So yesterday we were finally given a release date for Watchdogs along with a brand new trailer First let’s get the great news out the way with Ubisoft revealing that the game will be launching worldwide on the 27th of May 2014.
But as with all brand new trailers people are quick to jump into the details and one of the biggest things that has been picked out is that the graphics aren’t quite what we were promised. In some cases they are actually positively bad.
The guys at Neogaf currently have a thread that is going nuclear over this with a ton of animated gifs and comparison shots being published. The first and easily the most damning is the following one. The first part of the gif is from March 2014 and it then transitions to E3 2012. Hold on to your seats, this is a serious change.
Click below to see the gif, it’s 15mb so it takes a while for it to load so patience is required. Once it is loaded it will start playing, you can then click it to make it stop. We are working on a loading %. Also I’m not preloading them to save your bandwidth so it takes as long as a 15mb download will take.
Did you notice the slight change? If not you may want to rush over to and optometrist. However before everyone goes insane, here is a gif of the March 2014 footage before he hits the bridge. As you can see it isn’t as bad as it looks right there.
So it seems the problem is more with the dynamic lighting with the game looking far superior in the dark. But it’s not only the driving scenes where questions are being raised. Here is an action scene from the E3 reveal where we see awesome movement, explosions and realistic physics and then we have a scene straight afterwards from the trailer.
Take 2:
Now I like the second one, it doesn’t look terrible but let’s be honest here it doesn’t look as good as that E3 reveal.
The trailer, by the way, has been confirmed as the PlayStation 4 version of the game.
And last but definitely not least the following screenshot has appeared in the thread. Now I simply can’t believe this is a real screenshot from the game but apparently it was taken from an Italian event around this game.
Graphics to me have never been a big thing, I’m far more interested in the storyline and gameplay and as long as that works I’m sold.
I’m still excited for this game but these differences are definitely concerning for people.
Last Updated: March 7, 2014
Kensei Seraph
March 7, 2014 at 12:05
They found that the consoles (Xb)one or both weren’t actually able to run the game at the desired graphics level so they had to delay the game to lower the graphics.
Hopefully the PC version will still have the full graphics.
Macethy
March 7, 2014 at 12:09
This is probably what happened. E3 gameplay was on PC with a PS3/4 controller for input.
ToshZA
March 7, 2014 at 12:13
That would be my guess as well. Optimisations for consoles.
Now where are those people from the FFD?
SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad
March 7, 2014 at 12:27
What is a console, precious? You mean there are people who don’t use a PC and complain about graphics? But.. but.. logic?!?
El Capitan del Blade
March 7, 2014 at 13:06
I’m here, But I made my point up top 😛
Tim
March 8, 2014 at 02:54
The gif is hard to believe that it is next gen footage, GTA5 on PS3 looks better, and PS4 games like Killzone and Infamous look absolutely stunning, so whatever has happened to the graphics, this has nothing to do with the power of the PS4.
Tim
March 8, 2014 at 03:01
Infamous graphics on PS4, stunning:
http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1512/15127450/2450415-2906752179-Melee.gif
ToshZA
March 8, 2014 at 09:51
Compare that to the E3 explosion reveal of Watch Dogs, and I’m sorry, it’s not that stunning at all. Particles are shit.
Don’t get me wrong, it looks great, and a huge leap from a PS3, but you could almost count how many particles there are, and they don’t look that great. It’s not, as you say, stunning. Its good, its not stunning.
Andrew
May 21, 2014 at 22:18
Watch dogs has way more in game mechanics then gta 5. Dont believe me? Just one mechanic is simulating EVERY citizens activies.
Kerrits
March 7, 2014 at 12:55
I would rather have reduced graphics than another Dark Souls Blighttown debacle.
iAmWeasel
March 7, 2014 at 12:59
Have you seen any Infamous footage? Looks at least on par with the amazing bits of Watch_dogs we have seen.
ozonethegreat
March 9, 2014 at 01:39
look at this bro http://www.use.com/showoriginal.pl?set=cd194e6957d7781b7907&p=1
Peenork
May 21, 2014 at 18:17
Did they lower the graphics or just the resolution? (or both?) with the XBone running most games like Titanfall at 792p and the PS4 running at 900p, I’m wondering if the graphics just look blurred due to the resolution drop.
Macethy
March 7, 2014 at 12:08
I stand to be corrected, but Ubisoft confirmed that E3 gameplay was done on PC with a PS3/4 controller.
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 12:10
Loving dem GIFs on the main page
Kensei Seraph
March 7, 2014 at 12:10
Thanks to that I didn’t have to wait for the first gif to load.
Gavin Mannion
March 7, 2014 at 12:13
That was a serious failure.. we just stole 15mb of bandwidth from a ton of people 🙁
ToshZA
March 7, 2014 at 12:16
If its any consolation, I’m capped on 3G and I don’t mind at all. >_>
Yeah I know, its not. Worth a try though.
