CD Projekt RED‘s game is the most stable on PlayStation 4 Pro if we look at the older consoles.
Digital Foundry has published a new analysis about Cyberpunk 2077, and they explain what the next-gen consoles run via backwards compatibility: „[The] PlayStation 5 is effectively running the PlayStation 4 code with an unlocked frame-rate, while [the] Xbox Series consoles are receiving Xbox One code with some additional improvements to quality settings, including improved density in NPCs and vehicles along with the addition of ambient occlusion alongside other tweaks. Xbox Series S may well have a lower power GPU than Xbox One X, but it’s actually delivering a far more consistent, more enjoyable experience – and this too is running from the same core codebase,” the site claims, hinting that the game is heavily relying on CPU.
„Therefore, a process of deduction suggests the following: first of all, the lack of memory on the last-gen machines may not be the issue – [the] Xbox One X has 9 GB of useable RAM and still has serious problems. Meanwhile, [the] Series S has less memory and seems to deliver a better, more consistent experience overall. Where the machine has clear wins against the last-gen consoles is in terms of storage and – crucially – CPU power. The evidence does suggest that when Cyberpunk 2077 is running at its worst, the lack of CPU grunt is the primary culprit. It’s especially evident when driving around the city – the background streaming systems are very heavy on CPU and all versions buckle. Even the next-gen console, Stadia and PC builds see a depressed performance here,” Digital Foundry adds, quickly pointing out a possible issue in their thought: „The one issue with this theory is [the] Xbox One X – its CPU is faster than [the] PlayStation 4 Pro’s, yet the Pro routinely beats it in performance terms across the board, albeit by varying degrees.”
Gareth Damian Martin, a game developer unrelated to CD Projekt RED (shortened to CDPR onwards), explained on Twitter why the game is intentionally designed to have some of the bugs: „The more I play Cyberpunk 2077 the more I realise CDPR have pulled the heist of the generation, and they’ve done so on the back of the idea of “bugs”. Cyberpunk is buggy as hell, we all know that, but by expecting and acknowledging this, reviewers seem to have turned a blind eye to the massive, often absurd, issues with the game’s open world. Take the game’s traffic. No one apart from the player can drive a bike. Why? Well after a little testing it becomes obvious that drivers have no AI to speak of. They cannot navigate around an obstacle and often will freeze in the face of an obstacle. They are mindless.
Surely this leads to constant gridlock? Well no, because explicitly aware of this CDPR have made every stopped car disappear if you look away. Really. That way the card keep following their paths and any blockages are cleared up. This is not a bug. This is a feature. This is a specifically engineered solution to a massive gap in the game’s feature set. And it turns out pedestrians behave the same way. Fire a gun in a crowded street everyone ducks. Turn 360. The game will unload every cowering pedestrian. This is insane. The kind of solutions we are seeing here come from 11th-hour desperation and exhaustion,” he wrote. He also published two videos showcasing the traffic and pedestrian situation, also hinting at how the developers had to crunch to finish the game (…somewhat?).
According to Bloomberg, CDPR’s founders have lost a billion dollars recently due to how shoddy Cyberpunk 2077’s performance is on the current-gen consoles. However, CD Projekt lost face for another reason, too. We’ll get back to that later today.
Pedestrians: https://t.co/dZ05QVWOaF
— Gareth Damian Martin (@JumpOvertheAge) December 15, 2020
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