Was there really a Watch Dogs graphics downgrade?

It was our first taste of next-gen. Watch Dogs' brilliant E3 2012 reveal demonstrated a new level of open-world gamepla… Ifyouclickonalinkandmakeapurchasewemayreceiveasmallcommission.Readoureditorialpolicy. Itwasourfirsttasteofnext-gen.WatchDogs'brilliantE32012revealdemonstratedanewlevelofopen-worldgameplay-astunningsimulationofChicago,wheretheabilitytohacksmartphonesandinfrastructurehintedatpreviouslyimpossiblelevelsofinteractivity,renderedwithvisualfidelitythatwasn'tachievableonthehardwareofthetime.ThiswasUbisoft'svisionforthefutureofgaming. We'vealreadytakenashotatholdingthefinalgameuptothatE3demoandourinitialtakewaspositive.Thatlimitedbutbeautifulsliceofgameplaydidtransformintoamassiveopen-worldsandboxwherethereisalwayssomethingnewtodo.Graphically,WatchDogs'stunningdepictionofChicagoshelteringfromheavyrainstormsalsomadeittothefinalgame,butitwasalsoclearwhyUbisoftchosethisweatherscenariofortheinitialreveal,becauseit'sbyfarthemostspectacularwaytopresentthegame,andindaylightWatchDogsisratherplainincomparison. Overall,blemishesaside,wethoughtUbisofthaddoneagoodjobofbringingthatoriginalpromiseofnext-genintofinalsoftware.Butwedidn'taddressthebig,specificquestionpeoplehadbeenasking,whichwouldinvolveminingthespecificsoftherenderingtechnology,playingaroundwiththegameengineandscrutinisingeverythingovertime:wasthereasignificantgraphicaldowngradebetweenE32012andtheendofMay2014? Figuringthisouthasbeencomplicated,notleastbecausetheprocessofrecreatingthedemoinvolvedgettingasolidgriponWatchDogs'timeofdayandchangeableweatherconditions,whichwaslessaboutcapturingfootageandmoreaboutherdingcats.Capturetheall-importantend-missionshoot-outinlessrain-soakedconditionsandtheshowpiecevisualeffectisgone.Playthroughthesamesequencewhenit'srainingbutnotwithafullstormineffectanditlooksdifferentagain. Otherchangeshavebeenmadethatalsoconspiretomakelike-for-likeshotsdifficultorimpossibleinthefinalgame.Treesbendinthewindinthereveal-aneffectwecouldapproximatebutnotfullyreplicate-butthismaywellbedowntotherandomisedweatherratherthanadowngrade,becausewind-sensitivevegetationandtreesclearlyarepresent.AndwefounditimpossibletomatchtheshadowscastbythetreesinthefirstshotoftheE3reveal,notbecauseofadowngradebutbecauseinanentire24-hourcyclethesunneverappearstobeintherightpositiontocastthesameshadows.PerhapsUbisoftplayedaroundwithlightsourcesinthedemotogetthebesteffect,ineffectmovingthesun.Isthatadowngrade? "ThefinalgamerealisesthepromiseoftheWatchDogsconcept,butit'sclearthatrenderingelementsfromtheinitialrevealdidn'tmakeitintothefinalgame." TheE32012revealrecreatedasfaithfullyaspossibleinWatchDogsonPC,atultrasettings. Aboveyou'llseeourbestattemptstoreplicatetheE32012revealinthefinalgamewiththePCversiononultrasettings.It'stheresultofmanydifferentcapturesessions-notasingleplaythrough,butacombinationofseveral.Andwiththisassetinhand,evenfactoringoutthevariationsinweatherconditions,thepositionofthesunandthefactthatentirepiecesofsceneryhavebeencompletelyreplaced-inshortgivingUbisoftthebenefitofthedoubttoeveryextentwecan-it'sclearthatsomevisualeffectshavebeenredeployed,othersnoticeablyparedback,whileothersonlyseemtoappearincut-scenes. PerhapsmostnoticeableofallingameplaytermsisthewaythefinalsceneintheE3demoplaysout.WatchDogs'gunplayasoriginallyenvisagedwasaneffects-heavyfusionofbokehdepthoffieldandMatrix-stylebullet-time,buttheslow-motioneffectiscompletelygone(Correction:Bullet-timeisafocusmodeupgrade,butitlooksquiteunliketheE32012versionwithnobokehdepthoffield)whilethedepthoffieldeffectisnotaspronouncedingeneralgameplay.Wehavebeenabletogetaprettydecentfacsimileofthecarcrashhack,butthegasstationexplosionisn'tanywherenearasdramatic. Lightingalsotakesahit.Fewerlightsourcesappeartocastshadows,waterinteractionwiththesceneryseemsmorelimitedandtherainisnolongerlitbycarheadlampsin-game(thoughitisincut-scenes).MistandvolumetricfogarekeycomponentsoftheE3reveal'svisualmake-up,buttheyappeartobesubstantiallyparedbackinthefinalgame-andit'stellingthatthetheatreinterior,whichusedsimilartechextensively,seestheeffectalmostcompletelyremoved,withjustasmallventbillowingsmokeintotheroominacoupleofareasasopposedtoblanketcoveragebefore. ComparisonsinsidethetheatreshowthatUbisoftMontrealredesignedtheareaextensively,producingabrighter,arguablymoreattractivelook.Alotofremodellingalsotookplaceonthecitystreetsoutside,forreasonsunknown.Themostnoticeableexamplewehaveofadirectlike-for-likemodellingdowngradecomesfromtheindividuallightbulbsonthetheatreentrance.Thesearereplacedinfavourofaflattexture,reducingthelightingandgeometryrequirements.Theargumentforadowngradegatherspacethen,butthekeyaesthetics-andcruciallythegameplay-aremostlyamatch.Areasthataresignificantlyretooledcanbecompared,butit'sdifficulttodrawfirmconclusionsbecausethedifferencesaresopronouncedandmaywellhavebeenforartisticreasonsratherthantechnologicalconcerns. "BasedontheE32012demo,bandwidth-heavyeffectsappeartohavebeentheoneofthefirstcasualtiesinadaptingWatchDogstorunonthenewwaveofconsoles." of Caption Attribution Butourquesttodiscoverwhetherthegamedidgothroughfundamentalchangedidn'tstopatE32012-wealsoreturnedtothegame'sshowingatthePlayStation4revealeventlastFebruary,andthiswasactuallyfarmoreilluminating.WhilethefinalversionofWatchDogscapturesthespiritoftheE32012reveal-ifnotallthevisualeffects-thissecondlookatthe'original'gameappearstosuggestmorestronglythatUbisoftMontrealdidre-appraisetheoveralllookofit. ThefootageweseehereisimportantinthatitdemonstratesWatchDogsinadaylightenvironment-theareawherethefinalshippinggamelookslessthanitsbest.Generallyspeaking,thelightingmodelappearsmoreaccomplishedthananythinginthesameareasinthefinalgame,withambientlightinparticularlookingmorenatural.Onceagain,there'sheavieruseofbokehdepthoffieldandmuchmorelavishutilisationofalpha-vapour,mist,fogandgeneralatmospherics.Cobblestonesappearraised,perhapssuggestingparallaxocclusionmapping,wherethefinalgameusesaflatternormalmappingsolution.Lightsarealsoremoved,althoughhavingsomeofthemoninthefirstplaceduringthedaywasslightlyincongruousanyway. It'sdifficulttoconcludewhetherNPCfrequencywasthatmuchbetterintheE32012democomparedtothefinalgame,butthePS4revealfootagedefinitelymakesthecaseforabusierChicago.Wealsogetabettersenseoftheremodellingonthecityscape.WhilebuildingslookeddifferentbutnotnecessarilydowngradedintheE32012comparison,thedifferenceinthedaylightfootageismorepronounced.Withaccesstobroader,widerviews,theoverallimpressionisthatChicagowassignificantlyretooled,losingsomedetailintheprocess. Bythispoint,thecaseforagraphicaldowngradeisprettymuchbeyondquestion:itdidhappeninsomeformorother.SowhydidUbisofthavetoadjusttheexisting,rathersplendidassets?Adjustinglightingandalphaeffectsisonething,butasignificantremodellingofthecitysuggestsUbisoftcarriedoutalargeamountofworkinatimescalethatappearstocoincidewiththeapproximatearrivalofactualnext-genconsoledevelopmenthardware. "WatchDogsasitappearedatthePS4revealisanevenmoreilluminatingcomparisonpointthanthegame'sstunningE32012debut." of Caption Attribution ThemostobviousconclusionisthatUbisoft-anditisnottheonlycompanytodothisbyanystretch-simplyoverestimatedtherawpoweritwouldgetfromthenewconsoles.Thebiggestdifferencesthatstandoutcomefromtheuseofdepthoffield,volumetricmist,fogandatmospherics-lavishtotheextremeintheolderversion,lesssointhefinalgame.Itsuggeststhedeveloperswereexpectingsignificantlymoregraphicsbandwidththanactuallymaterialised. Ambientlightingduringdaytimeisanothersubstantialdifference,arguablythebiggestofall.CoulditbethattheglobalilluminationsystemUbisoftworkedonsimplywasn'tagoodfitforthenewconsoles?Afterall,2012wastheyearofUnrealEngine4'sSVOGIreal-timeglobalilluminationdebut-alightingtechniqueditchedayearlaterwhentheenginemadeitsPS4debut,nevertoreturn.Quitewhycitygeometrychangedsomuchisalsoamystery.PerhapsUbisofthadtodesignaroundthelast-genversions? Overall,theimpressionwegetisthatUbisoftMontrealdivedintoWatchDogsandthreweverythingithadatthegame,course-correctingonfeaturesoncetargethardwarewasin-hand.Onarenderinglevel,thefinalgamemaynotmatchthefeature-setoftheoriginaldebut,butit'sstillasolid,highlypresentabletitle,andWatchDogs'overallperformancelevelsuggeststhefinalgameiswellbalancedtowhattheteamcouldachievewiththenewwaveofconsoles. Thekeyquestion,though,whichisacorollarytoonesaboutagraphicaldowngradebutisoftenleftunspoken,iswhetheragraphicaldowngradewaspartofadeception-whetherUbisoftputoutbetter-lookingdemosatE32012andthePS4revealbecauseitknewthatitwouldfuelmorepre-orders.Andforus,theanswertothatoneisprobablyno.WatchDogsdoesn'tlookasgoodintheshippinggameasitdidinoriginalpresentations,butforustheevidencepointsmoretothestandardchallengesandadjustmentsofnext-genlaunchgamedevelopment,whereyoudoyourbesttomakeagamewithoutlaunchhardwareforaslongaspossibleandthenhavetoadaptquicklyonceitactuallyturnsup. Still,thegoodnewswecanendonisthatthiswasjustagamereleasedforthelaunchperiod.So,thatremarkablevisionofathriving,bustlingmetropolisthatrepresentsacleargenerationalleapbeyondtheGrandTheftAuto4and5standard?Itwasn'tquitethereinWatchDogs,butiftheadvancesindevelopmentprowesswealwaysseethroughoutconsolegenerationscometobearinthisone,astheyshould,thenitwon'tbelongbeforewearetalkingabouttherealdeal.InWatchDogs2,perhaps? WillyousupporttheDigitalFoundryteam? DigitalFoundryspecialisesintechnicalanalysisofgaminghardwareandsoftware,usingstate-of-the-artcapturesystemsandbespokesoftwaretoshowyouhowwellgamesandhardwarerun,visualisingpreciselywhatthey'recapableof.Inordertoshowyouwhat4Kgamingactuallylookslikeweneededtobuildourownplatformtosupplyhighquality4Kvideoforofflineviewing.Sowedid. 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