Gavin Mannion
March 7, 2014 at 12:19
lol, it’s why we made this gif on click functionality.. because we like gifs but they are serious drains on the bandwidth
ToshZA
March 7, 2014 at 12:22
Its really cool functionality, and will help towards the middle/end of the month when my bandwidth starts running low. I don’t mind one slipping through in the main page though, it’s not that big of a deal.
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 12:18
Lolz.
SEE YOU IN COURT
XD
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 13:09
Too soon? 🙂
SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad
March 7, 2014 at 12:27
My invoice is in the post…
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 12:10
Should only the first one play? (Gif)
Kensei Seraph
March 7, 2014 at 12:11
All of them play but the first one starts loading when you look at the article on the main page.
By the time you’re finished reading this the others should have loaded, as long as you’ve already clicked on them.
Brenz
March 7, 2014 at 12:12
There has been so much hype with this game,then delay, then hype, the this and that bla bla bla fuck it, ive gotten off this hype train a few stops back.
Will see what comes on release after a few reviews, but certainly not getting excited anymore.
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 12:13
In my head, before watching the video, I had a TOTALLY different voice pictured for him
Umar Praise The Golden Sun
March 7, 2014 at 12:18
Not a graphics whore, but I feel they lied to me, looks NOTHING like initial reveal
ToshZA
March 7, 2014 at 12:18
If I have to say one thing: graphics have certainly evolved over the years. Damn.
http://image.dosgamesarchive.com/screenshots/quake1.gif
Gavin Mannion
March 7, 2014 at 17:25
No idea what you were trying to link to…
In random question time.. are you Ben’s brother?
ToshZA
March 8, 2014 at 09:48
Its just funny for me having been there with Quake’s release and marvelling out how great the game looked back then. It was 3D! We were happy with just that. Now, we’re so damn fussy over graphics that we ignore the rest until the game arrives.
Still, we’ve come a really long way since then. Just something that came to mind really, not specific to this post.
And no, I don’t have a brother lol. My best friend’s name is Ben though.
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 12:20
Perhaps this video and gifs are from Xbox 360 or ps3 versions only… I mean I remember seeing a GTAV leaked video of car hitting a wall and there was like no damage, little did I know the car was upgraded to have little damage. So the thing is these screens are prob from the last gen versions, in which I doubt will be on the level of Next gen and Pc.
ToshZA
March 7, 2014 at 12:21
“The trailer, by the way, has been confirmed as the PlayStation 4 version of the game.”
E3 2012 was on a PC.
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 12:28
:))))))))))))
Vijaya Balaji
March 8, 2014 at 10:13
I cant find a source from where you got that info! can you tell me how you got that info?
ydk
March 8, 2014 at 21:44
Actually not true; “Its been confirmed that the trailer shows off 360 graphics”
ToshZA
March 9, 2014 at 10:01
Yeah, I was quoting Gavin in his article. Where does your quote come from?
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 12:23
WTF!! checked out one gif with car and bridge, I am guessing the yellow car is how it looks now? if that’s the case, then WTF!!! looks like SHIT!
Gavin Mannion
March 7, 2014 at 12:31
Yes the yellow car is now
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 12:31
Do they say which platform this was taken from?
ToshZA
March 7, 2014 at 12:32
My god man, do you read the articles at all? O_O
Edit: Sorry, that came off a little strong. That wasn’t meant to be so harsh.
Admiral Chief in Vegas
March 7, 2014 at 12:40
XD
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 12:46
Depends on my mood lol I read most of them, skimmed over this one.
Gavin Mannion
March 7, 2014 at 12:36
Gifs from the Trailer are PS4.
Gifs from E3 are PC
car and screenshot at the bottom I’m not 100% sure
TiMsTeR1033
March 7, 2014 at 12:47
The gif with the cars exploding looks very impressive still.
Gavin Mannion
March 7, 2014 at 12:48
Yes… that’s what we were promised
Dommy73
March 8, 2014 at 02:29
The fact it’s from a new console doesn’t relly surprise me, I’ve spent about an hour with Xbone connected to 4K tv in lab and it just looked awful.
Let’s just hope PC version will be the one pro E3 or even better. Since PC was lead platform I think we still might have a chance.
ozonethegreat
March 9, 2014 at 01:41
look at this http://www.use.com/showoriginal.pl?set=cd194e6957d7781b7907&p=1
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 7, 2014 at 12:43
That last pic looks like something from GTA3
Kensei Seraph
March 7, 2014 at 12:44
Personally I think the building on the right is taken from Saints Row 3.
El Capitan del Blade
March 7, 2014 at 12:52
They may have just re-optimised for “new-gen” to try and avoid Resolutiongate, y’know….
If graphics are that important, I’m sure it’ll still look proper stunning on PC… And really, with all that UI floating about, Will you really be focusing on the environment? So…many…reticles!
RinceThis
March 7, 2014 at 13:19
Said it the other day, starting to worry about this game…
Rags
March 7, 2014 at 13:19
2012 was a tech demo, no?
Still I was expecting it to be closer to the mark 🙁
The new gen is seriously unimpressive.
