shit other developers don't.



This one is worse though.
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People did call out cdpr on the downgrade though. The main difference is that they still managed to deliver a gorgeous game that wasn't as gorgeous, and somehow they were able to get it fairly pretty in the ps4 and xbo.
 
RedshirtRig

RedshirtRig

Member
Nov 14, 2017
958
Watch_Dogs.
Game looked so good it hurt and then the finished product launched and it just plain old hurt.
 
Buff Beefbroth

Buff Beefbroth

Chicken Chaser
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Apr 12, 2018
3,008
Dark Souls 2 is the most disappointing one. Followed by Watch Dogs.

I still think The Division looked amazing and Anthem is still pretty decent.
 
Chance Hale

Chance Hale

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,812
Colorado
The Witcher 3 is my favorite game of this gen and I played it on pc but there was a generational leap between what they showed months before launch to the final game. Still looks nice and the lighting is great but it's a totally different game in everything from effects to animations.

Dark Souls 2 is the worst of all time for me but that's last gen and the re-release hardly came close to any of the footage shown weeks before launch. Mirror knight comparisons ugh.
 
Kingpin Rogers

Kingpin Rogers

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Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,459
The obvious answer is Breath of the Wild right? That original 2014 version was one of the best things I'd ever seen, the version we got wasn't bad but it doesn't come close to what could have been.
 
DailyCalmSpirit

DailyCalmSpirit

Banned
May 17, 2018
3,454
Y'all saying Anthem can get out. Sure it's a downgrade in some areas, but, that game still looks amazing.

Stuff like Watch Dogs fits more for me because the end result was not only disappointing, but, also, straight up didn't look good in spots.
 
Blizzcut

Blizzcut

Banned
Dec 13, 2017
747
Watch Doges 1 without question...

And Also...Witcher 3 being talked about having the worst visual downgrades? Really!!?
 
AegonSnake

AegonSnake

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,566
Trace said:
Sorry, The Witcher 3 is ugly to you? I've seen some hot takes around but that's pushing it a tad far.
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Witcher 3 is really ugly.

It can look great at times but overall its a very ugly looking game. the trees and foliage look absolutely disgusting under some lighting conditions.

the game needs the right amount of weather effects like wind, overcast conditions, massive vistas and lighting to make it look good or actually great, but i would say 50% of the time it looks fugly like in the gif posted in the OP. i played the game for almost a 100 hours so i know it doesnt always look that badthat but it does look like that a lot.

Anthem had the biggest downgrade though.
Then Dark Souls 2
Finally Watch Dogs.

Dishonarable mention goes to Naughty Dog trying to fool us into thinking the first Uncharted 4 teaser was realtime. the final game clearly doesnt look as good but their gameplay demos were on par with the final product so i cant be too harsh on them. their cutscenes came pretty close to that initial teaser.

EDIT: for comparison's sake.

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Lighting and foliage quality looks a gen behind.
 
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NeonBlack

NeonBlack

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,507
If Witcher 3 is your most disappointing downgrade then idk how you would react to Watch Dogs
 
OrdinaryPrime

OrdinaryPrime

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Banned
Oct 27, 2017
11,042
Admiral Woofington said:
People did call out cdpr on the downgrade though. The main difference is that they still managed to deliver a gorgeous game that wasn't as gorgeous, and somehow they were able to get it fairly pretty in the ps4 and xbo.
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I can't comment on the XB1 performance because I didn't play that version, but the PS4 performance in certain spots was poor to say the least. For whatever reason they are just immune because they say the right things regarding loot boxes, DLC, etc.
 
Vire

Vire

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,591
The Witcher 3 and Dark Souls 2 were deeply disappointing compared to the initial reveals.
 
Nacho Papi

Nacho Papi

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Oct 27, 2017
2,337
DS2 isn't this gen? I mean I get it, the wounds of betrayal are still fresh but we in a new gen boys/girls.
 
GymWolf86

GymWolf86

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Nov 10, 2018
4,663
Anthem, the final game lack in graphic, features and core mechanics compared with the reveal, nobody come close.

Watch dogs take the second place.
 
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Trace

Trace

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,683
Canada
AegonSnake said:
Witcher 3 is really ugly.

It can look great at times but overall its a very ugly looking game. the trees and foliage look absolutely disgusting under some lighting conditions.

the game needs the right amount of weather effects like wind, overcast conditions, massive vistas and lighting to make it look good or actually great, but i would say 50% of the time it looks fugly like in the gif posted in the OP. i played the game for almost a 100 hours so i know it doesnt always look that badthat but it does look like that a lot.

Anthem had the biggest downgrade though.
Then Dark Souls 2
Finally Watch Dogs.

Dishonarable mention goes to Naughty Dog trying to fool us into thinking the first Uncharted 4 teaser was realtime. the final game clearly doesnt look as good but their gameplay demos were on par with the final product so i cant be too harsh on them. their cutscenes came pretty close to that initial teaser.

EDIT: for comparison's sake.

untitled_1_by_saxrussel-d8wwfjc.gif

tumblr_od5uubNiBm1rbijdfo2_r1_500.gif

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Lighting and foliage quality looks a gen behind.
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If your reasoning is that any game that looks worse than RDR2 is ugly IDK what to say to you.

If Rockstar put half as much money into the game design of RDR2 as they did into the graphics it might actually be playable instead of being the pile of shit it currently is.
 
Admiral Woofington

Admiral Woofington

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
OrdinaryPrime said:
I can't comment on the XB1 performance because I didn't play that version, but the PS4 performance in certain spots was poor to say the least. For whatever reason they are just immune because they say the right things regarding loot boxes, DLC, etc.
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Lmao they are not immune, they simply have shown a pro consumer stance and put out amazing content for Witcher 3 both free and at great prices plus continuously kept trying to optimize the console versions. I played the ps4 version originally and the swamp ran like shit. Eventually a patch made it run less like shit. Game was never going to run amazingly though.

You can criticize them and folks will agree, but if your complaint is that there tends to be a generally positive attitude with what they delivery I don't know what to tell you because yes people do love what they put out with Witcher 3 and are willing to forgive them on other aspects because they went above and beyond on everything besides providing a game like the original graphical vision.
 
Letters

Letters

Prophet of Truth
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
4,442
Portugal
Hunt Showdown for me. It used to be gorgeous and atmospheric back in 2.3 version and now it's just so blurry, buggy and messy visually in order to run better, but it barely runs any better for me anyways. I'm sure the guys at Crytek that care about visual presentation have long moved on to a new project.
 
AegonSnake

AegonSnake

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,566
Trace said:
If your reasoning is that any game that looks worse than RDR2 is ugly IDK what to say to you.

If Rockstar put half as much money into the game design of RDR2 as they did into the graphics it might actually be playable instead of being the pile of shit it currently is.
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not just worse, a gen behind. pretty much every game including horizon and ac oddysey, unity and origins look worse than RDR2, but it doesnt make them look ugly.

can you not see the massive gulf in quality?
 
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