Watch Dogs PC Modders Find Hidden "E3" Settings, Improve Performance - Update

[nevarran]

Whell the game actually runs BETTER when those stuff are in it. Its just idiotic. And the reasin bethesda gets a free pass on people fixing their games is that they dont lock you out. They know you want to change the game and they allow you. (They even released a development kit for crying out loud. You dont see ubi does that kind of thing) and im not gonna talk about the shitty drm ubisoft uses.

Ps. I've never heard of locked stuff inside of skyrim's code. Can you give me some sources to read on?

I didn't knew the game runs better. In that case... like you guys said, it's mind-boggling. I used to think the Ubi guys just suck at PC optimization, but maybe they have some mental illness on top of that...

p.s. There are several mods at Nexus, that unlock dialog lines with NPCs, excluded from the game for no reason. On STEP [http://wiki.step-project.com/STEP:Guide]'s page there are some .ini tweaks that would unlock you a few graphical goodies as well, nothing as extreme as WD tho'. And that's just what comes on top of my mind.

 

[Gone Rampant]

Being the kind of person that I am (IE, I don't care about graphics, I care about gameplay and story) I up to this point haven't cared enough about the Watch_Dogs graphics scandal to comment.

I still don't think graphics matter that much, but I can see where PC gamers would be pissed that their port would be hit like this.

I've loved Ubisoft's stuff for the last few years since about 2010, and even I think this has been a bad month- idiotic morons talking about polygons for female characters, this whole thing, their E3 being rather boring, but that applied to E3 as a whole- not a great time to be a fan.

Still, at least people now have the option to get the mod so, assuming Ubi wises up and puts this out for the public beyond the mod, people will FINALLY shut up about how graphics are more important than the story or the gameplay.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

I mean... Just what?

They had to know this was going to happen. They HAD to know it. Was this part of some deranged plan? Did they think no modder was going to look too closely at the code of an extremely popular new release?

What the fuck?

So their plan seems to have been to:

Step 1: Release a shining E3 trailer showcasing your graphics.
Step 2: Intentionally handicap your own game, despite this creating an immense amount of negative PR due to step 1.
Step 3: Make sure that the code proving what you just did is easily available, thus creating even more negative PR and completely destroying your reputation.
Step 4: Ensure that steps 1-3 only negatively effect your company and create no benefits whatsoever.
Step 5: ??????
Step 6: Dont make profit since you apparently hate doing that.

What the hell did they think was going to happen? This is a decade long multibillion dollar company, how the hell are they so bloody incompetent?

 

[FFMaster]

well, yes, in that context PS3 was the worst platform to develop for due to its architecture. From what developers said that i read the reason WiiU is hard to develop for isnt its architecture but rather Nintendo being dicks and refusing to cooperate while MS/Sony is trying to help them with stuff like driver updates ect.

Odd this as there are also plenty of reports from developers of Nintendo being helpful and actually changing a lot from last time, with stuff like unity support (and paying for the license for devs), saying one is not helping while the other two are just doesn't seem to hold water. But this is STILL ignoring the point that last time the PS3 was the worst to develop for.... and people still did. Using "its harder to develop for" as the argument in this case doesn't hold water because of previous examples and non of your arguments have actually managed to cover that. Instead you have argued different points and shifted the goalposts.

 

[seditary]

So I see in the new update Ubisoft is sticking with the 'The stuff you did makes it worse because we say its worse' bullshit.

Yes, the mod does indeed make the game less enjoyable. Not because it makes it worse, its because it makes people realize how much they wish they could have not given you any money.

 

[wizzy555]

The settings in question that were in the code weren't there for launch probably because of stability issues. The mod that fellow released does, if what I've read, contain files that he also created.

And as for that line of code that's going around - bullshit. A screenshot is literally useless. That could be from anything from anywhere. A little more proof is required before demonizing a company.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=838538&page=21
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=4843210#post4843210

Its a real screenshot from the shader files, specifically deferredambient.inc.fx located in the shaders.dat file. A compressed file that can be unpacked into readable files. Anyone can go and unpack that file and see it. Its been confirmed.


A simple google search can find it.

"Hey, this guy is saying screenshots are meaningless bullshit. Lets show him he's wrong by showing him more screenshots"

Again. A screenshot of the code means nothing. Is there proof this is from the game Watch Dogs? How would this code have leaked? A few people have brought up that the code, in this manner, would not be shown unless Watch Dogs had its source code leaked as well. If it was leaked, where is the proof that the people put in the comment "for the PC, who cares".

Authenticity is something that is nearly impossible to prove in this manner, short of cracking the code yourself and taking a look. And even so - what is the context of the line? How are you sure that it wasn't a joke? Can you prove that these files were not embedded into the code for a future HDR download, and not enabled by default because it needed optimization work? The default PC launch has been plagued by performance issues, which seem to be mimicked with this mod, as well as even further drops on machines that aren't high end.

There is no definitive proof of the authenticity or proof of malice. The downgrade could have happened for a plethora of reasons - from optimized performance, aesthetic choices, or for later optimization purposes, and a single screenshot does not make for damning proof in an age where anyone can edit anything.

Also we don't know the context of this shader. This may be a shader that isn't used in the PC version (you still need to put a default value there to make sure it compiles properly) or is only used on minimal settings - in which case - who cares.

