New ‘Witcher 3: Wild’ Hunt Gameplay Emerges From GDC 2015
During the GDC press conference announcing Nvidia’s new ultra-powerful Android TV box, the Shield, “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” developer CD Projekt Red was asked on stage to demo the new units game streaming abilities. What makes this demo especially interesting is the fact that it was being streamed remotely over the Internet, using Nvidia’s cloud-powered Grid computing platform.
A recording of the video hosted on the GamesHQMedia YouTube page opens with protagonist Geralt standing in the middle of a gorgeously rendered, sun-drenched countryside. As the visuals draw applause, CD Projekt Red gameplay designer Damien Monnier is heard stating that what’s on show doesn’t even represent the highest quality graphical setting of “The Witcher 3.”
As Geralt makes his way down the forest path, foliage bends underfoot and soft shadows are cast on individual blades of grass. Presently, the Witcher tracks down a pair of large wolves. As the beasts attack, Geralt lays down a spell to slow their movement. Guarding, dodging and slashing with purpose, he makes quick work of the beasts.
As stated by Eurogamer in their coverage, Monnier mentions that there’s no lag felt during gameplay, noting that the quick, tactical nature of combat in “The Witcher 3” requires fast reaction times. He likens control of the game, streamed via the Grid-powered Shield box, to playing natively on PC. With the creatures defeated, Geralt ventures further into the forest, where he comes across a random enemy encounter and draws his sword to engage.
By keeping his guard up, Geralt is able to deflect incoming arrows from a hidden archer, making use of a special passive ability in the process. He closes on a swordsman and uses an Igni spell to set his foe alight and individual embers react realistically in the breeze. He then moves on to quickly dispatch the archer just before video ends.
As a technical demonstration, the video does a good job of showing off what the Nvidia Grid platform is capable of. How it compares to the recently announced 1080p30 / 900p30 resolution and framerate of the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game is difficult to say.
Scheduled for release on PS4, Xbox One and PC on May 19, “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” has already been delayed twice. Gamespot reports that the most recent delay in Dec. 2014 was decided upon to give the development team more time to polish the game’s huge world. CD Projekt Red board member, Adam Kicinski acknowledged the recent spate of bug-filled game launches and said the studio still had lots of small errors left to iron out.
(Credit: YouTube/NVIDIA)
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