SkullScience
March 7, 2014 at 13:51
The last time I remember a stunt like this was with Aliens Colonial Marines, another game which suffered from unexplained delays. I suspect they used one engine for pre-order/hype purposes and a more standard in-house engine for final build. Borderline fraudulent in my opinion. The PC version will be high-res (rumours of 4K) but it will simply be high res ass rather than standard res ass. What a disappointment. Lego City on Wii U looks superior!
ozonethegreat
March 9, 2014 at 01:42
look at this it shows plain as day http://www.use.com/showoriginal.pl?set=cd194e6957d7781b7907&p=1
SkullScience
March 9, 2014 at 16:07
The devs have confirmed it is PS4. If you can not see the MASSIVE difference you need to go to specsavers!! UBI have had previous form for this, Far Cry 3 was downgraded massively as well. Although nowhere near this extent. They call it a ‘vertical slice’. Look it up!! I personally believe it is no coincidence of this huge 6 month delay. I think something seriously went wrong and they gave it 6 months to release on an old, pre-existing engine, such as the Assassin’s Creed engine. It makes sense.
Fear Monkey
March 8, 2014 at 00:20
Well I am definitely waiting on reviews and comparisons now before deciding on PC or PS4 version, if I get the game at all. If I find that Ubisoft was blowing smoke and the reveal was faked, i won’t buy the game until it goes very cheap, or maybe never.
Tim
March 8, 2014 at 02:58
Proper PS4 open world graphics, Infamous is stunning:
http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1512/15127450/2450412-1248275486-Evil-.gif
ToshZA
March 8, 2014 at 09:56
Again, I can see where they took shortcuts. There’s only 1 light emitting from that multi-coloured particle effect, and its not stunning. It doesn’t take my breath away. It looks good, again a PS3 couldn’t come close, but its not stunning.
Josh Melton
March 8, 2014 at 16:15
You need to get your eyes fixed ):
ToshZA
March 8, 2014 at 20:42
Yeah, I really don’t. I create and design graphics for a living, it’s my job to see the stuff nobody else notices.
Fear Monkey
March 10, 2014 at 20:06
One man’s “stunning” is another man’s “meh” lol…
Fear Monkey
March 10, 2014 at 20:08
I have it pre-ordered and it looks really good but I have never played a Infamous game before, I hope it’s good. PS4 needs a decent first party high scoring game, it would be nice if its this one.
I am playing Knack at the moment which I avoided because of the reviews, and was amazed to find a fun and polished game. It deserved an 7.5 or 8, it didnt deserve the bad scores it got at all.
Tbox
March 8, 2014 at 05:25
I reserved two copies taking mine off tomorrow graphics look like crap they didn’t have to downgrade to that low of graphics assassin’s creed black flag looks ten times better at this point after this trailer and that’s from the same developers. Wonder how the ( Division) is going to look now?
ToshZA
March 8, 2014 at 09:54
So gameplay really does mean nothing to people. So sad.
Not taking anything away from the poor graphics comparison, but its like gameplay means nothing to anyone. As long as it looks good. It really isn’t Crytek’s fault for saying “Graphics equals gameplay” – its the damn gamers.
DeKo
March 8, 2014 at 10:01
I dont care about the graphics. The game should just make fun right?
tranqstar
March 8, 2014 at 17:53
how can you talk about gameplay and storyline over graphics when you’re playing a GTA clone
Brady miaau
March 9, 2014 at 00:13
how so?
Ozonethegreat
March 9, 2014 at 01:39
The graphics downgrade is a hoax the gif was from a last gen version. check this out http://www.use.com/showoriginal.pl?set=cd194e6957d7781b7907&p=1
SkullScience
March 9, 2014 at 16:01
How fucking amateurish. The gif was taken directly from the latest gameplay trailer, which has been confirmed to be the PS4 version directly from the devs themselves. There has even been a Q + A session with the devs since this controversy and they have confirmed it to be PS4. The game not only looks downgraded but looks to be now running on a totally different, inferior engine. Remember, UBI are masters of the vertical slice as it is ‘representative’!! I may as well put a suit of armour on, go into my local forest, fight a squirrel and call it ‘Dark Souls 3’!!!
dogshit
April 25, 2014 at 03:36
Driving looks utter shit, not worth playing.
Peenork
May 21, 2014 at 18:16
I really hope they don’t lower the PC’s game quailty to blur the line between the ‘next gen’ consoles and those with PC’s. While graphics aren’t the whole part of the game, I want good explosions, quality lighting and stuff if I’m shelling out full-retail price for a game. I will be really upset if i get that terrible lighting (gif 1) in my final experience.
Sysyphus
May 28, 2014 at 18:06
No. It hasn’t been downgraded THAT MUCH. I’m playing it right now on an HD7950 and an FX-8350 and it looks as the trailers do. Don’t be clumsy and confuse downgrade with CLIMATIC and ACTION CIRCUMSTANCES difference. In the first pic the game isn’t in ultra at all and i swear it for my child’s health, besides in the trailer is raining and in the pathetic “real gameplay” doesn’t. And the action details and effects of the third video ARE REAL.