Also since there ARE super good PC shaders in place that are activated by the mod is it evident the shader writing DID care enough to write them.

You can't have it both ways, either they are too lazy to write good shaders or they disabled the good shader because consoles.

 

[rofltehcat]

This whole thing is so great! I hope it teaches devs/publishers a few lessons (and hopefully the right ones).

They should really just have made the old stuff available as a "ultra" or "future" setting. Hell, they could even have patched the option in after a week or so and added a disclaimer that it may severely impact game performance. That way they wouldn't have had to fear "worse" reviews if it'd run like shit because the reviews would already be out. They would also have gained some good-will from PC gamers and most importantly: It would have been good publicity to push the game sales a little more.

They could even have bragged about "iconic future-oriented design blabla marketingBS".

Instead, they fucked up. I'm sure heads will roll, especially the ones that commented that code (if the screen is real). And then they might just again forget the lesson like they normally do -.-

 

[momijirabbit]

Oh my god, are they freaking serious?
Lowers performance, despite the fact that many peoples performance has improved upon getting this mod.

Ubisoft, you are worse than EA now.
Congrats.

 

[Vivi22]

The dev team is completely dedicated to getting the most out of each platform, so the notion that we would actively downgrade quality is contrary to everything we've set out to achieve. We test and optimize our games for each platform on which they're released, striving for the best possible quality.[/quote]

I'm calling complete and utter bullshit on this statement. Anyone who has seen Totalbiscuits video about the game and the fact that he couldn't get a consistent framerate at even 60fps on the higher settings knows what I mean. If that's their idea of optimizing then they have some mentally handicapped monkeys writing their code for them.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

So their response was basically "It COULD have been bad for the game".

They don't have a fucking clue. It's just damage control.

Oh and once again they're treating us like idiots thinking we'll swallow their bullshit

I've made my decision to boycott this game entirely.

 

[infinity_turtles]

I feel like most of the people doing the reporting on the game's performance with the mod are using much better computers than I am, because when I tried the mod I noticed major performance issues . This doesn't surprise me really, as it makes more sense that AAA titles are in fact not optimized for it's highest settings that a minority of players can use, and instead optimized for a more middle of the road gaming rig.

I feel really torn on Ubisoft at the moment. On the one hand, I feel like they're getting the raw end of the stick when it comes to PR lately. On the other hand, I find the games they make boring as hell, as they've managed to distill everything I hate about Sandbox games into all their major titles. Some irrational part of me actually wants the negative press to get focused on a company I like so so I'm at least defending something that doesn't put me to sleep.

 

[Commander Obvious]

That's probably a lie.

 

[JediMB]

So apparently a comprehensive Settings menu is an entirely foreign concept to the devs at Ubisoft?

It's funny how they can even defend their actions with "higher quality = decreased performance."

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Found some code in W_D:

Reddit is planning to flood ubisoft with refunds, chargebacks, lawsuits, and a shit load of other shit. They are now trying to get to every single executive they can find and flood their inbox with complaints. I personally hope they hit Ubisoft where it hurts.

If Ubisoft gets slapped with a lawsuit and loses their W_D profits, I'd be so happy.

Or of course a huge multiplatform boycott that sends the message that consumers aren't idiots and they should stop lying to their customers.

Seriously, WHO DOES THIS? There will be those players who don't even know what code is or how to access it but certainly the modders (who look through everything anyway) would find this. That was a shot across the bow to all hardcore PC gamers and now they're on a march. Whoever put that in the code is likely gonna get a talking to.

Meanwhile, I'mma just watch. Wasn't going to pick up Watch Dogs anyway so I'm just an amused bystander.

 

[synobal]

Heaven forbid they give PC users the option to lower their graphics settings if it preforms poorly. I mean it isn't like we haven't been doing that since forever...

 

[kurupt87]

Snip

I suspect this situation is something akin to on-disk DLC.

Ubi downgrades the PC release so that it has visual parity with the console versions, then 2-3 months down the line releases a small DLC/patch (perhaps even free) that upgrades the PC version.

 

[Zydrate]

I hope to get access to this at some point. Haven't played WD in a week or so. Would be neat to come back to it when it's all shiney.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

unused render settings that were deactivated for a variety of reasons, including possible impacts on visual fidelity, stability, performance and overall gameplay quality. Modders are usually creative and passionate players, and while we appreciate their enthusiasm, the mod in question (which uses those old settings) subjectively enhances the game's visual fidelity in certain situations but also can have various negative impacts. Those could range from performance issues, to difficulty in reading the environment in order to appreciate the gameplay, to potentially making the game less enjoyable or even unstable.

TotalBiscuit, while angry at ubiSoft for hiding the settings, actually completely agreed with this reasoning. Primarily, as much as the Bokeh depth-of-field makes screenshots pretty, the foreground focusing is SO sharp that if there's a garbage can next to you the camera focuses on it, making it near impossible to see ANYTHING else on screen. He recommended turn it on for pretty, off for gameplay.

 

[Colt47]

What I'm trying to figure out is what kind of overworked idiot makes a comment in their own code bashing on PC gaming in the released version? It's fine to have an opinion on something like that, but people are going to read the comments in the code whether they are programmers or not.

 

[Trishbot]

To repeat a phrase I've heard before...

"Either they're evil or incompetent. Which is worse"?

Sadly, those 4 million sales they've had probably means the only lesson they've been taught is they can get away with it.